Competencies and Maturity models

Towards the Integration of Event Management Best Practice by the Project Management Process  - continued

Draft  - Version 1 29/06/2002

William J. O'Toole

University of Technology, Sydney

Project Management Research Group, The University of Sydney

email : isesconf@ epms.net (please delete the space between @ and 'epms.net' before sending)

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Contents

Abstract.. 2

Convergence. 2

Figure 1 Project Management Cascade (from Events 2002 ). 3

Limitation of project management.. 4

Scope. 4

Deadline. 4

Project Management terminology. 4

Cost benefit analysis. 5

The profession.. 5

Competency.. 5

Table 1 Competency Matrix - PMoutreach course. 6

Maturity Model - organisational competency.. 8

Figure 2 Event Growth. 8

Table 2 Event Organisation Management Maturity Model Standards   - First DRAFT (03052002) - for discussion  11

Conclusion.. 13

The Next Step. 13

References. 13

Abstract

This paper explores the maturing of the event industry and the need to measure the capability of event organisation, suppliers and personnel. It describes the adaptation of the project management models of competency and maturity  to the event industry. In this way it looks at the theme of this conference - how we can contribute to the professional development in the event industry. It continues the work found in the paper for the Events 2000 conference.

The topic covered include

1.         Convergence of project management and events management an overview of the original paper and subsequent research

2.         Competency standards for event management :  including a competency matrix used by the author for teaching events management

3.         Maturity model for the event industry : an exploration of this field and its possible adaptation to event management

Convergence

The Sydney Olympics, Brisbane Masters Games  and the Melbourne Grand Prix have more in common than fact that they are based on  competition. They all involved the use of the project management methodology as the core management system. The advantage of using project management were obvious to the management team. The advantages include :

Systematic 

It provides a consistent method for events so that they can be compared to past events and identify improvements. Each event becomes a way of improving the event management  and therefore the events.

Communication

Using a common terminology throughout the event and with the stakeholders allows effective decision making. Project management terms are ideally suited to communication  across the event, external to the event to other departments and to outside authorities. The terms used imply the importance of time and responsibility.

Conform with other departments within the company.

Many large companies are undergoing a process of projectisation whereby each department or cost centre uses the project management methodology. The event office will find that communication and reporting  will be enhance - not to mention respect for the event office.

Accountable

With a project management system the event is fully accountable to the stakeholders. The event management can track a complex event. Client/sponsors can obtain a report on progress at any time.  After the management method and decisions can be fully described.

Visible Event Planning

Too often the event management is not seen to be happening and it is only the result i.e. the event,  that is seen. If you look observe any other department (or cost centre as they are now called) there are weekly progress reports, charts and other documents that demonstrate the management  - not just the deliverable.

Training

Having a methodology means the staff are being trained at the same time as organising the event. It is easier to train the staff as it is systematic and often enhances their previous training. In modern business the training component is essential to keep staff. Also project management uses training resources that may not have occurred to the event manager  - the Belbin team role model for example

Depersonalizes the event 

The event becomes part of the knowledge of the company, rather than the knowledge of a few individuals. A system stops the 'run over by a bus' risk i.e. that the event manager holds all the keys to the event.

Transferable

A methodology implies that it can be used in other events and also other  areas of business  -such as campaign management, public relations scheduling. The knowledge, skills and terminology are readily adapted to other projects. This is a plus for the staff working on an event.

Diverse Body of Knowledge

Too often the event management assumes there is nothing that can be leaned from other projects. In part this is a result of not recognizing the underlying similarities. These range from NASA's man on the moon to implementing a new software system for a local firm. Event management can learn from their mistakes and successes. 

Scalable and fractal  - it can be used on part of the event  , such as the Public Relations  schedule or finding sponsors or on the whole of the  event. It can be used on a small event such as a wedding or

Already in use - the computer software so essential to the modern event is based on project management principles. The file system is almost identical to a work breakdown structure. Every day the staff are using a form a project management when they receive emails, file them , schedule meetings and document decisions. Project management puts all these tasks into a framework from the perspective of the event.

(O'Toole W & Mikolaitis P  2002)

Figure 1 Project Management Cascade (from Events 2002 )

Limitation of project management

Most of the limitations to the application of project management to events arise from the hegemony of civil engineering and construction in this field. They have set the standard approach to projects. The current turbulence in the project management field is a result of the growth and influence of the information technology. Some of the limitations listed below are also limitation in its application to software development.

Scope

A central tenet of project management is the defined scope. The scope of work becomes the master plan from which the schedule, tasks, responsibility charts and budget are generated. If the scope changes it shapes all the work derived from it.  In Figure 1, the top of the project management cascade is the project definition and scope. It is often the case in special events that the scope of work is changing right up to the beginning of the event. In some events - such as the Melbourne Grand Prix - the managers apply a cut off date months out from the event . From that date there can be no more changes.   The scope changes in the East Timor hand over ceremony were extensive. It included the arrival of the six war ships of the Indonesian Navy and  last minute decisions by VIPs to attend the event. In many cases the special event is being defined at the same time as it is being planned and the draft plan is being implemented. This situation is chaotic for the traditional project manager. The only projects similar in this respect are research and development projects where discovery is a key element of the project.

A consequences of such a fluid environment is the need to make 'decision on the go'. This is another important part of event management. When there is the addition of an extra VIP at an event , for example, the event management needs to know what affect this will have on the event and make decision accordingly. There is often little time to consult the committee or make reports. It is interesting to note a problem faced by the management of the East Timor handover ceremony. The UN has strict procedures for any changes in the plans and therefore the time taken for approvals to be granted meant that some decisions were impossible to make.

Deadline

It is common for a project to go past its 'deadline'. One only has to consider many construction projects. However this is intolerable in events. If the event looks like it will not occur on time, it will be cancelled. Postponing the event is possible but rare. This results in  a different imperative in the event industry to almost all other industries. The fact of a deadline reflects back into every area of event management. It is part of the event culture. It is the one area that project managers, coming into the events field, need to realize. The Sydney Olympics provided many examples of this including the last minute call for volunteers help the bus drivers navigate the suburbs of Sydney. The importance of leadership, networking and informal contacts within events is a result of deadline management. The event management is forever creating contingencies.

Project Management terminology 

The terminology of project management comes from engineering and operations research and often sounds foreign to the average event staffer. However if we are interested in creating a profession we need to have terms that are specific,  'communication rich' and transferable. Anyone working on an event with people from different work and cultural backgrounds  knows the problem of  miscommunication. It becomes a major problem when there is a crisis. Hence the importance of the correct terminology in risk planning for events. The staff needs to learn the terms and what they mean. The training, however, is not just for the one event. The terminology can become the language of events. It was an early task for the project management of the Sydney Olympics. See Allen J O'Toole et al 2002, for a discussion of the language of the Olympics.

Cost benefit analysis

Most projects arise from the requirements of business. In other words they have a defined and straightforward business case provided by the client. From the business case the project manager can  work out the internal rate of return and the benefits and costs of  any changes during the plan. When the inevitable changes occur, the decisions needed to solve problems can be measured against the ultimate business case. Hence the various tools used such as earned value analysis and estimating the pay back period. A large part of traditional project management is built on this certainty.

However there are intangible benefits from many events Staff morale or country pride, for example. There are difficulties tracing event the tangible benefits directly to the event. Extra sales arising from a training seminar or economic impact of a conference on the city are examples of this. Currently there are  few models to capture and measure these benefits. The up shot is that any change in the event cannot be mapped back to the cost benefit analysis. For example it is difficult to establish that the choice of a certain venue would give greater benefits (except by reducing costs) to launch of a forklift. That is not to say it is impossible. Intangible issues are common in marketing and politics. There are ways of measuring them.

Notwithstanding these limitation of current project management practice, the benefits far out weigh them. Many of the limitations are ones of priority. The three dimensions of any project, i.e.  cost/time/scope,  are regarded are the parameters of the project. It is obvious that time can not be changed. So the event manager concentrates on the cost and scope to make sure that the event comes in on time. This is a matter of priority in the use of project management methodology.

The profession

The importance of having a transferable methodology can not be underestimated. If we compare the professions, trades and unskilled jobs, the characteristic of a profession is the use of a methodology. Trades, professions and unskilled work have informal methods taught on the job. These are commonly called heuristics. The  trades and professions  have a body of knowledge specific to that industry. The body of knowledge is collected over time and reside both in the minds those in the industry, articles, associations and books on the subject. I believe the event industry is at this level. A profession is characterized by the discovery and recognition of  its underlying methodology. A systemic approach that can be improved and needs to be taught at a University level.  The methodology recommended by this paper and the paper from the Events 2000 conference is an adaptation of project management. However this is not enough. A profession has to be able to measure the applicability of the methodology. This leads to the next section on competency and maturity in the event industry.

Competency

As the event industry 'professionalizes' there is increasing need to measure where a person, supplier or event organisations stands compared to the industry best practice.

The one off nature of an event means that the normal measures used in ongoing production industries do not work. 

An area of current project management study that can assist in the professional development of the event industry is the notion of competency. According to Frame (1999) competency  means the ability to produce the desired result. It can be applied to individuals and organisations. It implies there is an understanding of the 'desired' result and a  method of producing it. With regard the  events industry, the use of competency is all pervading as the client  wants the event to come in on budget, fitting with brief and, of course, happen on time.  However how do we measure the event staff, suppliers or how does the client measure the competency for future events? This directly relates to the 'bottom line'. If a supplier is hired without the right level of competency then there needs to be a contingency. For example hiring a printing company who has a high level of competency in design but a low level in delivering on time, means that the event company will have to create a contingency to ensure the printer is true to the schedule.

A measure of competency is needed in an industry that is subject to change and the need to lessen time to market for products.  When data is so freely available over the internet, knowledge itself is easy to come by. The ability to use this knowledge is the value. For this reason competency is divided into hard and soft as well as knowledge, skills and attitudes. Hard competencies include the ability to make the knowledge work. Knowing the process of contract management is not enough to be able to manage contracts in the event business environment. The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge is an example of competency based knowledge. The soft competencies are also needed to be a successful event manager,  such as the ability to work in a team and work with suppliers as well as volunteers and paid staff.

Table 1 is an example of a  competency matrix. It is used for the Event Project Management module for the Master of Project Management at the University of Sydney. (http://www.pmoutreach.usyd.edu.au/programme/Module/PMGT5885.html/) The course is aimed at project managers to enable them to adapt their knowledge and work in the event environment.  They map their competencies at the beginning of the course and at the conclusion of the course.

Table 1 Competency Matrix - PMoutreach course

In summary, the latest movement in project management training and accreditation can provide the basis of event management training and accreditation. The competency model has been developed and works in other industries and should be considered for our industry.

Maturity Model - organisational competency

The Maturity model refers to the level of organisational excellence of the event company, committee or organisation - such as the event office within a larger company. While an industry develops and grows the individual components change and mature.  As with the competency model,  the maturity model provides both a description of the current situation and the gaps needed to fill to become more efficient and effective. For this reason the model is part of the strategic planning for the industry. There are a number of maturity models that should be examined for their application to  event organisations. The Capability Maturity Model developed by the Software Engineering Institute has been adapted to other industries.  As well, the Project Management Institute is developing organisational maturity models. For more information on these models see the reference section of this paper.

Over time, a maturity model maps the changes in an event organisation. These are similar to a phase change in science whereby a product's basic structure undergoes transformation. One can track event companies across these levels of maturity. Many event companies start very entrepreneurial, dependent on the personality of the boss, full of ideas and brashness. As the company grows so does the complexity of its management, formal systems are introduced. Then there is the need to be accountable for their actions both within the company and to the stakeholders. At their height,  the event company needs to have all of the above plus a method of learning and improving for each event.

This phase development  is not confined to the corporate world. It is demonstrated in the area of public celebrations. Many annual festivals started with just a group of friends. People with similar interest turn up and the celebration grows. In this way community or small celebrations become major festivals. Figure 2 illustrate the growth of the local event. At the same time the event management - or committee - needs to grow and change. In particular there is a major phase change when 'outsiders' are attracted to the festival.  Authorities become interested in the festival and it now needs to be documented and accountable. Insurance, bank loans , sponsors, legal requirements mean that the organisation has to be properly managed. In the long term, to survive in such a complex environment, it also needs have the ability to assess it management, think strategically,  look for new ideas, and adapt to internal and external changes.

Figure 2 Event Growth

At this stage in the development of the event industry it is impossible to compile an exact maturity model. We need to start somewhere so I offer the list below to fire up the discussion:

The first phase is the Initial or Informal,  characterised by the lack of any formal processes, an ad hok approach and often disorganised. The success of the event will directly depend on the personality of the event manager. There is no or little documentation and it is impossible to repeat the event. Planning, if any, is done on the run.

Formal  : in a formal event organisation  some of the processes are recognised and able to be repeated for the next event. Some of the events are over organised and other lack any detail in their management. The is some documentation and reporting. Risk management is done from an safety point of view. Historical information  is used and the work is scoped. The clients brief or statement of work is recognised as the major document. The event company would be a member of an association.

Managed or Accountable : the event company has written plans and monitors these plans with techniques such as regular reports and milestones. The plans are based on templates created from previous events. The risk management is integrated into the whole managing process. Staff are trained in the terminology and methodology of project and risk management. Forecasting techniques such as cost benefit analysis is performed for events. Event feasibility is an essential aspect of the process of choosing the event. There is an event manual. Stakeholder analysis is undertaken.

Optimised or Adaptable and Improvable : the event management , organisation or company has a strategic plan for their events and can adapt these plans to changing conditions. The individual events are regarded as a way to test the management system. Scenarios are developed and there is flexibility in response to unforseen risk creating a resilience in the organisation. Past events are archived so that their management can be compared to future events. Cost benefit analysis and sensitivity analysis is used both at the event level and at the strategic level. The management of the event are continually improving using management tools and techniques adapted from other industries such as  information technology, engineering and the military and disciplines such as systems analysis and logistics. The event organisation provides training for their staff and therefore a career path within the company, within  the industry and in related industries.

If these categories are then used as the heading of a matrix and the areas of event management are listed down the side, a table such as table  2, can be produced. This table can then be used by the event organisation to map their competencies.

Table 2 is a draft for the purpose of discussion. I have only filled in some of the cells. There needs to be more headings and detailed competencies. The construction of a valid and acceptable event organisation maturity model can only be achieved with input and assessment from event managers around the world. The PMI currently is conducting such a world workshop called the OPM3 program though their website. (see reference section)

Table 2 Event Organisation Management Maturity Model Standards   - First DRAFT (03052002) - for discussion

Explanations  levels

• Informal level -  where the event is organised on an ad hok basis , little is written down
• Formal level  - the event has  structured  management with delegation
• Accountable  level  - this includes the competencies of the formal level and the event and the management can account for their management and decisions
• Adaptable level - this includes the accountable competencies and means the event management, although a formal system,  can respond positively to change and improve for each event.
• Applicable  - these Areas may not  be part of the event (for example Tourism may not be a consideration for some events)

Internal

External

Conclusion

This paper follows the paper presented at the Events2000 conference. It began with a summary of the reasons for the adaptation of project management to event management. A sign of a profession is its methodology. The transferable and accountable methodology separates a profession from a trade. Once a methodology is accepted it is important for both the event staff and the event organisation to have a way to measure their progress. Competency models provide this measure. At this stage in our industry's development we can only identify this need and create a draft. It should to be prepared at the same time as the industry develops so that any company or individual can recognise their level and identify gaps in their professional development.. We have the advantage of building on the work of the project management profession.

The Next Step

Judging by the development in other disciplines and the fact of our ever changing business environment,  competency and maturity models will come to the fore. The event industry can create these using this paper as the beginning of the discussion. The present matrix may be wrong, in need of improvement or just need to be filled in. Whichever is chosen it shows an industry that is capable of correcting itself and an industry with a strategic vision. If we use the maturity matrix presented in this paper, it shows an  industry at the highest level.

A few next steps

1.         Creation of a competency model for the event profession

2.         Creating a competency model for event suppliers

3.         Create a maturity model for event organisations

References

Allen J.,  O'Toole W., MacDonnell I. and Harris R.  Festival and Special Event Management J Wiley Brisbane 2002

O'Toole W.  &  Mikolaitis P.,  Corporate Event Project Management J Wiley NY 2002

Events 2000 : Conference Proceedings of the 'Events Beyond 2000:Setting the Agenda' Conference  - available http://www.business.uts.edu.au/leisure/ACEM/website/pages/publications1.htm

Frame, J D Project Management Competence Jossey Bass San Francisco 1999

Kerzner H Strategic Planning for Project Management using a Project Management Maturity Model   J Wiley and Sons NY 2001

Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute  Capability Maturity Model  http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmm/cmm.html

Project Management Institute : Organizational Project Management  Maturity Model http://www.pmi.org/opm3/

Event Project Management module  : Master of Project Management at the University of Sydney. (http://www.pmoutreach.usyd.edu.au/programme/Module/PMGT5885.html/)