In the age of the Internet billions of people and devices are exchanging data a billion times every day. While being good for consumers, it’s not so good for the music creators who are at constant risk of original work being pirated and ultimately foregoing the rewards and recognition in an era of ever-changing technology and legislation in a global market. PRS for Music is one company that’s trying to promote and protect creators’ copyright, so anything that increases the chances of projects succeeding makes the battle easier.
A NEW SYSTEM FOR A NEW AGE
When Lenny Descamps, IT Office, arrived at the company in 2014, this meant ensuring that the already successful IT project team continued to improve to keep up with growing challenges that face the digital market. One way was to target planning and scheduling capabilities with the APMG International PPC - the world's first APMG accredited Project Planning and Control Course programme delivered by project management experts, Training Byte Size.
Many elements of the Foundation course meet PRS for Music’s needs - with onus on “the breakdown structure to identify project activities, the schedule narrative and the scheduling check” which acts like a checklist. This in turn is complemented by the fact that the PPC course draws a sharp line between planning and scheduling, where planning is defined as being all about the activities that need to be done and scheduling as all about the timescale.
METHODOLOGIES AT PRS FOR MUSIC IS PARAMOUNT
PRS for Music adapts, adjusts and amends every methodology and initiative introduced into the company to match business and industry imperatives. Going against the grain of “Big Bang” project management, while implementing everything in one go may seem like a good idea, it can mean that a year later nothing has been achieved. With team dynamics and mechanics paramount, taking a ‘step-by-step’ approach ensures methodologies are embedded and changes and improvements are sustainable and sustained by the whole project management team.
AN ALTOGETHER MORE EFFECTIVE FRAMEWORK
By putting all the project managers together in one room to take the course, everyone was aware of the framework and principles to work with. By mixing managers with different qualification and experience levels, co-workers shared expertise and supported each other. This has been especially beneficial for junior members of the team with Lenny Descamps himself noticing a marked improvement in staff knowledge, understanding and skills around framework and principles of project planning and control.
Supporting Lenny Descamps and PRS for Music throughout this process has been Training Byte Size who collaboratively delivered much more than a mere off-the-shelf course. The course was personalised and tailored to PRS for Music’s specific continuous improvement goals; for instance, Training Byte Size ensured that greater emphasis was put on some elements of the course than others. The result was a smooth and business relevant experience for the organisation and, just as importantly, for the project managers who have gained new confidence in their role.
THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE
With a clear vote of confidence the experience has been worth it. The framework and principles of the PPC tailored for PRS for Music’s business are beginning to be embedded in the company with Mr Descamps now able to sign off schedules with more confidence and have processes in place to make necessary changes as and when. Stakeholders can be confident that the IT department will be able to meet the growing challenges. As for the future, Mr Descamps can see the day when PPC could be extended beyond IT and into every corner of the business so the business can meet all the challenges that the Internet and the digital age can throw at them.
ABOUT TRAINING BYTE SIZE
Training Byte Size offers accredited, industry recognised Project Management qualifications delivered as e-learning and instructor led training. See http://www.trainingbytesize.com/project-planning-control for further information, or email learning@trainingbytesize.com
CONTACT:
Martyn Kinch
Training Byte Size
Address: 5a Nantwich Court, Hospital Street, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5RH, UK
Phone: +44(0)1270 626330
Email: learning@trainingbytesize.com
Website: www.trainingbytesize.com
