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Project manager competency has been and is still widely researched and has culminated in various competency frameworks and standards. These frameworks and standards are used to evaluate and benchmark a project manager's competency. Organisations use these competency frameworks and standards to evaluate the project manager and identify gaps for further training and upskilling.
The results indicate two major findings. The first finding is that project managers perceive all competencies as important in the day-to-day running and management of a project. Although some competencies are flagged as more important than others, in general, they are all perceived as important. The second finding highlights the fact that there is no link or correlation between the factors that influence project success and the related competencies.
The results also create the impression that project managers are more focused on the technical competencies than on the contextual and behavioural competency groupings. The reason for this is that most project management training deals with the technical aspects of managing a project (Mnkandla & Marnewick, 2011). A recommendation based on these results is that the training of project managers includes all competency factors and not just technical competencies.
This research provides a baseline of the possible relationship between project success and the various individual competency elements. Any further research in this area of project success and competence can be based on these results as presented in this paper.
A gap in this research is that no direct correlation is made between the individual competency elements and project success. Future research should focus on the contribution and correlation between each of the competency elements and project success. The results of such research could provide a more comprehensive training framework for project managers.
MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS
Various managerial implications have been uncovered by this research. The most important implication is that there is a serious disjoint between the factors that contribute to project success and the competency elements that are perceived as important by project managers. Three of the five top factors are not included in the competencies that are perceived as important. Executive support and user involvement are two of the main factors that contribute to project success. The competency elements that might address these two factors are based within the contextual and behavioural competency groupings. More focus should be placed on the competency elements within the contextual and behavioural competency groupings.
This leads to the second managerial implication, i.e. the selection of project management training providers. There are various private, public and tertiary institutions that offer project management training. Companies should ensure that this training covers all three of the competency groupings and not just one specific competency grouping. It is true that a junior project manager might need more technical competencies but the other competency groupings cannot be neglected as they contribute to project success more so than the technical competencies.
The third and last managerial implication focuses on continuous learning. One of the key aspects surrounding the competencies of a project manager is that they must keep their “saw sharpened” at all times. Organisations must ensure that there is a continuous evaluation of the project managers' competencies and that gaps are identified. These gaps must then be addressed through training and other skills development processes.
Well-trained and competent project managers contribute to the overall project management maturity of the organisation, which in turn has a positive impact on project success.
THE DISPARITY BETWEEN PROJECT SUCCESS AND PROJECT MANAGERS' COMPETENCIES 1123