Implementing Project Management

With the 2000 census looming, the U.S. Census Bureau needed to ramp up their project management skills. Plagued by blown budgets, scheduling lapses and missed deadlines, they turned to ESI International for a project management training solution in hopes that this $4- to 6-billion dollar project would be a success.

Several years ago, the United States Bureau of the Census received a mandate to improve performance from the National Performance Review (NPR) after several key issues were discovered within the organization. Although these issues – which included budgetary overruns, scheduling lapses and missed deadlines – have been plaguing organizations in the public and private sectors for decades, the Census Bureau knew it needed to be proactive to ensure the success of its programs. Concurrently, the organization was preparing for its massive 2000 Census – the largest peacetime mobilization in our nation's history. More than 800,000 temporary employees were to be hired and early estimates concluded that the endeavor would cost $4-6 billion dollars. In project management terms, that was one big project.

"Early on, we recognized that in order to overcome the challenges of declining public participation, hard-to-count populations and the declining ability of the federal government to attract IT professionals, we would have to create numerous private- and public-sector partnerships," says Nancy Potok, Principal Associate Director and Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Census Bureau during that period.

ESI and the Census Bureau: A Project Management Team Effort
One partnership that proved to be extremely beneficial for the Census Bureau was with ESI International, the industry leader in project management training.

Initially, ESI met with members of the Census Bureau to better understand the specific type of training the organization needed to succeed. According to Potok, this individual attention and flexible attitude was the key element to the eventual success of the partnership. "ESI was really willing to work with us," says Potok. "They were able to come in and develop a training program specifically for the Census Bureau based upon successful programs they'd established for other organizations."

From ESI's vast curriculum, a series of courses was chosen for the organization's training program that would lead to a Master's Certificate in Project Management for participants. They included Managing Projects; Project Leadership, Management and Communication; Scheduling and Cost Control; Risk Management; and Project Management Applications. Also, ESI customized aspects of two courses specifically for Census Bureau employees - Quality for Project Managers and Project Management Applications.

By developing a program specifically for the Census Bureau, ESI was able to ensure that the skills and practices learned would be able to be adapted and applied to the real-life projects that the organization was dealing with every day.

In order to make training more convenient for employees, the program was designed to enable employees to take classes on site. On-site training is an option that ESI offers which sends expert instructors directly to the client's site to deliver courses, allowing employees to train in their own environment.

The Census Bureau embraced the training with enthusiasm and commitment, making them a perfect training match for ESI. Not only was the Census Bureau willing to invest the resources necessary to make the program a success, it also developed work systems such as requiring employees to attend courses, monitoring progress and putting supervisors and project team members through a customized version of the program.

Additionally, to further enhance its commitment to the education of its employees, the Census Bureau created the Census Corporate University (CCU). Developed to address the academic components of the organization's training goals, the CCU manages the entire training effort by working with ESI to secure instructors, register participants, administer student records and help develop the appropriate curriculum.

To enter the ESI project management training program, Census Bureau employees are nominated by their supervisors to join training groups, or cohorts. Once in these cohorts, the employees move through the program together. "The cohort method promotes cross-organizational understanding, builds a strong project management network and encourages peer support for fellow cohort members," says Potok.

After completing the program, employees receive a Master's Certificate in Project Management from ESI and The George Washington University. This is a valuable, industry-recognized credential that demonstrates superior knowledge and a dedication to project management excellence. Since the Census Bureau began its training partnership with ESI, nearly 500 employees have received their master's certificates.

The 2000 Census and Beyond
With the help of its partners and strong project management, the 2000 Census was completed on time and under budget, and - more importantly - was an operational success. Project management has proven invaluable to the success of the Census Bureau's many other programs as well.

Since beginning the project management program, several key departments within the organization have reported measurable improvements. The Manufacturing and Construction Divisions reduced the time required to complete a new project from 13 months to just 8 months - a 40% time reduction. Similar successes occurred in the Foreign Trade Division, who used project management techniques to complete its "Import Move to Puerto Rico" project, and with the installation of the Economic Directorate's System Management Server (SMS), which helped the organization resolve more than 50% of its helpdesk issues through SMS remote desktop.

Employee assessments, which question Census Bureau employees who complete the program, have consistently yielded very favorable results. Many employees have said that their project management training has given them the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish tasks that they would have been unable to accomplish prior to their training.

"A common vocabulary and work approach really helps people be more productive," says Potok. "We find we're getting projects done on time, with fewer mistakes because we're doing more planning up front. Therefore, we get a better product delivered on time and under budget."

In the future, the Census Bureau plans to continue its success with ESI as its training partner. New goals include promoting networking throughout the organization, and developing a mentoring program and criteria for Census Bureau best practices.