WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Project Management Institute (PMI), one of the world’s largest not-for-profit membership associations for the project management profession, testified last week before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency. The testimony highlighted lessons learned in PMI’s latest research on how the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its programs.
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security faces unique challenges due to the complexity of its variables, the high-risk nature of its initiatives and the high-profile ramifications of its outcomes,” said Craig Killough, vice president of organization markets for PMI. “Improving the execution of its programs can help DHS reduce errors; mitigate waste, fraud and abuse; and ensure greater efficiency in its ongoing mission to protect American citizens from foreign and domestic security threats.”
Killough called for the federal government to adopt the characteristics of high-performing organizations by creating a job classification for all project and program managers, expanding current IT project and program management career paths government wide, and utilizing program management standards for developing standard practices and processes. He cited PMI’s 2013 Pulse of the ProfessionTM report, which finds that high-performing organizations—those with 80 percent of projects meeting original goals and business intent—risk 14 times less than low-performing organizations due to the adoption of best practices and standards in project and program management.
“Organizations and governmental bodies that use consistently applied program management standards and qualified program managers are more successful than organizations that do not,” Killough said. “Those that perform poorly in executing their programs unnecessarily expose themselves to significantly higher risk. The entire government would benefit from a renewed focus on broad adoption of program management standards, and the creation of a job classification and defined career path for program managers.”
Killough also recognized areas where government agencies are moving in the right direction. He commended the Department of Homeland Security’s Program Accountability and Risk Management (PARM) Office for its role in initiating key improvements to DHS program management practices, adding that PARM’s ongoing efforts could be bolstered by legislation.
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) invited Killough to testify on behalf of PMI before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Oversight and Management Efficiency on 26 April 2013 at a hearing entitled “Cutting DHS Duplication and Wasteful Spending: Implementing Private Sector Best Practices and Watchdog Recommendations.”
About Project Management Institute (PMI)
PMI is one of the world’s largest not-for-profit membership associations for the project management profession. Our professional resources and research empower more than 700,000 members, certification and credential holders and volunteers in nearly every country in the world to enhance their careers, improve their organizations’ success and further mature the profession.
PMI’s worldwide advocacy for project management is reinforced by our globally recognized standards and certification program, extensive academic and market research programs, chapters and communities of practice and professional development opportunities. Learn more at www.PMI.org.
