Project management: running your own little 'business'
What is project management and what does it entail? Mesiniaga Bhd project manager
Cheah Kam Yen talks about his work and what motivates him to stay in this particular line.
In a nutshell, Cheah described his work scope as 'ensuring proper project execution, tracking project progress, and that everything goes according to plan with good quality.' This position normally only caters to the more experienced employees of a firm.
According to Cheah, some of the projects his team is running currently include developing a business intelligence software for an insurance company and deploying an enterprise-wide e-mail solution for one of the biggest airline providers.
His background
Cheah said he was an accounting student, but was persuaded to study computing early on in his career. Later, he managed to develop an efficient computerised payroll system for one of his former companies and was subsequently promoted to become a production planner. The experience as a production planner has provided him a good foundation on project planning and management.
He also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate from the Project Management Institute. Cheah came into Mesiniaga when he saw one of the company's subsidiaries putting up a notice in JobStreet for a project manager (PM) vacancy. He applied for the post and was initially placed as one of the members of the pioneer team who set up the project management office for one of the biggest marine ports in Malaysia located in Johor.
'I was actually one of the first PMs with a PMP to be hired by Mesiniaga. They needed someone who is familiar with the methodology of project management at that time,' Cheah recalled.
The good and bad bits of the job
Cheah thinks that working as a PM with Mesiniaga has given him abundant exposure and many opportunities to learn new things. His job has also allowed him to meet people and develop interpersonal skills, something which he said 'is not taught in school'.
The challenging part of the job comes when he has to meet deadlines, Cheah informed, as well as dealing with customers' high expectations most of the time. He would also need to work weekends occasionally, especially when Mesiniaga has tendered a proposal to take up a project from a potential customer.
What are the characteristics, skills and qualifications needed?
Cheah noted that the PM position is most of the time
not for fresh graduates who are just entering a company. He said, 'The PMP certification is useful in this field, but you will need four years of relevant working experience before you are allowed to sit for the PMP exam.'
If someone is in a hurry to enter the project management career, Cheah revealed that the alternative would be to gain a year of experience and then proceed to take the CAPM (Certified Associate in Project Management by PMI) or Project+ Certification by CompTIA (Computer Technology Industry Association).
'However you see it, experience is needed. We believe that the PM profession could be licensed by the government soon, similar to the accountant profession, though nothing is concrete at the moment,' he commented.
To gain relevant experience, Cheah said graduates could aim for the systems analyst position, where they will take on several roles similar to that of a PM. To him, being a systems analyst or a PM could be likened to running a 'small business of your own.'
'Of course, firstly, you will need to have positive thinking and a liking for people. Then you can develop your communication skills later. Most tech people find it easier to work with machines than with other people! Financial knowledge and learning how to schedule is important too,' he said.
Why Mesiniaga?
'Mesiniaga has a very open culture, where an employee's view on things is always considered. You are free to voice out anything here and I believe this is the culture I love to work in,' Cheah added.
'Also, I think the people here in general are fun to work with!' he said.
© GTI Specialist Publishers. Reproduced with permission.
