Project Management for PMI
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I am a practicing Project Manager certified by the Project Management Institute. I have been noticing that there are a number of commonly used project measures missing from M&A projects. For example, I have not been on a deal to date that uses measures like Earned Value, Schedule Performance Index, and Cost Performance Index that measures that efficiency of the project malmanagement. Wondering if there are good reasons for this in the domain of M&A?
I think the main reason would be to ensure that the post merger integration takes place within a set time and allocated resources instead of it dragging on endlessly for years after the merger. Furthermore, when it is addressed as a project with a dedicated team it ensures that the PMI activities do not divert from the attention of the company’s core activities such as sales and operations.
I agree that M&A projects could benefit from the use of PMI methods and techniques. It would likely be up to those within the PMI professional body who have opportunities to work on M&A projects to try to bring these best practices forward where possible and where the use those tools and methods make sense in the context of the project.
One of the important concepts in Project Management is the MCC (Mechanical Completion Certificate), and we in the M&A department have capitalized on such by introducing what is known as the Statement of Closure (SoC). This crucial document will be developed at the end of the deal cycled, and is considered as a counter document for the Statement of Purpose (SoP) which outlined the intend of any deal. The introduction of such concept is important to preserve the various elements of the deal (especially during execution), list down the deliverables & highlight any deviations, if any, from the originally intended corporate transaction endeavor.
I have noticed, in the M&A that I’ve been part of, that the rapid nature of the due diligence doesn’t allow for these common project performance measures. It instead becomes a legal checklist of needed activities to make a decision. If a deal is done the integration program does allow for such measurements and I believe is assumed that KPI’s, etc… are built into the program.
PMI is a critical phase in the M&A process and the key areas from my point of view to focus on are:
1) Integration Strategy and Planning: Develop a clear integration strategy that aligns with the overall objectives of the merger.
2) Cultural Integration: Understand the cultural differences between the merging companies and develop a plan to integrate and align their cultures.
3) Organizational Structure and Governance: Determine the optimal organizational structure for the merged entity
4) Systems and Processes Integration: Evaluate the existing systems and processes of both companies and integrate them where necessary
5) Communication and Change Management: Develop a comprehensive communication plan to keep employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders
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