Within only five months of its establishment, software development company DVT’s new project management division has already provided the company with additional synergies, boosting not only its business but also client satisfaction.
Kevin Naicker, HOD: project management division, says, “In our business there are many role players and skills required to deliver a successful project. Project management is the skillset that brings it all together. At DVT, we have seen project management become a growing demand from our customers.”
Naicker’s own background in IT and software development project management made him the obvious choice to head up the division, in collaboration with DVT’s executive management team led by Jaco van der Merwe, MD, DVT Gauteng. The collaborative approach has allowed the company to gain synergies through this new division, Naicker says.
DVT provides a range of IT and software development skills ranging from specific professional services consultants or a combination of team skills, to produce tangible business outcomes for its clients through hands-on teams.
“DVT project management does not use a traditional sales model, but instead develops client relationships through an intricate understanding of markets and domain segments where we can add value.
“We employ project managers who understand problems very quickly, engage clients very effectively and deliver reliably. It requires a lot of discipline and maturity. This means our team is comprised of highly experienced, skilled individuals with sound project management experience and extensive domain knowledge, who require no micro-management to perform at their best.”
The division maintains a spectrum of professionals in project administration, programme administration, project management and programme management.
“This provides clients with many options to drive project management or supporting existing project management structures within their organisations,” Naicker says.
DVT supports staff through training and mentorship programmes to maximize staff retention. DVT project management tailors and adapts specific project management methodologies or best practices that work best for the client, given changing project and environmental conditions.
“We adapt to the client, not the client to us,” says Naicker, “We can work within any framework, whether it be PMBOK, Prince2, Agile, Waterfall, RUP, prototyping, or any project management approach.”
“Our clients have high maturity levels when it comes to project management. However, they benefit from dynamic resourcing for specific peaks in project and program demands”.
“DVT’s biggest strength is that we constantly maintain a pipeline of highly skilled and highly available resources looking for new challenges. We have refined the science of sourcing, identifying, matching and presenting clients with quick, efficient and consistent service,” Naicker explains.
He equates the role of project management to that of a top chef. “We know the recipes, methods and ingredients but leave individual creativity for innovation. Every organisation has a problem to solve and project management is one of the best ways to solve organisational problems. Like top chefs, if we are given the space to deliver the outcome, we will assemble the right ingredients and fine-tune techniques to produce a signature dish.”