Apenko S.N. The innovative technology of formation and evaluation of behavioral competencies in project management

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Поточна версія на 07:22, 25 жовтня 2013

   At the regional and international labor markets the demand for project management professionals clearly defined and increasing every year. The response on the part of institutions of higher education became the insertion in the learning process of educational programs for the training of specialists in the field of project management. Thus, in the Omsk FM Dostoevsky State University's "Innovation and Project Management" department implemented the Baccalaureate "Project Management" Profile. This new specialization for Russian enterprises requires appropriate innovative technologies for students training and assessment of their level of preparedness for professional work. The accumulated experience of the department in this area of educational activities based on competent approach and analysis of the structure of the demand of enterprises and organizations, their need for significant professional qualifications of "Project Management" Profile graduates.

   Together with professional competencies of project management specialists distinguish competencies modules associated mainly with the required skills and knowledge of the processes and techniques of project management (tool or process competence), and competencies expressed in a set of personality traits, motivation and behavior models of project management specialists (behavioral competencies). In this case, the relevance of behavioral competencies is growing every year, due to higher levels of complexity, unpredictability, dynamic project environment and, therefore, the dependence of the success of projects in the environment on the abilities and behavioral skills of professionals. At present, it’s not enough to know and skillfully implement standard project management processes. Become important behavioral competencies such as the ability to select a team and work in a team, leadership abilities, skills of crisis management projects, the ability to mediate in the implementation of project roles, skills to evaluate, negotiate and form stakeholders’ interests and many others.

   Project management education involves the creation and evaluation as tools and behavioral competencies. But if the development of instrumental competence can be based on the classical methods of training, the formation of behavioral competence is impossible without pay attention innovative educational technologies. Here is the experience of the "Innovation and Project Management" Department in the implementation of several new for the Russian higher education technology. First, however, let us turn to the analysis of the most sought-after skills of project management specialists, the content of which determines the choice of the method of their formation and evaluation.

   There is a set of behavioral competencies, which are a significant role in the success of projects proved the international practice of project management. At the same time, in different regions shows the differing needs of these competencies. As far as those claimed or other competence depends on many factors of the project environment. It is therefore important to study the structure of regional needs within the skill of project management in order to develop sound policies for training of these professionals, offers programs at the regional level, the development of project managers with the required competencies.

   In this regard, the "Innovation and project management" Department of the economic faculty of the Omsk FM Dostoevsky State University conducted a study to examine relevant to the regional market competencies of project management specialists. The study involved 38 enterprises and organizations of Omsk, applying the methodology and project implementation at different levels of development. According to one method of expert survey was conducted in 2012, and then repeated the survey in 2013.

   The competence of some of their generalizations based on national requirements for skilled project managers, developed by the Russian Association of Project Management "SOVNET" based on standards of the European Project Management Association - IPMA [1]. A set of these competences is currently considered relevant to the assessment of problem solving, certification, training of project managers.

   As can be seen from Table 1, the representatives of Omsk enterprises realize the importance of many behavioral competencies. Experts see the project manager as a specialist who can effectively lead and show leadership involved and motivated by the project activity, reliable, result-oriented, and able to work in a team and coordinate the interests and solve the problem.

Table 1

<p align=justify>   Understanding the structure of demand in the practice of behavioral competencies helps to choose the appropriate methods for their formation and evaluation. In this case, we focus on the methods that are successfully used by leading companies and which are still innovative to high school. In particular, to meet the challenges of development and diagnostic skills of students during practical classes incorporate the assessment center technology.

   Assessment center technology is realized with the help of several stages. We represent each of them allowing for the assessment of behavioral competencies in project management. The first step is to choose the competence to be assessed. A teacher chooses in accordance with the content of their discipline. For example, in the discipline of "Managing the project team" evaluated such competence as: the ability to select the style of leadership behavior, adequate situation; possession of different resources of power and influence, the ability to establish effective communication and influence decision-making, etc. In the discipline of "Conflict Management in the project" developed and evaluated such competence as the ability to manage conflicts and crises, coordinating the interests and skills of negotiation, elimination of tension and stress.

   The second stage is selected scale on which to be measured competence. Can be used scale, denoted by the numbers "0", "1", "2", "3" or the letters "A", "B", "C», «D». Each letter or number corresponds to a level of competence. An example is shown in Table 2. The fourth level of competence (figure 3) the students did not show. In most cases, there appears a second layer (figure 1), which provides further development of competence. But in the development of discipline and competence at the undergraduate student must go to the stable level of manifestation (figure 2).

Table 2

   In the fourth stage, the evaluation criteria. For the proficiency test must ask yourself certain limits, for the psychological test, you can take advantage of already proposed. As for the case studies and role-playing games, in their application must first determine the behavioral indicators (level meters display competence in the behavior), and then determine the intervals of values to be assigned points depending on how many indicators received.

   The fifth stage is an indicative list of questions for the interview after the job. It is a tool of "feedback" on the results of the test.

   The sixth stage involves the preparation of instructions to observers and lead, their selection and training. Observers are the students specially prepared for this role. And the last step, the seventh held assessment center himself.

   Here is an example of another educational technology based on the use of this innovative method of formation and evaluation of behavioral competencies, as credit-quiz.

   Credit -quiz as a method can be performed in a variety of formats, depending on the degree of teachers creativity, developers and features of the student audience. One option - the game "Tic-Tac-Toe".

   For its organization must have count (3x3), consisting of nine cells A4, each of which corresponds to the job. Two teams of "X" and "0" on the line, cells, and both perform the task. In the corresponding cell is placed card of team that won the competition "X" and "0". At the end of the game is up, and the winner is the team which has more cards on the scoreboard.

   As a competitive tasks, you can use:

• role-playing games, compiled on the basis of the real situations encountered in the work of the project management expert;
• cases, based on the project managers practice data;
• task for visualization (eg, paint and come up with a team motto of the project);
• writing answers to common objections of the project stakeholders and others

   This method of evaluation in addition to assessing the level of availability of behavioral competencies to determine the degree of mastery of the material covered during the development of disciplines. Game format allows in an unusual way to consolidate the knowledge and get feedback.

   Thus, the requirement for employers to availability and a high degree of development of behavioral competencies of the graduates of the "Project Management" profile makes urgent to find innovative methods and technologies for the formation and evaluation of these competencies. These methods can be based on the existing methods of diagnosis and competencies developed in businesses and organizations. However, they require their adaptation to the characteristics of the educational programs of universities.

1. Project Management: The Basics of professional knowledge, national requirements for the competence of experts. Moscow: JSC "Design Practice", 2010 - 256 p.