Frequently Asked Questions
Take a moment to browse through the comprehensive list of questions and answers. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, feel free to reach out – our dedicated team will be more than happy to assist you.
Approach
Maven (pronounced “mey-vuhn”) is another word for specialist. The Mavendog name is inspired by one of our past clients, who called every challenged initiative he had a “dog of a project”, and he would call on us to help recover and deliver it. The “-dog” suffix stuck, and the MAVENDOG name was born. It also captures the company’s more gritty nature, whether referring to our team (we call ourselves “Mavendogs”), or the symbolic “dog” of a challenge we are asked to tame.
Mavendog is a collection of independent project management professionals. We therefore offer clients a unique conduit to the American independent economy. The model is an alternative to W2 hires, traditional consulting firms, and contingent labor staffing. Of the 165 million workers in the civilian workforce, 58 million are independent workers. Of that number, an estimated 10 million are consulting and knowledge workers. Nevertheless, many companies do not have a formal talent strategy for this growing base of independent professionals.
If you want to sustain relevance in the marketplace, then you need to understand what it takes to deliver projects. Otherwise, strategic goals are destined for stagnation, dilution, or outright failure. To be truly great at project delivery, you have to specialize in it. Our delivery specialists can:
– Define a project/application portfolio
– Lead complex, challenged, and unique projects
– Get failing projects back on track
– Ensure proper change enablement and change management
– Gauge project ROI and its impact on the marketplace
– Provide organizational and leadership development
Veterans are a big part of the Mavendog consultant-recruiting model. Whether a Veteran has just left the Military; has been out for a while; or is still serving through the Guard or Reserve, he or she is a natural fit with the Mavendog culture. We have been awarded by the Department of Defense for this approach and policy of going above-and-beyond for our Guard and Reservist employees. We also are a Department of Defense Skillbridge employer.
Contracting firms are typically vehicles for companies to address large, generalized, resourcing needs using a “contingent” labor pool. They’re more common to large scale, Fortune 500 companies. Contracting firms offer more generic, high volume staffing models (offshoring; outsourcing; managed services). Mavendog, on the other hand, is a consultative, statement of work-based model for clients needing expert project management help, usually for a complex project.
We seek out experts in project management delivery and leadership — namely, portfolio, program, project, and change management talent. Our aim is to be the #1 source of project management delivery leaders.
Scenarios
Not at all. Project work doesn’t stop when the company is in a state of flux. In fact, the number and complexity of projects increases at that time, usually with the intent of re-establishing order, productivity, and company direction. Such an environment — chaos, disruption, and constant change — is where Mavendog thrives.
Our goal is to be the best at delivering whatever it is you want to accomplish. From a strategic sense, we provide portfolio strategists to help you break down your goals into component programs and projects. We then help you outline, prioritize, and pkab the work across a time horizon.
Yes. Project Management is a leadership challenge from both a task AND a people/behavior standpoint. Often we deal with projects that are challenged because they don’t have the support of their people; they face unmanaged conflict; or their leaders are inexperienced or ill-equipped. Our goal is to strengthen both the organization and project environment by promoting new skills and best practices.
Absolutely. Mavendog is great for smaller companies. Facing critical projects with rapid time-to-market dependencies, these companies often do not have financial flexibility to bring in top project talent. And as a result, they often gamble on “cheaper” staffing alternatives (if they can afford them at all). But Mavendog works with these small and mid-market companies to figure out a way to provide them the support they need.
Mavendog is perfect for clients operating without a Project Management Office (PMO) or with only a young and immature one. Every company starts with limited project and change management capabilities. Thus, they rely on the individual heroics of select personnel. And that is fine as long as you have project leaders who know what they are doing.
If you have a failing project, then it requires more than a traditional project manager. Project failures require someone with the experience, precision, discipline, and fortitude to resolve the crisis. Project delivery environments today are complex and risky, and failure is common. It is why Mavendog is provides recovery-specific specialists to turn around failing projects.
Misconceptions
There is a fundamental misunderstanding by many organizations about what project management is supposed to be and how to use it properly. It can be perceived as ancillary, bureaucratic service (administrative; coordinative; and cheap). However, just as technical specialization is now the norm, project and change management are now considered specialty fields. They require high degrees of training, experience and political savvy.
They may be cheaper up front…. But in the long run, you get what you pay for, and you may end up paying more. The common complaint is that clients have to cycle through multiple contractors to find one who fits and won’t quit. But by then, budget and schedule could very well be blown. Contractors are meant to be inexpensive and interchangeable by design. But they’re not delivery specialists.It is important to note that Mavendog is not against the contractor/staffing model. But they are intended for general duties and tasks, not complex programs and projects.
Outside solution or product providers may be experts on their product and service. But they are NOT experts in project and change management. Over time many of these providers have stopped carrying project management staff altogether OR have delegated project oversight to account managers or a product engineer. The irony is that their projects are subject to massive cost and schedule overruns, quality compromises, or failure.
In many cases, full-time, in-house resources are perfectly capable. But they are not specialized or experience across a wide array of unique project types. For example, an in-house “project manager” could actually be:
– An administrative role with zero authority;
– A project coordinator or project expediter carrying a project manager title;
– A functional manager or department head covering project management duties;
– A hybrid role (e.g., having a PM cover analyst roles).
We do not intend to diminish those resources; they could very well be solid personnel. But they are general practitioners, not specialists. And for many project/change initiatives, that’s a huge risk. We highly advise you to be on the lookout for situations where your in-house delivery leadership is hampered by a gap in expertise and specialization.
Even within an established PMO, there are projects that are too urgent, sensitive, or irregular for traditional project management staff. Mavendog advocates using tactical specialists through our Project & Change Delivery practice area. PCD specialists have an expertise in unique project domains or situations (e.g., expedited projects; high risk initiatives; product and service deliveries that are new to the organization; project delivery during a time of company destabilization, such as divestitures, mergers, re-orgs; etc.).
Mavendog consultants are adept in all forms of delivery methodologies (e.g., Waterfall, Agile, Six Sigma DMAIC, etc.), carrying formal credentials and consultative experience, and in some cases, are formal trainers and professors teaching these concepts.
Our consultants can help clients deliver projects in whatever methodology is apropos to achieve an objective. We have also helped PMOs and project delivery teams transition to Hybrid Agile delivery models.