GWU PMSA

Student Interview

James Allan Kraft, MBA, BA, PMP

James is the owner of James Kraft Consulting, a firm that provides project management and business analysis to the Canadian Defence sector. He specializes in Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance and Earth Observation project development and business analysis. He holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Ottawa with a concentration in international business and studied psychology and economics as an undergrad at the University of Manitoba and the University of Victoria. He is currently completing his Master of Science in Project Management degree at George Washington. Check out his complete bio and company website.

Sarangi caught up with him to ask a few questions:

First, tell us a little about your company.
James Kraft Consulting Inc is a small consulting firm that focuses on providing business analysis and project management services to customers in the defence and security sector I am the president of the company, senior business analysis consultant and senior project management consultant

So what prompted you to start your own business?
I got started consulting as an extension of my military career. At the end of my military career, I was working in project management and when I started JKC, my first contracts came through connections I had developed with other officers running military project. With low overhead (home office) and a military pension to fall back on, there was low risk of failure due to cash flow shortages. As it turned out, I have never had a negative cashflow month since starting the business in 2003

How did you acquire partners for JKC?
Regarding partners… originally, I worked alone. After about 1 year, I developed relationships with other consultants and started bidding on contracts in groups. I found partners who were (1) friends, (2) ex-colleagues who left the military subsequent to me, (3) people I met at industry networking events and (4) people I met working on projects. Additionally, I developed relationships with medium and large business consulting firms in the defense and security
industry and used them to take advantage of their procurement management capabilities. There are two business models I use with these larger companies:

1. JKC finds a client/project and finds a larger consulting firm to do the bid and… the larger consulting firm then subcontracts the work through to JKC,
2. They find a client/project for which JKC would be a good fit and then sub-contracts JKC to do it.

In the case of 1, JKC gets a higher percentage of the fees than in the case of 2.

How long have you been in project management?
13 years

Do you have your PMP?
I have been PMP certified since 2003.

You already have an MBA. Why did you decide to pursue an MSPM too?
While the MBA has been an important qualification and skill set that I use in supporting my business consulting clients, I have found that I need specific project knowledge to help me manage difficult projects, especially those in the research and development field. So, I decided to pursue the MSPM for three reasons:

1. To improve my ability to support my customers’ needs by providing them with more knowledge in planning and executing complex projects, particularly for my clients involved with research and development where projects tend to have higher levels of risk.
2. To gain personal knowledge growth
3. To provide more credibility and marketability to my company’s offer.

Why did you choose GW?
I decided to apply for the program because GWU has an excellent internationally recognized project management education and training program and GW is the only school that I found that had a Master’s degree with a “science” designation.

How much longer do you have in the MSPM program?
I started in August 2009 and as of January 2010 I will have 27 credits remaining.

Are you affiliated with any professional associations?
Project Management Institute and the Canadian Defence and Security Industry Association (CADSIA)

What are your professional goals?
To obtain the MSPM diploma, get involved in more complex projects, and get involved in higher profile projects and business analysis contracts through my company

In your opinion what are the challenges/ similarities in the field of Project Management between the US and Canada?
I don’t have much experience with project management in the US, although my sense is that the two countries have similar challenges (limited funding, tight schedules, communication between stakeholders, and poorly defined scope). Many of the project management challenges that I have heard my American classmates talking about are the same ones that I experience on a day to day basis working with my Canadian clients.

How do you unwind or deal with stress?
In the winter I ski, in the summer I canoe and swim, in the spring and fall I go hiking. On occasion I deal with stress by going on vacation to an interesting destination.

What do you do when you’re not at work or school?
Not much. I work around the house and cottage/chalet, skiing, boating, reading. I watch TV with my family.