quantmleap

It took me some considerable time to realize that there are very few circumstances (which I can’t quite recall at the moment) where an objective view could be substantiated one way or another. There are quite a few excellent project management related bloggers out there, some I enjoy reading immensely; some I read knowing that their views will cause me a mild level of aggravation. The common thing I find across all these blogs is that in the main they haven’t got much in common as they all represent a particular set of circumstances, unique to the author’s environment.

Let me try and explain.

As project managers we all strive to do the ‘right thing’. The question any scientifically minded person is bound to ask would be what does the ‘right thing’ actually mean? There are number of Project Management related disciplines and guides (e.g. PMBOK, PRINCE) that attempt to define what the ‘right thing’ is. These ‘guides’ purport to provide a generic prescription detailing the type of things one ought to be doing in order to achieve a successful project delivery.

Quite a few project management bloggers attempt, in their regular blogs, to encourage the rest of us to execute the guidelines in the best possible way. Increase the effectiveness of our communication, implement earned value management, introduce better risk management processes, etc. Some bloggers go as far as suggesting (for example) that without the implementation of an effective earned value management in your project you risk blindly leading your project into unknown schedule and cost results. Similarly, if you don’t execute monte carlo simulation your planned schedule and cost are unreliable and useless.

The truth of the matter is that although no two project managers operate in a similar environment; in the main it should be possible to distinguish between project managers who operate in a mature project management environment and those who don’t. Those who operate in a mature pm environment are right in their drive to stress the importance of thoroughly utilizing high end project management processes (EVM, Monte Carlo, etc). For those operating in an immature project management environment, such calls are (1) irrelevant and (2) could be demoralizing as they serve as a reminder to areas of project management performance not currently in an implementable state.

I haven’t got any credible statistics to justify what I’m about to say, and would be glad to be proven otherwise. I suspect that the majority (in fact the large majority) of project managers operate in sub optimal environments where key organizational processes required to implement the ‘right thing’ are simply not there. My view is that more blogging space should be allocated to supporting these project managers, than writing up posts for those operating at the upper end of the maturity scale.

Our challenge is how to assist those project managers operating at the lower end of the maturity scale with practical, implementable, down to earth advice of how to achieve the best they can under the circumstances they’re in without preaching to them about their obligation to achieve a ‘right thing’ that we all know is simply tot possible to do.

Related posts:

1. Environmental project management
2. The Art of Project Management
3. Project Management – Technique or Discipline?
4. Accountability vs Responsibility in Project Management
5. Veni Vidi Vici is Not a Substitute For a Real Plan