All organizations use projects as the way to translate strategies into actions and objectives into realities. Many companies are project-intensive – they live and breathe project management because they are in that kind of business, such as construction, aerospace, engineering design, engineer-procure-construct (EPC), general contractors, consulting, software, and so on. For them, organizing around projects is a natural way of life as almost all senior staff have “come up through the ranks”, and top management understands what it takes to be successful in project work. On the other hand are less project-intensive organizations such as food, retailing and textiles. But even such companies have projects, e.g., setting up a new distribution depot or a new plant. Even in public sector, it is effective project management that translates politicians’ visions of new roads, schools and hospitals into gleaming new constructions that improve everyday life.

Realization of objectives is not easy, though; especially in today’s increasingly complex and high-stake world – richer technology, distributed / global / outsourced workgroups, culture differences due to inorganic growth, cost pressures, new services and products, mass customization needs for demanding customers, compressed time-to-market, increasing market volumes and stricter regulatory requirements. Numerous studies and observations have shown that strong business growth or other ambitious endeavors frequently bring the following risks in deployment of strategies to manage the endeavors:

– Delays due to ineffective project planning, monitoring, coordination, risk-management and follow-through

– Poor realization of financial goals due to ineffective scope management and staff utilization / accountability

– Customer dissatisfaction due to lack of responsiveness, communications and stakeholder management

Thus, the key for most organizations to remain competitive in a high-growth and fast-changing environment is strong delivery capability made possible by uniform and effective processes, structure, and discipline of planning and monitoring initiatives that translate strategy into reality.

Project Management is a competency that leaders can use in their organizations to handle increasing complexity with higher success rates and acceptance, and lower uncertainty and costs. Following are just a few examples of the organizational inefficiencies that pose the above-mentioned risks, but can be effectively handled through use of the Project Management competency:

– Schedules managed in silos and dependencies are not integrated.

– Delays in one area not communicated to a dependent area, so resources not allocated efficiently.

– Schedules having short-term forecast range. Long-term planning at the activity-level non-existent.

– Schedules not identifying true critical paths and not including non-working time and defect estimates.

– Many communication channels informal, and therefore information not documented and communicated to all appropriate stakeholders in a timely manner.

– Responsibility for decision-making not clearly defined (decisions affecting shifting priorities or resources, changing dates, etc.).

– Lack of proactive risk identification and management.

– Inadequate reporting – lack of visibility / insight into the true status of the projects.

– Frequently forgotten or delayed activities and decisions

The art of managing projects is about having consistency in achieving stated objectives within limits of time, budget, and stakeholders’ satisfaction, by directing and coordinating human and material resources. Project Management is a way of life for enhanced collaboration, governance, execution-discipline, responsiveness, and alignment of organizational elements and procedures with features of products and operations. Project Management skills are quite different from technical design, engineering or construction skills usually associated with most projects, and cover aspects outside of the scope of these technical areas that have to be well managed, if the project objectives are to be met. Project Management also differs from traditional management in that it brings in cross-functional collaboration, governance, execution-discipline, responsiveness, and alignment of organizational elements and procedures with features of end-products of projects. It can help leaders bring in agility in innovation, growth and response to changes in the external environment.

Applying effective Project Management for deployment of strategy and goals can thus provide organizations the following advantages:

– Business advantage through timely achievement of goals, optimal resource utilization and information based decision making

– Competitive advantage through workforce energized by culture of execution and collaboration and customer satisfied by getting the “right” results reliably

Project Management can also bring in some tangible benefits for individuals at various levels in organizations. For example, through project management:

– Executives get accurate and timely information so that they can make sound business decisions and make course corrections quickly so they can maintain a competitive edge.

– People who execute understand their roles and responsibilities and how their work relates to the bigger picture. Minimization of conflicts and confusions through effective communications increases productivity and enthusiasm.

It can be concluded that project management as a management discipline, individual competency and organizational culture underpins much economic activity and is a critical source of multiple advantages. The specialized role of project management in bringing agility to organizations that want to innovate, whether it is for new products or new initiatives, cannot be ignored.

Let’s get straight to the point, project management by form filling is not an effective way of managing projects. These days many organisations and individual’s whole project management strategy revolves around becoming slaves to a methodology. Don’t get me wrong, there are many very good methodologies out there and they all have their part to play but it’s not the be-all and end-all of project management.

If you give a complete novice a set of project management templates and ask him to complete them does he suddenly become a fully-fledged project manager? Of course not, he would lack the people and interpersonal skills required to succeed for a start. So why is it that so many organisations think introducing a methodology will solve all their problems? In my experience there is no silver bullet solution, just solutions that help the project manager to do his job better.

My worst experiences have been with organisations that stick blindly to the methodology regardless of whether it adds value. “It says you fill in this form at this stage and we’re jolly well going to fill it in.” Then the form invariably gets filed away and never looked at again.

This leads to many methodologies being perceived as needlessly bureaucratic, which, when used appropriately they’re not. I’m a great advocate of starting projects well, spending time on the planning phase, defining the scope, assessing the risks and getting stakeholder buy-in. Here the typical project brief adds a great deal of value in terms of establishing clarity in the stakeholders minds as to what the project will and won’t deliver. There lies the important issue; can you demonstrate a clear benefit of having a particular document or process?

For organisations to move away from this needlessly bureaucratic project management obstacle course, they must first trust their project managers and make them fully accountable for the project outcome. The project manager must use his discretion, deciding on a project by project basis, what is and isn’t appropriate from any methodology they use. If any element of the methodology has no value then don’t do it but be prepared to backup your decision with a well thought out reason why.

Methodologies are a framework in which to work not a solution to project management. Spend time to find out what works for you and your organisation, discard what doesn’t and modify what’s left to better fulfil your needs. That way you will avoid adding unnecessary overhead to projects and having your preferred methodology dismissed as needlessly bureaucratic.

Here are some of the signs that may indicate your current methodology isn’t working:

• Customers complain about form filling
• Project managers do not follow the process
• Project management cost is disproportionate compared with the total cost of the project
• Completing all the documents and steps in the methodology is a key measure of success
• Following process is valued more highly than project success

This brings me to Project Management Offices. Setting up a Project Management Office seems to be very fashionable at the moment. Many organisations are struggling to define exactly what it is this office will do. In the worst cases I’ve seen, the Project Management Office is an autocratic policeman, whose only role seems to be to lie in wait for unsuspecting Project Managers and jump on them when they deviate from straight and narrow. In the best cases they assist Project Managers and teams by organising project data, providing statistical information and reducing the admin overhead.

Use your Project Management Office as a policeman and resentment will soon build up. Use it to proactively assist Project Managers and their teams and it will become a valuable and essential asset.

Here are some of the activities that should be undertaken by the Project Management Office:

• Compiling and publishing statistical information
• Providing decision support information for senior management
• Communicating policies and procedures
• Updating and maintaining templates
• Initial project set-up
• Project filing
• Maintaining best practice
• Training
• Quality assurance
• Recruiting staff
• Maintaining a skills inventory
• Timesheet administration

To return to the title of this report “avoiding the project management obstacle course,” organisations should ensure that project managers aren’t overburdened with process that doesn’t add value, just for the sake of adhering to a certain methodology. If your project managers are required to fill in forms, get them signed in triplicate and wait a month for approval to start a project, them you’re putting them through the project management obstacle course and preventing your organisation from becoming an effective project focussed enterprise.