Trouble on the Project Mgmt Front?

Project Headaches – More to Come

Check out the 1/1/2008 issue of Computerworld (“Projects Get More Troublesome”).

Computerworld does an annual Vital Signs survey of IT managers. The number one management challenge identified by respondents is now “Managing Projects”. This is up from its number three ranking last year.

What’s contributing to the increased project complexity? Answers provided in this article included:

-          increased globalization of projects

-          fewer silo projects and more enterprise-wide initiatives

-          more geographically distributed projects

-          fewer/no people within business units to help with project specifications

Michael Krigman’s blog will likely zero in on this issue some more.

If this stat that Computerworld reported is true, then this could represent:

-          a boon for systems integrators and other consultants

-          an opportunity for independent consultants, particularly those with international backgrounds and expertise

-          new  growth  for project and program management training organizations

Personally, I’m not expecting any major sea change. Project management woes in IT have never fully been solved or may not ever go away completely as IT projects are not just technical problems to be solved. IT projects are political, economic, personal, social, geographic, power, organizational and emotional matters (to name a few). It takes exceptional skill to manage one successfully because a great project manager is adept at numerous skills. They have a high emotional IQ, are empathetic, are technically savvy, motivate others, are fiscally savvy, navigate corporate politics and possess excess political capital that must be expended from time to time to make the project a success. It doesn’t matter if you are certified project manager if you lack all of those soft side skills, political power, etc. You have to have it all to win in the world of big project management.

Successful project management is not about ticking and tying time sheets and comparing them to project PERT charts. It takes years of apprenticeship and the appropriate personality to become really successful. Sadly, some of the greatest project managers I’ve met have had to expend all of their political power to make a huge project succeed only to have to leave their employer in the end as they’ve either burned a few too many bridges or have overdrawn their personal goodwill in the effort to get the project finished.

I hold great project managers in awe and for good reason. These people are part coach, movie director, politician, fund-raiser, technician, therapist, negotiator and accountant. How many disciplines can you claim?