Process Destruction

Project Management is certainly rife with processes, regardless of the particular methodology to which you, or your organization, adhere.  Something like 44 processes in nine knowledge areas in the PMI Body of Knowledge, and 40 separate activities in seven processes in Prince2.

As organizations look for ways to be more efficient in delivery of products or services to market, every business process can (and should) come under scrutiny, and this includes the project management processes.  Process improvement is the accepted approach to extracting new efficiency from existing process.

I submit what is needed is process destruction.  While one could argue that is part of the improvement process, I believe a destructive approach sets a higher bar.  The improvement process allows retention, or tweaking, of “pet” processes – ones that keep control in place, provide perceived job security for a group or individual, or institutionalize risk and change aversion.

Taking a destructive approach should ask the tougher, more difficult questions regarding the efficacy of a process.  It should require business, financial, or regulatory proof to pass muster.  And when it comes to project management it should also answer the question “how does this increase speed to market?”  While it is understood there are quality considerations with any product or service, and being the first to market with a seriously flawed product is rarely successful, the rigor of the destructive process is no less valid or valuable.

As a function of business improvement, this process should be continual, not something taken of the shelf every fiscal year and given a cursory glance.  With the pace of innovation in today’s global markets, using the same processes from 2 or 5 or 10 years ago, and not putting them through the destructive process, is moving backwards, regardless of the industry or product.

So if you’re using the same project management process and haven’t asked the tough questions, there is only one question your leadership should be asking…

WHY?

The Inconvenient Project Manager

Most things in life that are difficult are in some way personally inconvenient.  It may be a small inconvenience like procrastinating over completing that landscaping project, or a significant life changing one like loss of a job.  These inconveniences force us to stretch ourselves in some way, break or alter an established routine, or view something we’ve long accepted with a new perspective.

So it is with project management.  The inconvenient aspects of project management make us uncomfortable, stressed, and may even put our credibility in jeopardy.  The obvious choices would be giving bad news to project sponsors, addressing team performance issues, and not having complete requirements.  Significant issues all, and inconvenient to be sure.

The good news is there are well established strategies to help us address these inconveniences.  There has been much written, many seminars given, and a plethora of easily accessed coaching and support to help us through.  That’s not to say it’s easy or they don’t offer an opportunity for growth.  Quite the contrary.

But what about the inconveniences that are more subtle, more difficult to identify, and are at least as impactful to our projects as the ones mentioned above.  These are the more personal kind.  Differences in communication ability, personal style, language barriers, and maybe the fact that someone on the team “rubs me the wrong way” come to mind.

Conventional wisdom would dictate that professionalism would address these inconveniences, and that is certainly a legitimate perspective. But it’s no where near the answer, because it implies we leave some of our humanness at the door.

A better answer is to be “purposefully inconvenient”.  Well what the heck does that mean?  If inconvenience, in this context, is accepted to mean things that offer or force growth, then it follows that being purposefully inconvenient would dictate we raise our personal self awareness and seek those opportunities.

In the end, addressing our preconceptions (being inconvenient), no matter the level, will make us better equipped to effectively manage the most significant challenge in any effort…the people.

I invite your perspective.