I was talking with a group of engineer project managers recently who work on multi-million dollar projects, and explained to them how a WBS and Activity list is constructed. They were amazed and excited about how they could use these techniques in their projects. But I was even more amazed and wondered how they managed their projects without these pivotal tools.
Next I asked them how they valued the work that they had completed to date, they responded that they estimated the percentage constructed against what they had planned. I pointed out that percentage of the product completed does reflect how they are tracking against time and cost. And when I asked them how they made predications about the future performance of the project, they admitted that it was just a guess. They had never heard of EVT (Earned Value Technique) yet without it they may as well have been “managing” their projects by Ouija Board.
The main problem we face as Project Managers is that many (most?) employers don’t understand what Project Management is – a profession for which one is trained and utilises a set of tools and techniques – and consequently they don’t understand what a Project Manager is. All too often the “project manager” is really just an expert in the product of the project e.g. an engineer, systems analyst and so on. Of course that person can solve problems with the Product of the project, but without the training they are often flying blind in terms of the project itself. Before long the quality may be quite good, because they have been closely involved with it, but the time and budget are hopelessly over, and they’ve little idea of what the future holds, let alone how to correct it. At this stage management often has to pour more resources and funds into a “black hole”, and it’s Project Management that gets the blame.
Wherever I go I talk about the profession of Project Management, and I advise employers to choose certified PMs for the job. One day the message will sink in, but in the meantime we owe it to our profession, our employers or clients, and to ourselves to use all the tools or our profession that have been proven for decades.
