Pmwj27 Oct2014 Dalcher Is It Time To Rethink Project Management Advances Series Article
Pmwj27 Oct2014 Dalcher Is It Time To Rethink Project Management Advances Series Article
Pmwj27 Oct2014 Dalcher Is It Time To Rethink Project Management Advances Series Article
On the evidence of the authors of the new Gower book Advances in Project Management:
Narrated Journeys in Unchartered Territory, there is a sea change coming. That change
will affect the way projects are perceived, lead and governed, particularly in the context
of the wider organization to which they belong; whether that is in the public, private or
not-for profit sectors.
Project management offers the discipline and framework required to help organisations
to transform their mainstream operations and service performance. It is viewed as a
way of organising for the future. Moreover, in an increasingly busy, stressful and
uncertain world it has become necessary to manage multiple projects successfully at the
same time.
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The Advances in Project Management series includes articles by authors of program and project
management books published by Gower in the UK. This month’s article is by Prof Darren Dalcher,
editor of the Gower Advances in Project Management series of books on new and emerging concepts
in PM. Darren is also the editor of the newly published book, Advances in Project Management:
Narrated Journeys in Unchartered Territory. For more on Gower project management, visit
http://www.gowerpublishing.com/default.aspx?page=2063.
Yet despite the growing interest, many organisations have struggled to apply the
traditional models of project management to their new projects in the global
environment. Anecdotal and evidence-based research confirms that projects continue to
fail at an alarming rate. A major part of the build-up to failure is often recognized as the
lack of adequate project management knowledge and experience.
There are many reasons why we need to refocus the discussion on improving the
management of projects: modern organisations feature flatter structures, new
technologies, rising complexity, greater collaboration and increasing interactions all
requiring greater responsiveness. We also need vision and direction to drive our efforts.
The world of projects has changed dramatically. The old models appear less relevant
and the dated tools seem less useful. Successful delivery in increasingly competitive and
global environments require us to align with organisational strategy, focus on
practitioners, and create the right environment to foster the skills and attitudes needed
to succeed at the grand challenges facing us.
We seem to live in a faster and more demanding world, characterised by rising levels of
uncertainty and ambiguity. Indeed, project management is increasingly called upon to
deliver in a world that is connected in complex new ways; where the so-called
‘unknown unknowns’ determine our context. Professor Eddie Obeng defines the new
world as a world that can change faster than you can learn. As we engage with an ever-
growing portion of this world, it becomes more difficult to satisfy all stakeholders whilst
delivering value and benefits in a new and unfamiliar context.
We increasingly talk about the new world and the new realities of the twenty-first
century. The new world offers many new challenges that we seem to encounter on a
more frequent basis: speed, uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity. Moreover, the new
world is increasingly characterised by limited attention, growing collaboration and
participation, new social media technologies and the expanding scope and influence of
projects. The challenges combined with the new characteristics point to a much-needed
departure from project management orthodoxy.
Success in the future would require better understanding of the context and deeper
engagement with the business. It will also require new ways of developing
professionals, making change work and guaranteeing value.
Bringing it together
Many of the articles in the book have emerged from the search to refining and
redefining the boundaries of project management. Articles offer new reflections on
developments that stretch contemporary understanding offering fresh insights, new
ways of thinking and novel perspectives.
The articles collated in this publication bring together many leading authorities on
topics that are increasingly relevant to the successful delivery and management of
projects. Topics such as sustainability, leadership, governance, programme
management, decision making, problem solving, psychology, messy problems, the role
of senior management and ethics are explored alongside more traditional aspects such
as risk, supply chains, earned value and performance measurement.
The main aims of the work are to reflect on the state of practice in the discipline; to offer
some fresh insights and thinking; to distil new knowledge; and, to provide a way of
sampling a range of ideas, perspectives and styles of writing from some of the
profession’s leading thinkers and practitioners.
Taken together the book offers both a unique distillation of ideas and ‘know how’ from a
wide range of authors on many topics that extend beyond the bodies and knowledge,
and an accessible introduction to further resources in these areas. As the range of topics
extends beyond those normally covered, it is likely that the book will identify new
perspectives that readers may not have considered, and thereby suggest additional
reading to augment the interests and concerns of practitioners and researchers.
Many issues and insights are highlighted throughout the contributions. A key theme that
emerges from the different discussions is the need to move from managing to leading.
Managing is the hallmark of a more certain and more control-oriented strategy, while
leadership points to a different and more varied skillset. Lack of control and a greater
reliance on a network of participants require a more organic approach that emphasises
influence, participation and collaboration. Gradual exploration can therefore be guided
by vision and purpose that can help in forming and confirming the direction of travel.
Success in the future would require better understanding of the context and deeper
engagement with the business. It will also imply an acute understanding of the values
and preferences of different, yet much wider circles of stakeholders communities,
possibly arranged in complex and interconnected ecologies. The set of concerns is likely
to encompass sustainability and survivability issues, extended time horizons and
considerations of wider communities of interest. The old tools and approaches that
characterise the pioneering mindset that shaped project management will require
adjusting to encompass new ways of balancing ethical, economic and environmental
considerations, and reflect a changing understanding of the economic mechanisms that
underpin engineering and development activities from a humanistic perspective.
Rosa Luxemburg observed that ‘those who do not move, do not notice their chains’.
Progress and change rely on identifying the gap and moving towards bridging it. H. G.
Wells pointed out that we should strive to welcome change and challenges, because
they are what helps us grow: “We need to constantly be challenging ourselves in order
to strengthen our character and increase our intelligence”. Thomas Edison
acknowledged that “restlessness is discontent – and discontent is the first necessity of
progress”.
This compilation offers the collated and narrated beginnings of a discussion on how to
achieve more with less and overcome some of the observed discontent related to
project work. As we become more ambitious, we will need to leverage our insights and
understanding and develop new ways of addressing the emerging challenges. In doing
so we may discover that sharing across boundaries and silos will enrich and refresh our
metaphors, tools, perspectives and values – so that they can support and underpin our
continuing journeys as we endeavour to learn to deal with change over time and begin
to develop new ways of reasoning about projects.
Editor’s note: Darren Dalcher is the editor of the series of books on Advances in
Project Management published by Gower in the UK and the editor of the newly
published book, Advances in Project Management: Narrated Journeys in
Unchartered Territory, published by Gower in 2014. Information about the book
can be found at http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781472429131
To see other works by Prof Darren Dalcher, visit his author showcase in the PM World
Library at http://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/darren-dalcher/.