There is power in making sure everyone on a project sees the big picture. When performers know how what they are doing fits into the overall project plan and where the project fits in the overall strategy of an organization they can better perform their parts.

As in any profession, there are the great, the good, the bad and the ugly.  When we have PMs who in the bad and ugly category, we can often find the cause of their deficiencies in the “system of operations.”  The quality gurus tell us that 15% of defects are caused by personal error and 85% are caused by systemic deficiencies.  In the case of the deficient PM or BA the most prevalent causes seem to be unclear role and responsibility understandings and lack of training and support. This is exacerbated by ego issues – people not owning up to the fact that their skills are deficient or that they have a different understanding of their role than those around them.

Project managers, to be effective, must be competent change managers.  Often, projects to introduce new or changed products or processes or to put on an event are planned without appropriately considering the change that the project result will cause in its environment.  Let’s discuss change management (as opposed to the control of changes that occur in scope and other aspects of the project) and see where it fits in the context of project management.

There have been some interesting and useful conversations on last month’s post. 

I found one quite provocative.  The person said that there were “no troubled projects – only highly challenged ones”; and that using the term “troubled” with the team was a no–no because it would not be good for morale.