The Best Practices Are the Ones You Borrow
Following 20 years at a large Canadian telecommunications firm, Bruce established the project management consulting firm Solutions Management Inc (SMI). Since 1999, he has provided contract project/program management services, been a source for project management support personnel and created/delivered courses to over 7,000 participants in Canada, the United States and England.
When I began managing projects, there was very little discussion about methodologies. The expectation was simple: deliver the project. If it finished on time, met the client's expectations, and stayed reasonably close to budget, people considered it successful.
Over time, I watched project management become much more disciplined. Organizations quite rightly wanted greater consistency. Project management offices became common, certification gained momentum, and many organizations encouraged project managers to follow structured methodologies (thank you, PMBOK® Guide). That structure brought discipline to projects and, in many cases, significantly improved the way organizations delivered change.
Like many project managers of my generation, I embraced that evolution. My employer sponsored both my project management education and my PMP certification in exchange for a commitment to remain with the organization and help formalize project management within the department. It was an investment in both the individual and the profession.
Over the years, I came to appreciate the value of a consistent approach. Scope management became more rigorous, schedules became more structured, risks were identified earlier, and documentation helped teams communicate more effectively. There was comfort in knowing that projects were following a proven framework rather than relying …
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"Humanity has advanced, when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious and immature." - Tom Robbins |
