The Four Seasons of Project Management (Part 1)

  Governance   Work Breakdown Structures (WBS)  

The classical definition of project management and approaches to project management suggest a detail-oriented, process-centric approach to the profession. I would submit however, that all project managers are not created equal. I've observed four distinct governing characteristics in project managers:

• The Planner: Focuses on the process of managing a project
• The Expeditor/Coordinator: Focuses on maintaining the pace of project information flows
• The Analyst: Focuses on the product being delivered
• The Leader/Manager: Focuses on the people involved in a project

The Planner: Focus on the Process

This project manager, follows a classical engineering approach to the profession, and would be found drawing up detailed project plans, defining work calendars, activity codes, assigning activity codes and resource allocations at the minutiae, using earned value management for risk assessment and control, and managing to pre-planned and almost-scripted routines. There is an air of "Roberts Rules of Order" in this PM's meetings, and almost predictable routine to how information flows within project teams. There is a focus on directly managing specific tasks, and supporting activities to the tasks.

This management style is rooted in formal engineering practices, with a focus on data and process. This style is …

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