The New Normal

  Career Development   Governance   Leadership   New Practitioners   ProjectsAtWork  

What constitutes a successful project? Should it be defined by budget and schedule, or by the extent to which the outcome adds real business value? Until the project management profession and its standards evolve to a more balanced “art and science” approach, success criteria will be misaligned with real business needs.

In the economic crisis, organizations are being forced to adapt to what is often referred to as the “New Normal” in order to stay competitive. The New Normal involves greater unpredictability, a disappearance of the conventional economic cycles, and a growing tendency to outsource work both internationally and in domestic markets, to take advantage of lower costs and a wider pool of expertise. In response to these changes, organizations are streamlining processes and placing greater emphasis on achieving value and cost effectiveness from their initiatives. This begs the question: is the project management profession sufficiently prepared to adapt to the New Normal?

The answer, in my opinion, is “no." Project management training and published standards such as PMBOK are still heavily focused on the tools and techniques needed to develop and implement a project in the conventional linear way, but this approach is out of line with the requirements of the New Normal.The more volatile external environment in which businesses now …

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