In the Eye of the Project Storm

  Change Management   ProjectsAtWork  

Storm chasers are professionals (or should be) who watch for tornados and hurricanes during the summer months in the southern and Midwestern United States. Their goal is to get close enough to a storm to photograph and video it without incurring any harm to themselves. Some do it for the thrill, while others chase storms for legitimate research purposes. Though most are trained and experienced in what they do, they can in no way control the direction the storm will take (without warning, storms can often veer off in a new direction). One way to view the situation is as a high-stakes ‘cat and mouse’ game, with the participants risking injury or even death if they get caught in the path of the storm. To mitigate the risks, storm chasers rely on inputs (such as seismic data and weather predictions), using modern technology and expert judgment for the planning and execution of their work.

What does this have to do with program and project management? Well, aside from the obvious dangers that storm chasers face, one could say that these professionals deal with a high degree of complexity and ambiguity, much like many project and program managers. There is another similarity to which we will draw a comparison, having to do with the internal structure of the storm. Inside the tornados/hurricanes, there is a calm environment known as the eye of the storm. As the program …

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