What Does Professional Project Management Look Like? (Part 2)

 

By Lynda Bourne

In the first part of this two-part series, I looked at the diverse nature of projects and project management across different organizations. In this post, I’ll explore the concept of professionalism and how it applies to the practice of project management.

The Concept of a Profession

The term “profession” has a number of distinct attributes that have changed over time.

The starting point for being a professional is the fact you are paid for your work. The next element of professional relates to skill and pride in the quality of the work being produced. The concept of a profession evolved from a need to regulate the delivery of skilled services to the community. 

With the arrival of the concept of educated people undertaking a skilled role such as accounting or engineering, the idea of a professional institution made up of its members emerged. 

These institutions were created by their members to act as regulatory bodies for the profession they represented. They established formal qualifications based upon education and examination, with powers to admit and discipline members.

Early modern tradition recognized four professions: divinity, medicine, law and engineering. This starting point expanded through the 19^th and 20^th centuries to encompass a range of other professions. The expansion continues to this day.

Characteristics of a Profession

Traditionally, a profession:

• Renders a specialized service based upon advanced and specialized knowledge and skill. The profession collectively possesses a body of knowledge and a repertoire of behaviors and skills.
• Is organized into one or more professional associations that control the actual work of the profession and the conditions that surround it (admissions, educational standards, examination and licensing, career paths, ethical and performance standards, professional discipline).
• Enjoys a common heritage of knowledge, skill and status to the cumulative store of which professional members are bound to contribute through their individual and collective efforts.
• Is bound by a distinctive ethical code in its relationships with clients, colleagues and the public.
• Is charged with a substantial degree of public obligation by virtue of its possession of specialized knowledge.

This framework was supported by governments, which used membership in professional institutions as a convenient way to regulate the provision of services to the general public.

For traditional professions this tidy arrangement between the individual, the professional institution and the government worked very effectively in many parts of the world through to the 1950s and 60s. 

However, in the last 50 years or so, the traditional framework has started to break down and new concepts are emerging. Governments are increasingly moving to directly regulate the provision of professional services to the public, with the professional associations focusing on education, skills development and the encouragement of “good practice.”  

There now seem to be three distinct types of professional associations:

• Those that qualify and licence members to practice the profession, sometimes with the support of government regulations.
• Those that qualify members, but where the government separately licences the member to practice.
• Those that qualify members, but there are no regulatory constraints on practice—membership is a competitive advantage.

Professional institutions such as PMI and IPMA fit into the third category. These associations are focused on developing the knowledge and capability of the profession, but anyone can practice.

This creates an interesting anomaly! Traditionally professions emerged from a group of professional practitioners creating an association to protect their specialist skills and knowledge and restrict entry to the profession.

In contrast, project management would appear to have evolved to the stage where associations are driving the development of the profession and are actively seeking members. However, the lack of regulation allows anyone to practice.

What’s a Pro Look Like?

So, back to the question posed at the start of these articles: Is project management a profession? If your benchmark is the practices of the 19^th and 20^th centuries, definitely not: professional associations do not control the right to practice as a project manager. 

However, in the paradigm of the 21^st century, we are well on the way to being a modern profession based on professional associations. And while the ability to practice project management is never likely to be regulated (we don’t threaten public safety in the way doctors and engineers can); the desire of employers to engage professional project managers (i.e., capable, qualified and ethical people) is apparent. 

The challenge for the associations over the next few years will be developing the elements beyond certifications needed to support professionals, and to create ways to make this distinction attractive to members and recognizable to employers. Simple certifications are unlikely to be enough, the associations and professional members will need to demonstrate a distinct “professional” way of working.

Given the massive differences in practice between an engineering project manager running a multi-million building site and an “agile” IT project manager developing a new app, defining the core elements of professional practice will not be easy. 

Some of the areas I believe will be important are:

• Stakeholder engagement and communication: projects are done by people for people. Effectively working with and influencing people is the key to success.
• Practical ethics: courageously and honestly providing the best information possible (based on reliable processes), and dealing with uncertainty (risk) and problems openly and effectively.
• Managing your project team: projects are temporary organizations with a unique set of challenges for the team leader.
• Focusing beyond narrow constraints of success (time, cost and scope): partnering with executive management and contributing to the creation of a successful project outcome. Professional project managers will be at the center of an organization’s ability to generate value from change.

These are my ideas—what do you think will shape our profession?