Decision Making and Project Management

Hello Luís,

I fully agree with both statements and I keep them in mind :)

Regards

"Delegating is different from distributing work :-)"

That's a very important aspect in my opinion as many people confuse assigning(distributing) work with delegation.

Delegation is when you are responsible for performing a certain task or duty, you have the knowledge to perform it but you choose not to and ask someone else to perform the task on your behalf.

The delegated tasks may involve decision making restricted to the decision making area of the person that delegated them. The person that performs the delegated tasks must have the knowledge to perform them but responsibility lies with the one who delegated.

Assigning work is when you are not responsible for performing a certain task (which may involve decision making) you may or may not have the knowledge to perform it but it is your responsibility to have the task completed by someone else.

The person to which the work has been assigned or distributed should have the knowledge to perform it and also bares the responsibility for the work.

Example of delegating: a senior PM asks a junior PM/project coordinator/project team member to perform some project management work on the project that is managed by him.

Example of work assignment: a PM asks a project team member to perform a task for which that team member is both responsible and has the knowledge to perform it. The assigned work may involved decision making. The PM may or may not have the knowledge to perform the task himself.

If the task does involve decision making then the decision is made by the team member to which the work was assigned and not by the PM. PMs claiming that they have made the decision made by the team member and the team member just advised them, in my opinion just try to take credit for someone else's work.

Dear Sripriya
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion.

Interesting method you shared: YALE framework

When do the decisions you have to make affect some people (like your child) how do you proceed?

Dear Luis,

I don't agree with the word consultation, even if it may be correct in this context. For me consultation is when you are able to make a decision on your own but you ask for someone to express his opinion about it. After you heard the opinion of the person you consulted you may or may NOT take it into consideration.

When the PM does not have the knowledge to make the decision he is FORCED to accept whatever the experts say he does not have the option to not take into consideration the experts "opinion".

The only thing the non-technical PM cares about is the cost of the work that would be performed based on the SMEs decision. This is needed in order for the PM to estimate the budget and report it to the sponsor.

If the budget is too small then the PM would not allow the team to do the work and the only thing he can do is to ask for a bigger budget or work with the relevant stakeholders to remove some things from the scope.

When someone does not have the knowledge to make a decision and claims that he makes the decision consulting the experts for me it feels like that person tried to take credit for someone's else work (decisions).

Decisions are made at different levels and should be based on "person in the best position" to make a specific decision. In other words you have to delegate responsibility, authority and accountability to the appropriate level of the organization. If its a purely technical decision with no impact on others around then the SME of that discipline could/should be the decision maker. However as the problem becomes more and more complex then the decision moves up the line to the person who is in the best position to consider all the elements and impacts.
It is best to identify delegated responsibility, authority and accountability at the start of the project - preferably through the project charter.
In response to your latest query, the person that is to make the decision is responsible for all parts of the decision making process. Of course the leg work may be assigned to others but the decision maker is ultimately responsible and accountable for his decision. The decision maker can hold the provider of information accountable for the information provided but cannot hold anyone other than him(her)self accountable for the actual decision.

What you are saying is that we all have our biases and we have to see through our biases to get to the most effective solution,.However, our biases are based on knowledge and experience, even subconscious, and we should not discount them without due consideration. Having said that we need to recognize that others, including those providing information towards problem solving, are faced with the same. That's why with critical problems it is best to involve more than one 'adviser' and listen intently.

Dear George
Thank you for participating in this reflection and for your opinion.

I consider this contribution very deep and important.

Before you decide, listen to your "inner voice"

Interesting this question: "But do you have the skills to recognize the difference between what you" feel "and what you" know "?"

Dear Peter
Thanks for your feedback
We agree with what you wrote:
"The decision maker can hold the provider of accountable information for the provided information but cannot hold anyone other than him (her) self accountable for the current decision"

I would like to understand better: "Decisions are made at different levels and should be based on" person in the best position "to make a specific decision"

In my opinion, the project manager, knowing the reasons that led to the project, the business analysis, the stakeholders, the project management plan and the deliverables is the "ideal" person to make decisions, including delegating.

Hi Peter,

To your point, “… we have to see through our biases”
--- this is the issue of concern.

In my opinion, individuals are NOT taught to challenge their cognitive biases. To state it another way, the intrinsic nature states the following, “what you feel is what you know.”

Yes, biases have a basis in knowledge and experience, but the subconscious aspects are normally built on the “Negative” side of knowledge and experience, that is, your fears, anxieties, traumas (that we all experience in life) take priority in our subconscious stack.

My reference to Mindfulness and Self-Regulation are stated in the context of tools, as one can use these approaches to interrogate emotions and challenge them for their value in the decision making process.