George FreemanThought Leader | Author | Architect| Florida, United States
In a sense, project management is under siege, as our legitimacy is under attack by hyper enthusiasts, generally from the agile front. They do their best to associate project management and the PMP certification directly to waterfall practices, and since the “state of agile” has declared waterfalls extinct, well, what value does the PMP certification have?
We then provide them with additional ammunition via misleading characterizations, such as 90% of what a project manager does is communication; hence AI will wipe us out, or they point out that such communications overhead is unnecessary in agile-focused environments. Bottom Line: from their hyper views, project management is on its way out, but don’t worry, the agile movement is here, and they will “restore sanity” to the industry.
As usual, I’m overplaying it, but I’m doing so as there is truth within my hyperbole. So, (in my opinion) the linchpin for this dysfunction is the direct association that our antagonists make between “project management” and “delivery approaches.” So, my question remains, How do we get the focus “off of delivery approaches” and “back on project management”? Saving Changes...
Jose HarrisChief Executive Officer| Space Environment and Atmosphere Solutions, LLCAlexandria, Va, United States
Sprints have start and finish lines…as do marathons. Both are completed end-to-end to some waypoint using the five functions of management – however one likes to categorize these, it’s semantic. (Shall we spice up the conversation and go down that rabbit hole?) Both delivery methods have sponsors, actors, funding, contract requirements, etc. And while agile doesn’t necessarily deliver the end product, it certainly delivers an end product – whatever is expected at the end of the sprint. Call it what you want, deliver it how you want, project management principles apply. Like Shakespeare said, "A project by any other name would have a delivery method." Saving Changes...
