Tim ArthurRetired| SelfPalm City, Nc, United States
What are some of the things you have heard Project Management skeptics say, and what have you responded with? For instance, one of the myths I hear is that Pmgt will cause the project more time because more paperwork has to be done.
The intent of this discussion topic is to create a mini-knowledge base so that other PMgrs can benefit, and use it to handle skeptics they face.
I sense that the paradigm that the tool (e.g. MSP2000) IS project management is fading, but still out there.
Try this one for size - a cut from a recent advertisment for a "Project Leadership Role": "To be successful in the position .... Your thorough knowledge of GANTT charts and their relevant project management applications will enable you to empower staff to achieve project and corporate milestones."
I WANT that job (not really). Is it the client or the recruiter that is so off the mark?
David Hudson, Brisbane, OZ Saving Changes...
Tim ArthurRetired| SelfPalm City, Nc, United States
David & David,
Good feedback.... and it makes me wonder about the recruiting criteria some firms use, too.
(Next time that guy asks if he can still report his project incorrectly as green, say sure, but ask if he wants a heavy tint that's dark-reddish green, or just medium-reddish green.)
Project Math Myth: 10 tasks estimated at 10 days apiece will take 100 days. Saving Changes...
Tim ArthurRetired| SelfPalm City, Nc, United States
Ah yes, the ever "creative math" category is a good myth, too.
Or, inversely said, courtesy of a twist from Fred Brooks' mythical man month: "Adding people to a late project makes it later."
A project of 100 days can not be done by 100 people in 1 day. Saving Changes...
Rubin JenEducator/Trainer| Beyond ExecutionTurku, Finland
Sorry to re-post along the lines of the "creative math" again but I had to throw in this one that I've heard and use fairly often: 9 women cannot have a baby in one month Saving Changes...
Andrew CotterellTransformation Manager| World Intellectual Property OrganisationGeneva, Switzerland
My "favourite" myths:
1. That an untrained employee will be able to successfully manage a project just because it's part of their career objectives ("so we don't need an expensive outsider").
2. That setting deadlines then trying to squeeze-in the project tasks constitutes planning.
3. That a WBS produced with MS Project is a project plan. Saving Changes...
Tim ArthurRetired| SelfPalm City, Nc, United States
Indeed, those are good ones too! Thanks for posting.
It's always difficult to recognize that "perception is reality"... so often so true yet so painful, especially when dealing with others who have their own paradigm (myth) of what Project Mgt is.
Long live those that demonstrate the value that effective Project Management can truly have! :-)
One of the posters mentioned that planning takes too much time. Here's a quote that should dispel that myth. I don't remember the source of this quote:
"We never have time to plan the project, but we always have time to do the work twice." Saving Changes...
As I have seen few thoughts on Planning, I would like to share one more thought which I liked and implemented in many of my tasks :
Planning : Plan out the Work, Work out the Plan.
Plan out the work is 20%, and work out the plan is 80%. So we need to analyze where the emphasize should be.
...and along the same lines as Geoff (below) a response I have used is, "if we don't have time to do it properly, we certainly don't have time to do it twice!" Saving Changes...
