Why Project Management is considered a generalised role , and sometimes even given to people who has no experience to it, I am referring core Industries thought in India context
Neelam PathakHead of Purchasing Functional Excellence | Cummins India LtdPune, Maharastra, India
Project management is considered a generalised job , which is assumed that anyone can do, can PM community bring more focus to make the functions aware of the niche skills required for it . Saving Changes...
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Ramachandran SwaminathanRegional Delivery Manager| Oracle Consulting IndiaBangalore, Karnataka, India
Well, even though project management is a generalized role, for projects to be successful, the PM should have some domain expertise. For eg; A project manager who has 10 yrs of PM exp in IT, cannot assigned to manage a construction project from next morning. It is a well known and implied fact. For a PM to be successful, he/she should be able to connect with team members and understand the nature of work in the project. Same is the case with project management in all the other fields like Healthcare, Hospitality, Manufacturing and even Space Exploration projects. There are thousand other areas like and each case needs to understood and dealt separately. It might be very difficult for anyone to come up with a comprehensive documentation for this Saving Changes...
Tara BachmanDeputy Administrator| Public Service Commission of WisconsinMadison, Wi, United States
Thank you for posting this! I just returned from a class where half of the attendees had the title "Project Manager" and I left with an uneasy feeling. How does PMI state that it takes, on average, about 7 years of actively managing projects before someone is considered a seasoned, senior project manager, while the business industry seems to think that anyone and everyone should be bestowed the title of Project Manager. Task management is not project management.
For those of us that have dedicated years to the practice, learned from numerous mistakes, and strive to be better PMs, how do we change the culture that project manager is something anyone can do? It's why so many organizations feel the pain of endless projects that go on forever, despite being labeled as small, 3-month initiatives, or projects that were deemed necessary but don't produce positive ROI to businesses.
Trying to influence that culture change, trying to create buy-in around why good project management is required for success is a constant uphill battle. An executive recently told me it is because the vast majority don't actually know what good project management looks like, if they did, there wouldn't be a struggle. If you've worked with a good project manager, there is no going back; the pain is too great.
It also diminishes the PMP, in my opinion. I constantly deal with PMPs that are unable to practically apply any of the principles of project management. I have met PMPs that have never created a risk register or a communications plan. How is that possible? There is a vast difference between the ability to pass a test and the ability to implement what you have learned to drive success. Schedule tracking is not project management.
How do we change this culture? If a software developer that claims to have years of experience is hired but doesn't actually know how to code, they are released from the company. However, if a PM is hired that claims to have years of experience is hired and they don't understand more than basic task management they are labeled as a seasoned PM. How? Why? Saving Changes...
I could be remembering incorrectly, but I believe that the duties of a project manager can be traced back to managers and, prior to that, to clerks - the role evolved from a generalist position. Domain knowledge is helpful, can be critical, but is not always required. Ramachandran is right about construction project management. In the US, at least, a construction project manager is required to know a lot about construction and safety codes. It makes the PMP exam look like a quiz.
If you want to increase awareness of the functions and capabilities of modern project management, there are a couple of things you can do. Working from the bottom up, you need experienced project managers who can demonstrate, through their work, the value they can add. Working from the top down, local PMI chapters can work with business leaders to provide greater understanding of the potential value. Invite local business leaders to a luncheon or conference. Highlight real projects where you can showcase the project management work that helped make them successful.
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1 reply by Tara Bachman
Jun 15, 2017 10:49 AM
Tara Bachman
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Thanks, Aaron. I do appreciate the sentiment of how to increase knowledge locally.I wasn't asking how I, in my company, can change the culture. I was asking big picture. When so many are given the title, but don't actually understand the role, how do we change the overall culture. It is apparent that it is not just my industry, or my company, but this seems to be a global issue. The standards for what is considered good project management are substandard across industries, in my opinion.
Additionally, I would argue that a good PM can traverse across multiple industries. Is there ramp up time needed to understand the intricacies? Of course! But a good PM knows what questions to ask and seeks out SMEs. I recently transitioned from health care policy to IT and have been very successful, despite a lack of IT background. As a PM, I am not an IT SME, but I know what questions to ask and when to follow-up and how, I understand the need to tie business strategy into our decisions, and when to spot issues and how to assess risk, etc. The IT knowledge is coming, but that hasn't prevented success. In some instances it actually promotes better application of best practices. It has produced thought in project teams because previously PMs didn't push the team to think beyond the single task in front of them. Because I'm not an IT SME, each project team member has a better understanding of the overall goals than they did before. There are advantages to having a PM not be a SME, but I agree, there is a fine line between this being an advantage or a disadvantage.
So, I disagree that a good, seasoned PM can't transition into a new industry and be successful in a relatively quick manner. Good project management is good project management, regardless of the industry. Institutional knowledge will come, but an intimate knowledge of the processes, methodologies, how to apply/when to apply, and leveraging the SMEs around you are universal traits required for any good PM. Of course, this is all my humble opinion. I admittedly am bias, as I believe that good project management skills reach far beyond the PMBOK.
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Tara BachmanDeputy Administrator| Public Service Commission of WisconsinMadison, Wi, United States
Jun 15, 2017 10:30 AM
Replying to Aaron Porter
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I could be remembering incorrectly, but I believe that the duties of a project manager can be traced back to managers and, prior to that, to clerks - the role evolved from a generalist position. Domain knowledge is helpful, can be critical, but is not always required. Ramachandran is right about construction project management. In the US, at least, a construction project manager is required to know a lot about construction and safety codes. It makes the PMP exam look like a quiz.
If you want to increase awareness of the functions and capabilities of modern project management, there are a couple of things you can do. Working from the bottom up, you need experienced project managers who can demonstrate, through their work, the value they can add. Working from the top down, local PMI chapters can work with business leaders to provide greater understanding of the potential value. Invite local business leaders to a luncheon or conference. Highlight real projects where you can showcase the project management work that helped make them successful.
Thanks, Aaron. I do appreciate the sentiment of how to increase knowledge locally.I wasn't asking how I, in my company, can change the culture. I was asking big picture. When so many are given the title, but don't actually understand the role, how do we change the overall culture. It is apparent that it is not just my industry, or my company, but this seems to be a global issue. The standards for what is considered good project management are substandard across industries, in my opinion.
Additionally, I would argue that a good PM can traverse across multiple industries. Is there ramp up time needed to understand the intricacies? Of course! But a good PM knows what questions to ask and seeks out SMEs. I recently transitioned from health care policy to IT and have been very successful, despite a lack of IT background. As a PM, I am not an IT SME, but I know what questions to ask and when to follow-up and how, I understand the need to tie business strategy into our decisions, and when to spot issues and how to assess risk, etc. The IT knowledge is coming, but that hasn't prevented success. In some instances it actually promotes better application of best practices. It has produced thought in project teams because previously PMs didn't push the team to think beyond the single task in front of them. Because I'm not an IT SME, each project team member has a better understanding of the overall goals than they did before. There are advantages to having a PM not be a SME, but I agree, there is a fine line between this being an advantage or a disadvantage.
So, I disagree that a good, seasoned PM can't transition into a new industry and be successful in a relatively quick manner. Good project management is good project management, regardless of the industry. Institutional knowledge will come, but an intimate knowledge of the processes, methodologies, how to apply/when to apply, and leveraging the SMEs around you are universal traits required for any good PM. Of course, this is all my humble opinion. I admittedly am bias, as I believe that good project management skills reach far beyond the PMBOK. Saving Changes...
From my point of view, you do no need to be, for exampole, an architect, software developer, civil engineer or an specific specialized profesional to be an project manager, from this perspective, you can consider a project manager a generalized job, but, and here is the main point, you as a project manager need to have some skills to lead successfuly a project. You dont need to be a SME to be a project manager, but could be a plus in some projects. I agree with Tara, when say a pm can transition to a new industry, but if you doesnt have or have few experience or knowledge in that new industry, probably someone else experienced in that industry could manage easily the same project
The pmi bring you a framework to guide you in a good way to manage your projects, to do no start to manage it from the scratch Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Everybody in this world are performing project management from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed. So, it does not matter we like it or not, everybody are project managers. With all that say then comes the world "professional" to the field. What organizations sometimes forgot (and project management community has to review it, including myself) is a key thing when "professional" way must be follow: project manager has valuable assets in her/his hand. And to guard those assets a way to assure the low risk to not loss them must be follow. Here is where people who perform project management in "professional" way must demonstrate are able to follow recommended practices that "assure" it like PMI PMBOK, PRINCE2 or any other type of practices. Saving Changes...
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