Diane’s Thoughts On PM In Australia
Time now to think about…. Project Management! Here I’ve prepared a short study on PM in Australia - what was expected from its introduction and what actually happened? It’s a complex, fascinating subject. And looking ahead, when it comes to executing a successful outcome – there is hope!
Project Management was initially adopted in Government following the trend in the US and UK. That was in the late 70s, early 80s and what was adopted was a straight pick up of what was being done in the construction and heavy engineering sectors. It was only a short while later that it was adopted by the private sector for large IT projects. At that time, projects in government and private sectors were reported as being 50% successful. The hope was that PM would be a panacea and the success rate would increase.
Alas, it hasn’t worked out that way. While the success of projects in the construction and heavy engineering sectors has increased (reportedly around 85%) the success in Government and corporate sectors has correspondingly decreased (reportedly around 14%).
The reason is apparently simple and yet Australia (and the rest of the world) continues in the lemmings rush to the panacea that they believe project management to be. The basic problem is that PM as we know it doesn’t work effectively in corporate and government projects unless there is a very well defined, low change, linear assembly project (very rare and certainly not to be found where software is concerned). It’s the reason projects, like fitting out a new airplane, win awards; it’s because they can and do suit PM as we know it.
Australia has blindly followed the US and UK (in fact we pretty much blindly follow anyone who isn’t ‘made in Australia’) into the abyss of project failures. In an attempt to overcome this we have adopted the title inflation of program and director in the hope that titles will make the difference.
We’ve let ourselves down by promoting and supporting the belief that what we know as PM actually has the power to influence the success of the execution of a project. It doesn’t. PM provides the ways and means to administer, track and provide commentary on projects. Our own bible (PMBOK) says that for execution use ‘standard management practices’. If that worked PM wouldn’t have had a look in. We’d never have followed the evangelized path towards accreditation and certification for all. Basically the perpetration of PM in the corporate and government sectors (as we know it) is a hoax!
More and more companies are asking for people to have a certification without realizing they are asking for people to become educated in something that at best will do no harm and at worst will contribute to failure. If it weren’t so sad it would be laughable.
So Project Management in corporate Australia has become something of the domain of hope. Where corporations know no better and simply believe if they follow this or that method, or use that tool, then success will be theirs. It is sad to talk to people who, faced with project failure, are bewildered and sad because “we did everything we should have done”.
Until recently the focus has been on the hard skills of project management. Hard in terms of being able to quantify, schedule, measure and report on project progress. For corporate projects it’s the soft skills that make the difference.
Some courses are now offered that include soft skills but again they are being taught as though soft skills can be learned the same way hard skills are.
It’s time we accepted that there is a distinct difference between hard and soft projects and devised approaches that work for all. There are some tools and approaches available and while they go some way to illuminating the problem they do not solve it. It is not enough to devolve responsibility and depend on the goodwill, capability and application of a group of skilled people.
If looking for failed ‘soft’ projects in Australia one needs look no further than the press to read about projects at National Australia Bank and Australian Customs Service.
Project management, if it is to survive, must find a way of answering the question “what’s going on when projects succeed?” There is hope from two sources. One is Magia™ , a breakthrough application that has come from Australia. Magia™ provides the illumination and information so project managers of ‘soft’ projects can mimic what is being done on projects where they actually succeed.
The other is the increasing adoption of Enterprise Portfolio Management (EPM). EPM is an attempt to place a single point of control above and across all projects and programs. These roles are being taken (where they are effective) by people with the skill and breadth of capability to influence and effect outcomes across and throughout organisations, and to be part of the governance structure. These are rarely standard project managers. Australia is leading the way in Enterprise Portfolio Management and Magia™, and soon will lead the world in the execution of soft projects.