Who Wants To Be A Project Manager Anyway? Please Count Me In!

This is a guest post by Richard C. Bernheim. He is a SAP/IT Project Management Consultant since 1991, with a Financial/Cost Management background. Richard is both a Certified PMP & he has an MBA degree in Finance.

Photography by Alan Light.

Given the tremendous global growth in the profession of Project Management, there are ample opportunities to make your own mark. But before doing so, it might be a good idea to pause for a moment and ponder the following Project Management performance statistics:

• KPMG’s survey results which contrasted 2005 with 2003 revealed the following:
  • There was an 81% increase in the number of projects globally
  • There was an 88% increase in project complexity globally
  • There was an 79% increase in project budgets globally
• The Standish Group survey results for 2004 revealed that only 35% of Information Technology projects were deemed to be successful as measured by being within their original budget, on schedule, and delivering all user requirements satisfactorily
• Ernst & Young and numerous others state that there are three categories of Project Management issues:
  • People-related issues which on average represent 80%
  • Process-related issues which on average represent 10%
  • Technology-related issues which on average represent 10%
• O’Neill’s 1999 study results revealed that on average the typical Project Manager spends 70% of his time on Non-Value-Added project activities.

With statistics such as these, people who practice or those who seek to practice Project Management need to seriously consider their own ability to contribute to a successful project result. Then what about the many academic disciplines that need to be mastered in the performance of Project Management activities such as:

• Business and Strategic Management
• Financial and Cost Management, including Budgeting/Planning and Statistics
• Information Technology Management
• Project Management Process Methodologies and Phases
• Human Resource and Communications Management
• Procurement and Vendor Relations
• Time Management and Scheduling
• Scope Management
• Risk Management
• Quality Management
• Performance Management
• Project Leadership
• Professional and Social Responsibilities

To all of what has been stated above, one needs to recognize all of the personal stress and many long hours which come with the territory in the performance of Project Management work. Then don’t forget to take into account the often very challenging nature of dealing with new technologies and considering the many new ways of performing business processes. Also, what about dealing with the numerous cross-functional experts who often have never worked together and all of the required efforts in building them into a high performance team. Finally, there is the most difficult matter of all which is effectively dealing with people who are in a state of conflict regarding the many project decisions and alternative solutions to problems that arise throughout the duration of a project.

With all of this said, why would any sane individual subject oneself to this punishment?

I was actually asked this very question many years ago by a University student in my “Introduction to Project Management” class. The only answer I could come up with both then and now is this – it takes a certain kind of person who is completely willing to take on these many significant hurdles. I sincerely believe that Project Management work is not meant for everyone. While the field clearly needs a growing number of professionals to satisfy the ever increasing demand as was mentioned above, not everyone is up for all that is required. When you factor in the low project success rate to-date, this challenge looms even larger than it first appears. Despite all of this, it is possible to perform Project Management activities successfully. It takes a lot of hard work, self-discipline, full dedication, intense focus, and a good measure of luck thrown in. One must be able to preserve under very demanding circumstances and rise to the occasion.

Now here are some of the ingredients necessary for project success, including one’s own self-preservation:

• First, one must be willing to do what it takes to achieve a level of professional Project Management certification, which requires, at a minimum, mastering the nine knowledge areas and five traditional phases of a project as defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI). Further, being dedicated to continuous Project Management learning is another serious requirement, aside from fulfilling the need for acquiring a certain amount of Professional Development Units (PDU’s) within a specified period of time.
• Secondly, one must learn how to deal with and manage people, along with their expectations, in a project situation. This is very different from managing people performing routine, repetitive, and ongoing work activities. A project is for a fixed duration of time, and is dedicated to producing some specific final product and/or service. Instead of working with a homogeneous group of people who typically share a similar skill or set of skills and background, projects usually require a vast array of functionally and technically skilled people who more often than not have never interacted with each other. Getting such a group of diverse people to march to the same drummer’s beat is neither easy, nor is it quick in coming. Also, a Project Manager only has limited authority over his people resources, which only complicates matters. The people involved not only include the members of the project team reporting to the Project Manager, but all of the stakeholders with an interest in the project’s progress and outcome. This then includes internal parties (e.g. business executive and middle managers); and external parties (e.g. consultants, suppliers, creditors, auditors, etc.).
• Thirdly, one must be willing to learn about and regularly apply “Best Practices” in terms of Business Process Management (BPM) and interpersonal relationships, most particularly Communications. While BPM is very important to the future of the business, Communications is even more significant since it impacts right now upon everyone involved in the project. Communications is a two-way process of both listening and speaking. Many people are rather good at talking, while they are not so good at listening. Active listening is a skill to be mastered and continually improved upon. In terms of Project Management, it can make the difference between gathering accurate and complete user requirements, avoiding as well as resolving conflicts, and understanding people’s project expectations. As for speaking, the most important thing to know is to send out a clear and consistent message. By not following this rule, one can most assuredly get oneself into a lot of unnecessary trouble.
• Fourthly, gathering sufficient amounts of good information about the organizational environment is another critical project success factor. This entails gaining an insight into any internal politics, a deep understanding of the industry and regulatory nature of the business, the status of current business processes and technology, and the organizational culture. More information is better than less when it comes to these important matters. The Project Manager can use this good information to aid the project in navigating through the various challenges that will surely come along throughout the project’s lifecycle. Being able to understand and apply the dynamics of what makes the business tick will definitely increase the chances for a successful project result.
• Fifthly, paying attention to the early warning signs of a project in distress is very important as well. These early warning signs include such discernable things as:
  • Significant amounts of project overtime hours and cost
  • Project resources being diverted elsewhere, or simply not operating on the project’s activities at a 100% level of effort
  • Project performance ratios are trending downward
  • Project milestones are not being achieved
  • Project scope is subject to too many changes that either increase or decrease the original project scope planned for.

  Then there are the less obvious early warning signs such as these:

  • People’s general lack of interest as expressed by poor meeting attendance and little meaningful communication at project meetings
  • A general lack of and/or rather poor project communications amongst stakeholders and project team members
  • Inadequate deliverables coming at infrequent intervals, or expressed another way – a lack of movement forward
  • All project news is only good news – there is an absence of any bad news being reported

  These early warning signs must be heeded by the Project Manager in order to avert more serious and unrecoverable circumstances from killing any chance for project success.

• Sixthly, recognizing that being a Project Manager entails demonstrating on a daily basis “Project Leadership”. This term does not just refer to the specific nature of the project activities and deliverables, but to the management of all the people, both internal and external, involved in the project. No one can be nor is expected to be an expert in everything, but a Project Manager is expected to:
  • Know when and how to delegate project work to people and take full advantage of their expertise
  • Help people resolve any stumbling blocks that come their way
  • Reward good project performance appropriately, and in a fair and consistently applied manner
  • Not ask anyone to do something they themselves would not be willing to do

As one reviews all that is stated above, it is rather obvious that Process-related and Technically-related activities are mentioned in very short supply. This is not done to indicate that they do not count for any project or personal benefits, for they indeed do. Rather, I seek to demonstrate and emphasize what is most important in achieving successful project processes and outcomes. I personally, and most sincerely believe, having been a team member on some 30 projects over my entire career, and a Project Manager in at least half a dozen of these, that Process and Technical knowledge and experience will get you only so far. What will get you the rest of the way is using your People-related skills well. These skills too often are either neglected or given inadequate time and attention by too many Project Managers, but the statistics shown above very clearly reveal they are most critical. If only 30% of a Project Manager’s time is spent on Value-Added project activities, which are more likely to be centered around Process-related and Technically-related issues, then the substantial remainder must require very good People-related skills and a good deal of patience. If only 20% of all project issues are Process-related and Technically-related, the significant remainder are People-related requiring excellent interpersonal skills.

Finally, if the success rate for Information Technology projects is well below 50%, then it is not due to a lack of Process-related, nor Technically-related information. There are any number of Project Management methodologies and resources available to a Project Manager to use. In terms of Technology, there is certainly no shortage of tools and techniques available today. Clearly evaluating these many instruments takes time, and of course they cost money requiring management approvals, but the profession lacks not from any Process-related, nor Technically-related information resources. It is rather the human element and how best to mange it during all of the endeavors involved with performing project work that needs far greater attention and significant improvement by all who practice the profession of Project Management. If this happens, these project statistics will most likely begin to trend rather differently. There will be a shift to more Value-Added time being spent by Project Managers and more Process-related and Technical-related issues being addressed by Project Managers. Correspondingly, the percentages for Non-Value-Added time and People-related issues will decline. Finally, and above all else, the project success rate will likely increase and shift to becoming the norm instead of an infrequent result. This would be a most worthy professional accomplishment.

So, count me in. I want to be a Project Manager many more times before my career comes to an end upon retirement. Being a Project Manager is something I feel very passionate about. I have done it with some relative successes along with some disappointments, and I can only say that success is much more enjoyable. By constantly learning about all aspects of Project Management, including the critical Human Resource Management component, I expect to perform as a Project Manager much better going forward. Learning by being under fire as a Project Manager is one way, but by researching why projects fail and what to do about this fact is yet another way. The combination of the two should serve me well going forward, and I hope you all as well.