Archives for "December, 2009"
Improving Project Selection using Appreciative Inquiry (AI)
Changing the looking glass affects how we experience reality and the same holds true while managing projects–project reality continues to be stubbornly affected by blurry assumptions and misaligned goals. Even in the age of program management, selecting the right portfolio of projects continues to be an individual driven process—a process which is largely based on “gut feeling”.
Many organizations today are implementing a strategy formation process with a clear focus on defining metrics for success. But the challenge lies in translating this into selection of investments and choice of projects to achieve the goals. Project and especially Program managers make an important contribution to this process. Given their delivery and execution background, these professionals rely on their problem solving capabilities to meet these challenges. They use the problem solving approach in the context of defining objectives for building effective metrics to demonstrate success.
Catching the catfish with Project Portfolio Management
On a rainy day this July, I got a call from a friend of mine. I was a bit surprised to hear from him back then and could barely comprehend the situation he was describing on the phone. What I ultimately managed to gather was that he’s busy fitting himself a new CxO level role these days and needs to put the final touches to his presentation to the corporate planning head. The question he posed was whether he should recommend a significant budget increase in his area of responsibility, or manage within the existing limited budgets. The real issue in his mind was how he could assure optimum alignment of spending with the direction of his organization. Moreover, if he acts either way, how can be sure of delivering the value he promised the organization on the basis of his strategic initiatives?
Future of Project Management
The future is big
The term ‘project management’ is only a few decades old. Of course many projects were managed before this science was ‘invented’, and nobody had identified a distinctive need for a management process, still less had they decided what that process should be.
Fact is there were more projects managed before modern ‘Project Management’ was developed than have been managed since. And even today, there are more projects being managed with no help from this science than with it. It could be said, therefore, that its influence up to now has been very small but its potential influence in the future is huge.
