PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS NOT MANAGING PROJECTS

Working with businesses over the last few years, I’ve come to realize that there’s a significant difference between managing a technical project and managing a business project. Each needs its skill base, tools and understanding of the objectives.

Whereas there are a raft of publications on technical project management, there appears to be little on managing business projects. Managing business projects could be thought of more effectively in terms of Business Reconfiguration Management, where you’re taking into account dynamically, the business requirements and business plan to move forward.

Business Reconfiguration Management is what I’m involved with day-to-day. I use a bunch of specialist tools, a specialist project management suite that I’ve built up alongside my experience. I have come to realize that typical technical project management tools such as Critical Path Method (CPM) and Gantt charts do not provide the level of transparency needed in Business Reconfiguration Management and importantly many business leaders simply can’t understand planning tools such as CPM and Gantt leading to mistrust or alienation during the program.

Now I use a new combination of tools to help manage complex, strategic projects. It’s not that I dislike Gantt charts or CPM as pure methodologies. They’re great tools for more technical jobs, but as most craftsmen will acknowledge, “it’s the right tool for the right job”. Put simply, you don’t glue cardboard sheets together with crazy glue, it just doesn’t work. It kind of works, but it isn’t right. Its the same when we try to use classical project management tools that have been developed for building ships and space rockets, to manage dynamic business process and importantly Business Reconfiguration Management programs.

It’s all a question of dynamics and where they come in. Business Reconfiguration Management can handle a situation that’s changing dynamically and rapidly (ever more relevant in todays economy). Technical project management (CPM, Gantt) can handle technical objects that are dynamic (a jet engine’s pretty dynamic) but can’t easily adapt to the dynamics of change as quickly and as creatively.

By its nature, Business Reconfiguration Management takes into account the dynamics of the business. These start from the business strategy and the business plan. They’re the definition of where I need to get to. They’re ever changing and evolving and what’s right for this business cycle may be different in the next.