Missing Link In Projects

CHAPTER 1

THE HUMAN ASPECT: THE MISSING LINK IN PROJECTS

Introduction

The profession of project management, which ranks as one of the oldest, dates back to prehistoric times. Some may not agree with this statement, because nowadays the terminology and the technology are different. However, a careful analysis of some of the basics of modern-day project management may show that our ancestors were not far off the mark - in fact, in many areas we could say that they outshine us.

At face value it is very easy to disqualify such endeavours as the building of the tower of Babel or the construction of Noah's Ark (as it is recorded in the Holy Bible) as projects. However, a closer look at some of the ancient projects may reveal that our ancestors had an understanding of project management principles. To mention but a few of these projects:

" The ancient pyramids of Giza

" Stonehenge in England

" The statue of Christ the Redeemer in Brazil

" The Basilica of St. Peter in Vatican City.

Some aspects which these projects have in common, include the fact that during their construction multitudes of people were working on them (in some cases more than 3 000 individuals) and that the time scale was remarkable (in some instances, the duration exceeded 1 000 years). Without dwelling on the details of these projects, we need to appreciate the fact that our ancestors did not have access to much of the technology that we do. The builders in ancient times did not have access to modern equipment such as cranes and graders, therefore most of the work consisted of manual labour. Building infrastructure of this kind required scientific methods as well as leadership skills.

The world of project management as we know it has evolved over centuries, and influencing factors include technology, as well as the speed at which projects have to be completed or turned around. Technology has enabled organisations to use less labour when running projects. This, however, does not mean that people have become less important and that technology has become the primary focus. On the contrary, people have become the most important aspect in the running of projects. Since people inherently have intricate knowledge of how to manage a successful project, retaining that knowledge has become fundamental to the success of any organisation. It might be dismissed as 'one of those business clichés', but human beings are one of the greatest assets of any organisation.

Although people deal with hi-tech, ground-breaking technology and even highly innovative projects, there is much talk about the concomitant high failure rates. It is as if, despite being in an industry for years, many organisations still struggle to deliver projects successfully. There are so many dynamics to contend with, that it makes the world of projects extremely complex. Having to use sophisticated technology or being expected to manage highly innovative and demanding projects cannot excuse the current failure rates: from the standpoint of the early Egyptians they were also implementing ground-breaking technologies, but despite this they achieved remarkable success.

The question is: Has project management changed from what it used to be? Has it 'drifted' from what it entailed in ancient days? Has this change been for the better, or not? If project management is an old profession, why do we have to constantly prove its importance and relevance in our organisations? Are we not perhaps slowly moving away from the true values of project management, and in doing so losing the essence of what it is to be a project manager? Are we not perhaps throwing away the knowledge that made projects a success, and replacing that knowledge with something that is even more dubious to manage? Are we not making project management more complicated than it ought to be, and then becoming confused about the way in which we operate, without delivering the envisaged end result? And, finally, are we really driving the process of change as we normally profess to do, or are we merely mystifying the concepts of project management for the sake of creating change? These are some of the questions we need to ask ourselves, if we want to see significant change in the project management profession.

Due to the mere existence of these questions, there has been much debate in project management circles about the high number of project failures. Often failure rates can vary from 50 to as much as 90 per cent. In an attempt to be cautious, some organisations reduce their budget spend on projects. There is even speculation in certain organisations that, if they were faced with retrenchment, the project office would be the first to go, or to be subcontracted.

To put matters into perspective, in as much as there are failures, there have also been numerous successes in project management. These are some of the areas in which the profession has succeeded:

" Extensive bodies of knowledge, e.g. - ICB (IPMA Competency Baseline), PRINCE2 and PMBOK

" The development of standards, procedures and policies relating to the effective management of projects

" Aligning projects with corporate strategy

" Well-established maturity models relating to project offices, and

" Formal education in project management.

Peter M. Senge, author of the book The fifth discipline, is of the opinion that failure is simply a shortfall, or evidence of a gap between the vision and the current reality. If that is the case, then failure is an opportunity to learn about the inaccurate or skewed pictures we have of the current reality, and about how we can re-strategise in order to clarify that vision. Failures are, therefore, not about our unworthiness or powerlessness:1 rather, they are about 'failing forward' - a concept introduced by John C. Maxwell.2

In my opinion, the one area that has been on the backburner in project management is the human aspect, which is where most failures occur. There are many reasons for this, mostly relating to leadership issues. The role of leadership in projects can never be underestimated. The view that most projects are overly managed and badly under-led is true for most organisations. Even though in projects we deal with the accomplishment of objectives within certain constraints, everything in projects is accomplished through human relations. Whether we like it or not, whatever is achieved in projects is achieved through people and by people. Therefore, not paying close attention to the human aspect of projects always has negative repercussions……………Click to read more.