Is Project Management Passe?

And if so, what is au courant? Gartner (Audrey Apfel, Donna Fitzgerald, et al) issued their 5-year PPM prognostication paper in December that caught my eye: Predicts 2008: Alert Program and Portfolio Management Leaders About Big Upcoming Changes. Well, you all are program and portfolio managers or closely related to them, so I'm doing my part to pass the word…one if by land, two if by sea.

The very first sentence in the summary of this paper reads: The bubble around project management is about to burst.

Gartner isn't saying that PM is going the way of the Dodo Bird as a discipline or skill set; to the contrary, they are saying it has/will essentially become commoditized as a common element of the general management repertoire — think more along the lines of gulls and starlings. I have to agree on that point.

Ten years ago — even five for many, project management was still a capability that most IT departments were struggling to formalize and develop. For the majority of the larger shops these days, not only is basic PM capability in place and mature, it is almost ubiquitous. Competency in project management fundamentals has become pretty much a prerequisite for hiring anyone at or above team lead. The PMBOK has replaced Catcher in the Rye on freshman reading lists and a PMP certification is as common as an iPhone at Starbucks. (Before we go on, let me point out that this shouldn't be construed as some kind of a derisive shot at PMI — it is more of a testament to the level of growth and acceptance they have attained over the years.)

OK, no big news there for most readers. If this IS news to you, then most likely you are among the few still trying get basic project management in place in your organization. If that is the case, you are very late to the party — hurry before the punch is all gone.

But, the report cautions against just drinking the kool-aid. Supporting discussion implicates the heavy emphasis placed on traditional canned project management approaches as complicit in creating over-engineered processes and templates in lieu of cultivating real expertise that actually improves project performance. Bully for them. Bully.

But, like the excitement of an opening movie scene, I see this whole line of discussion as just a theatrical hook to garner (no pun intended) interest -mere foreplay for the chase scene. Of more significance in my opinion is their resulting prognosis for the PMO, as summarized in the third sentence: The office coordinating this work, however, will cross the IT-business divide through optimizing program and portfolio capabilities.

The publication goes on to explain that as PM capabilities are pushed down and outward from the PMO to the general population, higher level functions of more tangible business value such as program and portfolio management, investment analysis and prioritization will rush in to replace it. Nature abhors a vacuum.

Sounds like a familiar plot, eh? The PMO transcends the status quo to become a business management center of excellence, facilitating strategic alignment and prudent investment decisions. Boy meets girl. Girl gets kidnapped. Boy blows stuff up and saves girl.

Anyway, since I can't forward the document, for those Gartner members who want to check out the full article, its ID number is G00153349.

Comments

[Donna Fitzgerald]

Terry,

Thanks for the comments on our article. Reading between the lines it sounds like you’re raising the question – Will it be the IT PMO that goes enterprise and takes on a larger mission or will it be a replacement structure that comes out of finance or some other operational area? The obvious answer is that it depends. If the IT PMO can step into the gap and deliver REAL business value by improving the results of the work that gets done on a project basis then yes the IT PMO could be elevated. If the IT PMO stays restricted to reporting and methodology enforcement then it will probably stay right where it is as long as it can justify at least some on going business value.

I think we are on the cusp of a very exciting time. Once the mystery has gone out of project management techniques (which we believe is happening) success will go to those who can deliver value added results. Good PMs, who can manage, won’t even notice the difference – PMs who have focused primarily on the mechanics will need to consider finding something to augment their skills. Either way I think companies and even individuals can benefit over the long term from this change.

Donna

[Don Kim]

Interesting post! I think the reality is that the discipline of PM has a long way to go before reaching the type of maturity your post and the Gartner article suggests.

But with respect to the IT PMO as business value driver, it has been articulated ad nauseum about the importance of IT aligning technology initiatives with business strategy, when the reality is that most corporations still view IT as simply a cost center, and therefore, the PMs (as well as other roles) are viewed as tactical facilitator only.

Until executives and upper management view IT in a more strategic light, IT departments will face continual road blocks with respect to driving strategic business value.

-Don Kim