Very good article, thanks.

I think many project managers focus are too focussed on their pm tools and methodologies while they should focus on the main objective instead. Projects need to get done, period. Maybe the team will have to leave the Gantt chart aside for a while, maybe they'll have to go back to spreadsheets for a given task, maybe the agile methodology was once good but doesn't work this time and will work again later.

Best practices are one thing... reality is another!

I'd say a lot of Project Managers out there are focused on following and sticking to a methodology, whether or not it serves the purpose of their project or not. Project Managers need to be flexible, and adopt whatever methodology to get the Project done (that's the whole point, isn't it?). It doesn't matter if it's Agile, Waterfall, or anything else, the important thing is to get the job done.

Nice post, raising good points about the ever pervasive tendency to focus on technology and project methodology/process at the expense of attending to people and relationships.

That being said, the post appears to me to be targeted at Project Managers - with the expectation that they should shift more attention from tasks to people. Though I completely agree the primary focus should always be people, this shift by PMs will have limited results - given I believe the problems begin before any PM is engaged in the effort.

I will always contend that many project efforts are doomed before they begin due to the abhorrent lack of sound Project and Portfolio Management processes. This critical investment governance is necessary to ensure project approvals and charters are reasoned and rational. This requires analysis of the required data to ensure not only that an effort "should be" undertaken, but "can be" undertaken. The inability for many Enterprises to effectively address PPM means many projects are doomed before they begin, and the correct balance between tasks and people by the PM will do little to enable success.

Just as a small example, consider the following list of business case attributes included in the IT Governance Institute's Val IT Framework. How many of these things do you see addressed in the business cases for projects? Notice how the list includes attention to, and accountability for, business benefits and processes, value creation and realization, and ongoing costs.

1) The business benefits targeted, their alignment with business strategy - who in the business will be responsible for securing them
2)The business changes needed to create additional value
3)The investments needed to make the business changes
4)The investments required to change or add new IT services and infrastructure
5)The ongoing IT and business costs of operating in the changed way
6)The risks inherent in the above, including any constraints or dependencies
7)Who will be accountable for the successful creation of optimal value
8)How the investment and value creation will be monitored throughout the economic life cycle, and the metrics to be used

Few projects include all of these critical aspects of ensuring success, and it would be unrealistic if not unfair to lay this list at the feet of the Project Manager. Yes, the PMs must attend to the people-dimension of completing the project, but again, that will do little to address neglecting the business process changes and value creation. In my opinion, the people who will use, operate and maintain the new technology are the people most neglected.

Steve Romero, IT Governance Evangelist
http://community.ca.com/blogs/theitgovernanceevangelist/

Project Scope Statement, Cost Management Plan, Schedule Management Plan, and Communications Management Plan. Your organization may also have a certain attitude towards risk and risk tolerance.

Yes, I agree with this article. It is pointing out an issue with typical project management. I have been on both sides of the fence here, so the article really hits home.

I was trained, back in the day, on "Quality Improvement". In other words, everyone has a customer. You should identify your customer and meet the needs of the customer. However, you can't do this very well unless you have lots of frequent meetings and "hallway" conversations with the customer. I am amazed at how many expectations are missed or misinterpreted in projects. Even detailed specs. don't cover everything.

So, if you're a project manager, know your customer and talk to him/her!

Guilty! Tools & Processes! Yes!! I'm a little backward about these things since I've already established relationships with everyone at our offices. Twenty-one yrs of service makes for a few relationships and I can depend on people.

So, tools & processes - that would be my focus. What is noted in the article does not go without striking a cord, tho. 80|20 is probably a good measure of time parsing, and applying the timely advice will be the next hat trick for me to do.

Because I work on a relationship first, learn the persons strengths and weaknesses at a business table, there's little gamble in how their actions for task will be represented - keeping to project deadlines then becomes (for me) the next slugfest!