Organizational Project Management
My organizational project maangement presentation at the Magic City Technology Council went well yesterday. It was well received and almost everyone wanted more information later. You can see the slides here.
Almost everyone agreed with the idea that it is important to think about how other aspects in the organization impact project maangement. But, it is also obvious from the feedback that organizations have a difficult time looking at themselves from a bigger perspective.
The most important question was how do we drive advocacy from management for organizational project management. I believe the answer is to identify those organizational capabilities where breakdowns are costly to the project. Identify some metrics on the capability and the cost of low performance to the project.
Present the data to management looking for help or improvement on projects. If it is presented in a its-not-my-fault way, it won’t be well received. You have to set the context that you are not deflecting blame by showing how capabilities external to the project negatively effect your project. You need to show up with an answer on how that capability can perform better and how it benefits them.
If you can expand the project management context a little bit. You will begin to improve the ability to deliver projects. Then show the next person how to expand the context. Maybe over time, the organization is working together to deliver project results. Take the presentation. Ask questions. Help spread the word about organizational project management.