Project Management In Society

by Alan Patching

This paper originally formed the basis of the opening keynote presentation to the Australian Institute of Project Management's conference 2001 – Project Management in Society. It was also the basis of the opening keynote address for the Projects 2002 Conference staged by the Institute for International Research in Dubai, and a keynote address at the Arabian Gulf Chapter of the Project Management Institute in Bahrain.

It is not intended to be a technical paper targeted specifically for consumption by academia and theoreticians, albeit their perusal is as welcome as that of others. Rather, the paper seeks to reflect on and celebrate what Project Management has achieved for society during its development as a profession, and what will be involved in ensuring its relevance to society into the future.

Perhaps more importantly, it attempts to define a grand vision for the profession of Project Management that will ensure it remains relevant and important not only to organisations pursuing excellence and growth through application of best practice in leadership and management, but also to society at large. It is through such relevance that Project Management will ensure not only its own survival and growth, but also a recognised and respected place in the history of management, and of society.

Introduction

Little more than thirty years ago, project management (generally speaking) was:

Regarded as a construction and related industries management tool, and even there, it had not taken significant hold.
Virtually unheard of and certainly untested in the general corporate management environment
Dealt with in formal university courses by little more than passing references (even in construction related courses) if that.

Project Management had progressed further along its development continuum in Europe (and specifically in the United Kingdom) and the USA, but again, virtually all progress made was in construction related industries. Perhaps curiously, one of the key techniques used in project management today, critical path network programming, was being developed in two industries completely unrelated to construction. The Du Pont organisation (textiles) is credited with the invention of The Critical Path Method, while the US Navy people working on the Polaris Missile system development introduced Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). At the practical level, these terms are often used with common meaning in all areas of project management application. One wonders if project management would be as widespread as it is today had development of all project management tools and techniques taken place within the construction related industries.

There can be no doubt that project management today is widespread throughout a huge variety of industry and corporate applications, albeit in many arenas, there is still much to be achieved.

There are now numerous courses offered in project management at learning institutions worldwide, a clear indication of the value that industry (and therefore society, to the extent that industry aims to provide for society's needs) recognises in well trained project managers. There has been a significant increase in the sophistication of project management techniques used in construction and related industries, as these industries respond to the higher level of risk management required to satisfy financiers preferring to lend only to projects with prime level investment ratings. Importantly, project management has been a key factor in successful change management exercises throughout the world. Indeed, for the more visionary organisations, the change undertaken has been to a culture supportive of management by projects within the organisation.

The increase in use of project management by society over the past decade has been significant. However, insightful project managers will not rest on their laurels, but will rather see the wave is still building, and in the corporate world in particular, the long and exciting ride on the thrust of opportunity is still in the (near) future.

While much has been achieved, project management has yet to put its major stamp on society. Given the huge and increasing application of project management principles in so many fields of industry today, the possibility is very real that the future development of society might very well be development by project management.

Does society at large even know project managers exist, and what have we contributed?

At nine minutes past six precisely on the evening of 5th September 2001, the Altavista internet search engine responded to my prompt of "project management" with the message "164,954 web pages found". Most project management practitioners would smile with satisfaction at this number, especially when they realise that the response was much lower for several globally important social issues. ("Environmentalism", for example returned 81,445 pages.). Few practitioners would doubt that there will be an exponential increase in the internet response for 'project management' over the coming years, because they realise that the business elements of society at least, are becoming very much aware of the benefits that project management offers.

But is society at large aware of what project management and project managers have done for it?

Perhaps disappointingly for project management practitioners, it almost certainly is not. But perhaps public recognition is not the measure to be established or even sought for our efforts. Project managers the world over have grinned in understanding of the jocular description of the last phase of any project management exercise as being 'reward and recognition for the undeserving and those least involved'. Perhaps sufficient to continue to be spurred on by what we know we have achieved for and on behalf of society rather than by the actual recognition by society for those achievements. The great scholar Abraham J. Heschel, in The Raymond West Memorial Lectures at Stanford University in 1963 (when project management was really taking its first small steps on the journey to its current corporate popularity) stated 'It is a most significant fact that man is not sufficient to himself, that life is not meaningful to him unless it is serving an end beyond itself, unless it is of value to someone else'. He might well have had a project manager specifically in mind when speaking those words.

So what have we contributed of value to someone else to society at large?

A brief history overview might provide the answer.

Allen Web, in his look at project management history, notes that civilisation as we know it today, owes its existence to the engineers, 'experts in exploiting the properties of matter and the sources of power for the benefit of mankind'. He notes further that civilisation as we know it began to arise only in the past 9,000 years or so, since the agricultural revolution, made possible by engineering feats in irrigation systems.

There has been a suggestion that people gave up the nomadic life and began to establish civilisation as we know it when they realised that mashed grass seeds could be used to make beer, but you had to remain in one spot long enough for it to ferment. (And no doubt a somewhat longer time after that to allow for recovery after consumption of the fluid, at which time the manufacturing process would need to begin again). As civilisation grew, the engineer ceased to be the expert in all things mechanical and, along with other generic professions, began to specialise into a number of related fields. Tasks were now accomplished by several rather than one engineer, and so the human factors entered the scenario. Consequently, management of the process and the group became yet another specialty, albeit one usually undertaken by one of the other specialists, and the embryo of project management was conceived.

This occurred only a couple of centuries ago. Remember that Leonardo and Michelangelo were not only great all-rounders in the engineering world, but leading artists as well. (Ah, truly the good old days of multi-skilling!). But even in the days of Leonardo and Michelangelo, little would have been achieved without a combination of skills including planning and organising, negotiating, theoretical knowledge and practical application, innovation and creativity, communication and visionary thinking. All skills of today's expert project management professional.

I recall the first project management job I worked on in the early seventies. It was a multi million dollar high tech (for the time) construction high rise, with only a handful of specialist consultants and one project manager.

Fast forward to the Olympic Stadium project - seventy specialist consultants, and a dozen highly qualified project managers were involved.

Specialisation has been a significant factor in the development of most professions in recent decades. It has been a key to society getting greater benefits in all areas of life. It certainly has resulted in better projects for society, but only because skilled project managers have been there to create the environment and structure activity to ensure the specialists were able to deliver of their best efforts.

But what about the specifics? The roads, bridges, buildings, airports, mines and telecommunications infrastructure of the past decades have virtually all been delivered under the guidance of experienced project managers, and project managers do make a difference in that delivery. Freed of the pressure of any single discipline thinking, project managers first look at the big picture, and when everything looks perfect, continue asking the hard questions about the detail to make it even better. (The insight level of the question will be a function of the experience and qualifications of the specific project manager). An Olympic facility delivered months ahead of schedule provides the opportunity of thorough testing which contributes to a successful Olympics and a better international reputation for the host country. It also ensures the injection of millions of extra dollars into our economy for the benefit of the community by facilitating the staging of international sporting fixtures that might never be considered at conception of the project unless project managers from a range of disciplines, including operations, became involved.

At the micro level the project manager ensures that project environments are safe, protecting the workers and preventing all manner of problems in an increasingly litigious corporate environment. The project manager is usually society's representative regarding environment issues, ensuring standards are met and exceeded and, often, that education is dispensed in the process. The project manager looks at the scoping of projects before commencement, ensuring the requisite community consultation takes place prior to commencement, thereby ensuring observance of due process and preventing wastage on change after commencement.

More and more, risk is recognised as a key concern for all projects. Again the project manager is the professional called upon to address this all-important issue, with the impact of preventing dilemma for his or her employer, the project and the community at large.

It is interesting to note the Sydney Games, rated the most successful Olympics ever, were controlled by a group made up for the most part of experienced project management professionals, mostly with long histories in extremely complex construction mega-projects. If project management has so much to offer at this level of undertaking, why not in day to day corporate business?

In the early to mid nineties, a number of management 'gurus', Tom Peters probably being the most outspoken, recognised that the concept of teams really meant 'committee mentality' unless these teams were led by appropriately experienced individuals with decision making authority and accountability (and capacity) and employed project management skills and techniques in the delivery of their objectives. Peters in particular promoted an immediate embracing of project management as the way forward for any success oriented business.

In part he was preaching to the converted. By the mid nineties, project management was being recognised by many corporations the world over, as the way forward. The increase in application of project management over the past five years has been extraordinary. Sometimes change creeps up on us in our own environment so I will present an example from afar, but one that probably parallels our own experience here in Australia. In 1995, conducting a Masters Certificate course in Project Management for Corporations in the Middle East for a US based university, I walked into a room of Arab men and women to find they were all from the Oil and Gas and construction industries. Six years later, in 2001 this same course attracted people practicing or intending to practice project management in the fields of sales and marketing, IT, e-business, finance and banking, medical research, telecommunications, corporate restructuring, publishing, film and television and corporate compliance and change management, as well as construction and oil and gas. Then PMI local chapter in Saudi Arabia staged their annual conference in 2001 attracting 800 delegates. Research by the Institute for International Research in the Middle East region indicated the key area of interest for project managers and corporations using project management was Strategic Risk analysis and management. Investment appraisal, change management, leadership of project teams within corporations, and e-technology for project management were other topics of high level interest.

Project management is quickly finding its way into corporations the world over, and in doing so is establishing itself to continue to deliver even greater benefits to the society in which it exists and operates.

So what does this mean for the profession? I believe it offers great opportunity, but in so doing, it imposes considerable responsibility.

Opportunities for project managers in society

Heschel, quoted earlier, also said 'the enigma of being human is not in what one is, but in what one is able to be'.

I firmly believe we project managers are able to be the most significant factor in corporations achieving their corporate objectives, and more, well into the future. Two questions arise from this. Firstly, how can we best achieve this? Secondly and most importantly, if we can achieve this at corporate level, what could we achieve globally if we set our minds to formulation of a grand vision for society at large?

Firstly, let's look at our activities in the corporate world.

I would imagine my work in corporations to parallel that of many other project manager practitioners. That work falls into two distinct areas. I am often asked to examine a corporation's project management activities and to report on what could be improved, or I am asked to address senior management on what more they can do to improve project management, especially in their role as sponsors of projects.

In going about this work, one fact rings loudly above all others. Many organisations fall into project management or try it on an 'ad hoc' basis and are disappointed. Often they are about to toss it in when they contact us or another professional consultant. Invariably the problems these organisations encounter get down to a number of the following factors:

They do not comprehend the difference between project management (a skill set for delivery of specific projects within defined parameters, in its simplest definition) and management by projects (a management philosophy by which an organisation achieves its corporate objectives by effectively completing much of the work of the organisation via a number of projects)
They do not understand that project management requires a certain environment to be effective, and that this environment involves:
- A letting go of micro-control by senior and mid level management
- Operation using a matrix structure where people from functional divisions are appointed to project teams and are given accountability (authority and responsibility) to make decisions on behalf of their functional divisions within those teams
- People (project team members) being primarily responsible to project managers and not to any functional manager for the work they do on project teams
- People having a recognised path of redress when they are caught in the crossfire of debate or argument regarding their employment between project managers and functional operatives
- The organisation recognising the 'two jobs principle' wherein every employee has a responsibility within the traditional vertical hierarchical structure, and another within the project structure, and the latter might involve a person being subordinate on a project to a person junior to them in the traditional functional structure.
They do not understand the importance of people in a sponsor's role being trained and skilled in that role and dedicating sufficient time to the role to be effective.
They do not understand the importance of having experienced people assist them in creating the correct environment to maximise their investment in project management
They do not understand that there is no single project management structure, but that the appropriate 'structure' for project management can only be overlaid on their organisation after an assessment of the environmental maturity for project management

Clients are usually amazed at the shortcomings notified. Some take a long time to appreciate taking a person out of general management and calling him or her a project manager will, of itself, have no more effect in making an effective project manager than locking them in a chicken coup would have in turning them into a chicken.

The immediate opportunity for experienced project managers is to assist in the transition process that many organisations are going through as they strive to get the proven benefits of project management working for their organisations. We have the opportunity to run projects within organisations and in so doing to lead by example. We have the opportunity to educate traditional management on how to go about building the appropriate environment to help the project management efforts to thrive and produce results. We have the opportunity to help organisations progress through the stages of the maturation process. We are in the position to advise them when to slow down in order to go faster, to assist them in developing a level of 'systematicity' appropriate to their project management objectives, to train and mentor their people, and to trouble-shoot and advise them on their journey. We can contribute by helping them to identify career paths within project management structures and processes which attract top calibre people to the project management side of the corporate activity.

Project managers themselves will get satisfaction from working with organisations in various stages of maturity. We will experience amazement at working with management who simply cannot see the benefit of any system that encourages divestment of any level of control from the very senior most levels. We will be delighted working with companies like Vodafone New Zealand, whose ability to recognise the benefit of customer driven change and to react in amazingly quick time is outstanding. How could one not be impressed with a company whose managing director, on learning from research confirming that what customers required from mobile technology was the ability to conduct their business from anywhere they happened to be and not only from the office desk, promptly boarded up his office door with large timber and strong nails, so he could run his business as his customers wanted to run theirs and experience their needs first hand. Brilliant!

In all of these activities assisting the corporations of society to become more proficient in working within and for society, project managers are contributing to society's continuing development.

But what of the big picture?

It is estimated that the number of corporations in Australia utilising project management at some level has risen from some 5-6% to some 30-45% (some say more) over the past 5 years or so. The trend is continuing. Project managers are teaching the corporations of the world how to be more efficient by working in teams applying their specialty skills under the guidance of a qualified and experienced project leader. Project managers are becoming recognised as the experts in dealing with that sinister aspect of modern business, corporate politics. Experienced project managers assist people to collaborate without unnecessary compromise, to be inclusive of all suggestion and not exclusive to ideas that do not agree with our own. Project managers understand to do something in the shortest possible time sometimes requires a stop in directionless proceedings and a re-evaluation and planning of all that is involved, despite the time this might take. Project managers understand and live by a credo that puts the best available person for the job in the job and pays scant attention to position and longevity except to the extent that these are a vehicle for experience and ability to contribute. Project managers understand the importance of celebration and recognition of contribution and achievement, of self satisfaction for not only what we have done but for what it indicates we are now more able to achieve. Project managers can deliver great personal satisfaction for our people by helping them find meaning in their very existence by helping them understand the true value they have delivered for society.

Project managers can do all these things. Indeed we already do them. Yet if we combine these principles of achievement, contribution, 'connectedness', adding value for others, consideration of all stakeholders, clear and honest communication, and respecting and embracing diversity, do we not have the formula for an even greater contribution to society than we currently make. Applied between project team members in mature corporate environments, these principles deliver results to a level of effect at which corporations have seldom before seen results delivered.

Why can we not proclaim our success to the world and challenge society to apply these principles beyond the corporate environment, into every corner and crevice of community and government alike? Why can we not target our community, then our cities, our states, our country and then the global community for awareness of our success and how we achieve it, of how they can have the same, and how we as a profession will gladly lead them in their efforts to do so.

Why could we not set as our grand vision, the project management of world peace?

There is not a single reason that a committed project manager would see it could not be possible, providing we can all see, in progression towards achievement of the grand vision, realisation of some of our own Images of Achievement, and providing we can convince others, in achievement of this grand vision, even if there is some personal cost, they can each realise their own Images of Achievement for their lives.

The world's politicians have had their chance over centuries. Perhaps project managers can lift the state of the game. If we project managers cannot sell this vision to our constituents in society, then who can??

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