Project: a shortcut for a failed process?

TO COMPENSATE INEFFICIENT PROCESSES? When we observe how companies operate ,we often can see that with setting up projects in a company we try to compensate inefficient business processes. We try to do a shortcut.  Why do we do this?

TO GAIN CONTROL? We set up a project to reach a certain goal, to deliver result in a controlled, monitored way. And we say, because it is important, so it will be a project. And another one, and another one. And they are just alike. Organization in the organization. Why do we not look at these projects closer, set up a proper process and from that point on do the repeatable task always in the same manner. And more efficiently, the knowledge that we have gained delivering the results does not get lost; it is used over and over again.

TO SAVE TIME? We need to do something quickly. We find that doing it in a “normal” way we would lose too much time as “our way of doing things around here” is too slow and too complicated. So, we set up a project, to do it with people we know, not following regular processes along the way. Hmmm… not very smart. Maybe the way we do things around here is not right?

TO OVERCOME SPECIALIZATION? The specialization of tasks in a company has led to the thinking that everything that needs to get done is somehow a “project” that requires putting together the people with the proper set of skills to do the work, following a project plan to execute.

And, it works just for a limited period of time and for a limited number of tasks.

But you know, SHORTCUTS ARE THE LONGEST PATHS BETWEEN TWO POINTS.

 
At some point things become interesting.

 

 

 

SO, WHERE ARE YOU?

1.     First, figure out what the word project in a company means? Does the company even know which tasks are considered projects? If the answer is NO, this is quite a strong sign, that its processes are not defined.
 
2.     Second, what kind of projects does the company has? Long-lasting or short and defined? The first is quite a good sign that the processes should be defined.

3.     Third, how long does it take to get the list of projects in a company? A minute, a day, a week? Is the list clear, goals defined, projects related, connected, benefits and deliverables clear or are there double counts, missing goals different names for the same projects, lack of information on duration, budget, and benefits?

Well, by now you will know what we are talking about.

 
WHAT IS THEN A PROJECT? There have to be strong rules, what is really a project, when to set up project, but common sense has to prevail at the end. Otherwise, everything in a company will be a project. At the end there will be so many of them, that none will be finished.

ACCOUNTABILITY. When you are starting your project, it is important to note that just because a particular task requires accountability from a certain person and has a due date, does not necessarily mean that it is a project. It can be just a task from an operational process that has to be defined. So we do not lack projects or processes we lack accountability. And accountability is key for efficiency.

NOT JUST ONE PROCESS! And if you think that with setting up a project you can be sure to do the work in a controlled way, fast and with high quality results, remember that if you define your one and only process of project management into perfection, it simply will not work. Why? Because all the processes are connected and dependent. Sooner or later one of them will jeopardize your projects. You have to have your key processes in good shape.

TOO SIMPLE FOR YOU? If you are more into sophisticated methods, you can run a process maturity assessment we will write about in one of our next blogs. Keep alert!