A plea for a sustainable approach
Barend Cronje, chief executive officer of CoLAB Project Implementation, likens the current state of project offices within organisations to the deforestation of the earth’s rainforests.
“In the modern environment of project delivery, much has been researched and written about the case for project offices which, for ease of reference, includes terms such as project management offices, project support offices and project delivery capabilities,” he explains.
According to PMI PMBOK 4th edition, a project is “a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result”. Essentially, says Barend Cronje, CEO of CoLAB, this means that a project refers to the introduction of a new or changed capability into a working environment for improved benefit. “This means that project management has to introduce change effectively in order to realise the value intended with the successful delivery of projects.”
by Guy Jelley
As the management framework within which project decisions are made, project governance differs vastly from corporate governance, and unlike the King III legislation that presides over South African businesses, it needs to be fit for purpose per project and organisation.
It is widely accepted that project governance is fundamental to ensuring project success and control. Nevertheless, there is a delicate boundary between too much and too little governance. Too many processes being inflicted on a project team can be just as harmful to project delivery as putting too few processes in place.
How many times have you said, “I wish I knew then what I know now”? Many a project manager has had the same thought. We asked the managers behind big ventures, including the development of the battery for General Motors’ Chevy Volt, Facebook’s home page redesigns, and Method’s growing line of green cleaning products, for the most important lesson they’ve learned for launching projects with maximum success.
Boston, Massachusetts, April 23, 2009 – New Standish Group report shows more project failing and less successful projects.
