How did we get here?

I’ve written before about my background in Portfolio and Project Management (PPM), and even though my angle on project management has changed since I joined Sharktower, when I say ‘we’ in a PPM context, I still include myself in that.

I watched the profession change and develop (or not — but more of that later) for over 20 years, so I’m not here to beat up PMOs. I’m here because I’ve lived the problems first-hand and I know it’s high time to fix them.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve spoken at ‘Future of Project Management’ events, where the questions and conversations I’ve heard make it clear — the people who are working in PPM know it’s not keeping up with the functions around it.

The recurring theme? Projects have become more process, less progress. PPM professionals are now so bogged down with reporting, firefighting and policing that they’ve become in-house emergency services. But when you’re always reacting, how can you innovate?

It’s Question Time

If we want to elevate our project management functions, we need to ask ourselves some tough questions. Project leaders will have to turn the spotlight on their own teams to redefine objectives and goals, identify ways to work more proactively, and review the way the PMO is viewed as part of the wider business strategy.

Is our project management smart enough for the future it is expected to help you create? Or are we still try to deliver the digital and data revolution by gut instinct, spreadsheets & sticky notes?

We need to pick the processes apart

When project teams were smaller and based in one office, data was less important. A few conversations or a team meeting was all it took to get the project manager up to speed.

Today’s sphere of project influence and control is much more disperse and complex

But now project teams are far more diverse, and often include off-site specialists. Not just that, but the projects themselves are more complex, bringing change that has an impact on various teams throughout the business.

As business leaders find it increasingly frustrating to delivery with agility, they often bypass internal change functions to get the job done. Fewer and fewer ‘projects’ involve experienced project people and more end up being delivered by business as usual teams or freelancers.

It means project leaders have to operate on an ever-increasing scale. Teams need to be able to collaborate from different locations (even different time zones), and data needs to be incorporated from and distributed to more people than ever before.

Who do we scale the small project intimacy across complex multi project portfolios?

It means that now, data makes all the difference.

And the future of project management can only be data-driven.

As Gartner Research VP Daniel Stang says: “AI is going to revolutionize how program and portfolio management leaders leverage technology to support their business goals. Right now, the tools available to them do not meet the requirements of digital business.”

Source: Daniel Stang, Gartner Research Analyst for AI-PPM

And yet, the hardy PMO team soldiers on with post-it notes, spreadsheets and manually-created reports.

The right data empowers the right people.

Ever since I’ve been talking to project professionals about data-driven project management, I’ve heard concerns about the software taking control away from the PMO. I can understand why folk might think that’s the case, but really it has the opposite effect.

Data-driven project management isn’t something to be feared; it’s something to get excited about. Because it will elevate project and PMO teams to the place their meant to be — driving, not reacting. Innovating, not treading water. Less time spent “managing” the project and more time delivering the outcomes.

Data-driven software can automate task distribution, monitor team morale and give projects an objective ‘health score’ that highlights the risks and pain points. Think about it — as a project lead, how much time would that free up in your day? A couple of hours? More? It doesn’t mean there won’t be problems to solve, but it would mean you’d be able to see them coming and get on the case before it is a burning issue.

Transparency doesn’t create problems that weren’t there in the first place — it just brings them to the surface more quickly. You still need brilliant people to sort them out.

BUT, it can’t just be business as usual

For data transparency to work, there has to be a behaviour change. No longer can PMs fire off project data into a dozen inboxes without context or an action plan. How did we even get to that? The role of the PM was never meant to be someone who fiddled the stats to make everything look rosy. It’s about spotting the problems and working with business stakeholders to navigate towards the optimal outcomes. Getting back to shared accountability and collaboration.

So anyone who’s been guarding the data as a way to hold onto the power might not survive. But then neither they should, right? When everyone can be a project manager, it takes real talent to embrace new tools, learn, evolve and be a true project leader.

It also about embracing new skills to help change the culture to being data-driven. PMOs need to become data literate and data storytellers so they can be the strategic advisory to the business. In this world we cannot give absolute certainty and control, but through data we can reduce uncertainty and increase probability.

Data-driven project management software is ready and able to Make Delivery Great Again. And that’s a manifesto we can all get behind!

Find out more about how we are trying to solve the problems and an enable a data-driven project culture at Sharktower.com