Top Ten Problems, #2: Believe that good scheduling software makes one a good project manager

This blog post is one in a series of 10 based on a presentation I developed, “Top 10 problems new (and not so new) Project users have, and what you can do to ease the pain.” I first gave this talk at a Puget Sound PMI chapter meeting. I later gave an updated version of the talk to my local chapter of the MPUG Project User Group. As you might expect, at the PMI meeting the discussion tended more towards the broader project management issues, while at the MPUG meeting more towards specific features in Project. In fact at the MPUG meeting I had my computer projecting and we played around with Project features that related to some of the issues I brought up.

Top Ten List

In the process of writing the Project Step by Step books (starting with the 2000 edition and continuing through the current edition) with my co-author Tim Johnson, I observed first-hand some of the problems Project users encounter. Some of these problems are straight-forward gotchas in the software, but many common problems were really about how people define, understand and practice project management. In this and the other posts in this series, I’ll guide you through each of the top ten problems new or inexperienced project managers encounter, and what you can do to help identify and address these problems.

Problem #2: Believe that good scheduling software makes one a good project manager

As projects go, I think we'd all agree that the development of the first atomic bomb qualifies as a big, complex project. But consider this: the atomic bomb was invented without benefit of scheduling software (in fact, without any software as we think of it today). But not without project management knowledge.

Software Isn't Always the Solution

When I presented this subject at a Project User Group meeting, I represented the problem with this image:

 
We all recognize the item on the left side of the equation. It's our favorite project management application, Project 2007. Let me walk through the items on the right side of the equation to support my claim that good project management software alone does not make one a good project manager.

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

First, there's A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, or PMBOK from PMI. If you are professionally identified as a project manager, at least in North America, chances are you are already a member of PMI and know what the PMBOK is. If not, here's a quick explanation. PMI is the Project Management Institute, the professional organization for project managers. The PMBOK (pronoucned "pimbok") is a concise summary of what PMI recognizes as the major knowledge areas of project management. Some of the knowledge areas, like time and cost management, are well supported by tools like Project. Other areas, though, like human resources and procurement, are well outside the scope of Project's feature set.

Project Management Hits the Streets

The second book I included was the Fast Forward MBA in Project Management by Eric Verzuh. I like this book a great deal for a couple of reasons. First, the organization and layout is approachable and the information presented in bite-sized chunks. Second, the book is framed around real-world applications of project management.

Hands-on is Handy

The photograph in the upper right corner is, I suppose, where my Project Step by Step books might apply. The photograph is intended to represent formal training in Project. Not everyone wants or needs training to use Project effectively, but of all the Microsoft Office applications, at least, Project is arguably the most complex.  Project Step by Step is used more than we expected in academic training settings. My coauthor Tim and I were once visited by someone from Microsoft Press who focused on academic sales. He said he was puzzled why the book sold so well through academic channels, since Press didn't make any special efforts to market it there.

Listen To Your Elders

The photograph in the lower left represents mentoring from more experienced project managers. For me this has been one of the greatest values of my membership in PMI. I've met project managers from a variety of industries and it's really eye-opening for me, coming from the software development world, to see how project management is done in industries like aerospace and pharmaceuticals.

A Cornerstone

The final book I mention, shown in the lower right corner of the illustration, is Harold Kerzner's classic textbook. If you've taken formal project management training, you likely are familiar with Kerzner. Or, let me put it this way: There are two kinds of project managers. Those who have studied Kerzner, and those who will.

Of Optimismware and Shelfware

The Project software application can't begin to replace the professional fellowship, mentoring, training, and academic foundations of a field as broad as project management--nor is it intended to. I bring this up as a top 10 problem for new project managers because I've seen the following pattern more than once. An organization decides to get more mature about their project management practices, so they deploy Project (or Project plus Project Server) and think that's all that's needed. The new Project users struggle, get confused by the peculiar requirements of the application ("This looks a little like Excel, but all these rules about what information can go where!") and eventually shelve it. I sometimes refer to Project as optimismware--it's software we buy with such high hopes of changing our project management practices. Unfortunately though it too often quickly becomes shelfware--yet more software that was tried, then shelved. Seeing the broader domain, body of knowledge, and opportunities for training and mentorship like I've described here can help keep Project in the right perspective.

Hands-on with Project Step by Step

To read more about this blog entry's subjects in the two most recent editions of Tim Johnson's and my Project Step by Step books, see the following cross-references.

Project management fundamentals

• Project 2007 Step by Step: "A Short Course in Project Management," pg. 475.

• Project 2003 Step by Step: "A Short Course in Project Management," pg. 475.

###

Previous posts

Comments

[Project Management Software]

Manual processes of attending projects can create major problems sometimes due to lack of accuracy. In web based project management software, all the errors can be removed easily and apart from that you can track and record all of your jobs. Even companies can customize project management software as per their requirements.

[IT Support Sun Valley]

When the right software makes things more streamlined, the project will progress better. Making reports easier can increase the chances of getting extra funds when needed. If additional financing is necessary, getting them makes completing the assignment possible.

[Project Management Software]

The Project software application can't begin to replace the professional fellowship, mentoring, training, and academic foundations of a field as broad as project management--nor is it intended to.

[Project Management Software]

project management is essential to develop business.