Advantages of following Processes:
When I read PMBOK first time I was not convinced by some of the processes and thought it is really hard to apply some of them in the real world. But after completing all the knowledge areas and coming back to those areas, my way of thinking got changed. Although there are times when it is really hard f to follow all the PMP standards the way they should be, and due to lack of time we tend to take a shorter and easier path. But in long run it pays back and believes me it really pays back. Then why not “Do it right the first time”.
Do you violate process for good relationship with your Client?
There are times when you feel that, doing something by going out of way is helping you in making long term relationship with your client. At times, you feel that although you are violating a particular processbut you are ethically correct. You feel that it would have almost zero impact on your project and so you tend to do it. But does it really have no impact on your Project?
Let’s take an example, in a company; you are the Project Manager, who had just signed an order of 250 packets for a shipment which is almost ready to go. You received a call from your client to send 2 more packets. He told you that he had already received an approval on this additional quantity; he updates all the documents with revised payments and sends them to you. You tell him that you have not updated all the documents and now this will take a couple of days more. You plan to revise the shipment date by 3 days. The client doesn’t want to shift the date of this order; he assured you that it will not cost any extra to you. He is paying for 252 packets and the final document also contains this new count. All the main documents are updated, rest other documents can be edited later on. At times people gets carried away, and for good relationship, give their consent in such situations.
But think of the situation if the whole shipment is lost or damaged, the insurance company will pay only for the 250 packets, as they were not send the updated information. Who will bear the loss of those extra packets?
Are processes and documentation really important?
There are people who always crib that due to a list of lengthy process, there is hardly any time left for them to work. Some of us think that “work” means execution. If you are not executing, you are not working. This is a wrong concept; documentation and following the processes, is also a relevant part of your project work. So even if documenting each and everything is boring and time consuming, it is a necessity.
Another area that many of the clients or sponsors have been eager to skip is the part about “lessons learned”. Conversely, many are not eager to study the lessons of previous projects, and many are not willing to document the “lessons learned” in details. Once the project is completed and successfully launched, the project manager gets busy reviewing suggestions, feedbacks and appreciations of the project. At times skip documenting the “lessons learned”. Documenting the lessons learned is an asset of an organization. This document is helpful to other project managers, not to repeat same mistakes and save time of their valuable resources. It is here that a PMP certified project manager can be differentiated from another project manager.
Do you know documentation is necessary for the projects started but were not completed andcancelled due to new high priority requirement or budget constraint or technology changes?
If you are thinking that a one liner documentation stating the reason of cancellation would be more than sufficient, then you are wrong. There should be proper documentation of each and every process in detail. This includes the project scope statement, resource plan, communication plan, risk register and lessons learned. There are project managers who feel that since the project is cancelled it is of no importance to the company and any further work on the same is just time wastage. But from an organization’s perspective all these documents are important, as if the company plan to start it again, all the updated documents are in place and the project can be started from that very point. Project management has become one of the most preferred skills by the employers in today’s world, when technology is changing day by day at a rapid pace.
Although 100% project management knowledge cannot be applied, it is not an easy task to convince those who are not PMP certified, but one should try to convince others with a strong supporting data in hand.
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