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Is Project Management Common Sense?
“Isn’t this all just common sense?”
Wow, good question. This question was asked by one of my students while we were discussing the importance of managing project resources and assignments based on the critical path. And then some really good conversation ensued. This particular student felt that all project management best practices are really just common sense. Others disagreed and still others thought the answer was somewhere in the middle. To some, once they learned the project management best practices, they had an ‘Aha’ moment.
You know? ‘Aha, so that is why project X failed’ or ‘Oh, I get it, that is why once we were behind schedule we never recovered.’
At this point my response is full of bias. But I tried to objectively recall when I was new to project management. I recall starting out in a job and being labeled a team leader. Then one day I was being called a project manager. I was whisked off to training where I learned to use software that helped me create and manage project schedules. That was kind of neat. I thought putting together schedules was fun, sort of like fitting together a puzzle.
One day the company I worked with decided to create something called a PMO. That was new to me. And one day, that new PMO manager asked me about something called a PMBOK. What a funny word, PMBOK. Sounded like a Dr. Seuss character to me.
That is when I realized that I needed to get some formal project management training
So was that training all just common sense? Yes and no. I learned that assigning work in a logical order and selecting the correct priorities was working the critical path. And thinking about what could wrong (or right), well that was called risk management. Great news, risk management should involve the team, not just me obsessing by myself in my cubicle, car or while I was trying to sleep. What a huge relief.
Was it all common sense to me? I don’t know. Does the fact that formal training and continued experience made me a better project manager mean I developed better common sense?
Then again, if it really is just common sense, why doesn’t everyone do it?
Wow, good question. This question was asked by one of my students while we were discussing the importance of managing project resources and assignments based on the critical path. And then some really good conversation ensued. This particular student felt that all project management best practices are really just common sense. Others disagreed and still others thought the answer was somewhere in the middle. To some, once they learned the project management best practices, they had an ‘Aha’ moment.
You know? ‘Aha, so that is why project X failed’ or ‘Oh, I get it, that is why once we were behind schedule we never recovered.’
At this point my response is full of bias. But I tried to objectively recall when I was new to project management. I recall starting out in a job and being labeled a team leader. Then one day I was being called a project manager. I was whisked off to training where I learned to use software that helped me create and manage project schedules. That was kind of neat. I thought putting together schedules was fun, sort of like fitting together a puzzle.
One day the company I worked with decided to create something called a PMO. That was new to me. And one day, that new PMO manager asked me about something called a PMBOK. What a funny word, PMBOK. Sounded like a Dr. Seuss character to me.
That is when I realized that I needed to get some formal project management training
So was that training all just common sense? Yes and no. I learned that assigning work in a logical order and selecting the correct priorities was working the critical path. And thinking about what could wrong (or right), well that was called risk management. Great news, risk management should involve the team, not just me obsessing by myself in my cubicle, car or while I was trying to sleep. What a huge relief.
Was it all common sense to me? I don’t know. Does the fact that formal training and continued experience made me a better project manager mean I developed better common sense?
Then again, if it really is just common sense, why doesn’t everyone do it?
Tags: common, education, management, manager, pmo, project, sense
Comment
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Comment by Veronica Lane, PMP on November 2, 2009 at 11:58pm -
Common sense isn't common. For that reason, it would be unfortunate to think that formalized training is not necessary to be a successful Project Manager. What I will state is that formalized training sets great PMs from Task Trackers. I'll root for training any day.
Veronica
askaprojectmanager.tumblr.com
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Comment by Terry McKenna on November 2, 2009 at 7:02pm -
The problem with "common sense" is that it's a completely subjective thing (something we all claim to possess!). I do believe that we need a lot more than knowledge-based certifications (e.g. PMP) but what we do need, and where some level of formalized "project management" kicks in, is in ensuring that the specific and specialized approaches and techniques are applied; as William LaRue above comments vis-a-vis Risk Management. For sure, task direction - defining and allocating discrete activities to be performed by team members - is not 'rocket science'. But when it comes to managing a project, with all its interdependencies and complexities, then we need more than 'common sense'. I view one of the roles of the PM as a 'translator' - to make sense of the external context, or 'big picture' for team members, who often ask "why do we need to do this (this way)??"; and, conversely, to ensure that the project environment and status is communicated in a way which makes sense to parties external to the team, be they sponsors, clients or other stakeholders.
One might well argue that, with the (perceived) high failure rate of projects (particularly in the IT field), project management qualifications do not assure anything. I would suggest, however, that obtaining formalized knowledge (which case be achieved 'on-the-job') is at least a 'hygiene factor' for project managers. Emerging research out of the UK and South Africa does indicated that having such knowledge, coupled with experience, does make a difference. Of course, there'll probably never be a definitive answer, but we do need complement whatever 'common sense' the PM has with some formalized knowledge.
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Comment by William LaRue on October 29, 2009 at 3:00pm - While common sense goes a long way in management of a project, knowing the correct tools for the job and employing them correctly not only makes things easier, but it lets the manager use his/her common sense. I have seen countless projects fail due to improper risk management techniques (toolset issue - you need quantitative analysis, not qualitative) that overwhelmed all efforts at using common sense to save a doomed project. Once the death spiral has begun, common sense can be next to useless in correcting a bad situation.
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Comment by Justin Navarro on October 28, 2009 at 11:19am -
As someone with only marginal formal training in PM, I can say that there are certainly people who have a 'talent' for the role and so may view much of it as common sense. That said, knowing the tools and their proper application makes the difference between someone getting by on luck and someone who really knows what they're doing.
It reminds me of the saying, "Good lucks and charm may get you in the room, but you'd better know something in order to stay there."
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Comment by Hitesh Timbadia on October 28, 2009 at 3:21am
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Projetc Management is perceived as just being able to manage - one that carries high authority and needs gives the right punch into people. It is indeed much more than that where we talk about human relationships on the right note and right mindset - where objectives of carrying out a task in unison is well understood and articulated.
Respecting others and gaining the respect of all - team and stakeholders is key to the existence of any project.
Whilst books and theories can teach us so much, it is our intuition, character and experience that take us further.
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Comment by Shim Marom, PMP on October 26, 2009 at 10:38pm -
Margaret, many people believe Project Manager is just plain common sense, which explains how some lend into project management jobs for which they do not quite have the necessary qualifications. Many believe that project management is about constructing sexy gantt charts and without realizing that there's more to project management than just schedules and budgets.
Cheers, Shim
www.quntmleap.com/blog/
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Comment by David Shirey on October 26, 2009 at 4:13pm
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The idea of tackling a job in an organized fashion and realizing that what you do (or don't do) today will have an impact on what you can (or can't) do tomorrow is common sense.
The various tools and schemes that we use to try to monitor this way of thinking is not necessarily.
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