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November/December 2005

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Viewpoints are submitted and invited editorials intended to promote discussion on issues of importance to project management. The views expressed in articles published in Viewpoints are those of the authors alone. They do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of pmforum.org or its staff.

The Importance of ..... COMPETITION

by Paul D. Giammalvo

Adam Smith theorized it......... Charles Darwin proved it it....... Bill Gates at one time exemplified it........... China and India exemplify it today.......The UN Supports it......... As does the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and countless governments the world over...... What is “IT”? The “IT” is FREE MARKET COMPETITION, and without question, it has and will continue to make our lives better, producing more diverse products for less money while rewarding those who are willing to take a measured risk in developing new products and services.

So what does competition have to do with Project Management? Very simply- The practice of Project Management has become dominated by a single entity. This “900 Lb Gorilla” has become such a dominant force, that it “can sit just about anyplace it wants to”. (As quoted by one of the current PMI BoD members)

According to Gartner, Standish Group, ENR and other credible sources, Project Management, as being practiced today, is simply not working. Even by the relatively loose definition of being “On Time, Within Budget and substantially fulfilling the stated objectives”, failure rates of 30%, 40%, 50% or more are being reported on an all too frequent basis. And we want to call what we do a “Profession”? Project management is today at about the same maturity level as Medicine was in the 1700’s. Sure, some people lived, but as much by luck and providence as from the skills and competencies of the surgeon or doctor. Medicine at that time could best be described as uncontrolled human experimentation, and at worst, outright fraud and malpractice. Isn’t this where project management is today?

At the recent Global Project Management Forum in New Delhi in November, “touchy –feely” discussions were being held about “cooperation” and “co-opetition” (competitive cooperation). To these weak attempts at political correctness, I would say “hooooeeeyyy”. (and we all know what that means!!) The best thing that could happen to the practice of Project Management would be healthy, aggressive, toes to toes and nose to nose competition between PMI, IPMA, AIPM, asapm, AACE, INCOSE and other organizations purporting to “represent” what it is we do for a living. (See PMBOK Guide®, Appendix E, pages 333-334)

Currently, the growth rate of project managers being certified continues to expand exponentially. But has that resulted in “better” project management? Recent articles about the CSC/IRS fiasco; Ford Motor and Oracle; Computer Associates and the Australian Customs Office, and the “granddaddy” of them all, Boston’s “Big Dig” all stand as evidence that something is radically wrong with how project managers are being taught, credentialed and how projects are getting executed. Leading thinkers such as Peter Morris et al are starting to question the conventional wisdom, through their “Rethinking Project Management” research.

Stated another way, despite attempts by those organizations who survive by “representing” those who do project management to paint a rosy picture, it’s about time someone was willing to tell the Emperor he has no clothes on. Project Management as currently being taught, credentialed and implemented is NOT working anywhere near what it could or should. So what can the “average” practitioner do about it?

To start with, we need to regain control over those organizations which purport to “represent” us. The world’s largest organization has become dominated not by practitioners, but by lawyers and professional organization managers and the other existing alternatives are disorganized, and lack the resources and will to compete or are too new and untested to offer a viable alternative.

Secondly, we need to move from knowledge based to competency based credentialing. Would you get on a plane knowing the pilot had only taken a written exam (and scored as low as 61% on it!!!) but had no verifiable track record of successfully taking off and landing? Would you opt for elective open heart surgery knowing your cardiologist has gotten only 106 questions out of 175 right on his/her board certification exam, but had no records of how many of his/her patients lived or died? Yet isn’t that EXACTLY what the leading project management organization is advocating? Does anyone see something wrong with this picture? Just what is the Emperor wearing?

Bottom line - Only by establishing a climate of healthy, free market competition between the various professional organizations can we hope to move the practice of project management to the next level.

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Paul GiammalvoPaul D. Giammalvo, CDT, PMP, CCE, MScPM, is Director of the ASEAN Project Manager’s Center of Excellence, Inc. (APMX) For over 12 years, he has been provided Project Management training and consulting throughout SE Asia. He is active in the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International, (AACE); Construction Specifications Institute (CSI); Construction Management Association of America, (CMAA) and serves on the Global Project Management Forum Steering Committee. Email Paul G. Giammalvo or visit Paul's Website

 

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