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Is Project Management Common Sense? |
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“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?
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