Sympriser

Read this article from our new blog at http://blog.symprise.net.

“Experienced project managers can deal more effectively with complex software projects”. Really?

This “conventional truth” is contradicted by INSEAD professors Sengupta and Van Wassenhove‘s research on experience-based learning.

They tested the skills of hundreds of professional project managers using a computer-assisted game, built from professor Abdel-Hamid‘s renown simulation models for software development. The game was configured to represent a complex environment and most participants confirmed it replicated real-world project situations.

Some of the research results and conclusions are reported in the article “The Experience Trap“, published in the February 2008 edition of HBR magazine:

• experienced managers don´t outperform less experienced ones;
• replaying the game didn´t improve their performance;
• most managers believe project size underestimation and consequent quality, timing and cost problems are recurring flaws in complex projects.

According to the authors, many experienced managers are trapped by their rigid mental models to repeat intuitive and successful behaviours they learned in earlier and simpler projects. The same behaviours can be ineffective or even counter-productive in more dynamic and complex environments.

Research on project management effectiveness is relevant to both individuals, organisations and institutions. Leaders in the professional community, like SAP’s Paul Ritchie, have been highlighting and reflecting on the article main points.

I agree with the colleagues that don’t accept high failure rates nor unsurpassable barriers to continuous learning and professional evolution.

Changes are, of course, necessary at both institutional and individual level. We will address these changes examining the aspects of our professional practice that are most relevant for acquiring proficiency from our experience as project managers:

• How we think. Does our thinking style enables or constrains our perception and learning capabilities?
• How we learn. Do we consciously and actively pursue learning and building knowledge from experience?
• How we lead. What are our focus and purpose for leadership?

Let’s explore these topics on the next posts on Project Management Effectiveness.

The original version of this article was published at Better Projects.

Read this article from our new blog at http://blog.symprise.net.

Intelligent dialogues require trustful relationships.

In the previous post “Most Requirements are just Design Decisions”, we invited BAs to rethink the rigidity of software requirements.

Relevant environmental changes or new knowledge should trigger corresponding requirements adaptation. Leading this process, a BA adds more business value to their organisations.

Unfortunately, requirements are just requirements for many BAs. They don´t have the opportunity to participate in the intelligent dialogues where strategic design decisions are made.

Effective collaboration between the IT function and other business functions can be a complex and difficult issue in many organisations. This represents a critical credibility problem that must be addressed both by IT executives and IT professionals.

The perceived credibility of an IT professional goes beyond his or her personal competence and integrity; it is grounded in trustful relationships.

Principles

Now I invite you to reflect on your professional relationship style. Is it effective to create and nurture trustful relationships? Here are some principles I have used over the years with good results.

Be a Good Citizen at Workplace. Genuine citizenship behaviour means to me to actively respect all fellow professionals and executives and foster a positive, constructive and productive work climate.

It is also important to have a clear view of what is bad workplace behaviour. David Maister highlights “20 bad workplace habits” from Marshall Goldsmith´s book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There”.

Reach Out and Touch. Try to see where you and your clients fit in the whole picture. Be open to learn, understand and appreciate their values, interests and the language they use. Then, get closer to them.

Promote Dialogue and Empowerment. I found myself many times eager to present solutions to users as soon as I grasped the most salient problem issues. I learned through experience that rich and frequent dialogues are key elements for more fun and effective processes, that generate better quality solutions and results.

Give Consistent Care. Respond quickly, reliably and honestly to your clients demands. Make sure you consider thoroughly how all your actions will affect their actions. Always be in the front with your clients during major software transitions.

Do these principles resonate to you?

Share with us your thinking about this critical issue for our profession.

I thank Raven Young for indicating David Maister´s post, that inspired me for this post.

This article was originally published at Better Projects.