The young project manager had started his new project and was being given a briefing from the retiring project manager. At the end of the handover the retiring project manager gave him three numbered envelopes.
“My predecessor gave me these three envelopes and I have found them extremely useful. Should you encounter any difficulties with the project you may also find the advice inside useful.”
Things went along smoothly for a while but then the project started to encounter problems and stakeholders were beginning to get anxious. The project manager remembered the advice he was given by the outgoing PM at the beginning of his project and took the first envelope from his desk drawer.
The message inside read, “Blame your predecessor.”
So at the next project meeting the project manager laid the blame for the project’s problems on the decisions made by the previous project manager. The stakeholders seemed to accept the situation our young PM faced and offered their continuing support.
As the weeks passed the old issues with the stakeholders returned and the project encountered yet more problems. Having benefitted from the earlier advice, the PM decided to open the second envelope.
The message read, “Blame changes in the environment”.
The PM duly pointed out the changes that the business and the economy had gone through since starting the project, replanned the activities and moved the milestones to reflect the new circumstances. The stakeholders were impressed by the proactive stance taken by the PM and for a while the project made good progress.
However, it wasn’t long before the project again hit problems and so the PM decided to get advice from the third envelope.
The message inside said, “Prepare three envelopes.”
The project manager was taking some well-earned time off from a complex and bruising project and was taking his dog for a walk in the park. Suddenly in a puff of purple smoke, a figure appeared. When the smoke had finally cleared the figure said, “I am your Fairy Godmother and because of your ongoing commitment to helping people deliver capabilities and gain business value through project management, I am going to grant you three wishes.”
The PM was taken aback but after a short think said, “I would like for my dog who has had a fairly hard life to win the Greyhound Derby.”
“What is his name?”
“Lucky” said the PM.
The Fairy Godmother looked Lucky up and down and said, “I did say I would grant you three wishes, not three miracles, so let me have your next wish.”
The PM started to tell his Fairy Godmother about the difficulties he was having with his project and how in keeping with the Association for Project Management’s Strategy 2020 vision he believed in A world in which all projects succeed (APM).
“For my second wish I would like my project to come in on time, on budget and meet the quality requirements of my stakeholders.”
The Fairy Godmother paused for a few seconds and said, “Let’s take another look at that dog.”
President Obama, 44th President of the United States
When it comes to remembering the presidential legacy of Barack Obama most of us would think either that he was the first black American president or his controversial healthcare reforms – Obamacare.
I doubt that many of us would mention improving programme and project management in government. However, one of President Obama’s last official duties on the 14th December 2016 was to sign into law the Program Management Improvement and Accountabily Act of 2015 (PMIAA) which is intended to ‘enhance accountability and best practices in project and program management throughout the US federal government’.
PMIAA requires the Deputy Director for Management of the US Office of Management and Budget to:
Adopt and oversee implementation of government-wide standards, policies, and guidelines for program and project management for executive agencies;
Chair the Program Management Policy Council (established by this Act);
Establish standards and policies for executive agencies consistent with widely accepted standards for program and project management planning and delivery;
Engage with the private sector to identify best practices in program and project management that would improve federal program and project management;
Conduct portfolio reviews to address programs identified as high risk by the Government Accountability Office (GAO);
Conduct portfolio reviews of agency programs at least annually to assess the quality and effectiveness of program management, and
Establish a five-year strategic plan for program and project management.[1]
The head of each federal agency will be required to appoint a Program Management Improvement Officer to implement agency programme management policies and develop a strategy for enhancing the role of programme managers within that agency. The US Office of Personnel Management is directed to issue regulations that:
Identify key skills and competencies needed for an agency program and project manager.
Establish a new job series or update and improve an existing job series for program and project management within an agency, and
Establish a new career path for program and project managers.
Under the Act, the GAO is instructed to issue a report within three years examining the effectiveness of the following on improving federal program and project management:
The standards, policies and guidelines for program and project management;
The strategic plan;
Program Management Improvement Officers; and
The Program Management Policy Council
The legislation received rare bi-partisan support in the US Congress and was supported by the Project Management Institute (PMI). In the PMI’s annual Pulse of the Profession[2] report the institute found that only 64% of US government initiatives ever met their goals and business intent and that government entities wasted $101 million for every $1 billion spent on projects and programmes. The report’s research also showed that ‘projects are 2.5 times more successful when proven project management practices are used… and waste 13 times less money.’
The PMI in association with the US National Academy of Public Administration has published a detailed white paper in July 2017 on Implementing the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act of 2015 which interested readers can download from the PMI website
It will be ironic if Obama’s enduring legacy turns out not to be the first president of colour but to have created the conditions for a step change in government programme and project efficiency.[3]
1. Summary: S.1550 – 114th Congress (2015-2016), https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1550 2. Pulse of the Profession, The High Cost of Low Performance, PMI 2016, http://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2016.pdf 3. Implementing the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act of 2015, PMI 2017, https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/business-solutions/program-management-accountability-act.pdf
The young project manager was being quizzed by his programme manager about his third party vendor management skills and how he found dealing with suppliers.
“Well, I’ve come across a few suppliers who couldn’t do enough for you.”
“The majority do a reasonable job as long as you keep a close watch.”
“And one or two who you would be quite happy to throw onto the flames of a bonfire!”
“Ah!”, the programme manager responded, “those would be the burned at a stake holders.”
Hat tip to Jon Fawbert at the Office for National Statistics for this gem.
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