Future of Project Management is Business Value Delivery Management

Ask most Project & Program Managers what the future of the competence is, and I’ll bet 9 out of 10 would say “Agile”.

It’s not that I disagree Agile thinking is a positive trend. I just don’t see it as the full picture, and certainly not a silver bullet. Part of this view is that as logical and intuitive as the values are, the principles underpinning it are still susceptible to many of the challenges that threaten traditional or “waterfall” approaches. More than anything else, this is a lack of practicality in constantly changing environments, with varying levels of organisational maturity and buy-in. I sincerely hope agile academics keep looking for solutions, but I don’t see this changing soon.Let’s assume then, and this is a reality for many, that:

-       Teams are not /cannot be colocated

-       Teams are demotivated and stretched, trust is not established

-       Business don’t / can’t work closely with a project team, or have delegated product ownership

-       Scope, Time and Cost are fixed

-       The organisation is in transformation somewhere between Waterfall and Agile

There are reasons for the above, often out of immediate control of the project manager. So if we accept these (the factors over which the current PM obsesses!) cannot be changed, the challenge for a project manager to still deliver Business Value becomes far more complex. Mastering this dilemma is our future. This is a big opportunity for the Consultant Project Manager. So what does this "Business Value Delivery Manager" look like?

Through discussions with clients, colleagues, and Communities of Practice, a number of competencies have been identified as contributing to future-proofing a PM profile. I have tried to summarise these in the model below:

Able – “Multi-Competent”, to manage and coordinate not only “delivery” but also analysis, design, functional / technical and other workstreams.

Adaptable – to changing organisations, ambiguity, multiple methodologies, and imperfect scenarios.

Articulate – Communicates risks, issues and progress clearly, frequently and with purpose across multiple levels.

Agile - Find the best way to apply agile values, and adapt agile principles in the pursuit of optimal business value.

Academic – Understand and apply critical Industry/Subject Matter Expertise and Business Knowledge.

Approachable – Relationship focussed, and intent on supporting and leading internal / external business, project teams and individuals to success.

Aware - Of organisational and strategic direction, the competencies above, and the influence these have on one’s project.

Moving Up the Value Chain

It is clear when one looks at these “competencies” that there is an increasing expectation of a project manager, and specifically as a consulting PM, that they can operate at levels we traditionally thought of as “programme” and “portfolio” related.

Operating at Programme and Portfolio levels generally requires a much broader experience and exposure to transitional environments, business strategy, business case development & benefits realisation, project leadership, and stakeholder engagement at c-levels. This can be a huge challenge when the PM in question is new to consulting.

With PMOs increasingly becoming governance and capability support offices however, there is a vacuum which the PM is being asked to fill.

Owning Business value – Not Just a PM Thing

If we accept that the ultimate value of a consulting PM is to deliver business value (as opposed to PM artefacts), it becomes necessary for us to understand the project lifecycle in its entirety, and address any impediments. We also need to focus on obtaining the experience, education and exposure in these areas to supplement our core PM skills.

Lastly, I see this growth opportunity extending further than just to project managers. With governance and delivery frameworks often well defined in a large organisation, this PM core competence becomes less important. This means that senior Process, System and Business Analysts, Change Managers, and Enterprise Architects amongst others can transition into similar “Value management” roles. In fact, it is most likely they will add immense value through the application of their core competencies to the delivery cycle, which they would otherwise not have had opportunity to do.