Takeaway from PMI

 Abstract: This post is about crux of the teachings of PMI-PMP certification. The discipline of Project Management is an essential part of product/service development. It is intended to emphasize the structural approach that should be followed. It is equally important for even a single man army project. A project may or may not have dedicated and designated Project Manager but the job needs to be done.

Project vs operation: In case of an ongoing engagements like helpdesk or regular planned production, it is often counted as an opposite framework. It is indeed different in the sense that a project, by definition has a definite start and end date. An ongoing operation on the other hand does not have any end date. These cases can be treated in Project Management doctrine by implementing the concept of Projectized Operation. Consider this example. Publishing a daily newspaper is an operation where we can view each day publication as a project and the whole chain of publications across a time frame as an example of projectized operation. A similar kind of approach is applicable for almost all the operations that can be thought. It enables business to leverage the best practices and disciplines of Project Management as a specialized domain. 

Bottom Lines of a project: No matter what type of project we are considering, there are few bottom lines that can never be compromised. Here is a list and brief of those.

• Project Charter: Every project must have a charter. It is an artifact that is short, precise and controlled. Means it is frozen once accepted and should go through change management process to update it. The single most important point in this document is the objective. What the project aims to achieve by successful execution. This is from where the workflow, design, staffing and timeline everything derived.
  
  
• Stakeholder identification: Every project affects people. Sometimes favourably or otherwise. At the beginning of the project, we need to identify any and all of them. Failing to identify any stakeholder may create an unforeseen and unwelcome development in later stage. An example shared by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Azad shared with us, the members of PMI Hyderabad Chapter in 2006. There was bridge construction project. Suddenly it was stopped following huge public demonstration which tends to become violent. It was caused by the residents of the area on which bridge was planned. They fear that a decontrolled vehicle may just fall from the bridge and possibly kill people and damage assets below. The solution was found. It was guard railed but that impacted the cost, timeline everything. The problem arisen at the first place because stakeholder identification was not done when it was supposed. The most important stakeholder is the project sponsor. This entity, individual is the key beneficiary of the project. Most importantly, this person provides funding and other supports. No project can be successful without a sponsor aka owner. In my experience, the Capstone Projects in academia today, especially remote learning platforms are classic example of this. It does not have a sponsor and nobody owns it and drive it. It is a recipe for failure except a few exceptions. Mostly managed by rewarding high marks because in reality, nobody is affected by it. But it portrays a very ugly example to the student as what a real life project looks like.
  
  
• Change Management: We hear about being agile. But agility does not mean unplanned changes. A structured approach towards change management is the defacto essence of successful integration of changes in the later stage of the project. Basically, accept the inevitable - change and prepare for it.

Being a PMI certified PMP, when i went for education in AIML, i found that these basic aspects about a successful project are never part of any curriculum neither someone like the faculty ever mention a point about these. If the student community is not already accustomed with any structured framework and approach towards project management, a lot may be in stake. It can lead to wasted efforts, confusion, irrational customer expectations and lack of decisiveness while the technical resources and approach may not be the one to be blamed. But then end of the day that uncertainty and chaos may be the new normal in AIML domain. The aim of this blog is to contribute a bit here.