An Advantage of Working PMs

It’s often touted as a weakness and a risk, and I agree that it can be so, but I argue that in our Cottage PM environments, the “working PM” has a distinct advantage.

The “Working PM” is the project manager who not only owns project management tasks on the project, but also owns other project deliverables. He is both PM and project team member. It can go even further: we may function as Project Sponsor, too!

The risk, of course, is that by owning non-PM work on the project, the PM work gets robbed of the time attention it needs. That’s real, and you need to watch for it.

On the other hand, as a project “insider,” owning part of the work, and possibly owning the project outright as sponsor, we’re uniquely positioned to do some things better than “traditional” PMs sometimes do. We are better positioned to identify and drive the end value of the project.

Projects have to create value

This is related to one of the lessons learned for 2009  as listed in the article, “In Hindsight,” in the January 2010 issue of PM Network (p. 33). That lesson is metrics. But drilled down further, that lesson is metrics to drive real value-add in our projects and proving how the project gains value for the organization before securing funding. State more directly, as quoted in the article:

“It forced everyone to think like a businessperson, to look at the value proposition of the project, what problems it’s trying to solve, and what the benefits are to the company.” –Karen Quagliata, PMP.

Value. It’s not just about the triple constraint of Cost, Time, and Scope. It’s about what value is created after (while) focusing successfully on Cost, Time, and Scope.

Use the Project Charter tool

Earlier this week, I wrote about my emerging affection for the Project Charter tool. That tool is key to this value analysis. It identifies the problem statement and a high-level view of Cost, Time, and Scope. That early snap shot is key to knowing what value you’re creating, and that perspective increases your value to your organization.

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