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Jean-Michel DE JAEGER, EMBA, PMP
Project Manager, France
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management: the Word MANAGEMENT
In my opinion the most important thing in project management that many people overlook is in the word MANAGEMENT. Of all the difficulties you face,
- Project methods and tools are useful in project management to organize, to plan, to follow-up, to report but they represent no more than 30% of your challenges as a project manager.
- The other 70% concern the management of the project team, integrating the project into the overall management of the firm, the management of the stakeholders, and of course the management of the client relationship.
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Linda Juspandi, AUSTRALIA
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The Hardest Thing in Project Management: Managing Cross-functional Activities I totally agree. However, management of cross functional activities is the hardest thing and are often missed...
For example, security requirements (physical & electronic) often come from the client security department and not the accommodation property group. If it does come from the property group...it is a matter of them forwarding the brief directly to us.
The thing is that some of the reqs are actually in conflict with one another...but unless we go through them in fine combs...we won't know. It is so time consuming (in particular with door schedules etc etc)...
Anybody ever experienced this too...?
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David Dicanot
Analyst, France
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Why Projects Fail: Project Definition and Resources, ... Hi, I share the fact management is a main part of a project success.
I would ask you what is the percentage of projects which failed or delayed because of the management?
I think the main reasons of project failure are inaccurate definition of objectives, the pressure of business to get all in the shortest time and bad load evaluation.
The management will help to save a project or help to lead the project but root causes are in the project definition and resources choice.
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P V ANANTHARAMAIAH, India
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management: Motivating the Teams I too agree. Most of the time (at least 70% of the time), the project manager is fully exhausted with the internal challenges of the project team.
In the case of large projects or medium sized projects, the challenge is motivating the teams across. In many industries the most valuable resources are the people. If the people are not really motivated enough and they are not really participative in the whole project cycle, the chances of becoming success are feeble.
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Xolani Nxanga, South Africa
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What's Most Important in Project Management? Managing the People The common thread I have picked up is that the most difficult part of any project is managing the people involved. This I believe is the area that project managers need to spend their time on.
In order to get the desired results, the project manager needs to get commitment from the stakeholders to solve a particular problem.
Projects are about solving complex problems. The project manager needs to simplify what may appear as a complex problem. The project manager needs to ensure (manage) that normal communication between stakeholders is turned into intelligent conversations where the objectives are clear to all and all conversations are well-planned and the context is well-defined.
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Paul D Giammalvo
Professor and Consultant, Indonesia
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There is no Most Important Thing About Project Management... Management (to be effective) requires authority commensurate to the responsibility. At least in most owner companies, (as opposed to contractors) there is plenty of responsibility but rarely is there formal authority to match that responsibility.
Having said that, because project management is a system, and a system is synergistic - is greater than the sum of its parts, there can be no single "most important" component or element. A system is only as strong as the weakest link, whatever that may be.
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Marcelo Charlin, Chile
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The Weakest Link in Project Management is the Unexpected @Paul D Giammalvo: I agree with you Paul. I would add that in my view the weakest link can be an unexpected event, a scenario which should have been considered as a possible, albeit undesirable, outcome or side effect at any given phase. And I don't mean by it that the planning wasn't accurate, it may simply be that you did not know which or what was your weakest link until you faced it, unexpectedly. i.o.w. no plan is 100% accurate and you find that out on the field, when managing the implementation of the plan (project), despite all the care you took in every other dimension, including managing the team.
Nicholas Taleb calls them Black Swans.
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Smeeksha, India
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The Most Important Thing is Project Management with Conviction The most important thing is project management with conviction. At times for managing a project we write the system, guidelines and way of working, but at times all these things don't work and we lose heart and put the blame on some else.
Then what matters is the conviction to deliver the project and get things working again. He or she may be someone with a leadership position, or even a team member.
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Sukru MINDAS
Project Manager, France
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What's Most Important in Project Management: Stakeholder Analysis @Xolani Nxanga : I agree with you when you say that the most difficult is managing the people involved, and for to get results we need to get commitment from stakeholders.
So if we as a project manager are looking for commitment, we need to a stakeholder analysis and find the various interests or advantages that each stakeholder has in the project, even if that takes time.
My experience learnt me that if there is no advantage (financial, responsibility, best work conditions...) for a stakeholder, he will not really involve in your project.
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Hector Rodriguez
Analyst, Paraguay
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What's Most Important in Project Management? Continuously Managing the People @Xolani Nxanga : I agree that in most cases managing the people that are involved is the key element to achieve the project objectives and goals.
We should consider that people (stakeholders) are changing their position continuously. So we must continuously control and adapt the map of involved people. If we don't, we are likely to miss our objectives.
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Ted Garrison, United States
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What's Most Important in Project Management - Leadership Leadership is the key. Leadership in project management is not about control, but the ability to perceive the existing conditions (understand the existing conditions) then allocate the resources, both human and capital, in the most effective way.
Key part of perception is understanding or defining the issues or project outcome. In essence, managers do things right, leaders do the right thing and make sure they have the people that know how do the right things correctly.
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afolabi adeosun, United Kingdom
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What's Most Important in Project Management I could not agree more. Soft skills are an important ingredient in project management. Without the ability to successfully coarse, influence or manage teams and stakeholders to deliver the objectives,...
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M Swain
Consultant, United States
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Most Important in Project Management? The Project Scope @David Dicanot : I agree project definition (the scope) is most important in project management. Elements of the project scope go beyond definition alone and include:
1. Obtaining the scope (require...
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Leodegardo M. Pruna
Professor, Philippines
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Most Important in Program and Project Management are the People I beg to disagree that management is the most important thing in project management. Management could be static if taken as a noun but dynamic if considered a process.
Anyway, the most important elem...
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MSc Alberto Carrizo Kacheff
Business Consultant, Brazil
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management is MANAGEMENT @Leodegardo M. Pruna : I partially agree withyour disagreement. Nevertheless, placing the right people, performing people's and projects follow ups, drawing challenges, setting goals, etc... will be t...
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Makhosandile Ndzuzo, South Africa
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management: Managing Relationships @Xolani Nxanga : Performance of work necessarily involves the management of relationships - be it between people, people and systems, systems and processes, processes and structures, performance manag...
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Jean-Michel DE JAEGER, EMBA, PMP
Project Manager, France
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management: the Word MANAGEMENT @David Dicanot: all what you said is right David, but don't you think project definition and choice of resources are typical management issues?...
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Jean-Michel DE JAEGER, EMBA, PMP
Project Manager, France
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Managing Cross-functional Activities is Part of Management @Linda Juspandi: you are perfectly right Linda in saying that managing cross-functional activities is a particularly hard job.
Project management is based on management by objectives and responsibili...
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Elizabeth Elikem Addae
Student (University), Ghana
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Most Important Thing in Project Management: MANAGING the People @Leodegardo M. Pruna : I agree with you that the most important resources are the people.
Managing the people is critical to get the best out of them:
- There is the need to first of all motivate th...
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Dirk Schleef, Germany
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Important in Project Management: (Managing The) Communication In the beginning of project management, but also in any other phase, there must be project communication:
- With everyone who might be affected in one or more aspects (stakeholders).
- With everyone...
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C.L. Kappagomtula
Professor, Malaysia
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The Focus of Management in Project Management Yes, I do concur with the initiator of this discussion, that the important aspect of project management centers around the word 'management'.
However, the word is too generic to ascribe total import...
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Kevin M. Adolfo
Management Consultant, Philippines
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Management Support is also an Important Element of Project Management Based on my experience, the projects that I handled became a lot easier because of the management support. Management support is indeed necessary from start to finish of the project. It has to be pres...
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Schubert Pereira, United States
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Many Things are Crucial for Project Management Success @Paul D Giammalvo : I tend to agree that there is no single thing:
- People resources are your most important asset.
- Successful project execution is the ability to listen for and understand the sp...
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Alex Yap
Accountant, Malaysia
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management: The Right Project Manager! I think having the right project manager is the most important factor in any project. It is implied that management is empowered and project team is well equipped.
At the end of the day, any project ...
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Serge Kuznetsov
Teacher, Russian Federation
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Organizational Project Management Indeed project management has much to do with management of business organization, primarily via change management....
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Marcelo Fenoll Ramal
ICT Consultant, Brazil
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Sponsor and Client must Work Together There is no magic project management that can save a project when the sponsor and the client aren't working together.
If one of them wants to sabotage the project, it will fail, no matter the experti...
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Rosemary Barasa, Kenya
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Most Important in Project Management: Planning The most important thing for every project is to plan properly otherwise you plan to fail at all stages.
And that should include people planning to take care of training at the beginning and at every...
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FAYEZ, Saudi Arabia
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Management is Most Important in Projects and Has Many Aspects I agree that the management of the project team, including the integration of the project into the overall management of the firm, the management of the stakeholders and the management of the client r...
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benjamin
Manager, Taiwan
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Management of Subcontractors is also an Important Element of Project Management How to let all subcontractors to work as one team is also an important thing in project management....
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Grace Alleyne, Barbados
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Most Important in Project Management: Project Definition and Resources @David Dicanot: I do agree with you. Unrealistic timelines are the bane of projects. Businesses are sometimes too eager to complete projects and do not carry out detailed planning at the beginning of ...
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M Swain
Consultant, United States
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Most Important in PM: Management of Commitment and Expectations @Grace Alleyne: I agree that an unrealistic time frame is the number one bane of project management. The calendar time frame, the talent and capital applied and the expected project deliverables; all ...
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K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
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Managing the Most Important Things in Project Management Project management principally engulfs:
- Scheduling (critical chain management, event chain management)
- Measuring (of ongoing project activities)
- Costing (project cost controlling, change mana...
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Greenhow, Sweden
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Most Important Thing in PM: Communication @Dirk Schleef : I agree with you that managing different groups of stakeholders depends ultimately on communications - what, when, how, for what, and so on.
And I mean both parts of communication - b...
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abdelmouneam haj bakoor, Syria
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The Most Important in Project Management: the Humans Indeed everything that has been said is right. But I consider what's most important in project management to be the humans, such as the leader, the plan maker, the implementation team members, etc...
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Zoniaina
Coach, Madagascar
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What's Most Important in Project Management: Managing Agreement about the Output and Managing the Interaction - Output: to mobilize, drive and manage, we have to align and to share the same idea of the output; the same perception; the same goal; the same... It must converge on the same point, even when the in...
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Peter Brunner
Management Consultant, Switzerland
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Important in Project Management: Managing Strategic Decisions about the Project We have seen many aspects needed in managing a project.
I would like to stress another point, that is relevant in large western companies. Any project requires decisions on its way that need to be ta...
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Rebecca Katticaren, India
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Management Skills of Program Manager I agree that in program management the most important word is "management".
But do not forget that a program manager cannot afford to get exhausted: skills in time management, negotiation, coordinati...
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Dieudonne Bolisomi Ebengo Mbaku, Congo, Democratic Republic of the
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What's the Most Important in Project Management: Project Issues and Risks Management A project is a vulnerable and sensitive packages of investments. Any turbulence in its environment may request a crucial re-design.
Most of the time stakeholders are unaware of this, which results in...
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Ahmed Zahran
Business Consultant, Egypt
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What is Most Important in Project Management: Control Although I agree with most views demonstrated here, I think that the magic word is "control". If a well established control system is set and enhanced by close follow-up and monitoring, then you guara...
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Horbinski, United States
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Most Important Thing is Management in a Project I agree in that the tools are there to make clear the management.
Project plans, communication plans, risk plans are all tools to make sure the PM works with the project staff, the sponsors and stake...
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Damodaram Kuppuswami
Consultant, India
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Leadership in Project Management @Ted Garrison : In my view the 70% of management is the leadership dimension. Increasingly the project management is not limited to managerial skills and with growth in responsibilities, the quality o...
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Jean-Michel DE JAEGER, EMBA, PMP
Project Manager, France
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management: the Word Management @Peter Brunner: I fully agree with you Peter, projects exist within organizations for itself, or for its customers, and steering commitees are there to take high level decisions aligned with its strat...
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Mario de Obaldia, United States
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The Most Important Thing in Management is .. - Part 1: With a team that is inherited and immutable, discovering the strengths of the "tools" (people) and playing to the strengths.
- Part 2: Choosing the right people for the tasks and then holdi...
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RUBEN ACOSTA
Manager, Mexico
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management is Management, BUT... Yes, I agree with the title of this discussion, but 'management' must NOT be understood as 'control' anymore, but rather as: 'organizing'.
I think that the organization of team efforts, ideas and sel...
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Leodegardo M. Pruna
Professor, Philippines
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management is the Word PROJECT @MSc Alberto Carrizo Kacheff: if we are to consider the words in project management, the more important thing would be the word PROJECT - for as long as the project redounds to the welfare of people w...
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Vincent Miholic
Manager, United States
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The Vital Importance of Complete Connection and Communication While implied in most responses, @Horbinski's is the only one to explicitly suggest the vital importance of clear communication.
Simplifying complex tasks, requires unambiguous exchange of informati...
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SHEJA Innocent
Director, Rwanda
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Personal Motivation of Project Manager Every manager has to check himself, because (s)he can influence the impact of the project positively and negatively. So, let us look for our personal motivation to improve the project impact and succe...
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redouane sibai
manager, Morocco
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An Overall Vision of Management Mr. DE JAEGER, I agree with your proposal about the importance of management, considered in terms of a holistic and dynamic and not reduced to a toolbox. My experience is my reference: I worked on sup...
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vickie rodriguez
Student (Other)
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Having your Team Members Rresponsible for their Task I agree with the comments on managing people getting all parties concern involved with shared knowledge and putting these ideas to work, having your team members responsible for their task so that man...
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K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
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Most Important Things in Project Management In my opinion the following things are of paramount important in project management:
1: Effective scheduling covering: critical chain management for funding resources required for project tasks; crit...
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Emmanuel Mwirichia
Manager, Kenya
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What's Most Important in Project Management? - I have managed a number of projects and ambiguous objectives and outcomes really mess up the team.
- A lack of a proper hierarchy and understanding of the reporting structure and decision-making ac...
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MSc Alberto Carrizo Kacheff
Business Consultant, Brazil
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The Most Important Thing in Management is Management @K.Narayana Moorthy: Further to my previous publication, I would start with a getting to know what the client needs, wants and expects from the suppliers (us in this case).
Next, after staffing the ...
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Joseph Mohammed
Student (Other), Trinidad and Tobago
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People / Communications We have a "communications plan" among the PM docs. Yet, in my experience, we really don't "communicate" and think about "people" in the context of the projects. Sometime pm's are too focused on the pr...
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K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
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Most Important Thing in Project Management @MSc Alberto Carrizo Kacheff : Thank you, all that I can say and reiterate is from experience is: a business cannot survive without conducting ongoing efforts to better understand customer needs.
To...
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Paul D Giammalvo
Professor and Consultant, Indonesia
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Project Management is a Complex System Consisting of Many Interlinked Components Folks, I think all of you are missing a very important point. Project management is a system - a combination of interlinked processes.
And in any "system" it is impossible to parse out one part as be...
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Peter Brunner
Management Consultant, Switzerland
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Systemic Project Management @Paul D Giammalvo: Great comment - this is in sequence of what Kambiz Poostchi in his book 'Spuren der Zukunft - Vom Systemdenken zur Teampraxis' (German book) says.
I folowed his seminar of systemic...
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ATBA Bouchaib
Technical Studies Service Manager, Morocco
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The Most Important Thing in Project Management @Paul D Giammalvo: hi, great this holistic approach! However I think the heart has a central role in a body: a person can survive without a toe, or a kidney... but not without a heart.
The heart in a...
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Paul D Giammalvo
Professor and Consultant, Indonesia
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The Most Important Thing About Project Management is that it is a SYSTEM @Atba Bouchaib: Atba, in a system, there IS no single "most important" part!
If your big toe has gangrene, it can kill you just as readily as if you have a heart attack (only a lot slower). Or if you...
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MSc Alberto Carrizo Kacheff
Business Consultant, Brazil
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Project Management is a Complex System.. @Paul D Giammalvo: distinguished colleague, may I bring to your attention that management is not a system, rather an activity dealing with systems and, there off, with multiple entries processes.
The...
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K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
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Many Important Things In Project Management Yes, agreed. Any project is to be considered as an adaptive complex macro system comprising of connected micro systems (like ecosystem).
Every enterprise is surrounded by strategies, artifacts, a div...
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Zoniaina
Coach, Madagascar
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The Most Important in PM: Focus on Output and Interactions All above propositions are right!
We are different, our experiences are different. For me, "output" is the most important thing.
But, we can't get any value-added in any output if we don't care abou...
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Paul D Giammalvo
Professor and Consultant, Indonesia
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Project Management as a Complex System @MSc Alberto Carrizo Kacheff: Upon what scientific basis are you making your claim that management is not a system?
None other than Harold Kerzner has written what many believe to be the "holy bible"...
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Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands
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System or Activities @Paul D Giammalvo : To me:
- A project is primarily a (temporary) system, endeavour or organization.
- Project management is primarily an activity or a group of activities aimed towards or dealing w...
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Paul D Giammalvo
Professor and Consultant, Indonesia
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Most Important Thing About Project Management... @Jaap de Jonge (Editor): Jaap, none other than Peter Drucker (in his 1973 book "Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices") posits that "...management is management is management...", regardless ...
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Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands
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Project ≠ Project Management.. @Paul D Giammalvo : Hi Paul, the intention of my last reaction was not to dispute if project management is management. Because it obviously is...
My point was that you said earlier in this discussion...
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Jean-Michel DE JAEGER, EMBA, PMP
Project Manager, France
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Project Management versus Operations @Paul D Giammalvo: hi Paul, I really understand your point of view and your reference to Peter Drucker in his book in 1973 arguing that the only difference is that project has a defined finish. But fr...
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Maxx, Germany
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Important thing in Project Management: the word MANAGEMENT -- WHO does WHAT by WHEN? My view on projects is as simple as achieving other business goals:
>>> WHO does WHAT by WHEN? <<<
Everything can be derived from that.
WHO:
- Right resources,
- One responsible, not a group
- P...
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Paul D Giammalvo
Professor and Consultant, Indonesia
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Projectization of Operations.... @Jean-Michel DE JAEGER, EMBA, PMP: Jean Michel, many of our mining and oil and gas clients are "projectizing" operations (see an example) which lends credibility to the argument that the only signific...
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K.Narayana Moorthy
HR Consultant, India
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Project Management In my opinion Mr. DE JAEGER, project management is basically tied up with 5 view points:
- SCOPE (contextual);
- MODEL (Conceptual);
- SYSTEM (Logical);
- TECHNOLOGY (Physical)
- FUNCTIONING (Per...
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C.L. Kappagomtula
Professor, Malaysia
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Managing a Project is Truly a Cakewalk, Provided You Reign the Triumvirate Yes, managing under demanding conditions is the sign of any true leader. Even in projects, managing can become a 'cakewalk' (Editor: ~ something easy to do), provided one knows how to harness and reig...
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Rudranath Singh
Project Manager, Trinidad and Tobago
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Management and Leadership in Project Management I agree with your comment provided that by management you include some aspects of leadership. I think that leadership in whatever activities are done within the project is very important for project s...
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