Understanding the Project

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Understanding the Project

Managing projects requires that you make decisions, which, in turn, requires that you understand the project environment, background, and people. In other words, you need to understand the cultural and political context of the project. If you have been appointed project manager because of your technical seniority, one of the temptations you will have to overcome is to focus on technical issues rather than on those you consider ''political" and therefore the responsibility of others. Hard though it may be to admit, the people side of projects is more important than the technical side.

To manage a project, you need to understand four things:45b385dc2ce46b62cb4c80a951ea9e72

1. Why is this project being done? What does the client expect to get from it?

2. What is the background to this project? How did we get to where we are?

3. Who are the players? Who has fought for this project? Who has fought against it? Who is the executive sponsor?

4. What is the client's priority for this project?

These questions overlap; they all reflect different ways of acquiring an understanding of the project. But they are not exhaustive. Projects involve a dynamic mix of people with different interests, philosophies, values, approaches, and priorities. One of your main functions as a project manager is to ensure that this mix becomes coherent and drives the project forward. The alternative is chaos.

On Fiduciary Responsibility

Project management is not gentle, nor does it depend upon uncritically pleasing the client. At times, the good of the project requires that you challenge client decisions or actions and oppose those that put the project at risk. As project manager, you are the representative of the project: If it could speak, what would it say?

This role is common in business executives and board members can be held legally accountable for exercising their "fiduciary responsibility" to act on behalf of their company. As project manager, you must also accept that you have a fiduciary responsibility to act on behalf of the project.

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