Why Do You Launch a Project?

Construction by caribb

Photo courtesy of flickr.com/caribb/

Can’t you simply develop an application, write a business procedure, set up a point of sales, build… another Dreamliner?

The problem is either too big, too complex or there is not enough time for operations to deal with it.

I used to think ‘projects’ were but a modern buzzword stolen from the construction business. After all, we used to build buildings, roads, bridges, for quite a while (these were big). By the same token, we now farm, hunt clients or execute (things, hopefully).

I used to think good operations would be able to manage (or execute, for that matter) the kind of change that is expected from a project — thanks to sound business processes and continuous improvement.

And yet, if projects are a means of putting someone’s vision into life, the TO-BE can differ significantly from the AS-IS, and it may be that a vision is almost oposite to any “business as usual”. A broad perspective then, a different set of skills or know-how, combined with orderly, persistent execution, are the kind of ability you look for in a Project Manager.

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