Process development through Process of Project Management
Quite frequently there is lack of clarity in differentiation between Project Management and Process Development. It is easy to misunderstand the semantics of process, programs and projects. In a nutshell let’s distill a few thoughts so as to show differentiation and integration of the discipline of process development and related core competencies.
Typically core processes center around three distinct and related areas They are tightly linked together. For sake of simplicity they are Strategy, People and Operations. These processes are where the things that matter about execution need to be decided. To quote from the book (highly recommended) Execution: the Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, “The strategy process defines where a business wants to go, and the people process defines who’s going to get it there. The operating plan provides the path for those people . It breaks long-term output into short-term targets. Meeting those here-and-now targets forces decisions to be made and integrated across the organization, both initially and in response to changes and business conditions.”
Project Management is a discipline and a highly refined process. The biggest single reason for project failure outside the construction industry is lack of clarity in project definition. That is missing the target or identifying the wrong target, often very efficiently executing a solution to the wrong problem. The related disciplines of team dynamics, project management, time, priority and resource management are foundational to effective Process Development and of necessity highly integrated. The biggest time and resource wasters for example are not typically people not knowing how to do their job or working hard, rather misplaced energy and resources on activities that are not in alignment with or congruent to effectively established priorities or following well-thought-through, refined, correctly defined processes. Perhaps the most effective tool for Process Development is the Process of Project Management. Time/Priority/Resource Management, Cutting Edge Teams and Coaching make up three highly integrated disciplines in process development. They are fundamental prerequisites to highly functional organizations and are in fact indispensable to Process Development. Continuing and never ending improvement (Kaizen) for example have their roots in refined processes that are discussed in great detail BasicsRedefined training. Fundamental competencies such as the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) or what I call the the Law of Disproportionality are essentials in effective process development. Mastery of these disciplines elevates performance and reduces resource expenditure.
