Designing, documenting, and implementing a project management methodology is a major undertaking. It is met with several obstacles, including: • Cultural and organizational barriers to change; • Replacing existing project management habits; • Rugged individualism of technical professionals. | 1 Introduction to the Process Improvement Life Cycle Designing documenting and implementing a project management methodology is a major undertaking. It is met with several obstacles including Cultural and organizational barriers to change Replacing existing project management habits Rugged individualism of technical professionals. An organization will never reach the point where it is safe to say that all three of these obstacles have been neutralized. In fact these obstacles will continuously plague projects for as long as there are projects to be plagued. Until very recently most organizations have not paid enough attention to these obstacles which ushered in the beginning of the end for many of them. Once the methodology is introduced to the organization however its founding fathers claim success and the process of implementing a project management methodology officially ends. To be specific reaching this point is just the end of the beginning. The strategy for the middle game involves direct confrontation with the above obstacles. Project failure rates are expected to decrease as a result of using the new methodology but they do not. Project teams are supposed to use the new methodology but they are not. The problem is often serious enough to require commissioning a project to find a solution and implement it. As organizations come to the conclusion that the time and cost expended to reach the point of full project management methodology implementation is an investment in the future 1 2 Project Management Process Improvement attitudes change. These organizations turn their attention towards protecting their investment and so programs at improving project management performance are sought. This chapter introduces the solution at the process level. Later chapters expound on that solution. The Importance of Process Improvement The amount of effort put into the design and implementation of a process does not really matter there is always room for improvement. .
