Preface
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.
—ALBERT EINSTEIN
Projects pervade our everyday work and life, and governments have dealt in the realm of projects since the beginning of recorded time. The U.S. federal government has employed project management since its earliest days and in recent years has begun the process of formalizing the methods it uses to carry out a wide-ranging spectrum of projects.
Project management varies widely across the federal government. Our goal in this book is not to provide an exhaustive enumeration of project management practices, but rather to offer a realistic cross section of the project management discipline—a “state of the practice” in the largest single enterprise in the world, the U.S. federal government. We hope this book will enlighten and serve to improve project management for federal leaders, project teams, and others who influence the direction of projects.
Describing project management within the federal government—its three branches, 15 departments, and myriad establishments, authorities, commissions, and corporations—is a study in frustration. On one level, project management is a function that has a clear set of objectives. Yet below the surface lies a complex and highly diverse web of organizational cultures, locations, missions, and funding streams. The forces that bind federal agencies together include a common set of laws and a dedication to continuous improvement.
Throughout our interview and research efforts for this book, we met project management practitioners who were open, honest, and eager to share their challenges, lessons, and advice with their colleagues across the government. Their messages are full of insights and actions for others to adopt. Our intent is to encourage success across the project management discipline in the federal government by sharing their experiences.
Achieving Project Management Success in the Federal Government presents effective practices from organizations across a vast enterprise. Clearly, the tools and techniques employed by one organization are not necessarily a prescription for success in another. Key factors such as organizational culture, executive support, resource availability, staff capability, and the nature of the organization’s services all contribute to the environment in which project management will either thrive or stagnate.
In view of the scale of the federal government and the breadth of project management topics, we chose not to present the information in this book as a technical manual or “how to” guide on topics like earned value or risk analysis. Instead, this book focuses on project management practitioners, senior managers, directors, and executives who recognize the value of project management and are applying the right mix of skills, knowledge, experience, resources, and common sense to improve (in some cases significantly) the success of projects in their organizations.
This book is organized into three parts that define project management from different vantage points. Together, the parts address the entire scope of project management, from organization to methodology, technology to leadership. The chapters in each part address project management topics that share similar characteristics. The topics we focus on grew out of our interviews of government practitioners and our analysis of relevant research.
In Part 1: Organization and Structure, we present key elements and practices that contribute to framing or supporting project management in the federal sector. We address common project management structures and environments in organizations (Chapter 2), the guidance, laws, and regulations that create the context for project management in the federal government (Chapter 3), the organization and management of project teams (Chapter 4), and the role of technology in government project management (Chapter 5).
Part 2: People describes project management practices that engage government personnel and stakeholders in projects and improve the quality of their participation. This part highlights practices and successes in the areas of communication (Chapter 6), project leadership (Chapter 7), stakeholders (Chapter 8), key competencies and skills (Chapter 9), and project manager professional development (Chapter 10).
Part 3: Process addresses the processes that provide the operational context for project management practices. This part describes the emergence and application of project lifecycles, including governance and project portfolio management (Chapter 11), project management methodologies (Chapter 12), the alignment of key “external” planning cycles (Chapter 13), the practice of knowledge management as an integral component of improving project performance (Chapter 14), and efforts to measure project—and project management—performance (Chapter 15).
The book concludes with Chapter 16, providing advice “from the field” along with a discussion of the prospects for and promises of project management across the federal government.
Throughout the book we use case studies and examples, mostly from civilian agencies and a few from the Department of Defense. Clearly, significant differences characterize the execution of project management in these two arenas, particularly with regard to the command-and-control orientation of defense-related endeavors. Nevertheless, we believe that our examples highlight some of the very best practices of project management in the federal government.
We hope we have achieved our goal of accurately representing project management in the federal government today. Our many conversations with project management leaders and practitioners throughout the federal government have convinced us that significant and important progress is being made toward Achieving Project Management Success in the Federal Government.
Jon Weinstein
Tim Jaques
January 2010