The Keys to Sound PM Processes

Project management processes often fail to take root in organizations, leading to reinvention and inefficiency. This can be avoided by ensuring critical elements are in place when implementing project management processes. Here are the characteristics of robust, flexible, and enduring processes that enhance project success.

• Confirm management buy-in. Involve management in process creation, focusing on appropriate stage gates and decision points as a process is drafted and tested. Incorporate process adherence into documented team member expectations to ensure lasting adoption. Project and line managers should recognize adherence to new processes so team members receive positive reinforcement for process compliance.
• Build-in flexibility: Design processes that adapt to project size and complexity. Allow for deviations when necessary, giving team members flexibility to respond to unanticipated situations presented by technical challenges or stakeholder needs. Implement a straightforward process for proposing process deviations or improvements to enhance process ownership by both management and team members. Note: Ensure the deviation process does not compromise project change management processes!
• Establish a maintenance plan. Establish a regular review process to evaluate and update processes. Include data collection, deviation analysis, and user perspectives to ensure processes remain relevant and consistently generate intended outcomes. Ensure the maintenance process examines individual processes and all processes in aggregate to maximize overall effectiveness.
• Provide guidance. Provide practical examples, tools, and templates to guide team members in implementing processes as intended. Review the guidance elements to ensure they provide accurate guidance to users. 

Incorporate guidelines for “Appropriate Plagiarism.” Create a library of completed documents and process applications, making it easy for users to adapt past work to current projects, increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Include project descriptions within the document library to help project managers assess if applying a document from the library is appropriate for their current project.