Taming Chaotic Project Management - Knowing when you have a project and when you don't

As you begin to move from a Chaotic Project Management Culture, one of those struggles for the organization is going to be how do I know when do I have a project? PMI's definition is a bit nebulous for the staff trying to accept a project management methodology. PMI defines a project as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Those trying to understand the project management methodology take a little bit for the enlightenment light bulb. Those passive aggressive dissenters never cross this river and use this concept as a political barrier.

However, the good news is that this obstacle is easily overcome. The easiest technique is to provide a pm cookbook recipe approach.

I know I have a project when several (not all) of these conditions are met:

• I am going to need a team of people to get this done


• I am going to need to tell my boss and my customer the progress of this over a month or longer


• I have a business executive who wants to get this in to improve the way his department works


• Our goal is to provide this objective by adding this or really change that to this


• I am really going to need to coordinate everyone's task to get this done


• Someone has to keep track of the funding to buy and install this


• We are creating or installing something net new, which we have not done before here


• I am going to have to train people to use this

Further Readings on Taming Chaotic Project Management:

• The Top Ten Characteristics of a Chaotic Project Management Environment


• Find out how many active projects are in flight.


• Establish your organization's current and desired need of Healthcare IT


• Collaborate on Prioritization Decision Criteria


• Have a defined and approved process to accept work.


• How to stop running the daily meeting marathon


• Using the WBS to define deliverables