It isn’t uncommon for subject
matter experts to run or lead projects. In fact this tends to occur as the
focus of projects from a sponsor’s perspective is generally on the ‘content’ of
the project and they often don’t really see the value of a separate PM role on
the project.
While it is vital to have a
subject matter expert or analyst on a project, (as PM’s should not be
responsible for solutioning) there are some subtle yet potentially costly risks
associated with putting that individual in a dual SME/PM role.
It is human nature to focus our
attention and efforts in our areas of expertise and more often than not this is
what occurs. A SME is more likely to focus their attention on the details
around the ‘solution’ and to then go through the motions when it comes to the
PM component of their roles. This
includes throwing together a ‘project plan’ because this is expected of the PM
side of their role.
My experience has shown many SME
built project plans and there are some consistent findings in this respect. One
is that the project plan always seems to end on the targeted project completion
date, but the critical path cannot be calculated.
This is usually because there are
few if any dependencies built in. Instead the Start No Earlier Than (I call it
the SNET) constraint is abused throughout the plan obscuring the total slack.
So what? Well while the solution
may approximate perfection, the estimated time, effort and costs are unknown
and likely based on a faulty ‘work back’ plan. The ‘project plan’ is simply
window dressing and there simply to satisfy the sponsor & stakeholders’
need to see things appear to wrap up on time.
What results is often a project
that overruns it’s scheduled time due to poor planning, key resources that may also
cost dollars (IT resources or consultants) either disperse to other previously
committed projects or must charge the extra time against the project increasing
the budget and lowering the return on investment.
In many cases this part of the
job is severely neglected in favor of solutioning. The other risk is that
having the SME who is also responsible for the PM function is akin to having
the fox watching the chicken coup. The
PM role naturally provides the devil’s advocate to question the validity and
assess the overall impact to the project’s success when change requests are
introduced.
Scope creep cannot be properly
managed without having an unbiased second opinion and a true assessment of the
impact on the overall plan. This again leads to the perfect solution that will
likely meet none of the requirements of the triple constraint. If getting to
market on time is a key requirement, you need to have someone whose focus will
remain on getting to market on time. SME’s are excellent at what they do which
is why they perform this role. Their participation is vital to the project’s
success. Excellence and perfection are the undying goals of a SME and rightly
so. This is why they are at the table.
A PM’s role is to ensure that ALL
of the objectives of the sponsor are being addressed, stakeholder expectations
are managed, and that there is a high quality, regularly revisited plan in
place along with the proper checkpoints and processes to address the unknown
unknowns that tend to crop up at inopportune times.
Not all projects require a PM. As
a rule of thumb, if the number of stakeholders and team members is small, the
scope of the project is limited to one department (not an enterprise wide
project) and time & cost is not an issue you may be able to manage with a
SME/PM. Once the scope of the project grows beyond this, your risks increase
significantly unless you have a qualified & experienced project manager
running your project.
The PM’s view of the project is
much broader than the SME and project success means keeping your eye on all of
the moving parts of the project, including the solution.
Article published in BA Times Dec 2007 by Sean
Best, PMP, Project Management Professional and Owner of exOrion LLC. His 20+ years of project management experience
includes work in the banking, payment processing, telecommunications and
software industries. He can be reached at exorion.solutions@gmail.com
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