Page 59 - Impiantistica Italiana Maggio Giugno 2014

We Can and Should

Raise the Standards

They have to evolve continuously, following the development

of the profession (doing things better, quicker and cheaper)

Martin Barnes
Past President APM, The Association for Project Management

I I think there are two types of standard. There
frst attended an IPMA congress in Stockholm
in 1972 and have been to nearly all of Types of standard
them since. I always fnd them interesting,
are standard ways of doing something and
educational, stimulating and just very good
fun. And I have made so many good friends
people try to reach in doing something. We
from around the world at IPMA congresses.
In 1972 the phrase “project management” was there are standards of achievement which
might ask a project manager which standard
hardly known and the applied science of project way of doing cost control he or she used on
management had yet to be developed. After a project. The answer might be “Prince2”.
forty years, it is now well known, widely used We might ask the same project manager
and a great step forward in the competence what standard of cost control he or she
of the human race to manage its activities achieved. The answer might be “a very high
and undertakings. But it is still developing and standard – we finished just within the budget
has further to develop into new activities and without using the contingency despite the
undertakings and meeting higher standards of budget being tight and having had a lot of
achievement. unexpected problems along the way”.
I hope and expect that it always will develop and So the first type of standard is a standard
improve, just like every other profession. way of doing something and the second is
We must be careful, therefore, in developing the standard of success you achieve.
standards for our profession, that we do not I am quite sure that our standards of the
restrain continuing development. Why would second type will improve over time. Future
we say “this is the right way to do this” if next project managers will be able to complete
year somebody is likely to come up with a better the same projects faster, more cheaply and
way? In project management, the best way achieving better performance on completion.
to do it now is much better than the best way Twenty years ago I wrote a play about the
twenty years ago. And in twenty years time it past and future of project management
will be better than it is now. In 2012, which of us which was performed at the opening of
would be happy to be in the care of a medical the 1992 IPMA Congress held that year in
doctor who knows nothing of new medicines Florence. It suggested that we could get
and treatments brought into use in the last so much better at project management in
twenty years? the future that there could be a successful
Standards have improved. Standards should project to eliminate illness. It was fanciful
always improve. of course but it was intended to make the

Impiantistica Italiana - Maggio-Giugno 2014 55 55