Guest Post by Malcolm Peart (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)
Project Management – it’s not covered by a discrete law but when it’s practiced under a contract it’s open to accusations of negligence, just consider the UK’s Hedley Byrne case. Project Management is seen as a risk mitigation measure and, contractually speaking, this requires a duty of care by its practitioners and/or the legal entity represented. Ignorance of legal requirements is no excuse for not knowing they exist.
In most contracts the requirements for Project Management will be specified or implied throughout a project’s life-cycle. These requirements are, typically, related to measurable deliverables concerning the experience of people, timing and content of reports and other tangibles related to some generic requirement to meet some predetermined cost, time, quality, or performance targets. When they aren’t, there’s normally some catch-all reference to following ‘good’ or at least recognised practice.
Good practice may be achieved by following a recognised code such as the ‘global standard’ of PMBoK as well as ISO 21500 or BS 6079. The adoption of these and any contract requirements, is generally seen or accepted as compliance. However, projects do not always meet expectations and there can be accusations of negligence and threats to sue through legal action. The ‘Law’ may not have been broken, and negligence needs to be proven, but there are many irrefutable laws that may assist a Project Manager in their endeavors and ensuring that best practice is being pursued…ignorance of these is no excuse either.
Risk
Project Management is a risk response measure. Providing a structured approach to managing a project promotes rigor in its planning, execution, and monitoring and control. Murphy’s (or Sod’s) Law of “if it can happen it will” is a risk management favorite and reminds us that we must be aware of our obligations. But knowing when a risk may occur will help address Finagle’s Law in that “risks always happen at the worst time”.
Luck is not seen as a project management attribute. However, luck, when preparation meets opportunity, is a project management product if we are fore-armed by being fore-warned. If we aren’t forewarned through our risk planning, then Gumperson’s Law may prevail and a risk is more likely to happen when it’s least desirable; so be prepared. Such preparation requires the ‘intelligent application’ of project management and not just throwing the book at a project through unthinking rote and turning turned stones.
The success or failure of a project is based on people and their perceptions of risk and their ability to manage and lead. ‘Good’ people exist but the Peter Principle reminds us that those who excelled in one job, while not necessarily fit for promotion merely rise to their level of incompetence. For these square pegs in round holes, they may then be subject to the Dilbert Principle and are moved to a position where they will cause least damage. Alternatively, and perversely ambiguous, we find that the Peter Principle also tells us that “leadership is nature’s way of removing morons from the productive flow”.
Planning
Enthusiasm often prevails at the start of any project and, despite its recognised importance the discipline of planning is forgotten. It’s an unfortunate part of human nature that ‘newness’ is exciting. We should remember Benford’s Law of Controversy and that passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information; passion is commendable but if this is coupled with illusory superiority the Dunning-Kruger Effect may prevail and mistakes will not be recognised in the hubris of a leadership team.
A fundamental aspect of planning is to ‘Begin with the end in mind’ as per Stephen Covey’s 2nd habit. This is in line with the mantra that prior preparation and planning prevents poor performance. Project Management is ineffective if you ‘learn as you go’ and if Kinser’s Law is followed you will only know enough to start when it’s almost complete; there’s only so much trial and error that can be disguised as management.
Planning ensures that all aspects of a project are addressed and amalgamated so they may be effectively executed in an efficient manner making the most use of our most precious resource, time. Any available time, according to Parkinson’s Law will be filled with expanding work while Asimov’s Corollary states that if there’s more time available there’s a greater chance of being late. And when it comes to time Hofstadter’s Law reminds us that things always take longer than expected, even when you know it.
We can sometimes presume that a project is ‘good’ and ‘worthwhile’ but, if it’s not, then our best endeavors may well follow Augustine’s Law and that ‘a bad idea executed perfectly is still a bad idea’. Even when we have a good project to plan, the act of failing to plan is, in reality, planning to fail according to Lakein’s Law.
Many people may plan for perfection and introduce complexity where it’s not needed. It’s here that Gall’s Law comes into play and that ‘complexity evolves from something simple that worked’. We should also be mindful of Saint Exupéry’s Law that perfection is achieved by taking away rather than adding. As they say, less is more, and KISS!
Execution
In projects the bulk of project costs typically lie in Execution. But why is Parkinson’s Law of Triviality so often encountered and a disproportionate number of meetings focus on matters that are inversely proportional to their value. This is also reinforced by Sayre’s Law and that intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the stakes at issue. An incredible amount of project time can be easily and readily spent on trivia.
Communication, often cited as a main reason for project failure, is an essential part of any project. Communication, or rather miscommunication, may give the illusion that a message has been passed as well as being understood, but Wiio’s Law states that communication fails, except by accident. Good communication requires management to be effective rather than just efficient. Communication should be planned rather than trusting to some accident, rumour control, telepathy or even osmosis.
Execution also involves the greatest number of people who, suitably armed with management plans, strive for a successful outcome. However, as projects are ‘unique undertakings’ people may not be familiar with the tools at hand. According to Constantine’s Law – ‘a fool with a tool is still a fool’ and a potentially dangerous one at that. People need to be trained as to how a tool is used as opposed to guessing.
During execution timelines are stoically defined and milestones and deadlines are defined and written in tablets of stone. It’s then not a question of work expanding it’s about Cargill’s Law and that the first 90% of a project takes 90% of the time and the remaining 10% accounts for the next 90%. Time doesn’t expand but delays do.
Monitoring & Control
Monitoring and control enable a project team to know where they are in terms of the status of schedule, expenditure and performance. If these are not known, we may have to resort to Fitzgerald’s Law and that it’s either too early to tell or too late to stop something. Timely reporting is essential as are realistic KPIs, however we shouldn’t forget that KPIs are ‘performance indicators’ as per Goodhart’s Law and not ‘targets’.
If a project is in trouble good news reporting may abound. For those optimistic proponents who get in with their version of the truth first the result is ‘false news’. Rebutting such ‘news’ takes time and effort and, as per Brandolini’s Law, the amount of energy to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude greater than the energy to produce it.
Projects can generate masses of reports and information on their status. Some are read, some are argued, and some are simply ignored under the auspices of information overload. Less is often more and we should be mindful of Pareto’s Principle that 80% of consequences result from 20% of the causes allowing reports to be succinct and focused. At an extreme we also have Sturgeon’s Law which states that 90% of everything is crap so there is every opportunity for increasing quality of reporting, reducing quantity, and allowing time for understanding, feedback, and necessary action.
Close Out
When a project closes then knowledge gained can be invested in future projects as part of corporate learning. Alternatively, it’s lost as project participants disperse and their experience becomes a memory. Gaining knowledge is essential to learning and without it an organisation is destined to make the same mistakes. Survival is about learning and, we “use it or lose it” as per Lamarch’s 1st Law of Evolution; learning is a choice.
However, for those who don’t know what Project Management is or the benefits it can provide they suspect that nothing is being done or has been done and that the Project Management effort is a ‘bolt on’. They measure it based upon timesheets breaking down people’s effort into the aspects of scope, time, cost, quality etc. rather than the value of the results thereby demonstrating that Graham’s Law is alive and well.
Conclusions
Project Management can make, or sometimes break a project. While compliance with codes, standards and specifications are considered essential the purpose of Project Management should not be forgotten. If Project Management becomes a means-in-itself as opposed to the means-to-an-end, we will be proving Shirkey’s Principle.
The application of Project Management should be planned. However, even the best laid plans may need to be changed. If we aren’t using the right approach, we should remember Baruch’s Observation and that we need to see the real issues and use appropriate managerial tools; everything isn’t a nail that we just hammer, and hammer.
Charles Dickens may have likened the Law to an ass (donkey) but we should also remember O’Brochta’s Law and that Project Management is about applying common sense with uncommon discipline. Unfortunately, as we all know common sense is all but common and discipline, although a much maligned essential, is dictated in realms of toxicity rather than cultivated and nurtured in an environment of openness and trust.
| Law, Principle, etc. | Description |
| Asimov’s Corollary | In ten hours a day you have time to fall twice as far behind your commitments as in five hours a day |
| Augustine’s Law | A bad idea executed to perfection is still a bad idea. |
| Baruch’s Observation | If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail |
| Benford’s Law of Controversy | Passion is inversely proportional to the amount of real information available. |
| Brandolini’s Law | The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it. |
| Cargill’s Law | The first 90 percent of the code accounts for the first 90 percent of the development time. The remaining 10 percent of the code accounts for the other 90 percent of the development time.” |
| Constantine’s Law | A fool with a tool is still a fool. |
| Dilbert Principle | The most ineffective workers are systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage: management |
| Dunning-Kruger Effect | A cognitive bias in which unskilled individuals suffer from illusory superiority, mistakenly rating their ability much higher than average |
| Finagle’s Law | Anything that can go wrong, will – at the worst possible time |
| Fitzgerald’s Law | There are two states to any large project: Too early to tell and too late to stop. |
| Gall’s Law | A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. |
| Goodhart’s Law | When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. |
| Graham’s Law | If they know nothing of what you are doing, they suspect you are doing nothing |
| Gumperson’s Law | The probability of a given event occurring is inversely proportional to its desirability. |
| Hofstadter’s Law | It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law |
| Kinser’s Law | About the time you finish doing something, you know enough to start. |
| Lakein’s Law | Failing to plan is planning to fail |
| Lamarch’s 1st Law of Evolution | “use it or lose it.” |
| Murphy’s (or Sod’s) Law | Anything that can go wrong will go wrong |
| O’Brochta’s Law | Project management is about applying common sense with uncommon discipline. |
| Pareto’s Principle | for many phenomena 80% of consequences stem from 20% of the causes |
| Parkinson’s Law | Work expands to fill the time available for its completion |
| Parkinson’s Law of Triviality | The time spent on any agenda item will be in inverse proportion to the sum of money involved. |
| Peter Principle | In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence |
| Saint Exupéry’s Law | Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. |
| Sayre’s Law | In any dispute the intensity of feeling is inversely proportional to the value of the stakes at issue. |
| Shirkey Principle | Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution |
| Sturgeon’s Law | Ninety percent of everything is crud. |
| Wiio’s Law | Communication usually fails, except by accident. |
Bio:
Malcolm Peart is an UK Chartered Engineer & Chartered Geologist with over thirty-five years’ international experience in multicultural environments on large multidisciplinary infrastructure projects including rail, metro, hydro, airports, tunnels, roads and bridges. Skills include project management, contract administration & procurement, and design & construction management skills as Client, Consultant, and Contractor.
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