tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15466608.post-53369869054081012212008-05-06T02:51:00.015+10:002008-05-06T08:52:34.888+10:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jyR43J44wHM/SB9IlHJDM4I/AAAAAAAAABw/dZPc0JpRb6E/s1600-h/FlightSimulator.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jyR43J44wHM/SB9IlHJDM4I/AAAAAAAAABw/dZPc0JpRb6E/s200/FlightSimulator.jpg" alt="The six-monitor flight simulator" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5196952297418208130" border="0" /></a><i><b>Experienced project managers can deal more effectively with complex software projects". </b></i><b>Really?</b><div align="right"><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;">This "conventional truth" is contradicted by INSEAD professors <a title="Prof. Kishore Sengupta" href="http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/faculty/profiles/ksengupta/" mce_href="http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/faculty/profiles/ksengupta/" target="_blank">Sengupta</a> and <a title="Prof. Luk van Wassenhove" href="http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/faculty/profiles/lvanwassenhove/" mce_href="http://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/faculty/profiles/lvanwassenhove/" target="_blank">Van Wassenhove</a>'s research on experience-based learning. They tested the skills of hundreds of professional project managers using a computer-assisted game, built from professor <a title="Software Project Dynamics" href="http://www.amazon.com/Software-Project-Dynamics-Integrated-Prentice-Hall/dp/0138220409" mce_href="http://www.amazon.com/Software-Project-Dynamics-Integrated-Prentice-Hall/dp/0138220409" target="_blank">Abdel-Hamid</a>'s renown <span style="font-weight: bold;">simulation models for software development</span>. The game was configured to represent a complex environment and most participants confirmed it replicated real-world project situations.</p><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;">Some of the research results and conclusions are reported in the article "<a title="Harvard Business Review" href="http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article.jsp?ml_action=get-article&amp;articleID=R0802F&amp;ml_page=1&amp;ml_subscriber=true" mce_href="http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/hbsp/hbr/articles/article.jsp?ml_action=get-article&amp;articleID=R0802F&amp;ml_page=1&amp;ml_subscriber=true" target="_blank"><b>The Experience Trap</b></a>", published in the February 2008 edition of HBR magazine:</p><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><ul style="text-align: justify; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><li>experienced managers don´t outperform less experienced ones;</li><li>replaying the game didn´t improve their performance;</li><li>most managers believe project size underestimation and consequent quality, timing and cost problems are recurring flaws in complex projects.</li></ul><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;">According to the authors, many experienced managers are<b> trapped by their rigid mental models</b> to repeat intuitive and successful behaviours they learned in earlier and simpler projects. The same behaviours can be ineffective or even counter-productive in more dynamic and complex environments.</p><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;">Research on project management effectiveness is relevant to both individuals, organisations and institutions. Leaders in the professional community, like SAP's <a title="Paul Ritchie´s LinkedIn profile" href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulritchie" mce_href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulritchie" target="_blank">Paul Ritchie</a>, have been <a title="Crossderry Blog - The Experience Trap" href="http://crossderry.wordpress.com/?s=the+experience+trap" mce_href="http://crossderry.wordpress.com/?s=the+experience+trap" target="_blank">highlighting and reflecting on the article main points</a>.</p><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;">I agree with the colleagues that don't accept high failure rates nor unsurpassable barriers to continuous learning and professional evolution.</p><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;">At the institutional level, it is important to emphasise the need of more complete skill sets or more adaptable methodologies. At the individual level we must address the central theme of the HBR article: how can we expand our learning possibilities and build management expertise from our professional experience? In this context, I think the most relevant aspects of our professional practice are:<b><br /></b></p><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><ul style="text-align: justify; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><li><b> How we think.</b> Where does our thinking style enables or constrains our perception and learning capabilities?</li><li><b> How we learn.</b> Do we consciously and actively pursue learning from experience?</li><li><b> How we position ourselves in the project and organisational context.</b> Are we leaders or order takers?</li></ul><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;">Let's explore these topics on the next posts on Project Management Effectiveness.</p><br /><br /><div align="right"><span style="font-size:90;">Picture thanks to Włodi @<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wlodi/2253850341">flickr.</a></span></div><br /><a title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" href="http://www2.blogger.com/" target="_blank" pub="craigwbrown&amp;url="><img style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px;" src="http://www.addthis.com/images/button1-bm.gif" height="16" width="125" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:90;"><a href="http://technorati.com/tag/PROJECT+MANAGEMENT" rel="tag">Project Management</a></span><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/15466608-5336986905408101221?l=www.betterprojects.net'/></div>Rafael Peixoto de Azevedohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08716256889452765041noreply@blogger.com2