Learning Objectives

• Explain how and why the project management profession is in crisis today.
• Map how their situation relates to the salient issues identified in the presentation.
• Develop a strategy for improving their professional circumstances, relative to the practice of project management.

Project management has tremendous potential to improve any organization or type of business that embraces its application. But sadly, there are indications that it is a profession in crisis. Respect for project management – as a discipline and as a valued organizational function – has diminished over the past several years. This is evidenced by the failure (reluctance?) of corporate managers to elevate project management to a meaningful position in the organizational hierarchy. It is further evidenced by the way that many of today's project management practitioners report leading extremely difficult and challenging existences. Curiously, the crisis is unrelated to tools, techniques or processes, despite the emphasis on those things. It is often tied to authority figures – those who determine how project management is deployed. The argument can also be made that the actions of PMs contribute to their own desperate situation.

The crisis of respect that project management faces has become the “800-pound gorilla” that we all know is with us, but we seldom confront through meaningful and productive discussion. In this presentation, Gary Heerkens takes a no-holds-barred look at the “dark side” of the project management profession through the eyes of people who practice it under exceedingly difficult circumstances. 

The presentation draws on interviews with practicing project managers, published research and sage advice garnered from discussions with some of today's most prominent project management experts including Harold Kerzner, Janice Thomas and Neal Whitten. Although our profession may be viewed as being “in crisis,” all is not lost, as the presentation suggests what can be done to return a measure of effectiveness – and ultimately respect – to our positions and our profession.