October 2022 PMI-MC Monthly Chapter Dinner Meeting

 No plan survives contact with reality; the best laid plans often go awry for mice, men, and project managers! While managing scope, schedule, cost, inputs, outputs, risks, and reports there is some point where a project shows signs of a need for more care. We have all faced the churn of stakeholder misalignments, re-work of project adjustments, or heartbreak of under-performance. Indeed, the agile methodology arose as a solution to the limitations and losses of waterfall style, command-and-control project management. However, agile is not suited for all projects. Where it does apply, it is not a guaranteed prevention and cure. All projects have fundamental challenges of which a Project Manager should be aware, diagnose, and treat. 

In this session of the PMI Montgomery County MD Chapter evening event series, we will explore some root causes and solutions to common troubles that plague projects. The focus will be on communications, assumptions, and culture, as told from consulting projects in the pharmaceuticals industry. The intent is to revisit concepts of business acumen to strengthen management tools in trying to answer the questions: Is my project healthy? Can a project be immunized against common ailments?