North Coast Connections

While project management as a discipline is borne from linear endeavors such as engineering, space exploration and construction, it is highly effective in managing softer processes that are less predictable and involve organizational change. In the former, managing materials, construction schedules and design tend to be rigid processes that lend themselves to structured management. In the latter, convincing stakeholders in an organization to change processes tends to be chaotic and less predictable. In these cases, project management becomes more of an exercise in "controlled agility," wherein a project manager is less wedded to a project plan and more reliant upon a project path.

Lately, when I teach courses on improving court caseflow management, I build in project management skill sets without labeling them as such. Group exercises include identification of stakeholders and risks, and developing a set of tasks to accomplish pre-determined objectives. In the end, participants leave the course with an understanding of the need to develop a communication plan, mitigate risk and assign tasks. These are all core project management activities.

Yet, when I needed to take a project management class I had to leave the area to attend a 3-day training session in the Bay area. Neither CR nor HSU offered stand-alone project management courses. In my view, project management skills are one of the core competencies that a successful workforce needs to compete in a global market. The good news is that several of our local high schools offer hands-on project management skills through the EAST programs. Even so, the curriculum doesn't necessarily focus on the discipline as envisioned by the Project Management Institute, the granddaddy of all PM resources that offers certification for project managers.

Who among us wouldn't benefit from the ability to focus tasks to high value outcomes? We all suffer to one degree to another from scattered priorities, chasing moving targets and lack of coordination. Project management has become one of the survival skills of the 21st century that all of us could use to become more productive. I know it has improved my work and home life.

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com