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Book chapter
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Reference no. BEP8867
Chapter from: "The People Project Triangle: Balancing Delivery, Business-as-Usual, and People's Welfare"
Published by: Business Expert Press
Originally published in: 2020

Abstract

This chapter is excerpted from 'The People Project Triangle: Balancing Delivery, Business-as-Usual, and People's Welfare'. The modern business environment is one of rapid change. The modern corporation is lean and very cost conscious. A consequence is an increasingly common project management situation of a medium important, medium complex business change project that cannot justify a full-time team. It is, therefore, largely staffed by in-house resources working on the project as homework, that is, in addition to their normal responsibilities. We term this a composite project. The thesis of the book is that composite projects are being used at an increasing rate to meet the demands of rapid business change. However, they are largely unrecognized as a separate organizational category of project, with particular characteristics, management needs, and risks. Analogous to the classic project Iron Triangle, where there is a trade-off between cost, time and scope, we maintain that there is a People Project Triangle. This is a trade-off between the project, the ongoing business, and the people working in both the business and the project. When pressure mounts, generally, only two of those can be prioritized, and one must give. We observe that it is often the people who bear the brunt with subsequent implications of stress and burnout. Drawing on our experience, we assert that, with better recognition, clearer understanding and appropriate measures, many of the common problems with composite projects can be foreseen and avoided or mitigated.

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Abstract

This chapter is excerpted from 'The People Project Triangle: Balancing Delivery, Business-as-Usual, and People's Welfare'. The modern business environment is one of rapid change. The modern corporation is lean and very cost conscious. A consequence is an increasingly common project management situation of a medium important, medium complex business change project that cannot justify a full-time team. It is, therefore, largely staffed by in-house resources working on the project as homework, that is, in addition to their normal responsibilities. We term this a composite project. The thesis of the book is that composite projects are being used at an increasing rate to meet the demands of rapid business change. However, they are largely unrecognized as a separate organizational category of project, with particular characteristics, management needs, and risks. Analogous to the classic project Iron Triangle, where there is a trade-off between cost, time and scope, we maintain that there is a People Project Triangle. This is a trade-off between the project, the ongoing business, and the people working in both the business and the project. When pressure mounts, generally, only two of those can be prioritized, and one must give. We observe that it is often the people who bear the brunt with subsequent implications of stress and burnout. Drawing on our experience, we assert that, with better recognition, clearer understanding and appropriate measures, many of the common problems with composite projects can be foreseen and avoided or mitigated.

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