La cocina de los proyectos

If we look for the basic definition of a project we will find: “a temporary effort that is carried out to create a unique product, service or result”. If we inquire more about these and how to direct them, we can find various details, techniques and strategies to follow in order to make a project successful.

However, to be able to explain it colloquially, some concepts can be clarified by appealing to an example of a small and everyday project. Let’s imagine managing a restaurant kitchen where the Project Manager would be the Main Chef or Administrator.

For a restaurant to be successful it will required to have (among other things):

• Qualified personnel
• Good quality dishes
• Good service towards diners
• That the overall quality level is consistent over time

In the same way throughout the administration of any other project (as in our case a software factory), it is necessary for the team to have the experience to complete the job. Now the question is: how to ensure quality and consistency?

In our example, it could be achieved by following the steps in each recipe, using the best ingredients available and giving a good service to the customer. Recipes in the project management world are known as processes. The person responsible for creating these processes is the PM who will improve them over time with experience and customer’s feedback. These will help to:

• coordinate the work to be done with the team
• manage the corresponding deliverables
• ensure that a quality product will be delivered, thus reducing the risk of any inconvenience

Focusing project management on processes will lead to their consistency, maturity and predictability. This does not imply that there is no place for innovation or experimentation, on the contrary, the idea is that they should always be fostered within a defined framework.

As chef Alain Ducasse says “Genius without the basis of a product makes no sense. But creativity, if there is no project, has no reason to exist either”