Results vs. Process; Which is More Important?

In the project management world, we've all been hearing about "process" for years, and of course most of us have been indoctrinated in PMI principles. And process is important, because it gives us a roadmap to follow and allows for continuous improvement (provided we learn from mistakes and tweak our processes accordingly).

But as the saying goes, the map is not the territory. Ultimately, in order to achieve results on a project, we need to know when to streamline certain processes, or even break the rules entirely, especially when faced with day-to-day challenges.

Companies like Toyota live by processes (even over short-term results), and do very well. But that is organizational strategy -- and a good one at that. The idea is that if processes are monitored and improved over time, then long term results will ultimately be realized. With project management, on any given project we cannot afford to wait years to see the fruit of our process improvement labors pay off. We're on a limited timeline, and must show results.

Granted, we still must conduct lessons-learned sessions and regularly revise gaps in our project management process (constantly looking to streamline), but from a tactical project management standpoint, results must come first.

This is why I conclude that, when it comes to managing a project, results are more important than process.

But there's something even more important than results, and that's people.

Ah, but that's the subject of another blog (to paraphrase the ending of the film, "The Jungle Book" -- the Sabu version, not the Disney cartoon).