Project Management Holy Grail; Keep Searching

With all the hoopla over the DaVinci Code, I figured I'd share this insightful article from Max Wideman on what many have considered the "Holy Grail" of project management---the ever elusive set of "best practices."

Wideman rightfully argues that any list of best practices is likely tainted, because who'd want to share anything so groundbreaking that it gives them a competitive edge---and if it was so groundbreaking, it would most likely get lost in the survey process that looks for frequently used practices.

So, instead of best practices, we end up with "common practices," which in many cases are extremely flawed.

Better to break new ground and look for unique approaches that fit what you are trying to accomplish, or look for the best examples of what some other organizations are doing. But beware of surveys that claim they show "best practices."

When it comes to project management, you'll just need to keep looking for the Holy Grail. Better yet, try to create one, as I'm attempting to do with my new Service-Oriented Project Management (SOPM)™ model, and others are doing, such as Garry Booker with his Streamlined Earned Value model and his other creations. But you won't see any of these on any "best practice" lists.

Here's the full article...

Max's Musings - The Fallacious Argument of Best Practice - Or the Holy Grail of Project Management