The Case for Specialist Project Managers: An Idea

I watched a baseball game on Sunday and what struck me most about the team was the pitching staff and the various roles that they performed to help their team win the game. In a nutshell:

• There is a starting pitcher who looks to ensure that the opposing team doesn’t get runs in the early innings

• If this happens, invariably the starting pitcher will make way in the 6th or 7th innings (depending on the number of pitches thrown) to a relief pitcher. The ‘relief pitcher’ is someone who specialises in ‘holding’ the lead that the team might have or else is used against a particular batter (match up)

• Any number of relief pitchers may be used to hold the lead. Fourteen are allowed as part of the team’s roster.

• In the late 8th or 9th inning (there are usually nine innings in total) the relief pitcher passes responsibilities onto the ‘closer’. This person’s job is to make sure that the team wins the game. No pressure…

It is a really efficient way of ensuring that the game stays on track, that starting pitchers stay fresh for future games and for developing pitchers, who could feasibly play in any of these positions during their career. And, as you’d expect when I’m out enjoying myself with the family and 50,000 other people, it got me thinking about project management!

If the project management profession is honest with itself (and I was part of this for many years), then it would admit that there hasn’t been much in the way of innovation, outside of the odd new method or two (hello Scrum!). The Project Management Institute (PMI) even said in 2020, ‘Future-fit organisations are not only willing to reimagine their vision and purpose, but also eager to adopt new ways of thinking that will allow them to thrive.’ 

I’m yet to see much new thinking.

The institutions and training organisations that claim to have the profession’s best interests at heart seem to be largely concerned with pushing as many people through certification programs as possible. Yet – as the PMI itself admitted a couple of years back – ‘despite all the talk, project performance isn’t getting any better’. Something needs to change to facilitate this improvement, yet most organisations continue to do the same old things.

If you don’t change the approach, you won’t change the outcome.

One thing I noticed when I headed up project departments was that some of my project managers were good at certain elements of their job and not so great at others. Our collective role was to develop these capabilities so that project managers became ‘well-rounded’ in the business of execution. By that, I mean that we helped different personalities to step outside of their comfort zone and develop the skills required to deliver consistently well from start-up to closeout.

Most organisations I work with adopt the same end-to-end approach for delivery, or else put their trust in agile teams to deliver value more quickly. And the approach is not wrong, providing projects get delivered and outcomes are realised. If neither of those are true, then something different has to be done and I believe that the baseball pitching model is one that could be copied – with specialist project managers being used for different phases of the project.

Let’s use a basic project lifecycle as an example:

The roles would look a little bit like this:

Start-Up Project Manager

This person would be responsible for ensuring that the business case is complete. This would include ensuring that the benefits expected are clearly defined, the initial risks well known, the sponsor identified and the budget for the planning phase is confirmed. The method of delivery (waterfall/agile) would also be agreed at this stage. The key output from this role would be the approved business case. The best personality to complete this role may be someone detail focused who can connect the project to strategy and ensure that the estimated time and cost is realistic.

Planning Project Manager

This person would be responsible for building a team to build a plan to deliver the project. They would run a high level product breakdown structure to identify the streams of work and empower stream leads to produce a schedule for each one. They would engage with stakeholders, build communication plans, identify specific risks and look to create contracts with potential third parties. The key output from this role would be a plan and completed schedule which would need to be approved by the steering committee in line with the estimates produced in the business case. The best personality to complete this role may be someone people or socially focused who can create a great team planning workshop environment, building momentum and camaraderie ahead of execution.

Execution Project Manager

This person would be responsible for getting the project done. They would build the team required to deliver the plan, execute the stakeholder and communication plan as well as regularly updating the risk register and schedule. They would meet regularly with the sponsor, gaining approvals to ensure that the scope, time and cost is managed in line with business owner needs. The best personality to complete this role may be someone action focused who can ensure that the team remains energised and disciplined, taking appropriate risk to deliver on the evolving schedule.

Closeout Project Manager

This person might not be a project manager at all! This may be someone in a support role, that ensures that all paperwork is completed, change management plans approved and close out tasks finalised to bring the curtain down on the project. They will work with the sponsor to ensure reviews are in place (if necessary) to track outcome delivery and ensure that outstanding issues are either resolved or passed on to the relevant parties. The best personality to complete this role may be someone who is action/people focused as the project transitions into either the change management plan or business as usual.

Back in 2017, the Project Management Institute estimated that ‘... by 2027 employers will need 87.7m individuals working in project management-oriented roles’, yet it seems incredible that in that time there has been little-to-no new thinking about how this may be achieved.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this idea, whether it’s something you’ve tried or what else you might be doing to bring some certainty to the success of your projects!