I have recently written a post on this “No, a patent does not make your engineer a Project Manager!” think this is a bi problem facing our industry.

Companies would never let general accountants or attorneys handle major mergers and acquisitions…they go to the Big 4. Project Management should be that way as well.

“This information is them implemented for the purposes of calculating and demonstrating an estimate for the entity of activity parameters. One valuable aspect of parametric estimating is the higher levels of accuracy that can be built into it depending on how sophisticated the original data that was built into the estimate turns out to have been.”

A friend of mine has said, “the strongest human drive is to edit the writing of someone else.” I was very pleased with your Barber and Dentist metaphor — I could not resist some editing in U.S. style English. Here it is, I hope you can use it.

Also, some years ago my wife and I traveled through Hamburg — a lovely city.

This is a comparison of the recent history of professional Project Management to the long history of professional Dentistry. Centuries ago, the barber was also the Dentist. Obviously, there was minimal education available, most barbers relied on word of mouth and simple experience, which in some cases may not have been all bad. Unfortunately for the patients, there was no alternative.

In the early days Project Management was practiced by non-professional “barbers.” Nowadays while more and more professional Project Managers are available, too many projects are still being managed by “barbers.” How could this be? Many businesses have not seen the importance of professional Project Management. Why? Frequently Project Management is viewed as “doable” by everyone who has enough experience in another profession. The blame for this misperception must not be put solely on businesses. Much of the responsibility rests with the two leading professional Project Management organizations – PMI and the IPMA. Organization, which until very recently have failed to cooperate in demonstrating, measuring, and publicizing the value added by professional Project Management. We know from professional Dental services to the initial costs repay themselves many times over the life of the patient. Now, in order to assure professional Project Management is accurately perceived as the art of improving the bottom line, these two organizations MUST work together.

While the barber metaphor may sound odd, centuries ago, a tooth was simply pulled by the barber. There was no way to save a tooth from being extracted. At the same time, teeth did not have the aesthetic value as they have today. Today, often there is no recognized alternative to loosing money due to unprofessional Project Management. Many people believe that this is “just the way it is.” This fatalistic and almost cultural belief is frequently supported by hard headed arguments, which are not supported by facts. Now is time for old attitude toward professional Project Management to be changed by facts. Creating this change is the challenge, which together PMI and the IPMA must face.

Best Regards,
- Lee Cash