Let’s say you have successfully lobbied your organization to accept the basic tenets of project management and are building a life cycle framework and toolset. What are the barriers to implementing this discipline?

What is often heard when a project management discipline is introduced to the users:
"Why should we change what we are already doing?"
"This is too bureaucratic"
"Too many documents and reports"
"My manager (sponsor) will never support this"
"I cannot afford the time to do this up-front planning work"

The organizational culture may push back to the introduction of a rigorous project management discipline. There may be concern that the project delivery process will slow down. At some levels of management, there may be confusion around role definition and/or a sense of losing control. These barriers represent realities that must be honestly and openly confronted. Just building the framework and using the tools do not guarantee success. If PMs complete the templates, that’s interesting, but clearly not enough. For this effort to ultimately be considered a success, your organization must identify and address these barriers where they occur – at the senior level, within the individual projects and inside the stakeholder community.

PMs and sponsors must think of themselves as change agents to foster a strong and consistent transition to project management competency.

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