Let me start by saying that I have a bit of a problem with the PMBOK and PRINCE2 frameworks. It is not that they are not useful or full of good ideas, it is just that they are ...... well ... "blocky".
Strange thing to say but let me try to explain.
I think to gain an understanding of a concept, it is better that it is a smooth, flowing melody rather than a start=stop=start rap or hip-hop tune (are they tunes?). You see rap/hip-hop is "blocky". So it is difficult to get your head around (for me anyway) any particular song (are they songs?) without a great deal of effort. BUT .... a melody, ...... well that stays in your head, is easy to remember and it all works in together - words and tune.
This is my point ... the way the PMBOK and PRINCE2 are put together is more "rap/hip-hop" and less "melody". But it should be a melody because a melody stays with you and is much easier to understand.
I have tried to illustrate this below, but not being a musician I cannot vouch for the tune the musical notes might play, nor can I vouch that it is even proper music!
The top tune starts and stops and seems to be in "blocks" of noise interspersed with a few musical notes where things might be considered under control. The tune is "pigeon-holed" into various sectors or areas and only occasionally "connected". This sort of approach lends itself to something like "do the bits and pieces and hopefully we will have something whole at the end". No harmony - just noise at different points and different levels. Some bits are done well and others not. There are some connections and some stand-alone parts. Some are musical and others not. It is just disjointed and un-finished. This is how I would represent rap/hip-hop if I was asked to illustrate it somehow. It is also how much of PMBOK and PRINCE2 appears to me. A generally disjointed, relatively unconnected set of activities and/or products. Whatever it is, I have difficulty seeing the tune and hearing the melody.
The bottom tune is all connected with some activities occurring simultaneously. There is a flow from left to right, a sort of continuum not present in the top tune. This is how I believe project management should be - let's all be on the same sheet of music and play toward achieving an outcome everybody can be happy with. That outcome is a melody. It is a complete ensemble that everyone can see. There are separate parts to it but those parts are in harmony with each other. If something goes wrong - you can hear it because it just doesn't sound right - it is out of place.
Comments
Re: A Melody not Hip=Hop (01)
Hi Pat,
Musically - well I can't say much! That said I do like your idea - it resonates with me; and it illustrates rather nicely the exact problem I find myself in at the moment.
Regards Graham
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