Let’s keep focused Automation is NOT Project Management!
Automation in Project Management is not going to change what we do as Project Managers. With the correct oversight, it can make our lives easier but we are still the Managers of projects. Regardless of what reporting matrix we work in, projects fail or succeed because of people, not reports, automation, AI, or any other whiz-bang digital hallelujah’s that are flooding the market today. People created the project and it is people that are the axle that makes the wheel successfully turn.
So where am I going here? The greatest mistake that I consistently see in Project Management is the mania of over automation and reporting! The PM is so focused on the monitor in front of her/his face s/he misses the elephant about to trash the plan! Automation cannot see human attitude or the plethora of other real-world issues trying to derail the train. Predictive software consistently misses the mark and fails. It requires a knowledgeable human interface to understand and discern truth. A good PM must have her/his head on a swivel, aware of what is actually happening on each project and who is responsible for each task. Reporting must be transparent and only report concise information limited to; who is responsible, when is the next milestone, and only critical show-stopping information impacting the goal. Get rid of the extra fluff! To much stuff on the report and it will not be used or if it is, the focus could be on the wrong data.
Remember, PMs are leaders of people more then we are leaders of projects. People respect strong, honest, reliable, and fair leaders who exude the knowledge and understanding of the content of the project. When the PM is part of the team through thick and thin, distinctly communicating expectations and accountability, people achieve great things! Counter-intuitive to most is that too much information is bad. Long reports can appear to be hiding things in the fine print, not communicating things that they need to be known, or directing people in the wrong direction… the list gets ugly long as the PMs report gets… well ugly long! Example: A team member says: “If you would have told me that I needed to order this stuff two weeks ago, I would have!” PM response: “I did see the report from two weeks ago? Right here, in the in the lower corner… under 'Materials Ordering' section… under the ‘Upcoming Events’ header, below the three lines of information about already achieved goals and the cool multi-colored up-down indicator… right there… “. The missed order is clearly the PMs fault it is hidden in the “fine print”. Sure we can point blame, after all, it was in the report but let's be honest the report did not serve the team!
Bottom line: Communication needs to be concise, predictive analysis kept simple and current, and historical data collected quick and accurate for future analysis. When more then a small percentage of time (per project) is spent building and maintaining data for reporting, the system is broken, and the PM will most likely lose control. Why? Because by the time he is done hammering on the keyboard, the elephant has dashed off in an unpredicted direction sadistically determined to destroy all efforts.
In conclusion, automation is good when used to reduce the reporting and tracking overhead but it will never replace the human mind full of knowledge and understanding. Automation does help with reporting as long as we realize what it is NOT reporting. And we do not get trapped in thinking it is the end-all solution. No matter how advanced the Star Ship Enterprise gets the Captain still must run the crew. As PMs, we will always need to run our teams.
Just my observations.