Podcast 6.1 - Processes and projects

As discussed in Podcast 1.2, process suffer from a bad branding. They are perceived as bureaucratic and rigid. hey compel you to do things that you don’t want to do and that appear totally useless and time consuming. Projects, on the other hand, are cool and stimulating. They give you free rein. They open up new possibilities. This is the general perception. It is unfortunate, and it needs to be addressed.

Numerous endeavors can be framed as either projects or processes, and this choice matters. At stake are CI and organizational learning and, hence, sustainable continuous improvements. Because material on the design and management of complex, divergent processes is extremely scarce compared to the amount of material available on PjM, the latter is generally the preferred option. By failing to adopt a long-term view, valuable lessons are lost, failures are repeated and dynamic capabilities, the bases for future successes, stagnate or regress.

HARVEY, J. & AUBRY, M. 2018. Project and processes: a convenient but simplistic dichotomy. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 38, 1289-1311.

Keywords: Process, project, leaning, continuous improvement, framing an endeavor, body of knowledge, convenient, simplistic, complex processes.