Ineffectiveness of Traditional Program Management

Topic: Management
Words: 285 Pages: 1

It was learned that traditional program management is rather ineffective, being inflexible and unadaptable to change. Based on the characteristics of the model, some of them can be changed in favor of agile project management, such as continuous design, flexible scope, embracing change, and high customer interaction (Larson, 2020). The aspects of traditional program management do not work well in a real-world situation where products and services have to be created and sold. Instead, it is better to be flexible, open to change, widen the scope, and pay attention to customer interaction, as this is the key connection to the market.

Although the world is globalized, many countries maintain their own customs and cultures. When working in other countries around the world, it is key to learn not just their laws but traditions as well. Approaches to business and interaction can vary drastically, and some actions that are standard or insignificant in the West can be seen as highly offensive in other cultures. While one’s partners and co-workers may realize that one is a foreigner, it is still expected that while in the country, you will adapt and make all efforts to work with their traditions and workflow.

Traditional project management was developed to operate in areas of high stability and consistency, which is rare in business. Agile methods are effective in relatively unknown situations and unpredictable zones. It allows for the adoption of a more experimental and forward-thinking approach since “projects evolve, rather than being executed.” Working with a continuous design can be challenging, and sometimes using traditional project management is more comforting, but at the same time, high uncertainty is more difficult to the manager, so an agile approach is safer to apply.

Reference

Larson, E. W. (2020). Project management: The managerial process (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US). Web.