S7E174: Breaking down the barriers to implementation of good practice with Adrian Dooley

The Project Chatter Podcast

In this episode, Adrian Dooley discusses the barriers to applying good project management practices and the root causes behind them. He highlights the issue of project failure and the need to identify the true causes rather than just the symptoms. Adrian also explores the challenges of applying lessons learned and the impact of forgetting and lack of support. He emphasizes the potential of AI in project management but cautions against the dissemination of unreliable information. Additionally, he addresses the cost and accessibility of training and the importance of practical application and soft skills. Finally, Adrian shares the benefits of the Praxis Framework and the power of checklists in improving project outcomes. In this conversation, Adrian Dooley discusses the importance of integrating good practices and overcoming barriers to embedding them. He emphasizes the need to focus on the basics and not overcomplicate project management. Adrian shares anecdotes and highlights the value of involving business stakeholders, understanding requirements, and applying simple approaches. He encourages project managers to communicate and convince their organizations to provide space for applying learned practices. Adrian concludes by reminding listeners that projects can succeed and make a difference when common sense and the fundamentals are applied.Takeaways

• Integrate good practices and make them accessible to the organization.
• Identify and overcome barriers to embedding good practices.
• Focus on the basics and avoid overcomplicating project management.
• Involve business stakeholders, understand requirements, and apply simple approaches.
• Communicate and convince organisations to provide space for applying learned practices.
• Projects can succeed when common sense and fundamentals are applied.

Originally a project manager on construction, Adrian has held various roles in project management for 45 years. He was part of the team that created one of the first project scheduling software packages and was founder member of the first independent project management magazine -Project Manager Today. He founded The Projects Group (a training and consultancy company) and served on the Executive Council of the APM. He is a non-executive Director of APM Group and the lead author of the Praxis Framework.