The Map versus Reality – a project execution risk

Through my search for zen-like balance and conscious awareness, I have come across the statement:

“The map is not the territory”

Our plan, or Map for the future, is only a guide. Getting stuck on the Map and rigidly resisting the real world as you find it is a recipe for dis-ease (emotional upheaval), often manifesting in the physical.

This philosophical point is useful when considering the various methods and information systems to plan, manage, and control projects. For example, we use Excel and planning software to map, record, and gain insights into project progress. These information systems may need updating for changes in scope and circumstances to be of value – this is well known.

However, there is an underlying risk when using information systems. Do they truly support the execution of a project?

The risk lies in forcing projects to execute in a way that supports the use of a given information system rather than the system following and supporting the execution of a project.

An overly simple example of this might be:

The procurement team plans to place equipment orders for a design and construction contract.

The procurement team lists the various steps and durations required to order equipment in a spreadsheet.
The list goes on to include manufacture and delivery to site durations.

The equipment required on-site date is entered into the spreadsheet to back-calculate the dates for each step.

Some equipment is complex, and its design information is only available after the purchase order.

In the above scenario, the question is, do you enforce the spreadsheet dates, potentially delaying the design or start the procurement process earlier to progress the design on time?

In some cases, the information systems are unsuitable for a given project environment, and to deviate would create unwanted work, in others; companies and individuals enforce systems without knowing how a project is executed.

Having a project follow the process dictated by an information system and resisting additional work prevents a project from achieving confidence in reporting, identifying, and managing risks and ultimately moving forward physically.

Do not try to make the territory fit the Map.

The trick is to be mindful that some things take work, maybe even additional resources, and ways to automate are yet to be discovered.