Fire Fighting and Project Management

The fires over the last week close to where I reside here in Southern California reminds us of the valuable service firefighters provide society. We all salute these unsung heroes in their effort and wish them the best in bringing the current crisis under control. One blog that has good updates on the current fires is: http://blogs.esri.com/Info/blogs/arcgisexplorerblog/

Now, if we were to survey a group of firefighters on their most important job function, do you know what they would say? Some of you might be thinking they would tell us saving lives or putting out fires is most important. Perhaps even rescuing animals from trees might cross your mind. While those are all good guesses, they are most probably wrong. My hunch is that firefighters will tell you that educating the public on fire prevention is by far the most important thing they do. If they spend the time preventing fires, the risks associated with every fire are eliminated.

This same concept holds true for project management. Project Managers need to help all stakeholders understand the importance of careful planning and the development of thorough project plans. Taking the time to do this has the same benefits as fire prevention. With a little time and the use of project management tools and techniques, risks that cause projects to be delivered late, over budget, outside of scope or any combination of the above can be mitigated.