伊恩·弗雷泽：项目管理是未来之业

尉艳娟

伊恩·弗雷澤（Iain Fraser）是全球公认的现代商业、项目组合、项目集和项目管理实践方面的专家。他的足迹遍布世界各地的金融、国防、石油、天然气、电力和电信等行业。2006年起，他担任（美国）项目管理协会（PMI）全球董事会主席，任期6年。他是畅销商业图书《项目组合管理的要点——提升组织价值》（The Business of Portfolio Management - Boosting Organizational Value）的作者，也是最近出版的《关注人——变革世界的领导力》（The Business of People - Leadership for the Changing World）的合著者。

伊恩·弗雷泽认为，从很多方面讲，项目管理职业是未来的工作。项目管理是全球性的、充满活力的、令人兴奋的且有趣的。

伊恩·弗雷泽强调，以人为本是项目管理领域的必然趋势，要在不断变化的世界实现有效性和成功，每个人都要首先是人！人就是人，不是资源，不是人力资本，不是消耗性工人。在商业领域，易变性、不确定性、复杂性、模糊性影响世界不断变化，而人是不断变化的世界的驱动因素。

伊恩·弗雷泽列出了VUCA时代的项目经理要具备的主要能力：敏捷、商业头脑、高情商、沟通能力、善于交际。

伊恩·弗雷泽主张通过有效的项目组合管理来提升组织价值，采访中他也提供了相关建议。他将价值定义为“对相关方的有形或无形的感知利益”，他认为，价值体现在四个方面：对客户的价值、对员工和品牌的价值、战略价值、财务价值。价值有四种：固有价值、附加价值、创新价值、当前价值。

谈到衡量项目成功的法则，他认为要通过确认项目交付后获得的商业价值来衡量项目成功与否。据他观察，项目失败的主要原因有三种：低估VUCA时代项目管理的难度；项目与商业目标缺乏明确联系；所需人员能力与实际能力之间存在巨大差异。

最后，伊恩·弗雷泽告诉记者，毫无疑问，先进的科技将影响项目管理的未来，但是未来不是关于科技的，而是关于人，以及人如何在商业环境中判别是非的。

Interview

Part I Project management profession is the future of work

Q1. Having worked in the field of project management for so many years， how will you introduce project management to young people to attract them to join this profession？

Iain Fraser： I would mention that the project management profession is， in many ways， the future of work. I would add that it is global， dynamic， exciting and also fun， therefore a great and global profession to be involved in.

Q2. You are said to be a person who possesses great enthusiasm and passion for project management. Where does the passion originate from？

Iain Fraser： Well， thank you！ My passion was ignited as a result of completing a management development program with a large USA-based engineering and construction company in the UK oil and gas sector. Following experiences across other sectors and geographies fueled the passion further. In addition， being actively involved with PMI at various levels deepened the passion. As a consequence， I have a passion for life and try to capitalize on that in everything I do.

Part II People are people

Q3. Your co-authored book The Business of PeopleLeadership for the Changing World is focused on people. Indeed， people-orientation is a trend in the field of project management. What do you think？ Would you please briefly introduce the book？

Iain Fraser： I believe its more of a necessity than a trend， which triggered the book to be written. The VUCA- influenced world is raising the need for fast-paced adaptiveness which is always the catalyst of change. To be really effective and successful in a changing situation requires everybody to be human at a scale that tops the charts！ People are people - not resources， not human capital， not expendable workers. The vast majority of people need other people to achieve success. In business， people are the drivers of the VUCA-influenced changing world.

The book is all about people and leadership. It is a guide for people through various business leadership situations that are emerging from the fast-changing world. It has four main sections with the first offering an extensive dialogue on leading and developing oneself.

Q4. In the VUCA era， what do you suggest are the top capabilities and leadership skills of a project manager？

Iain Fraser： To be really successful and get noticed， I believe its the combination of nimbleness， business savviness and stable levels of emotional intelligence （EI） that primes anyone for success in the VUCA era. Being an excellent communicator and ‘people person rounds out the combination. There are other attributes required but those are my tops.

Part III Value is the perceived benefits to stakeholders

Q5. Youve written about boosting organizational value through smart portfolio management. Would you please briefly offer some tips on how？

Iain Fraser： These are my top tips on boosting organizational value through portfolio management：

Avoid portfolio management approaches becoming overly process-bound， thereby overlapping and confusing with program of work and project approaches. Too often I see portfolio approaches being undertaken that have a heavy focus on methods， templates and reporting confirmation. These tend to be very similar to approaches taken for program of work and project management， thereby confusing many within the organization.

Integrate portfolio with a value management approach and establish strategic goals and business objectives accordingly. The use of a value management framework allows for more informed and clearer focus on what is to be done. Portfolio management is still about doing the right things across both operational expenditure （opex） and capital expenditure（capex） investments. Balancing those will allow the organization to maximize value capture.

Q6. Talking about value， how do you define value？ What should we pay attention to in value management？

Iain Fraser： I define value as “the perceived benefits， tangible or intangible， to stakeholders”. Value is then expressed via four themes – Value to Customers， Value to Staff & Brand， Strategic Value， and Financial Value. Added to that are four value types （Inherent， Added， Innovative， Now） to give a comprehensive multidimensional and modern business view of value.

In the past， a lot of emphasis was put on financial aspects only. Today however， there needs to be a wider view on value as per the above themes and types. This offers an external viewpoint as well as an internal viewpoint to be gained and balanced across an integrated deployment. The project profession can influence value at all levels of a value chain from setting strategic goals and business objectives， to determining portfolio content， to enhancements and delivery functions， and finally to a value capture stage via a benefits-based approach. This then demonstrates that the P3M level can be vitally important to all aspects of an organizations activity and is a critical organizational skill set.

Part IV Project success is the confirmation of business value captured post-delivery

Q7. With the iron triangle outdated， how do you measure the success of a project？

Iain Fraser： As a business person， I challenge whether the so-called ‘iron triangle is in fact outdated especially in customer （external） facing initiatives where time to value and cost of value are critical business decision points and performance metrics. In todays world， success is the confirmation of business value captured post-delivery. So the iron triangle can be a focal point for teams and leaders in a world where there are many distractions. The methods of managing the triangle could change， however.

Q8. Based on your observation as an advisor， what are the major causes of project failure？

Iain Fraser： I have three things to offer：

The illusion that program of work and project management are easy and therefore anyone can do it. The future world is challenging all of us in different ways such as geo-political， environmental， and technological. That and the aspects of volatility， uncertainty， complexity and ambiguity （VUCA） are challenging leaders at all levels. The likely rise in the use of portfolio， program of work， and project-based approaches will cause a massive demand for leaders that have an integrated combination of skills that can successfully navigate the different challenges that a VUCA-influenced world will throw up.

The lack of clear relationship and contribution towards one or more business objectives. As mentioned above， there needs to be a step change in terms of better aligning how an organization actually performs its intended activity. Seeking clarity around a purpose statement and then integrating that with a value-based approach to business planning and execution will reduce the levels of failure we see today.

The differences between people capability demand and actual capability. The future workplace， wherever that may be， will require portfolio， program of work and project leaders to have a broader range of skills such as those touched on in the answer to question 4. As the content of business plans and thus portfolios potentially becomes more challenging， the people capabilities required may be more than what is currently available within the organization. This would apply to both capability and capacity.

Part V The future is not just about technology

Q9. Research has shown that effective sponsorship is essential to project success. What should project managers do to get sponsors more involved in projects？

Iain Fraser： Change the conversation to one thats focused around the fast achievement of business value. Having program of work and project leaders with high levels of business acumen will align the dialogue with sponsors， associated steering committees， and investors alike. The business value will be aligned with both strategic goals and related business objectives to emphasize the integration of those.

Q10. As an expert on change management， in your opinion， how should an organization establish a culture of embracing change？

Iain Fraser： Firstly， simplify the organization and the way it does business. Secondly， adopt the 3Ps to success business philosophy that orientates around purpose， people and performance. Furthermore， make sure that differences between culture and climate are understood by everybody in the organization. Finally， insist that the most senior leaders embrace and support the change at all levels whilst articulating the anticipated result. Using consistent leadership principles， styles and techniques. Craft and tell the one story！

Q11. In your view， what impact will advanced technologies such as AI， IoT and Blockchain have on project management？

Iain Fraser： Not all programs of work or projects are the same. Not all sectors are the same. That said， there is no question that technology will have an impact on the future P3M profession. However， those professionals will need to consider geo-political， environmental， and globalization/ protectionism aspects and their potential impacts too. The future is not just about technology — its about people and how they determine right from wrong and good from bad in a business setting. Therefore， people will adopt or adapt as the situation dictates and sometimes without big inputs from various technologies.

Q12. In your eyes， what will the future of project management be like？

Iain Fraser： There needs to be clearer differentiation and articulation of portfolio， program of work， and project management and similarly across the PMO spectrum. Until this happens， the short to mid-term future will be one of continued confusion and frustration. The claimed‘project economy needs to allow change to happen to actually guide and nurture the concept； otherwise it can be seen as just spin. By clarifying and simplifying the approach to business and better aligning strategy and execution， the true value of the portfolio， program of work， and project profession to all types of organizations across all sectors will be evident and frequently acknowledged in the board and executive rooms. Then， and at this point， the story is a good one for the profession and those involved with it！ P