The PMC Role

In a nutshell, many people think that the role of the Project Management Consultant (PMC) is to look after the Client’s best interests.  But what are the Client’s best interests and does this just amount to keeping the Client happy and not upsetting him?

I would suggest that completing the project in terms of time, cost and quality prevail and that this is the PMC’s real role. This requires the PMC to let the Client know that his best interests are (1) being met, (2) not being met, (3) what needs to be done to meet those interests, and (4) explain why the Client needs to pay or be delayed, or fail.

Advising the Client

The first (1) is ‘good-news reporting’, which is easy and painless, but if things go awry the PMC needs to be the purveyor of bad news and (2) must be addressed.  This is more difficult, especially in a messenger-shooting environment.  (3) is even more difficult as it means the PMC must decide as to what is needed to realign the Project and then (4), advise the Client of any cost, time and quality impacts and obtain the Client’s consent, can be very, very difficult and possibly painful.

The PMC should balance the Client’s happiness while working alongside the Contractor.  In this position, it’s easy to sit on the fence and play Devil’s Advocate and, while decision making in such a precarious position is rarely possible, the PMC can evade responsibility and liability in the short term).

However, and eventually the Client will realise that the project is adrift and the PMC will then be in a quandary as to how they must ‘look after the Client’s interests’ and protect their own.  The PMC will need to deal with the difficulty of conveying ‘bad news’ whilst not accepting responsibility for the ‘bad’ or liability for the ‘fix’…damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

So how is this quandary solved; the PMC inevitably focuses on keeping the Client happy.  Rather than informing the Client directly he can imply it’s somebody else’s fault; after all it’s easier to blame others.  If you, as the messenger are going to be shot at, then either keep your head down, stay out of the firing line, or put somebody else in your place!

PMC as Man-in-the Middle

The PMC, as man-in-the-middle, is open to a Client’s criticism, accusations of mismanagement and poor decision making, or even favoritism and corruption, or being a general scapegoat.  The PMC is also open to criticism from Contractors for being unfair or unreasonable, focusing on faults, and generally being negative.  The PMC must understand both sides.

However, it is a matter of fact that on some on major projects that have gone awry the PMC has been ‘amalgamated’ into the Client’s team.  This bares the ugly truth that utilizing a PMC is not always a successful project delivery mechanism.  And why does this happen; one reason is a loss of confidence in the PMC and the ‘surprises’ that occur due to unrealistic and optimistic reporting, blue-sky forecasting and inconsequential decisions coupled with procrastination and prevarication while somebody else is blamed.

So, what should a PMC do? For one, the PMC owes it to his Client to tell the bitter, and oftentimes uncomfortable truth in a timely and rationale manner and avoid ‘blaming’ other parties.  This takes moral fortitude and courage to suggest or find ways of resolving the difficulties that inevitably arise on projects and this task falls on the PMC –  if it doesn’t then why is the PMC there?

PMC – putting Management into the Project

So how can the PMC do this?  Good project management and general management can help along with effective monitoring against relevant project performance metrics and baselines.  These metrics determine slippage and signal when ‘workarounds’ or ‘plan Bs’ need to be initiated and these should have been identified in the risk register!

Changes are also inevitable and this needs to be managed rigorously, late changes and a belief that time can be bought by more resources of effort is a fallacy – one cannot create a baby in a month with nine pregnant women.

Good management includes for good communication.  The good, bad and ugly news must be communicated to the right people, at the right time, in the right place, and in the right medium.  Effective communication is paramount and it must be candid rather than veiled in politically correct speech feigning plausible deniability.  Reporting should be succinct so the Client is appraised of what has happened, what should have happened, and what must be done, and when.  Communication should convey truth not hope, and reality rather than optimism.  Pessimism may a bitter pill to swallow but the sugar of a recovery plan may make it palatable.

PMC – Supporting Solutions and Decisions

The PMC should be a solution provider.  Constant blame or negativity is akin to flogging a dead horse – it’s tiring, noisy and messy but doesn’t bring the horse back to life.  Issues should be escalated in a timely manner, analysed to identify the root-cause which may then be treated.  Treating symptoms is expensive and allows the real issue to fester leading to greater and greater project damage.  Treating root causes requires knowledge, experience and judgement and the PMC must apply these attributes in the best interests of making the project work.

The PMC can be instrumental in enabling or disabling a project.  Enabling can mean giving the “benefit of the doubt” so something may move forward.  However, any doubts should not be hidden away for a rainy day so they can be used to apportion blame by saying “we told you it would go wrong” and doubts must be managed in the Client’s ‘best interests’.  By enabling the project to move forward the PMC provides the oil in the engine while also providing the glue that holds the project together.

PMC’s Real Role

Most projects are not smooth sailing.  But, when things do go wrong, or the project is in such dire straits that after the “it” has hit the fan, plausible deniability and blaming somebody else is a very thin layer of ice to rely upon when working in the ‘best interests of the Client’.

In these circumstances most of us realise that ‘the best interests of the Client‘ should be ‘the best needs of the project’.  However, by ignoring the project needs and only catering to the Client’s wants the result can be project failure rather than success…perhaps the real role of a PMC is ensuring the success of the Project.

Bio:

MBA, MSc DIC, BSc; Chartered Engineer, Chartered Geologist, PMP

Over thirty years’ experience on large multidisciplinary infrastructure projects including rail, metro systems, airports, roads, marine works and reclamation, hydropower, tunnels and underground excavations.

Project management; design & construction management; and contract administrative in all project phases from feasibility, planning & design, procurement, implementation, execution and completion on Engineer’s Design and Design & Build schemes.