The Gray Area between Projects and Processes

In this podcast, Ricardo talks about the "gray area" where mingle conceptually projects and processes. He cites some examples to explain what distinguishes a project of a routine process.

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Episode transcript

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Hello everybody welcome to the five minutes BM podcast today. I like to share with you one conversation that I had with some colleagues about project, product and routine work, of course, pretty much all of you know, that Projects is something temporary and unique. So you have a timeframe, you have a very specific objective, a product that you want to deliver a product or service. And this is pretty much easy to understand, but of course, between the routine work and the process work and manufacturing work and a project, there is some gray area.

There's gray areas is what I want to address. So some aspects of the work, we can receive them as a routine work and now, so we can perceive them as a project work. And this is what I wanted to discuss. Today and I want to start with one example, let's suppose that you were looking for, for a shirt and then you go to a store and you see us extra. Is malls malls a medium, large, and extra large. Sure. Let's try it.

And what is the small, medium, large extra-large this, our thunder, what I did, I created a standard product in why I did that because I wanted to have a standard production line. This is not related to Projects project is to develop there's a standard line, but the production line, I did that. So all as more people I think, and I'm supposed in that, and I have this assumption that all of them will feed on my small side.

So this is the standard. And then what I do, I'll just repeat this process for a 10,000. T-shirts a hundred thousand T shirts. And then I transform this in the actual line where the root and work will be taken. We can place, but now let's suppose that instead of going to that store, I go to Taylor because maybe I have a largest shoulder, or maybe I have a, a little bit bigger Bali and that want to do something specific for me, something unique demo to go there.

They will take my measures and they will produce for me one single one, the tshirt that will fit perfectly on my body. This is approach at the approach and what is approach that approach? The pros are the brooch use a standard approach, a standard methodology. So that way Taylor, I think, okay, I have a standard process. I need to measure the client. I need to decide which kind of textile I need to use. I need to decide the style and I need to produce this individually.

Okay? So this is a standard approach, but every single piece is unique because my body is different from other people's body. So this is the project approach. So look for thinking about a production of t-shirt. We can think that is as a project and we can think then as a product line, and usually with the time the product that will become more and more product lines because you're becoming, so we used to do that.

That does for you becomes your production line. Let me give you a second example. That may be, we'll be right back. We have for you to understand. Let's imagine your first baby. And let's imagine the first Beth that you will be given to your first baby. First time does is a big, big project. If your dad is a mum right now, you will remember that. So it's like a project, five people around, and you are measuring the temperature of the water.

You, or thinking about all possibilities regarding the supe. You have something like five toils because if 1000 the flock, you have another one. So a lot of people to help, this was a project. So you prepare you just a set up this batch, you spent something like half an hour to do that. Now let's suppose your third child after given maybe a thousand baths, is it the project? No, because at this time you were, she used to do that, that you don't even think most of you are able to remember details off your back Today Y because it was so routine because it was so deep inside you that you have the full process on this.

So does of course with the time, this become a very easy to translate into Projects of course, and talking about everything, we'll be translating from project two, a routine work, and now a lot of people ask me, okay. So if with the time goals and we start moving things from Projects the approach too, a production line. I like the tee shirt that I use black, for example, preassemble Holmes to produce the first preassemble home. It's hard. So I need to plan everything.

But when I buy a home keeper, then it's just the production line. It's like the black assemble Ikea furniture. So it's a prediction line. Of course, it took Ikea a huge amount of time to develop the packaging and to develop all the Processes. But as soon as the processes in place, you reduce the price and you increase your approach by repeating the process and why product management it's on the top right now. It's because it's becoming harder and harder to create repeated approach.

The clients are asking for such a unique approach that, that stake in a very, very long for me to do that. And it's becoming very hard because the rooting work, the production line, they are not sustainable in the longterm because the T shirt that I want today is not the T shirt that I used to want 40 years ago. So I need to revisit the production and all the times. So this is becoming more projectized approach to business.

So we need to understand this, that project management and process management does are not mathematics. There is no clear equation. OK. If the question fits in that there's its' project, if the question's feet on that, that's a process. No, this is not right. There is one Gray Area. But if we understand how to we are approaching this gray area will read that use. It will decide if it's black or white. So this is what I want you to think of those WIC. So it's a challenge. I know some projects are really, really a challenge, but if we, we do this will reduce this gray area and will improve our results.

So this is what I want you to think this week. I hope if you enjoyed this podcast, see you next week with another five minutes, BM Podcast.

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