What Are the Challenges with Project Management in the Government Sector?

Why is it so difficult to manage projects in government?  From my experience, I would say that the private sector and public sector fall into two groupings in terms of how you need to manage projects and expectations. In the private sector, egos are big…you need to be conscious about this or you can get in trouble. In the public sector, bureaucracy is big…you have to be patient and expect to churn; know that many decisions made are tied to some underlying political issues that may not even relate to your project.

Other specific reasons that make it difficult to manage projects in government include:

• Strategic planning and alignment is nonexistent or very limited – they either think they have it covered or don't need it,
• Usually there is no dedicated champion or one that can last for the duration of the project – leadership turnover is constant and many are political appointees so they either lack certain technical skills or are loyal to someone else's agenda or looking out for their next position,
• Governance and decision making is cumbersome and very political – lots of covering your behind and checking the "Checkers". Also, an unwillingness to make tough, risky decisions, many times making decisions through management by committee,
• The discipline of project management is non-existent or immature if it exists – formal project methodology is missing, many don’t see the value of project management, project planning is considered “cumbersome and a waste of time”; Project Management Offices (PMOs), if they exist, are hardly what you would expect, maybe 30%-50% of a mature PMO process is in place...and so on,
• Funding is limited or non-existent; some feel projects will just get done and funded by someone else,
• You can't easily define ownership or enforce accountability,
• No one really thinks of the necessary resources to support ongoing operations, support, maintenance, etc. once a program or system is put in place,
• There is tremendous weakness in execution,
• The procurement process is complicated and can results in poor decisions – sometimes too "formula driven", so if the formula doesn't take into account all the variables, then your decision is based on limited information,
• ...just to name a few issues...

The key to success on projects in government is: (a) starting with a self-driven personality, (b) patience, and (c) starting projects by establishing a sound governance process and working through all of these issues over time, systematically developing consent for project deliverables; setting realistic expectations - "under promising but over delivering".