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In PMI's September 2006 PM Network CareerTrack section Karen Bannan has an article titled, In Theory: You can't always go by the book. (Sorry, it's not available online, even to PMIers.) Three things caught my attention. First, just a few weeks ago, Karen interviewed me for an up-coming article. Second, my friend Lauri Koskela was interviewed for this article. Third, the article was about the usefulness of theory in practice. I was somewhat surprised by what I read.

The article opened quoting Lauri Koskela, Ph.D., Univ. of Salford,

"Many of the methodologies taught in textbooks are idealizations. What project managers encounter in reality are plenty of stumbling blocks. This means that students or new project managers often find out that theories don't work for them in practice."

Karen goes on with quotes from Paul Hassels, CapGemini,

"It's always a balance between process and content. Getting too far carried away from either poses a risk."

After including a number of other quotes, Karen begins her close with a doosey from Gregory B. Beacher, Ph.D., Univ. of Maryland,

"Theory is not otherworldly. Theory is just distilled best practices."

To Beacher's credit, Karen finishes this way,

"Your practice will be much richer if you are informed by theory."

It looks to me that these people don't agree on the meaning of the word "theory". Some speak of it as "conjecture" while others indicate a scientific explanation that can be used for prediction. I prefer the last.

The books are relying on obsolete underlying theory.

Four years ago, Lauri Koskela and Greg Howell presented their research in a paper for PMI's bi-annual research conference. They titled their paper, The Underlying Theory of Project Management Is Obsolete. I was told the presentation of the paper generated quite a controversy. In my opinion, Lauri and Greg wrote a great paper. It pointed to flaws in our conjecture about how we succeed on projects. I blogged about the paper for 5 or 6 postings. You will find a collection of my commentary on the lens for Project Management Theory.

I have to agree with Karen's conclusion when it comes to project management theory, "…you can't always go by the book." The books, as Lauri and Greg put so well, are relying on obsolete underlying theory. It's not so much that putting theory into practice fails us, as it is we are relying on the wrong theories. Further, methodologies are no substitute for theory. Following them with an appreciation for theory, as Beacher says, will enrich our practice and lead to better results.

Thanks to Karen's article, I was prompted to create a new lens. You'll find all the project management lenses from a navigation button on the top of each page.