Most people are familiar with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – the concept that people need their basic needs (food, water, shelter) met before they look to fulfill higher-order needs (intellectual pursuits, self-actualization, and so on). At MustardSeed, we apply a similar framework when assessing organizational readiness for growth.
When setting up a new project management office (PMO), the first thing we do at MustardSeed is assess our clients’ hierarchy of needs. Just like a person is not ready for self-actualization until they have safety and shelter, an organization cannot expect to leap right into earned value management or schedule risk analysis without first establishing a solid project management foundation. As with everything we do at MustardSeed, our model for assessing hierarchies of needs is client driven. Yes, many needs will overlap from one company to the next, but the unique history, goals, and resources of each company will dictate exactly what that hierarchy looks like.
When we meet with new clients, they have a variety of goals. They want to have better control over their budgets, enhance productivity to drive on-time project delivery, optimize staffing and resource planning, and more. Our role is to turn those ideas into a concrete action plan. Breaking needs and desires down into primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary goals (or more if needed) creates a framework and action plan to help organizations achieve their strategic project management vision.
Perhaps counterintuitively, we like to start at the top of the pyramid when building out a client’s hierarchy of needs. This is effectively an exercise in visioning. What does the equivalent of Maslow’s self-actualization look like at this organization? Maybe the leadership team receives a weekly progress report highlighting projects that are behind schedule and/or at risk of going over budget. Or perhaps the goal is for portfolios of projects to be managed more consistently, allowing managers to borrow best practices and facilitate a culture of continuous improvement. Whatever that ultimate, top tier goal is, it will inform how the rest of the pyramid is built.
Once the highest-tier goal is defined, we head to the bottom of the pyramid to define each client’s basic needs. These are the foundational items that are essential to put into place before moving on to the loftier aspirations defined above. For a small startup, maybe that foundational need is defining and documenting internal procedures. After all, a project manager needs clearly documented procedures in place before they can build out an integrated project schedule with any degree of confidence. For a larger organization, the base of their pyramid might be defining key performance indicators (KPIs) or taking the time to thoroughly assess lessons learned from past projects to better define priorities and expectations.
Each segment of the pyramid can be thought of as a project in and of itself. These tiers should be well-defined, with a clear starting and ending point. When viewed as a whole, the project management hierarchy of needs defines a path towards organizational growth and maturity. Of course, pursuing the goals laid out in the hierarchy of needs will require dedicated resources and persistence to achieve, particularly in the face of conflicting priorities and limited resources. No matter where you are on your journey, the exercise of creating a hierarchy of needs can help your organization assess and prioritize needs, providing valuable insight into the most effective approach for pursuing key strategic goals.
