What Not to Expect

COP is not project management. Although COP is a component that is often missing from the project management cycle, it does not involve measurement and tracking per se. It is an ancillary skill and tool to ensure that a project is more closely aligned with actual business objectives.

Highly organized and technical individuals often provide project management. However, innovation and solutions are often abstract concepts that require a more creative, almost artistic mindset. Both ideals are critical in creating true solutions:

• Highly analytical, process-driven detail

• Creative/innovative thought

These two ideals are often viewed as two competing forces in the project. The creative individual might be part of the project team and provide tangential input. Or the creative input comes from management in the form of vision and a big-picture perspective.

COP provides the basis for highly technical project managers and technologists to have a greater understanding and ability to provide the creative direction and input. The primary objective of COP is to ensure that projects of all types are more closely aligned to the business and its objectives.