Why Projects Succeed: Articulating the Value of Project Management Why Projects Succeed is a blog series in which Slalom Business Architect Roger Kastner sheds light on key factors behind the art and science of successful project management and invites readers to discuss how they apply across different environments. Roger Kastner is a Business Architect with Slalom Consulting who is passionate about raising the caliber of project leadership within organizations to maximize the value of projects A number of years ago on a Friday afternoon, a Product Manager asked me if I wanted to get coffee and discuss a current issue on our project. I had a status report due in 30 minutes and asked if we could go later. At first the Product Manager hesitated and then he quoted something from the movie Office Space, asking if my eight managers would hound me about a late "TPS report." Then he thought another moment and dropped the above Emerson quotation on me. "What?! It's due at 3pm every Friday!" I pleaded. He responded, "What's going to happen if it gets turned in late, or not at all? You already keep our sponsors informed. That status report only repeats what you've been saying. It's a waste of time." Did he have a valid point? Many of the tactical things Project Managers do might seem like a waste of time to stakeholders if we cannot connect them to value-add activities. And if these things do not seem to add value, then we need