Lessons Learned from the PMMM Research Series
SERIES ARTICLE
By Darcy Prado, PhD
Belo Horizonte (MG) – Brazil
ABSTRACT
This article introduces the series of articles entitled “Lessons Learned from Maturity Research”. It contextualizes the topic by presenting a summary of the Prado Maturity Model-PMMM and the maturity research conducted in Brazil since 2005 by the website https://maturityresearch.com/en/home-en/. In addition, it shows the main results of the research conducted in 2024. At the end, we present the list of lessons learned that we will address in our next articles.
1 – INTRODUCTION
All those who work in an environment that has some kind of relationship with projects aspire to be completely successful in their respective work. Some examples:
- Professionals with some connection to strategic planning, whether at the C-Level, in business or operations areas, aspire for projects to materialize the results dreamed of by strategists.
- Project Managers aspire for their projects to end by fully achieving the goals as planned and pleasing everyone involved.
- Project management office (PMO) professionals aspire for all projects in the portfolio to end successfully.
However, everyone knows that the above aspirations do not always come true to the same extent as our dreams. The harsh reality of the real world sometimes frustrates us and causes stress. Even though it is common knowledge that it is difficult to be successful in the project environment, what most people still do not know is a quantification of the extent of this frustration. My experience over the last 25 years has given me some insights into this subject, as I have been fortunate enough to work on this topic alongside people who have greatly inspired and helped me, and I could not fail to mention Russell Archibald, who inspired us to start the research and was with us while he was alive.
So, in this series of articles, I decided to share my experience, mainly from my experience with the Maturity Research, which has been conducted in Brazil since 2005 by the website www.maturityresearch.com. These lessons also come from my experience as a consultant, project manager, PMO, speaker, university professor and author of books and articles. I hope that they help PM professionals to better position themselves in a project scenario and be less impacted by possible negative results. I also hope that they will be useful to academia in studies that delve deeper into the subject.
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Editor’s note: The Project Management Maturity series of articles by Prof Darci Prado is based on his extensive research on this topic in Brazil and other countries. Darci is the developer of the Prado Project Management Maturity Model which has been successfully implemented by many organizations in Brazil. More about this model and related research can be found at. https://maturityresearch.com/en/home-en/
How to cite this work: Prado, D. (2025). Contextualization, Lessons Learned from the PMMM Research, Series article 1, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue IV, April. Available online at http://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pmwj151-Apr2025-Prado-Maturity-Lessons-Learned-Contextualization-series-1.pdf
About the Author
Darci Prado, PhD
Belo Horizonte (MG) – Brazil
Darci Prado is a consultant and partner of FALCONI in Brazil. He is an engineer, with graduate studies in Economical Engineering at UCMG and PhD in Project Management from UNICAMP, Brazil. He has worked for IBM for 25 years and worked with UFMG Engineering School for 32 years. He holds the IPMA Level B Certification. He was one of the founders of Minas Gerais State and Parana State PMI chapters, and he was a member of the Board Directors of the Minas Gerais State PMI chapter during 1998-2002 and member of the Consulting Board during 2003-2009. He was also the president of IPMA Minas Gerais State chapter during 2006-2008. He is conducting Project Management maturity research in Brazil and Italy. He is author of nine books on project management and is also author of a methodology, a software application, and a maturity model for project management. Darci can be contacted at darciprado@uol.com.br.
To view other works by Dr. Prado, please visit his author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/darci-prado-phd/
