God, the greatest Project Manager.

Regardless of our beliefs, most people believe in a divine / higher power and in the concept of divine creation. The concept of creation in my belief, identifies God as the creator (Project Owner) of all things and the process of creation, best describes a perfectly executed Project, from requirements gathering (Discovery Phase) to resting on the 7th day (Closing Phase) exhibiting project management concepts and principals.

Now let’s work through the process together and understand what I refer to as the origin of Project Management.

My belief states that God created the world in 7 days, so we know the objective and time frame was already defined. After reviewing the process of creation, it is fair to say that God’s approach can be considered as the first real implementation of a hybrid methodology of “Waterfall & Agile methodologies “or in this case I call it the, “Divine Creation Process” (DCP) my ‘creation’ not any defined process). 

The DCP states that “Project Creation” was implemented in 7 days so let ‘analyze the process to see what we can learn from it.

                                                                            

                                                                           Creation Road-map.

Discovery Phase

Project Objective- God had a master plan project to create the world. The entire process is captured in Genesis 1 in the Bible (book of knowledge or playbook of life).

^1v In the beginning when God created the universe, ^2v the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water. ^{[Requirement gathering & Planning Phase]} (Discovery Phase: Review & Sign-off).  

Design / Build / Test Phase

DAY 1

^{3v (Sprint 1)} Then God commanded, - “Let there be light” ^[Design], —and light appeared^{[Build & Test]} (Stakeholders: - God and the Angels -assuming God worked with the Angels to create the world) ^4vGod was pleased with what he saw^{[Product Completion]} (Sprint 1: Complete).           

Then he separated the light from the darkness^[Build], ^{5v (Sprint 2)} and he named the light “Day” and the darkness “Night.” ^[UAT]Evening passed, and morning came that was the first day ^{[Product Completion]}   (Sprint 2: Complete).                         

DAY 2       

^{6v (Sprint 3)} And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters^[Design] ” ^7v And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse ^[Build] . And it was so ^[UAT]. ^8v And God called the expanse Heaven.^{[product completion]} And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. ^{[Product Completion]} (Sprint 3: Complete).                         

DAY 3- (2 Sprint Cycle)

^{9v (Sprint 4)} And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” ^{[Design & Build]}  And it was so ^[UAT]. ^10v God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good,^{[product Completion]} (Sprint 4: Complete).                         

^{11v (Sprint 5)} And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, ^{[Design & Build]}  and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth. ^{[Design & Build]}” And it was so ^[UAT]. ^12v the earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. ^{[Design & Build]}  And God saw that it was good ^13v and there was evening and there was morning, the third day. ^{[Product Completion]} (Sprint 5: Complete).                         

^{DAY 4}

^{14v (Sprint 6)} And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night^{[Design & Build]} . And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, ^{[Design & Build]  15v} and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. ^{[Design & Build]}.” And it was so ^[UAT].^16v And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ^{[Design & Build]  17v} And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ^18v to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. ^{[Design & Build]}   And God saw that it was good.  ^19v and there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. ^{[Product Completion]} (Sprint 6: Complete).                         

DAY 5

^{20v (Sprint 7)} And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens. ^{[Design & Build]} ”²¹ So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. ^{[Design & Build]}   And God saw that it was good ^[UAT]22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. ^{[Product Completion]} (Sprint 7: Complete).                         

DAY 6- (2 Sprint Cycles)

^{24v (Sprint 8)} And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds. ^{[Design & Build]} ” And it was so ^[UAT]. ²⁵ And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind ^{[Design & Build]} And God saw that it was good. (Sprint 8: Complete).                         

^{25v (Sprint 9)} Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ^{[Design & Build]}   

^27v So God created man in his own image, ^{[Product Completion]}
    in the image of God he created him;
    male and female he created them.

^{28v (Sprint 9)} And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” ²⁹ And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. ^{[Governance] 30} And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. ^[Governance] And it was so. ^[UAT] 

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. ^[UAT]  And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ^{[Final Product Completion]} (Sprint 9: Complete).                         

(Design / Build / Test Phase: Review & Sign-off).  

^{Go-live Phase}  

DAY 7

Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. ² And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. ³ So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it, God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. ^{[Final Project Review & Completion]} 

(Go-live Phase: Review & Final Sign-off).  

As outlined above, God’s divine process of creation, had the theoretical framework, concepts and execution applied in today’s projects. So it can be said, that the art of Project Management is divinely inspired.