I enjoyed you post Eugene.
One thing that is often forgotten is that there are often two (or more) PMs involved in any given project. For example, one PM from the customer and one from the supplier.
More often than not these PMs come from different sized companies, with different cultures and approaches.
Consider the case where the supplier comes from a small company as described in Eugene's article - they'll generally be flexible, have good contact with the BA and development team but not be as good with processes and artefacts. Inevitably there will be problems when this small supplier deals with a large company where the project management is more focussed on processes and documentation.
Further problems arise when the supplier feels that their PM should be driving the project given that they are the subject matter experts - i.e. they're delivering a project that they've done many times before and should be good at it. On the other hand the customer wants their PM to drive, given that they own and understand the problem and business requirements.

Justin Lipton

Exari Systems
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Reading this made me smile and nod my head in agreement. Its a good description of the last 5 years in the company I have worked for. We have gone from the Developers working with the business to having professional translators with the titles of Business Analyst not being able to speak either language sitting between us. It seems that surviving the IT audit with a good mark by having unnecessary rules is more important that delivering good service to the business.

Very true!!! Those who try to drive are pushed into bureaucracy and deliver the good looking gantt charts and status reports (becoming a postman rather than newsmaker), as they are the actual meters you are measured by. The basic measurements of cost, quality and schedule are always in place but value and innovation are lost.

Can't the big organizations have small teams giving the sense of a small company? That should help projects and people.

In the software arena, we typically have a PM and a technical lead/solutions architect running the the project as the architect will typically understand the solution as a whole. This works as quite a symbiotic relationship where the PM focuses on the business management aspects of the project and the technical lead manages the developers and delivery from a technical perspective, with both working to their strengths. The role of a BA would be the same as the developers or testers on the project, they would still be a crucial part of the puzzle but would not typically be in charge of a project.

What can a layman expect from a PM? Three things, mainly:

Liaise with the business side of the project,
Plan and manage the project based on the above,
Provide adequate information about project status.

No, this ought to be the responsbility of the development/implementation manager.

Generic project management skills are inadequate. It's good decision-making, the result of expertise and years of experience that causes success.

What can a layman expect from a BA? Three things, mainly:

Understand business needs,
Outline them adequately to the development team,
Make sure the two don’t diverge with time.

A BA is useful if the subject matter is complex and specific industry knowledge is needed. A BA should be assigned by the client to the project at the request of the development/implementation team.

Look, the problem in IT is not the lack of bureaucracy or MBAs. What's missing is talent. Clerical work is highly overrated. Communications skills are not but the people doing all the talking need understand the subject matter.