Breaking down Project Management into the very basics

Even something as simple as driving to the shops can be converted into a project lifecycle:

Scope- What I am going to buy

Budget- I have £10 to spend

Timeliness- I need to be there and back within an hour to pick the kids up

Risks- The traffic could be bad, I might not get a parking space

When working with new project managers, I like to set a task, which is outside of their core area of knowledge, as I work in Financial Services, I use a simple construction task, of building a new shed.

In the project sponsor briefing, this gives the new project managers plenty of opportunity to ask the right questions to establish the scope, typical questions would include

• Size of shed
• Colour of shed
• Location of shed
• Any additional requirements (electrics etc)

The good part of the task is that there are no real constraints so it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.

From the scope the aspiring project managers, then put the plan together, again this is a fairly simple exercise and no one in the real world would try and put a shed up without buying the materials or digging the foundations, but these things can get missed when putting your plan together, which is an excellent discipline to encourage that everything is documented.

The other key learning from this exercise is that once you start to put a plan together it can rapidly change as you start to assess how all the components need to hang together.

The final part of the introduction, is to start to introduce the concept of risk, both documentation and mitigation, the biggest risk with this simple construction task is the weather, which can lead to some interesting mitigation ideas. 

Project Manager- Expert Danger

A question that always gets discussed is how much technical knowledge a project manager, my view apart from some extreme cases where you need a deep technical understanding such as engineering, the project manager to perform their role effectively needs next to little to deliver successful projects.

Working on the assumption that the PM is relatively intelligent (and to be qualified they would be) they would be able to quickly build a good general understanding of most industries and organisations.

The skills that the project manager brings in identifying and facilitating stakeholder discussion, formatting plans and then driving through delivery should outweigh the skills of a product expert.

So what are the dangers if you do have a project manager who is an expert in the area of delivery

OFFERS OPINION ON DELIVERY

Once a Project Manager offers an opinion on delivery, they start to come part of the solution, they should allow the sponsor and the key stakeholders to agree the project objectives and success criteria.
Getting to involved at the start threatens the PM's independence particularly when difficult decisions may be needed or when a full and frank review of what went wrong is required.

PICKS UP KEY DELIVERY TASKS

There will be always the temptation if dropping behind the plan for the PM to pick up tasks themselves to keep the project on track. This will inevitably lead to the core project tasks getting neglected and as with offering opinion on delivery there is a clear clouding of roles and responsibilities in the project delivery.


ASSUMPTION OF KNOWLEDGE

When you as individual know something there is always a tendency to assume that others have the same level of knowledge, and key needs such as communication and training can get overlooked. Having knowledge also loses the PM ability to ask stupid questions, which are always great to make sure everyone understands what the deep geeks are talking about.

PROJECT NEVER FINISHES

If the Project Manager is an employee rather than a contractor, the chances are that as an expert they will continue to work in the area, where the danger is that the project manager will continue to be involved in whatever has been delivered, and effectively causing the project to never finish!

Starting on a new project

It is both exciting and daunting when you start on a new project in a new place, before you do dive in to your project there are three key things that you need to understand and investigate, and by taking this time it will help you as you move into setting up your project.

The Organisation

Yes, you have done your research online, maybe talked to a few people and had at least one interview, but once you are in the door you only then do you find about the organisation, just observing how people act in their day to day activities tells you a lot, do people come in early stay late, is there a buzz around the office, is there lots of social chit chat etc

Stakeholders

The same observations can be made around key stakeholders, how do they greet you on first introduction, how easy is it to get into their calendar, how long if at all do they respond to your emails, the early weeks interactions will give a very strong guide to how you will work with these individuals through your project.

Politics

At every interview you are always told they do't exist, but in every organisation they do, it is important to work out what everyone's real drivers are, who gets on with who, and who you really need to get on side to get things done, and don't be fooled its not always the sponsor.

Do something simple

When you start somewhere new you are bound to have something in your kitbag nobody has seen before, particularly if you are joining an established team/organisation, you might think it is simple and everyone knows it but it is amazing that the smallest of things can impress new colleagues.

Next Week

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