Project Management "Wisdom"
December 18, 2007 at 11:30 am by Chris
As a Project Manager here at Newfangled, I have learned a lot- mostly by making mistakes and being corrected by Mark or Eric (nice) or by one of our clients (not so fun). Regardless of how your mistakes are made known to you, learning from experience is probably the most effective method of growth rather than books and or lists of advice about project management. That said, here are some basic points that I would want to share with anyone new to Project Management:Be Clear and Honest Managing expectations is much easier when you have been clear about what you will do and what you can do from the outset. A precisely worded and thorough contract will get the ball rolling right, but will not ensure that a project will go smoothly. You will have many subsequent conversations via phone, email, etc. that will be rife with opportunities for misunderstanding. So, make sure that you follow up any conversation, especially those had over the phone or in person where decisions have been made, with a clear email outlining what was discussed. Also, do your best to read between the lines. If you have any reason to think that a client expects something that you will not deliver, do not wait for them to ask for it. Be as clear as possible about everything that you will do, and when you will deliver it. Communicate Often Most clients will have a preferred method of communication. Whether it is telephone, email, or some other online tool (like Basecamp), try to use their preferred method as often as possible. They will appreciate it, and you will have greater success in reaching them when you need to. If something needs to be communicated, do not wait unless you have good reason to do so. When it comes to everyone's favorite time in a project, the 'home stretch,' do your client or partners a favor and consolidate punch-lists into one communication. It's easy for anyone to get overwhelmed at this point in a project, and having to read through one less email can help. Prioritize and Delegate Hopefully, you've started out with a well-planned project. If so, its stages will be planned based upon what can be done and when, as well as a sense of priorities, which can be influenced by any number of factors (product releases, events, financial timelines, etc.). However, during the project, new tasks will always be introduced that can affect your ability to meet a deadline, so it is important that you can prioritize these tasks well and integrate them in to the overall timeline. Make sure that the way you prioritize tasks benefits everyone involved as best as possible. Your ability to an advocate for yourself, your developers, designers, and your client is critical. Also, be sure to evaluate up front how a newly prioritized task will affect the overall timeline of your project and let everyone on the team know. While everyone is surely capable of realizing that it will, it is your job to put together a plan and deliver the news to everyone on the team.
It's likely that during the course of most projects, you will find yourself in the position of having to deliver bad news. This may be because of a mistake made, a missed deadline, or even false expectations. No matter what the reason is, your success in this project will be determined by how you handle the crises, not the successful parts. Because of this, I would always advise that bad news be delivered over the phone or in person. We all know that it is easier to email bad news because you can be just one step removed from delivering it and almost hide behind the technology. However, my experience has been that this just makes things worse. When you do make the call, apologize and take responsibility when necessary. Acknowledging your mistakes is just the right thing to do, but it also will be appreciated by your client and be a reminder that we are all human and liable to mess up now and again. I hope that some of these points are helpful. I know that after having made the mistakes that lead to these things being evident to me, I would have loved to have considered them beforehand. However, as I said before, experience (especially the tough stuff) is the best teacher. |
Tags: project-management
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Comments 
 Able |
December 20, 2007 1:48 PM Great post, Chris! I appreciate your honesty, and I really do think there is wisdom here. (You can take that out of quotes) |
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Mark |
January 21, 2008 1:52 PM Wonderful job, Chris! This is my favorite post of yours so far. |