Archive for the 'project manager' Category

Breaking into Project Management - Josh Nankivel

Published
by
Ron
on September 17, 2009
in project, project management training and project manager
. 4 Comments

This is a guest Blog by that well respected writer and career project management coach Josh Nankivel. He writes about Breaking into Project Management.

I am a project management career coach, and specifically I focus on helping new and aspiring project managers reach their career goals and get into the project management discipline.

I correspond with hundreds of people monthly about their own career paths, and there are a few topics that surface again and again.

Gaining experience and questions about certifications are two of the most common. I am very happy to offer my advice here in a guest post, and I hope you gain some valuable guidance from what follows!

Go Get Some Experience
When it comes to project management, general management, and many other careers you just need to go get some experience.

A common assumption is that a catch-22 exists, where you can only gain experience through positions that require previous experience. This is wrong.

If you have an expectation that an organization will hire you as a project manager and hand you a sizeable project so you can gain some experience, you probably need to take those rose-colored glasses off now.
Just as with other positions, you earn higher levels of responsibility as you prove yourself. Many project managers start out as technical resources and spend years working in projects before making the move to project manager. Others may come at it from the business side, working through positions with titles like “business analyst”, “project controller”, “project coordinator”, etc. Still others are simply operational managers who also manage projects as needed on the side. They get interested in the “project management” part of their role and go from there.

My own personal background includes a little of all of these:
• IT Industry: Technical Lead >> Project Manager split role

• Telecom Industry: Functional Manager >> Project Management on the side

• Aerospace Industry: Project Coordinator >> Project Analyst >> Planning & Controls Project Manager >> Lead Project Manager Continue reading ‘Breaking into Project Management - Josh Nankivel’

Project management Blog captured at Alltop

Published
by
Ron
on August 10, 2009
in project, project management training and project manager
. 0 Comments

Yes, Ron you have made it on to the Alltop blogs! Give your self a pat on the back!

Alltop boasts some awsome blogs so check it out here.

It’s a site worth bookmarking

Surrogate project sponsor puts projects back on course

Published
by
Ron
on July 15, 2009
in coaching, project, project management training, project manager and sponsor
. 0 Comments

A recent experience set me thinking. I was coaching a group of people who had been on one of our project management training courses. A couple of the sessions are briefly recorded below:

• a project to increase bottom line sales profit. The project manager showed me his plans. All goods stuff; getting internal systems right, recruiting some new staff and spending a lot of time motivating his internal team. But, there was a key aspect missing - the end client. All the project plans were internally focussed. There was no involvement of the end customer - the people who will help generate the increased profit.

When I mentioned this, a huge grin crossed the project manager’s face. He recognised the omission.

• a project to introduce a new product. The problem for the project manager was that roles in the project were far from clear and the suppliers were not delivering according to the agreed schedule. We looked at some options which included sorting out both roles and the delivery issues within a formal meeting. The project manager felt much happier and had a clearer route ahead

Now these are only two of many examples of issues that have come up during coaching sessions. However, I have noticed a theme coming from those who sit opposite me….the lack of sponsor involvement. The sponsor should be the person doing the coaching; this is the person who should be guiding the project manager. But, it is clear they are not even meeting to talk about project progress let alone sorting out project management ‘problems’

When asked about the involvement of the project sponsor responses generally suggested ‘very little’ senior management involvement.

The coaching sessions were set up to provide support for project management training course participants. In reality, I became the surrogate sponsor….something I did not expect. This blog is full of many articles about project sponsors see here  and here

This experience has reaffirmed my belief that the sponsor, no matter how senior, how busy or far away they are should play their role effectively. Yes, I accept the difficulty of this statement and have been challenged by sponsors on this issue. However, if senior managers want their strategic agenda delivered then they need to participate in its delivery. Using a surrogate is partly an answer, however, when the surrogate goes, someone still needs to play the role. The sponsor!

Project Management Comment Causes a Stir on Twitter

Published
by
Ron
on June 1, 2009
in project, project manager and project managment
. 5 Comments

When you write something it can really come back to bite you. Such was the case on Friday when I wrote a quick Tweet (I think that is what they are called) and dashed out from my office.

Imagine my surprise when I looked on Twitter over the weekend and saw some comments on my Tweet which clearly had caused some people to question what I had written. I wondered why?

It soon became obvious that I needed to write a proper response rather than the 140 Twitter character limit.

So, let me start with the comments I placed in Twitter. I said: “Strict adherence to the project management methodology is more important than delivering the project.”

How did this come about?

The first thing is to point out that it is a quote (not mine!) I was on a train recently and got talking to a couple of people opposite me. They inevitably asked me what I did and explained that we help companies to deliver projects on time, to budget and with the right results. There was a moment of silence, a smile, and they both admitted to being senior project mangers!

We spoke for a while about the project management profession and one of them talked about the project management methodology used in their company. Together they were pretty scathing about the methodology and the above quote was one of my travelling companions, supported by his colleague!

So let me put this event further into context:

• both of the project managers did not believe in the quote; this was the way they saw the company applying it

• I have long believed that methodologies should be pragmatic; I have designed company wide methodologies and applied this approach and it works!

• if a company is serious about delivering its strategic agenda, it needs an overall project management methodology. It need not be complex, simply work for them! It is a guide, not a set of rules

• the business case for a project management methodology is so strong I, and many others cannot understand why many companies do not have a common approach

• the approach is not the only aspect required; strong project management structures, excellent people skills alongside good financial management are also needed plus lots of other aspects

So, the next time I dash off something very quickly, I will check it out ….very carefully and ensure I get my message across effectively.

I want to be a project manager, I don’t….

Published
by
Ron
on April 28, 2009
in project management training, project manager and project selection
. 0 Comments

I have had many phone calls over the years from people who say that they want to be a project manager. I usually spend a lot of time talking through the options with them.

I was somewhat taken aback however when a person drew me to one side after a project management training course and said: “I am a project manager and I don’t want to be one!”

“Tell me a bit more” I suggested

He went on to explain that he had been appointed to as a project manager 18 months ago. He was not enjoying the job.

“It’s the level of detail. I like the bigger picture without getting too involved in the detail. Others love it, but not me”

We discussed this for a while and he left feeling he must look for another job.

He was clear about one thing; detail, detail and more detail is needed when managing and delivering projects. But, what if you are not a detail person and are a project manager? Well, you could try and ensure you have someone on the team who will deal with the detail. If not, this poses all sorts of risks for the project and possibly the organization. Which brings us back to selection of people engaged in projects

Detail, detail, detail. Here are some questions for you:

• Are you a detail person or can you delegate this to someone else in the project team?

• What level of monitoring will you employ, will it fit with the level of detail you are comfortable with?

• Will your risks be detailed enough to practice prevention?

There are more but I guess you get my drift!