PMs, if you set up smoke screens and miss deadlines because you’re too busy, then the rest of the team will see that and sense that deadlines are merely suggestions. If I’m going to help with system testing and I’ll run through some test cases by Friday and have feedback ready then I need to do that and meet the critical deadlines. The Project Manager must have the confidence and initiative to stand firm on scope issues as well as the ability to have the 1,000-foot view of the project in order to see possible negotiation points in case the ‘sell’ is harder than anticipated. But the 50% that do seem to team up with you and are working beside you every step of the way only want to see the project do well and the PM to perform successfully. Processes and systems to answer these questions are still being developed and are far from maturity” (Harpham 2000, p 4). You’ll be more sought-after in the future because of it (if you consider that a good thing!). An effective project management officer can distribute resource information, schedule and talk about costs to the intended stakeholders to keep all involved parties abreast with the latest updates. At least then you show that it’s still important by not blowing it off and turn your work in late without an explanation. Subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest news! Just ask my wife. This one probably applies to any profession and just about any role a person plays, but it’s often overlooked. Every project faces issues. This way the customer saw the dedication and issue resolution up close and regained confidence in the delivery organization while also participating heavily in the solution. We fear that it will appear as though we’re not in control. He has made major contributions to the understanding of project management, is author of the best selling 2003 book “Managing High-Technology Programs and Projects” (published also in Russian, Chinese, and Italian), has trained more than a thousand program and project managers and project specialists around the world, and has consulted in project management to clients in 14 countries on 4 continents. The Project Manager should do what they say they are going to do. Managing the Total Project Life Cycle: The primary (some say the only) difference between projects and an ongoing enterprise as something to be managed is that the project has a life cycle: it starts, is executed, and it ends. Portfolio Management – Back to Basics Podcast – listen to all episodes! They are also knowledgeable in handling and allocating the right resources for the right projects. We may have been able to eventually solve it remotely, but we had been trying that and it certainly wasn’t working fast enough. For me, having solid connections within the Accounting departments and within the Application Development group has provided me with the greatest benefits. We fear they’ll ask that we be replaced as the PM. I like that you said a good project manager can stay on track and keep a tight project schedule. Not all projects run smoothly and certainly, not all customers are friendly and work well and play well with others. Document the concerns and issues on the issues list put them in front of your customer on status calls and in the status reports and track them. We fear we’ll lose favor. +358 40 733 6670 esa.toivonen(at)thinkingportfolio.com, Katri Harju This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. A customer will sense the weakness and either use that to take over control of the project or possibly request that the Project Manager be replaced. Go to management to get what you need. But keep the influences of what the other team members, managers, and customers have to say in check. Projects frequently require changes in the organization itself in order to gain the benefits from the results of the project. A check on Dictionary.com yields a few definitions of stubborn…some don’t work for this article, but these definitely do: - Fixed or set in purpose or opinion; resolute. But once you’ve assessed it on the delivery team side, share and work through it with your customer. You may have 3-4 other projects that you are managing – that’s just the nature of PM work, but they’re all important and all of them place the target firmly on your head. As the PM, the project is yours. With management and customer approval, I gathered key resources from both sides into war-room typesetting at the delivery organization site so that we were physically close to key development, tech support, and infrastructure support resources during this critical effort. Employers struggle with this question a lot, I’m sure. The informal communication that happens on a project in the form of emails, phone calls and impromptu or emergency meetings with team members and the customer can add a nearly infinite amount of additional communication points to coordinate. Application of integrative and predictive practices, methods, systems and tools for producing and effectively using the information required to plan, schedule, monitor, and control the scope, risks, schedules, resources and costs of projects, programs and project portfolios, integrating their entire life cycles. The best way to approach it is to realize that the customer and their project team are really just an extension of your project team. Stay up-to-date on new articles, special offers, and other useful content. They struggle with it when they’re interviewing candidates and I’m sure they struggle with it the most when they weigh the candidates and try to come up with the one that they decide should become part of their organization. There is no question that the Project Manager is the point person on the project team….truly for both the delivery team and the customer. To become a success, all projects are regarded with the same quality standards and other requirements. Skilled technical resources will never look up to their Project Manager as a competent leader if they sense they are weak, wishy-washy in their decision-making, or simply lack the knowledge to ‘pull it off.’. The problem-solving characteristic in a good Project Manager forces them to change their way of thinking based on a given situation – forces them to get creative. For more info check our. Get Started with the Free SharePoint Project Management Template from BrightWork. But in terms of Project Management, I tend to thrive on the need to keep all of these activities together, stay on task and keep a project team moving forward.