The Occasional PM, Pt. 2

  Knowledge Management   Lessons Learned   ProjectsAtWork  

The Occasional Project Manager must first determine the type of project they are managing in order to choose the best approach. In part two of our series, we look at three types of projects that OPMs are most likely to encounter, and the unique challenges each presents.

This is the second in a series of six articles devoted to the Occasional Project Manager (OPM).

An OPM project can vary from rather simplistic to quite complex and the extent of required management can vary with the scope of these projects. Project duration may be measured in days, weeks or months. Team size typically ranges from one to six members. To confine project management to a single approach over these kinds of projects is not acting in the best interest of the business unit, yet the OPM needs project tools that are flexible enough to work across a range of projects. Let’s begin with a more formal understanding of these project types and how they are best managed.

An OPM project may be defined as a goal in search of a solution. The OPM project landscape is defined by two such variables: Goals and Solutions. Every project must have a goal and a solution for reaching that goal. However the solution may not be known at the start of the project. A project may be put forward by the project sponsor with a desired outcome or outcomes yet no specified solution offered. The OPM is then put into …

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