Project Management in Real Life

Job Shadowing in the Project Initiation Phase will provide a good view of a day in the life of a department. Business Analysts use job shadowing to gather requirements and document the workflow processes. You don't have to be a Business Analyst to job shadow; project team members need to wear many hats at times. 

Process Improvement is the goal of job shadowing when you are replacing a system. Information that is collected from job shadowing will be used to compile your project requirements to achieve the defined deliverables. This is also a good time to start defining Key Performance Indicators that will be used to validate that process improvement is being achieved. Start making notes on Test Cases that will be used to validate the KPIs.

The Project Plan should have the defined KPIs evaluated at the appropriate time in the project timeline when results can be measured in a controlled environment. If all KPIs meet expectations, then a project Milestone is truly earned. If KPIs do not meet the expectations, then it's time to stop moving forward on the project so an evaluation can be done to address the failing KPIs. That's why you need good Test Cases to flush out any possible issues. 

My Final Thoughts on Job Shadowing that is a valuable project activity that should be used as much as possible to avoid disappointed Stakeholders after a project is delivered and it cosmetically looks good, but that's it, no improvement achieved. 

Project Managers can learn from watching a mother hen taking care of her chicks. It's a neverending job keeping watch over those chicks to make sure they are safe and don't wander off and get lost or into trouble.

The Project Team needs a good leader. The Project Manager needs to always keep an eye on the team to make sure everyone stays on track. You need to be involved, but do not micromanage your team. Let them be independent like chicks so they can develop and become valuable team members. Be there to steer the team members back on track when you notice that they are lost and need some guidance.

Having good intuition is a plus. The picture I snapped illustrates the mother hen being concerned because she has a feeling that one chick is missing because there are only five chicks around her so she takes to higher ground to get a better view of whats going on.

The Project Team Members is an important risk on a Risk Register, there are many other risks to add to the register, but my focus on this article is Team Members. 

Project Managers need to focus up front on the availability of team members for a project. The Risk Register should include team members working on different projects, especially concurrent projects. We often assign key staff to multiple projects which is fine if their key dates and implementation have breathing room for safe multitasking. 

The Risk Register will provide valuable insight into how your project team is spread out. The reprioritizing of project dates might be needed to address overallocated staff. It's good to know up front that you are working with overallocated staff so you know the potential risk that could be a showstopper.

Roll the dice or play it safe. Just make sure that management understands all the risks that are involved with overallocated staff. 

A good Project Manager is the problem solver that needs to know how to respond fast to get a resolution with acceptable outcomes to keep a project moving. Don't just be a delegator. Jump in and work with the team to find a solution. 

Having the ability to sense trouble is an asset for a Project Manager. Staying cool and taking ownership of the issue avoids any confusion on who is the point person to get a resolution delivered. You will work with subject matter experts or become one on your quest for a resolution. 

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on DrakeSettsu.BlogSpot.com in March 2016)

We need Project Managers that leads by example and jumps in to help any project team member when they are in need of help. I do not like the term "Servant Leader", it sounds like it came out of the 1700's.

Project Managers need to get their hands dirty too. Don't just direct and watch the action sipping your cup of coffee. Involvement with your team to make adjustments to keep the project moving is important. Be there for your team. If there is a task you can do, then do it.

A good example of a Project Manager getting their hands dirty was a Data Center inventory project that I was involved in. I was the Systems Administrator assigned to inventory every piece of hardware / software in the Data Center. The Project Manager got on his hands and knees in the Data Center to help me take inventory and create the Data Center floor plan.

I have gotten my hands thirty on many of my own projects looking underneath the Data Center tile floor to plan hardware projects. 

Just get your hands dirty. It's a rewarding experience when you can help out. There is soap and water to clean your dirty hands when you are done.

Leadership with no borders sounds better than Servant Leadership.