Jennifer McIntyreSenior Project Manager| Oklahoma State Department of HealthOklahoma City, Ok, United States
I am a portfolio manager for a global R&D department - our current structure utilizes engineers as project leads and we select the lead based on their technical skills and experience. As can be expected, not every engineer has the needed skills to lead/manage a project on their own. I am more than happy to help and step in, but with a portfolio of over 20 projects going at any time, I cant take on all of their project level tasks.
With this in mind, management has tasked me to provide some basic project management training for our leads. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions regarding presentations/courses or materials that would be good to reference in such a training. Their position is more of a coordinator role, as they don't have a lot of given authority. Saving Changes...
A RACI-task matrix would be useful, so the engineers know at a glance what they are empowered to do themselves, and when they need to consult with management. Saving Changes...
What about ITIL ? I think it is the closest framework from engineers who can easily identify some good pratices ( Support, Release, Knowledge management) which can be improved according to their projects... Saving Changes...
Carolyn WongPM Consultant| Project Controls TechnologyHouston, Tx, United States
Sit down and put down on paper what the curriculum needs to be based on what information is needed by these engineers in training to perform their daily tasks.
You can start with the fundamentals for their daily tasks. Start with the project triangle aka triple constraint. Within the time, budget and scope, go over the steps needed to manage all three and then continue to build upon the training material from this triple constraint. After that go into quality. Saving Changes...
Perhaps reflect on the challenges the leads have faced in the past and see if there is a commonality. For instance they may have trouble setting expectations or keeping to schedule. With this information look to see if there are recorded webinars. Saving Changes...
Adela TataruSenior Project Manager| Self EmployedVancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Maybe start with simple, basic notions? And try to demystify everything as it might be daunting for someone who is not that familiar with PM tasks.
It is a basic (free) introduction to project management and gives an overall idea of what that is.
Afterwards you can try to schedule regular sessions (let's say once a month or more frequently if you have the time) where you can go deeper into some specific areas.
And make sure you are available to be contacted for questions and advice on particular situations they are not familiar with.
...
1 reply by Vagner Antonio da Silva
Nov 08, 2022 9:48 PM
Vagner Antonio da Silva
...
You've got my vote, Mrs. Tataru.
Saving Changes...
Kevin FlanaganPeople-Centered Servant Leader| Prodapt at WindstreamCharlotte, Nc, United States
Pairing them up with other project managers is best. Learning is best learnt on-the-job since its much different then training and reading. Saving Changes...
Lauren SpearMultnomah CountyTigard, Or, United States
Perhaps putting together a suite of tools and templates they can use for various PM level tasks. Project Plans, Risk, Communication, etc. This coupled with some of the basic training resources other have mentioned might go a long way.
Another idea I have considered is a project management community of practice or lunch and learn opportunities. A place for people tasked with project management tasks to learn and share ideas. Saving Changes...
Marcus HendersonProject Manufacturing Engineer / Integrated Project Team Lead | Northrop GrummanVa, United States
Organizational Tree Charts, RACIs, and Swim Lanes are extremely useful. Any templates to documentation (risk, communication, planning, reporting) will also be very useful. Engineers can thrive once you've created some boundaries for them to work in. Especially when they aren't typically great at creating structure only and take pleasure in expanding on it. Saving Changes...
Shivanjali BhutkarBringing Technology and Business togetherNa, Ca, United States
They can be PM's helpers to complete the project templates/documentation for their projects. Setup required tools, expectations. Saving Changes...
Community Champion
