I got my first break into Project work recently, but the company doesn't seem to have a grasp on what Project Management actually is or know any of the industry standards. They often expect me to come up with solutions for business problems or assign me projects to execute alone, without a scope, staff, or clear goals. I really want this relationship to work out but I often find myself frustrated for being unable to meet their expectations. Advice?
(In the hiring process I disclosed being Scrum Certified and pursuing a PMI certification, they nodded but it doesn't look like they knew what I was talking about or what these words even mean). Saving Changes...
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William M Hayden JrAdjunct Assistant Professor| University at Buffalo, School of Management, Operations Management & StrategyBuffalo, Ny, United States
So Anony.
Unless you are willing and prepared to do the internal coaching of the execs,
and they are willing to sit still and learn, move on.
Cheers,
Bill Saving Changes...
Patrick WinterPrincipal and Senior Delivery Lead| DxW ConsultantsToronto, Ontario, Canada
Sounds like it will take some patience on your part, and gradually educating your colleagues. I have found that using folksy, easy-to-understand analogies often helps in those situations, e.g. explaining project-related concepts in terms of building a house or doing a renovation.
Examples: - Scope: In building a house, you'd want to clearly understand up-front whether your contractor will be getting the necessary permits, or if they're leaving that up to you.
- Budgeting/forecasting: If you can't spend a penny more than $10,000 on a kitchen reno, then you're better off NOT planning to use the entire $10,000... depending on the level of uncertainty (e.g. if it's a very old house, you might want to plan to spend only $5,000 and keep the other $5,000 in reserve, in case of unplanned/unbudgeted work such as they find lead pipes or bad wiring they need to replace... if it's a new house, then maybe it's less risky and keeping only $1,000 or 2,000 in reserve might be sufficient)
- Timeline/contingency/risk management: If you're doing a gut-job (wholesale reno on a house) during which you need to move out, when renting a temporary place you probably wouldn't want the lease to end on the exact day your contractor has initially forecast for the house to be ready. Knowing how things go, having a few months of buffer/contingency would be prudent
- Planning and sequencing: It doesn't make sense to start digging and laying the foundation until you've decided on at least the rough floorplan. Similarly, starting work building the roof before you've agreed on the layout of the supporting walls etc. is very likely to result in a lot of wasted work and rework. Similarly, putting up the drywall painting before the wiring has been done will result in a mess. That said, you don't need to finalize the choice of tiles and kitchen/bathroom fixtures before you pour the foundation's concrete.
- Smart planning and preserving options: Would include things like roughing in plumbing and wiring to a walk-in closet that the owner might one day want to convert into an ensuite bathroom -- minimal additional effort to put in while the walls are just frames (and meaning a bathroom can be added later, when budget allows, without needing to rip out walls all the way down to the basement to put in new piping), but a massive effort (and lots of re-work) if done later.
In our not-so-perfect world, sometimes it's crucial to communicate clearly, while other times, actions speak louder than words. For instance, if I want to explain Agile to someone, instead of just talking about it, I might demonstrate Agile principles through action. Then, when people ask, I can say, "That's Agile!" Saving Changes...
I have been in this situation in the past. I requested my colleagues to take PMI kickoff course on project management. They enjoyed it a lot and it became easier for me to discuss things with them. Moreover, I offered training sessions on common project management/task management tools like trello/asana/ms-project. Saving Changes...
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