Page SouvallSr. Program/Project Manager| TraegerSalt Lake City, UT, United States
I am having trouble as the sole PM who can only manage the top priority projects. It is difficult to implement PM processes and documentation when a large percentage of projects within technology do not have Project Managers running them and are not following the processes or documentation. Any suggestions? Saving Changes...
Is it stating the obvious (and maybe a little bit of an exaggeration) to say that you're the only one who cares about PM processes and documentation? It's not that they don't care, they just want to do their work and don't see PM processes and documentation as "their work"???
When I moved to Utah, in 2009, my first job was as the sole project manager - not the first, just the only one running projects. They just wanted someone to help get things done, make sure our 3rd party developers got things done, and weren't interested in what the PMBOK said. When I joined my current employer, it was as their first and only project manager, and it's not that different. It's been easier to fit project management around what they do, deliver value, and make incremental change, than to try and transform how everybody else works in one fell swoop.
At a former employer, we had a PMO and a team of PMs, but one thing we did that was helpful was establish minimum guidelines for projects. Anything beyond the minimum was up to the person running the project, as long as they got things done and achieved the desired outcomes.
Have you taken any of the DA classes from PMI? I've been working "Guided Continuous Improvement" into our processes. It's been helpful to basically make a backlog of process and tool improvements, prioritize them, and then tackle them as we're able. After DASSM I took the DAVSC class (the DASSM was required to take the DAVSC class). I'm not saying you should pursue the DAVSC. In the class I learned about and how to apply the ideal value stream, which makes more sense in IT than the value stream approach I learned in LSSGB training. There are other resources to learn about it, and if you can apply it, it will help you to visualize the obstacles in your teams' ways of working and work with them to improve things. You don't have to use the ideal value stream, just find a good way to visualize how teams work (or don't, in some cases).
A couple questions to consider - What do they value? How can you help them accomplish what they value while growing project management maturity in the organization? Saving Changes...
Project & PMO Manager | Research & Enterprise Mentor| GFB HoldingSouth America, Brazil
It sounds like the fundamental challenge isn't just about process implementation, but about demonstrating the value of structured project management to the wider technology team and potentially to stakeholders. If the benefits of having a PM aren't obvious, it's understandable that projects would proceed without one, especially on less critical initiatives. People default to what they know, and if they haven't experienced the positive impact of a PM firsthand, they're less likely to embrace the methodology. Saving Changes...
Project & PMO Manager | Research & Enterprise Mentor| GFB HoldingSouth America, Brazil
You are right in the fact that it seems to not be clear for the stakeholders the value delivered by PM roles. By strategically implementing small-scale PM pilots on less critical projects, you can demonstrate the tangible benefits of structured project management, increase buy-in from stakeholders, and pave the way for wider adoption of PM practices within the technology department. It's about showing, not just telling, the value of what you do. Saving Changes...
Shea KileyEducator| Massachusetts Department of CorrectionMassachusetts, United States
the difficulty I had in such situations (consultant / independent contractor) was documenting completed projects to a point I can get a quick overview of what was done/ how to proceed and if I even should. then wondering how some efforts completed without even a single bit of useful info stored. Nothing allowing someone from the outside to then figure out what was done. I think the required documents were in someone's email, but that person was long gone. So I would just put that effort into active projects and build a useful system with guided documents for staff to submit. Again the difficulty of getting answers from those who do not want to get stuck documenting their own work. I get that and I just document the necessary facts enough that even lets call it "Intern Easy" happens. If anyone has questions the most beginner staff can have answers. Minimum guidelines gets this done Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
One thing is project management and other different thing is project governance which usually is the place where you need to create some documentation. When you run a project you have to select the approach, the life cycle to support the approach, the method to support the life cycle, the tool to support the method. All that will impact on the governance model which is on the top of all of this. And it would be defined with a level of abstraction for not being modify each time something change. Saving Changes...
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