I've been offered an internal role internally as an Ecommerce Project Manager due to my past Ecommerce experience, to help with re-platforming our websites and to enable ecommerce.
Although I've managed smaller projects and campaigns this is the first time I've done anything quite as large and would like any advice you could give me re planning / reading which will help make sure this runs as smoothly as possible.
any advice appreciated.
Thanks, Saving Changes...
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Markus KopkoAI Enabler for Project & Program Mgmt | Founder PMotion.ai / The PM
AI Coach| PMotion.aiHamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Hi,
is there any senior project manager in your company who could act like a mentor for you?
Or may be you could organize external support for your role?
Otherwise you will have to do it from scratch and learn it the hard way i guess (what must not be bad, a lot of us expereinced project managers learned it this way including me ;) ).
best of luck
If you need structured guidance you could use the HEADWAY process here on pm.com as a red line. Should be a good start.
PMbOk Guide and other project management lecture should also be a good choice.
Markus has given apt guidelines and references for a new project manager.
If you are looking at quick initial list , here are a few suggestions, by no means these are complete but could help you set the tone. Hope it helps in some way but do use these judiciously.
The planning will really depend on intricacies of project, your organization type, prevailing work standards, approaches but here are some general guidelines-
1. Ensure the project has formal approval of project sponsor and has baselines defined in project charter. If it is possible, run a quick check to ensure the baselines are within practical limits, if the project charter is already prepared.
2. Know the high level project risks – you will need to mitigate those as you move ahead.
3. Ensure change control mechanism is in place for the project.
4. Ensure team members have requisite skills to execute the project- If any newer version of software, technology is going to be deployed in the project, ensure orientation/ at least a week long training of team members on those technologies, preferably before the project begins.
6. Know all the major stakeholders well in advance. If possible, meet them and try to know specific expectations, challenges they have with respect to the project.
Meet up with your team, know any specific challenges they have. Brief the team about the project and set expectations. Select your team leaders for major sub-areas of the project. For example, development lead, testing lead etc. Clearly define and convey to them the roles and responsibilities of your team members.
7. Finalize and get approval of executive report formats from the respective senior stakeholders.
8. Ensure all the resources including your team, required for at least initial phases, are in place.
9. Be aware of effort estimation methodology of your organization. Be aware of software development methodology of your organization.
10. As far as e-commerce part is concerned, payment gateway for online payments, information security for secured payment and data of people enrolled will play a significant role and hence make sure you and team are well updated on these aspects. Also does you project need any subject matter expert for the industry in which e-commerce project is being implemented?Even though e-commerce is common thread, implementation for each industry may differ a little.
11. Start working on a concise yet practical and useful project plan.
All the very best for the new responsibility in project manager's role. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Unfortunately, it is not as simple as just scaling up what you do with a small project. The bigger the project, the more processes you have to formalize for the planning and execution of the project. Saving Changes...
I agree with Stéphane and Markus: The best is a mentor in your company, an experienced PM or a manager that was a former PM (that's how I learned to scale my experience). Second best is an external mentor who works / worked in your industry.
I wish you all the best - in selecting a mentor and for your project. Saving Changes...
