Project Starts and Closures with a specific group of Project Managers and Project Administrators?
Cheryl McNamaraVP, Technology & Innovation, PMP (No business solicitations please.)| PNCWexford, Pa, United States
Has anyone ever stood a group of project managers and/or project managers to 1) Set up projects and then pass to another PM to execute? or 2) Turn over the project closing to a separate group of project managers and/or project administrators to get the primary PM on to other projects? If so, what worked and what didn't? Do the stakeholders have a problem with PM's coming on and off the project vs being consistent from start though finish? Saving Changes...
Sometimes it isn't a choice but a necessity. PM's leave the project, or the company, or needs to share duties on large projects, for a variety of reasons.The key is appropriate handover, this is crucial to effective transition.
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1 reply by Cheryl McNamara
Jan 16, 2018 10:03 AM
Cheryl McNamara
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Thank you. Good point on appropriate handover.
Saving Changes...
Saby WaraichCIO | CISO| Clackamas Community CollegeOr, United States
Effective transition is important. For me it was necessity as I was moving onto a different role.
The transition worked great as the new PM job shadowed me for few weeks. Also we kept a very open and transparent communication channel with customer and stakeholders.
If you have a good process in place for transition or handover, the impact should be minimal.
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1 reply by Cheryl McNamara
Jan 16, 2018 10:04 AM
Cheryl McNamara
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Thank you.
Saving Changes...
Rajeev SharmaPrincipal Consultant | Strategy, EA CoE | Digital Transformation, AI and Gen-AI| Tech MahindraGurgaon, Haryana, India
I observed this several times. Projects kick started, planned and defended by one PM thereafter once it is in auto-pilot mode of execution same handed over to another PM. Sometimes such projects are owned by a seasoned project manager who owns portfolio or set of product line's, also owning PM leadership (senior level) of business group (as additional responsibility).
Rajeev
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1 reply by Cheryl McNamara
Jan 16, 2018 10:10 AM
Cheryl McNamara
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In your experience, has this had mostly favorable acceptance? If not, what are some of the downsides from our experience?
Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
This can be touchy, and dependent on the scenario. It can be very diplomatic when transitioning a new PM, as you are introducing risk. The current PM is a known, with relationships and influence, and potentially, extended contracts based on that. So changing the ingredients needs to be handled with care - proper onboarding and KT and good personality and style match.
From an artifact perspective, this highlights the importance of centralizing project information using SharePoint, or [...], and using standardized processes and templates.
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1 reply by Cheryl McNamara
Jan 16, 2018 10:05 AM
Cheryl McNamara
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Excellent points, thank you. Especially that it introduces a risk.
Outside of a resource constraint or attrition driving this, I'd be interested in understand why this would be a common enough scenario? Continuity, consistency and stakeholder relationships are critical and any change even if it is to a more seasoned resource is going to have some short term impacts.
Kiron
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1 reply by Cheryl McNamara
Jan 16, 2018 10:08 AM
Cheryl McNamara
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It is a model we are kicking around as a possibility. It would have less seasoned PM's do the start up work and then their manager could decide if they stay on it OR it can be turned over to a more seasoned PM. This could benefit the more season PM who is already managing multiple projects.
Saving Changes...
Anonymous
This is a common practice in numerous organizations. Although, theory says it is best to keep the PM end-to-end but that is not always logical or practical; depending on the type and size of projects.
For small and short duration projects it does not make sense to make changes but on large, capital or long term projects, it is common to see changes and it is perfectly acceptable and a good practice.
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1 reply by Cheryl McNamara
Jan 16, 2018 11:19 AM
Cheryl McNamara
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Great to know, thank you.
Saving Changes...
Cheryl McNamaraVP, Technology & Innovation, PMP (No business solicitations please.)| PNCWexford, Pa, United States
Jan 12, 2018 7:58 PM
Replying to Sante Delle-Vergini, PhD
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Sometimes it isn't a choice but a necessity. PM's leave the project, or the company, or needs to share duties on large projects, for a variety of reasons.The key is appropriate handover, this is crucial to effective transition.
Thank you. Good point on appropriate handover. Saving Changes...
Cheryl McNamaraVP, Technology & Innovation, PMP (No business solicitations please.)| PNCWexford, Pa, United States
Jan 12, 2018 8:32 PM
Replying to Saby Waraich
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Effective transition is important. For me it was necessity as I was moving onto a different role.
The transition worked great as the new PM job shadowed me for few weeks. Also we kept a very open and transparent communication channel with customer and stakeholders.
If you have a good process in place for transition or handover, the impact should be minimal.
Thank you. Saving Changes...
Cheryl McNamaraVP, Technology & Innovation, PMP (No business solicitations please.)| PNCWexford, Pa, United States
Jan 13, 2018 7:13 AM
Replying to Drew Craig
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This can be touchy, and dependent on the scenario. It can be very diplomatic when transitioning a new PM, as you are introducing risk. The current PM is a known, with relationships and influence, and potentially, extended contracts based on that. So changing the ingredients needs to be handled with care - proper onboarding and KT and good personality and style match.
From an artifact perspective, this highlights the importance of centralizing project information using SharePoint, or [...], and using standardized processes and templates.
Excellent points, thank you. Especially that it introduces a risk. Saving Changes...
Cheryl McNamaraVP, Technology & Innovation, PMP (No business solicitations please.)| PNCWexford, Pa, United States
Jan 13, 2018 10:25 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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Cheryl -
Outside of a resource constraint or attrition driving this, I'd be interested in understand why this would be a common enough scenario? Continuity, consistency and stakeholder relationships are critical and any change even if it is to a more seasoned resource is going to have some short term impacts.
Kiron
It is a model we are kicking around as a possibility. It would have less seasoned PM's do the start up work and then their manager could decide if they stay on it OR it can be turned over to a more seasoned PM. This could benefit the more season PM who is already managing multiple projects.
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2 replies by Cheryl McNamara and Kiron Bondale
Jan 16, 2018 1:22 PM
Kiron Bondale
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This feels a bit like a "bait and switch" tactic which is used by some consulting firms. They do the pre-planning and pre-sales work with the expert and then turn it over to a junior except here it's being done in reverse.
I'd be worried about using a less seasoned PM for helping to kick a project off as that is the most critical time in terms of defining the vision for the project, initial stakeholder alignment and so on.
Kiron
Jan 16, 2018 2:33 PM
Cheryl McNamara
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Good points. Sounds like I need to reconsider the level of initial PM.
