Perspective PM

Lost in Translation

George Bernard Shaw once said, “America and Britain are two countries separated by a common language.” As an American married to a Brit, I can personally attest to the truth of this statement. Minor differences in culture can create a language barrier even when we think we’re using the same language.

While our countries of origin create a bit of a cultural gap, an even bigger one is created by the fact that I am a project manager, and he is a network engineer.

Read the rest of this article at digitalmediabuzz.com.

"Need more info" = Procrastination?

Have you ever sent a relatively simple request to someone and gotten a delayed response requesting more information? Was the request for more info justified, or did it just frustrate you and cause you to waste more time explaining something that to you is either obvious or irrelevant?

I seem to be getting a rash of responses that say in effect, "Gee I'd love to help, but can you be more specific about what you want? Please tell me the exact time of day you need this done, how much detail you need, and the color of the shoes you were wearing when you first made the request."

How to Deal with Bad Meeting Behavior

Most of us know how to behave in someone else's meeting, but what if someone is being disruptive or unproductive in YOUR meeting? Here are some tips on how to gracefully handle some of the worst meeting etiquette offenders.

Unintended Comedy

Via Tech Republic:

This commercial for EDS Consulting is supposed to inspire confidence in the company’s ability to build your business as you run it, but what it also does is illustrate the supreme idiocy of trying to use a software product while it's still being coded.

A List of Don'ts for Presenters

Last week I attended a seminar hosted by the NYC chapter of a prominent professional organization with the intention of sharing and adding to any wisdom I may have gained from the experience. However, it didn’t go quite the way I’d anticipated, so instead, I give you:

How Not to Conduct a Seminar

Show up 20 minutes late.

In a city like New York, "there was traffic" is the lamest possible excuse possible for being late. There is ALWAYS traffic. You should plan for that. You should also plan to arrive early to check out the venue and introduce yourself to attendees before your presentation. That way if you're running late, you'll still show up on time.

Make no attempt to look presentable.

You don't have to be a supermodel to give a presentation, but you should at least look like you cared enough about your appearance to run a comb through your hair. You may also want to ensure that your shirt is buttoned properly.

Be sure any handouts are riddled with grammatical errors and typos.

There is no excuse in this day and age for more than one or two typos in any written material. If word processing isn't your strength, have your work proof-read by someone who knows how to use a spell checker.

Open Source Project Management

Via http://wolphination.com/linux/:

...many Open Source projects fall apart before they see the light of day, mostly due to management reasons. You are receiving this directly from someone who has had an Open Source project disintegrate ... and has had to pick up the pieces, so the common pitfalls listed below are frighteningly genuine and happen to the most motivated of project managers. They all, ultimately, result in developer dropout and thus the death or dormancy of the project...

More here.

I would add to the list: lack of project justification. In the corporate world, the very first step in any project is to define the business need. Whenever decisions have to be made, the initial business reason behind the project is revisited to help determine what path to take. I find that many open source projects start with an idea that's really cool from a programming standpoint, and at the first sign of a challenge everyone asks, "what are we working so hard to accomplish again?" and starts to drop off. There has to be a reason to stick through the times when it just doesn't seem like any fun anymore.

It's all fun & games... and maybe some gantt charts

Heather Maxwell Chandler has a great piece on Gamasutra about using project management in the gaming industry. From the article:

Because most game developers are suspicious of formal processes it is natural for them to be wary of any procedures the “suits” want to impose on them. So if the team views the producer as a vital part of the of the development team, the more willing they are to listen to the producer’s ideas how to improve the working conditions through project management techniques.

More here.

To PMP or not to PMP

I'm often asked if I think it's worth getting certified as a PMP. In addition to catapulting your resume to the top of a recruitment manager's pile, it often commands a higher salary and even the envy of non-certified colleagues. Yes, the PMP is a desirable thing indeed.

Unfortunately, it's often desired for all the wrong reasons, namely, earning a higher salary and the envy of colleagues. Worse, after countless hours of studying PMI's narrowly defined processes and cramming for an exam, many people begin to look at their real-world projects as academic exercises and start to get a little crazy with things like formal communication, protocol and documentation. Don't get me wrong; there's nothing wrong with wanting to earn more, and I am all for adhering to standards and using best practices. In fact, I'm a fairly active member of PMI and intend to maintain my certification status. However, only a small part of my value as a project manager can be attributed to what I learned while studying for the credential.

The two best reasons to take the PMP exam are:

1. You want a new job. If you're looking for work as a project manager, having this credential will definitely  give you an edge over the competition. The process you have to go through just to sit the exam is just arduous enough to scare off enough people to boost your chances of landing the job you want.
2. Your company said they'd pay for it. One major deterrent for taking the exam is that it's expensive. I addition to the approximately $500 exam fee, you need to spend a certain amount of time sitting in a classroom, taking online courses, or attending seminars. I spent about $3,000 on the structured learning necessary to sit for the exam. If your company offers to fund your pursuit of the PMP credential, it's wise to take them up on it. It's a good investment for your company too, especially if they have prospective clients who factor professional certifications into their vendor selection process.

If your only goal is to improve you abilities as a project manager, your time is best spent reading up on project management techniques and finding ways to work closely with more experienced project managers.

Pop Quiz!

People who work in technology fall into one of three camps when it comes to their opinion of formal project management practices. Which camp are you in? Take this quiz to find out.

1. What is Project Management?

• A: the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project
• B: a corporate buzzword used to describe an entire industry founded on the perpetuation of boring, time-wasting exercises that serve no purpose other than to inhibit creativity, destroy innovation, and choke productivity with copious amounts of red tape
• C: knowledge, skills, tools and techniques which, if properly applied, facilitate efficiency, creativity and innovation to produce a high-quality end product, but can also drain time, money, energy and motivation if improperly applied

Pencils Down

That's it! How did you do?