You might be tempted to have a threshold for documentation, meaning “when they re-labeled that field for us from Customer to Client, no big deal” and skip noting this in your log but don’t skip it! Especially since everything is essentially a “version 1”, you need to have a log in case there is ever…
More an more project teams are dispersed throughout the globe. All in one room is becoming more and more rare so you will be to be creative. One fun easy thing you can do is whenever a teammate has a birthday or a baby or other fun event, you can have everyone on the call…
One easy thing you can do to learn about your company, other peers and their jobs, and be an overall good team player is to offer to sit in on meetings. Whenever someone gives you a kudos or compliment on something you do in your project and it can help them in their project, offer…
As a PM, you probably don’t have any direct reports but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a one-on-one meeting with your teammates to: Encourage them in their job Give them a personal kudos See how their are doing work/stress-wise Inquire after a difficult time Just say “Hi” how ya doin? With more online meetings,…
We previously discussed a scenario where the SME had not performed a deep dive on their end and surprised everyone with a need to halt progress in the project. Some ideas to avoid this situation, keeping in mind it may not be avoidable: Be the “why” child in your discovery meetings and casual chats –…
One of my project had a hot button issue that required immediate attention and resolution. The facts were gathered, the meeting was conducted, the notes went out, and a path forward was published. Six months later, the solution completed and come to find out, the SME could not implement as they “just discovered” to complete…
I had a situation where I had to cancel all my meetings for a particular initiative because the sponsor moved to another project and all of a sudden no one showed up! Frustrating, I had no choice after 4 consecutive no show meetings, to cancel all of the weekly meetings for the rest of the…
When involved in an acquisition or divestiture, keep in mind the stress, fears, and pressures your user base is undergoing apart from the demands your project is adding to their reality. This calls for patience and grace in abundance, including a personal visit or phone call instead of text/email/Skype, creating special instructions, scheduling, or…
This is not recommended unless you have a busy body that is allowed in your company to continuously disrupt projects, give irrelevant input, and overall derail a focused effort. You know who I mean. They make a case of rehashing that which has already been decided. They interrupt meetings with tangents. They have no real…
Just when you thought you had everything worked out, here comes Mr/Ms big idea. Often, it is someone who is either not computer savvy, as in doesn’t use one much, or holds a PhD IT scientist certificate in their mind. Changing your planned work, after all of your meetings, collaborations, accommodations, and compromises for multiple…