Keywords:
* Quality
* Budget
* Deadline
Firstly- the myth that all project managers are short is a false one- only the best ones are restricted in height (allegedly). I’m not going to tell you how tall I am.
The soft parts of project management: this is all about people skills- a good project manager can make a massive difference to a business, including improved efficiency, profit, recommendations from clients, inclined to show strong growth, almost irrespective of what they do.
Good character traits of an efficient project manager include being organised, punctual with good time management skills, focus, calm (sometimes), good people-to-people and strong motivation (reassurance) skills. Being able to understand the critical skills of all staff involved is of the utmost importance.
One of the early lessons about ensuring accountability (both from clients and employers) is to record every communication- request (verbally/twitter), confirm (via email for security & date-stamping) & request confirmation (ie timescales, deliverables etc).
This is definitely one technique I shall be employing from now on in all my projects- it seems such a simple thing, but it removes all possible vagueness or ambiguity.
It is possible for a creative individual to be organised also. Having a messy desk is not a badge of honour. The idea that creativity and process excellence are somehow incompatible is total and complete nonsense. It is considered by leading project managers that somehow creative individuals gain a sense of “enhanced creativity” (Letwin, 2009) by being disorganised. The idea that creativity and process excellence are somehow incompatible is a fallacy that creatives somehow gain benefit from perpetuating the myth, that “you can’t be highly organised, profitable, decisive, a great leader or highly successful if you are also creative” (Letwin, 2009).
Value
This is perhaps an somewhat undefined phrase. Perhaps the best gauge of value is the perception of value from the client’s perspective: it holds different meanings to different clients, but the common denominator is one of emotional happiness (deadline & budget met, product delivered to specification).
Value can be delivered by
* listening to the client and taking a good clear brief (re-present and clarify at summary of meeting/ conversation to clarify & confirm understanding- ALWAYS)
* presenting the client with concept visuals, storyboards, wireframes
* communicating with the client- weekly updates will keep the client informed and involved, thus retaining his/her emotional “buy-in” to the project at hand. During this process, the PM will regularly communicate achievements, news, benchmarks and targets met, frustrations encountered and progress made
* controlling and commenting upon conflict issues (sometimes this means speaking formally about client team members, who need to be either removed or taking a different approach to ensure successful delivery for the client)
* DO NOT work hard behind the scenes and keep all progress made to yourself- this will leave the client cold and wanting, giving the client the opinion that you are not delivering value. Also, do not make communication sporadic- keep it regular (highlight project history, and clarify progress made).
Project post-mortem/ debrief
If possible and appropriate, involve the client in this exercise.
Not all lessons learned- encourage project team (& client) to speak openly, clearly, inviting criticism for successes and failure aspects, ensuring the outcomes are recorded, learner from, and more importantly, acted upon in future projects.
Information Sharing
Share all information openly amongst the project team (consider a centralised database/ management system). This helps with progress communication amongst the team. Be careful of information overload though- sometimes too much information can lead to confusion.
Successful Completion
Take self-gratitude and praise to enhance the feel-good factor. Maximise press, testimonials and reference opportunities.