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Hi Goons. I have an opportunity at work to make a lateral move into project management/project coordination. What can you tell me about this career choice? Is this something you would recommend to someone you like? Someone you dislike? Please tell me your experiences.
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May 3, 2016 01:49
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 09:12 |
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This is such a huge field you should probably narrow it down a bit. The guy running babys first IT project with a 50k budget and 2 devs and the guy running a 60m engineering project with hundreds of staff are tw very different types of hypothetical people both in the domainspace and skill set. To be good though you have to be willing to ruffle feather not be afraid of conflict. You have to protect your project team from the whims of upper management so they can get stuff done. You need to make sure they know what they should be getting done and that they have what they need to do it and you need to be politically savvy enough to get the room to deliver what you need to deliver. Always remeber the most important thing is the people you have. Good people will make it work somehow no matter what. Bad peoplewill gently caress it up somehow no matter what.
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May 3, 2016 06:58
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I would also like to point out that nothing gets you respect and loyalty from your team like pulling your sleeves and working side by side with them when needed. Not to the point that you forget to do your management things, obviously. Also, actually knowing or have a good (if rough) idea of how long things take to do is necessary, so you don't overplan and either under deliver or fleece your team.
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May 3, 2016 16:44
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Bloodspike posted:Also, actually knowing or have a good (if rough) idea of how long things take to do is necessary, so you don't overplan and either under deliver or fleece your team. I'm actually already pretty good at this part of it, as well as conflict resolution. I prefer to prevent issues before they crop up, but when they do, I'm very good at negotiating a solution. What else should I be looking for if I'm looking for something on the smaller side of project management? And what about project coordination? Is it basically project management without the Gantt charts?
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May 4, 2016 02:28
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I wonder if anyone could post some links to decent Project Management certification courses. A little off topic, but I'm sure someone could make a killing in creating a course for "Kickstarter Project Management" since it seems to be a component of why so many crowdfunded projects fail.
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May 31, 2016 05:40
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I love project management, it's literally what I wake up for in the morning. Project management is awesome for people who are very dynamic and like to do new things. If you have ever grumbled and said: "Well, if I was in charge, we'd do it right," this is the job for you. Here is what has led me to be a good project manager: -Recognize that other people do things better than you do, and delegate them to doing those tasks. Understanding a persons strengths and weaknesses is essential, and a skill that is not easily taught. -Your job is essentially to make those people do the best work they can possibly do. In most cases, this means handling a lot of organizational duties. Make the talented people's job easy (or whatever they need, sometimes it isn't as simple as keeping things organized for them) and they will produce good work. -Be a generalist. Know a little bit about a lot of things. The more ways you can apply that knowledge, the more ready you will be to fill in the gaps that your team is lacking, which is very common in small teams, but can make a big difference in the end. Be ready to do anything. -Have fun with it. In some settings this is easier than others, but when everybody is on the same page and approaches the problem with a similar attitude, the process is a lot more bearable for everyone.
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Jun 2, 2016 06:40
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- Be an rear end in a top hat about deadlines. In a previous life I was a project manager at an advertising agency with talented designers I thought knew how to handle their own pacing. But I soon learned that if I didn't make aggressively, abundantly, annoyingly clear when deliverables needed to head out the door, they'd sit at their computer doodling* until everyone went home, the lights were turned out, the cleaning crew came in to spruce up the place, the building crumbled, the oceans rose, and the sun exploded in the sky. Transdimensional beings would come to view the last seconds of a burning earth, and they'd see that designer still at their desk, strumming their chin with their fingers and moving this pixel just a little to the left. "Oh, wait, this was due EOD? My bad, brah." - Make sure everyone knows you're the project manager. You're not the secretary, you're not the help, you're not someone along for the ride. * I know it's not doodling. D.N. Nation fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Jun 2, 2016 |
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Jun 2, 2016 20:38
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Deadlines: Yesterday I got to the office at 9am and met with the editor to review a video. I had to leave for an appointment at 10am. The middle man has a meeting to show the client at 1pm. I made it abundantly clear that we had to have the video to the middle man to show the client at 1pm. I go off on my merry way and assume all is well. I am cc'd on an e-mail with an updated version to the middle man to show the client. At literally 12:59. Before 1pm, but for gently caress's sake, do you really think he's checking his e-mail sitting in the client lobby? Regarding D.N.'s take on deadlines... clarify to creatives that EOD is not 11pm or midnight or 1am or 2am. In fact, EOD isn't 5:30pm. It's 4pm, so someone can actually see it before the (get this) END OF THE DAY.
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Jun 3, 2016 04:52
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So presumably, you need some form of incentive (negative or positive) in place for enforcing deadlines? e. assuming the work is at least a bit specialized and you don't kick someone out immediately for missing a deadline. Namarrgon fucked around with this message at 14:20 on Jun 6, 2016 |
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Jun 6, 2016 14:10
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Often times my job title is "production manager" or "project manager", but I work in the event industry so neither title really means what it does in like any other industry. Mostly I just get lied to on the phone and try to get sales to believe me when I tell them something will not work/be absurdly expensive. It's pretty lame on the whole but sometimes I get to drive a golf cart around.
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Jun 7, 2016 17:04
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politicorific posted:I wonder if anyone could post some links to decent Project Management certification courses. Pretty sure Prince2 is the most recognised international certification for project management.
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Jun 8, 2016 22:22
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It's boring, op.
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Jun 12, 2016 05:20
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| # ? Apr 24, 2024 09:12 |
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Thanks for all the info folks, it's not for me and I see that now. Thanks again!!
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Jul 30, 2016 20:58
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