how to eat an elephant: or tackle most any, huge enormous project
TRANSCRIPT
Tera Simon@tcaldsimon
Or Tackle Most Any, Huge
Enormous Project
PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS UNTANGLING THE MOST COMPLEX PROJECT AND MAKING IT TANGIBLE
What skills are essential for managing complex projects?
+Adaptability+Collaboration+Communication+Expertise+Leadership+Strategic
DIFFICULTY ≠ COMPLEXITY
What makes a project complex?
+Involvement of many teams & stakeholders
+Numerous moving parts
+Project timeline+Budget / restraints
WHEN EATING AN ELEPHANT, TAKE ONE BITE AT A TIME.
DOCUMENT. DOCUMENT. DOCUMENT.
CONTINUOUSLY CLARIFY YOUR GOALS
CREATE MORE VISIBILITY
Process Mapping
BE FLEXIBLE AND WILLING TO ADAPT
PAY ATTENTION TO THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
"So I creep, yeah, just creepin' on,On the down low, 'cept nobody is
supposed to know."- TLC
Know when problems creep into your project
SCOPE CREEP
● Interference from client
● Incomplete scope● Poor change control● Miss Communication
EFFORT CREEP
● Doing more work without added scope
● Overly optimistic estimates
● Lack of skills
HOPE CREEP
● Team falsely reports they are on track
● Hardest creep to identify
● Hides until the last moment
FEATURE CREEP
● Also known as Gold-plating
● Over-delivery on the scope
● Adding unnecessary features
JUST SWIPE LEFT
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it
has taken place.”- George Bernard Shaw
PAY ATTENTION TO...
SWOOP AND POOP
I’VE WAFFLED BEFORE, I’LL WAFFLE AGAIN.
QUESTIONS?