Wandering through Projects

Ever Thought Why They Hate You? (Part 2)

This is a continuation of my previous post about why PMs are being hated.

There are good project managers as well as not so good project managers, just like good programmers and not so good programmers. If you are a project manager, you can’t always be someone that other’s would like, even if you work so hard to please them. However, if you could step back you might be able to figure out what your team needs from you, and probably might be able to avoid being hated. Following tips might help you to become part of your project team in a better way.

How to Avoid Being Hated?

Estimate with multiple people separately, and then meet to review and revise:
A reliable estimation can be gathered through a variety of people estimating the project. Estimating with different levels of experienced people from relevant disciplines (developers, QA’s, BA’s), domain specialists, and technical experts can create realistic estimations with pragmatic deliverables. Unfortunately it is not always pragmatic to estimate this way. However, consulting at least few team members and considering the team’s skill levels, can make the estimation bit accurate. Also project managers must be mindful that it is just an estimation and estimation only. In fact, it is actually a guesstimation.

Tailor the process and tools for each project and scenarios:
There is no universal solution when it comes to project management. The same process and tools which has used for previous projects might not be suitable for another project. Also some teams might prefer different set of tools that they are comfortable and productive. Value team members’ opinion when selecting a process and tools, be flexible and welcome new ideas, and don’t be afraid to customize those process and tools to go well with your project and the team.

Be part of the team:
Develop social networking skills, blend with the team as much as possible and have casual conversations whenever possible. It helps to eliminate most of the team conflicts, foresee issues and to be part of the team naturally.

Share the credit and take the blame:
Never accept credits yourself. Always share or give your teammates their due credits. It helps to gain trust, as well as a motivated team that would be more flexible to work with. When things go wrong don’t try to find the responsible person, and never pass the blame to the team, instead accept the blame yourself and focus on resolving the problem.

Develop and enhance the project management skills:
Enhance communication, negotiation, people skills and all other skills which help to manage a project successfully. Understand differences in working styles and personality of your teammates. Give them necessary freedom to carry out their activities. Trust your team and their opinion. If you do not agree or accept, give proper reasons. Communicate regularly with everyone and maintain transparency.

Photo Credits lastlemon.com

Ever Thought Why They Hate You? (Part 1)

1
COM

WW096

Do you love project managers or hate them? Whichever side it is, if you are in a project you have to work with a project manager. To see the reasons behind this hatred, I gathered few thoughts from developers who hate project managers. This list only applies to the project managers who’ve being hated and not for each and every one of them.

So, Why Developers Hate Project Managers?

Because they suck in estimations!
Project managers don’t consult or rather don’t trust to consult the team when estimating and planning projects and changes. Instead, they consult tech leads, previous estimations, and sometimes they estimate by themselves. Without considering the capacity or the skill levels, project managers form unrealistic plans that pressurize teams towards idealistic plans.

Because they think projects and project management is all about process and tools!
Project managers assume the process and tools is their silver bullet and stubborn enough to refuse tailoring for different projects, teams, and scenarios. It leads to an unmotivated, conflicted team that struggles to work with a process or a tool which doesn’t serve their needs.

Because they think they own the project and the team too!
Many project managers don’t think themselves as part of the team, prefer to communicate via formal channels, and refuse to blend with the team or to have a friendly relationship with teammates. Many teams spend long working hours, late nights, and weekends alone. Being there for the team, supporting morally during those tough times to get the tasks done is not on PMs’ to-do list.

Because they take the credit and pass the blame to the team!
No matter what the team has gone through to deliver the promised features, they won’t get any credits for their valued contributions. But when it comes to mistakes, the blame goes to the team or to individuals. Sometimes customers don’t know the team members who put their 200% to the project but certainly, the names would popup if anyone made a mistake.

Because they are not technically savvy and don’t contribute to solve the problems!
Developers are typically not comfortable sharing technical matters with project managers who lack programming experience for obvious reasons. In such cases, instead of helping the team, project managers squeeze the team to find a faster solution. Most people make mistakes when they are in a stress situation.

Because they lack basic skills needed for project management!
Typically, project managers say “yes” to all customer requests without negotiating. When it comes to risk analysis, they don’t consider much about developers’ guts on project risks. Project management is not just about pleasing the customer and delivering the project. There are more to it, such as leading the team, communicating with stakeholders, making realistic plans, negotiating, handling critical situations, analyzing risks, and solving problems are part of it. However, some project managers lack at least few of these basic skills.

Photo Credits lastlemon.com

Why Invest on a UX Designer for Your Project Team for Long Term Success

0
COM

Research and studies on IT projects indicate that failures on IT projects are very high. But we are using variety of technologies, methodologies and best practices to deliver a project successfully without failures. Yet, this high rate of project failure is hard to reduce since the main reason behind these failures is primarily people-based.

All projects involve many people; especially large projects involve different levels of skilled people. Their effectiveness, abilities, team playing skills, all these are playing a major part in the success of a project. Also, poor stakeholder management is another major contribution to increase these project failures.

How Can We Use User Experience to Deliver a Project Successfully?

Nowadays UX sounds like a buzzword, and many people misunderstand this concept. Not everyone sees the value of having a UX designer on board. There are a handful of people in companies that have User Experience as part of their job description. Hiring a UX designer is costly and the benefits of UX might not be readily visible as other parts and roles of the project. However, it can benefit a higher return on the project.
Read more >

Read the original post in UXColombo: Why Invest on a UX Designer for Your Project Team for Long Term Success

PM’s Dilemma in the Agile Culture

0
COM

Agile is one of the fastest growing software development methodologies in modern day. Most of the traditional software development companies moving to Agile because of its promising benefits that given to the business. When this changeover takes place most of the companies struggle with cultural and other issues to successfully adapt to the new environment.

One of the problems arising due to this changeover is the ambiguity among roles and responsibilities. Traditional software development companies heavily rely on their Project Managers and Business Analysts. Companies invest highly on these two roles to get maximum benefits. When moving to Agile, project managers are curious about what’s going to happen to their role and how they can fit into this new environment.
Read More >

Read the original post in UXColombo: PM’s Dilemma in the Agile Culture

Must Project Managers Be Technically Savvy?

0
COM

This topic has been questioned and answered several times in the past, yet it relevant for today. Individuals have different thoughts on the same. While some believe that a project manager must be technically sound to manage projects, others believe that a project manager doesn't have to be technically savvy. Certainly there are pros and cons for being a technical or non-technical project manager.

Sometimes it is a plus for a project manager to not to have a sound knowledge on technical aspects. Then the project manager will not compelled to micro-manage and estimate tasks on behalf of the team. Sometimes, it may be difficult to get estimations from the team or to rely on their estimations, but project managers can use their people skills to get things done in the right way and get help from experts if there are any doubts on estimations. Also, they can diversify efforts on leading and managing aspects while the team managing technical aspects. However, micro-managing, estimating tasks for the team and imposing technical solutions on them can lead to poor productivity resulting demotivated team. As a consequence, this will lead to an unsuccessful project management.

Some believe that having a sound knowledge on technical side can be a huge advantage when it comes to risk management. Though this is true, a non-technical project manager can also effectively manage risks by consulting the technical architect and the tech lead. Also, some say that a technical project manager has an ability to blend with the team well since they all speak the same language. This is an agreeable statement; nevertheless a non-technical project manager can also blend with teams using people skills and with the help of technical experts.

The important fact is; a project manager must be good at organizing, communicating and massaging the team’s morale. This requires heavy people skills to get the maximum out of the team. If not, Irrespective of whether technically savvy or not, a project manager will not be able to survive in the project world.
Conclusion is; a project manager doesn't have to be a technical savvy. But then again, having some sort of a technical knowledge could be a benefit.