Help! I Can’t Find My Project!
Posted by Brad EgelandOk, this may be a little extreme, but for project managers who often handle 6-8 live projects at once….this can nearly become a reality.
The New Role
In 2006, I started working for an organization in a Sr. Project Management role leading proprietary enterprise software implementations. I came on-board and took over for a person going on leave so there was really no ramp-up opportunity… I just sat in on one customer status call and then took over…on 7 projects.
And these were not small projects either…they were for large organizations and institutions like the FDA, the University of Maryland, The World Bank, a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, a major medical supply manufacturer, etc.
As an application developer I always found it easier…and more rewarding…to develop an application from start to finish. Modifying someone else’s code is painful – to me at least. Same holds true for project management. Sure, it’s nice to be called in to fix a project in trouble, but taking an engagement from kickoff to deployment is very satisfying. Starting out with a new company and taking on 7 ‘in process’ projects very quickly – 2 of which were in dire straits – can be a recipe for disaster.
When Transition Really Can’t Happen
Needless to say, I had to get up to speed quickly. It wasn’t the outgoing PMs fault…she had as many files put together as possible…her management just took a little extra time finding a replacement. I came in, sat in on one conference call status meeting for each client, had a couple of handoff/knowledge transfer calls with her and then that was it. Transition had happened.
Over the first two weeks I poured over the transition materials, old status reports and budget information as much as possible while trying to stay on top of the customer calls and correspondence that was taking place. Keep in mind, I was also taking on 7 different delivery teams comprised of people I didn’t know at all since I was new to the organization. So not only was I learning the customer, I was learning the staff on my side as well. Thankfully, they were all great and skilled people and there was some personnel overlap on a few of the projects so there weren’t as many resources to get to know as you might think…but it was still quite a task.
Use Your Own Methods
They key for me to finally get it all in a manageable format was when I created my own project dashboard. The organization didn’t have much of a project dashboard process at the time…they still don’t….but I created my own from scratch so that I could pick it up at any time and know what was needed when and what the major issues were. With 7 different projects and 7 different customers, that meant that I had 7 different delivery team meeting schedules, 7 different weekly customer status calls, and 7 different delivery dates/times for revised project schedules, status reports, issues/risks lists, and budget updates. That dashboard is the only thing that got me through the first couple of months at the organization…without it I would probably not have known which end was up at any given time.
Summary
Sometimes stepping into a new role or a new company can seem like a crazy train wreck. But in the end it’s all still project management and behind each project is a customer that needs you to lead them. The key is to stay on top of your projects and remain confident and in control even when you’re just trying to get your head above water.
Use the resources around you. I sure did – the competent staff on each project were invaluable in helping me get up to speed. Also, have a tool that helps you get there. For me it was my own dashboard for the projects I was managing showing green/yellow/red status for each, identifying key weekly dates for each project’s deliverables and status calls as well as current critical issues to follow-up on. Stay on top of the information – don’t let the information bury you.
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