Confluence and Jira are complimentary, but different!
All in Project Management
Schedule Crashing
Crashing means putting more resources on a task to finish it… but not all tasks are crashable!
Are system evaluations important? (Yes, definitely!)
I learned a valuable lesson early on - never, ever, pick a system randomly.
How to get into Project Management
Project management is a great field - but taking time to understand why you want to get into it, and understanding your skills, is really important.
Onboarding New Team Members
Many times I get to work with existing teams. This generally means they have a shared relationship and know how to operate effectively. Many other times, however, I have to integrate someone new into the team. This is a great opportunity to add to the team’s culture and bring in some new ideas. The time spent onboarding is never wasted and helps the team as a whole improve.
Tool Tip - Send Later
Somethings you’ve got a great message to send, but it’s not the right time… things like updates or questions sometimes should wait for a more opportune time (like on a Monday morning instead of Friday afternoon). Many systems offer the ability to “send" later” which helps better target communications.
Continual Improvements (Retrospectives)
We’re constantly working on improving where we work… but we rarely take time to improve how WE work. Making time to do a retrospective and actively work on continuous improvement is critical to improving.
RACI
There’s a LOT of project management tools out there (citation needed). Many times we don’t need them all, but I find a RACI is something that is ALWAYS useful.
Ownership
Having a project team is one thing, but having everyone feel ownership of the work is something else.
Testing Test Cases
Getting test cases done can be a bit like pulling teeth, especially if everyone isn’t working on them together. I’ve found several ways to make it easier, but definitely prefer working on them in real time.
Heads up!
No one likes surprises - especially in big meetings. Taking a few minutes to prep folks with an email / slack / call ahead of time can save a LOT of pain down the road.
Keeping up awareness
Ensuring all parts of a project are up to date on whats going on is hard. There are a number of tricks that can help this though.
You work, I work
Teams are people working together. This includes those times we have to work over time, on holidays or into weekends. I’ve made this into a rule; if any member of my team is working, so am I.
Metrics Storytelling
Sometimes we don’t get the progress metrics we want. In these cases we need to see how we can tell a story around what we DO have.
No Update Updates
Sometimes we don’t have anything to report on how things are going… this, however, is (oddly) important to report! Letting folks know you’re still on it is just as important as having progress for them.
Rolling out an intake process
Rolling out a new intake process can be tricky.. you need to ensure you’ve got buy in from the business and that everyone is aligned. Be sure to connect with their leadership, and invite them to collaborate to help make a strong process.
All hands on deck
Sometimes something happens that needs the whole team to respond. When possible plan these out and ensure everyone’s there and involved.
Order Pushing
Non-technical partners need to be careful to partner with their tech teams… many times they end up just sending orders to their technical partners. This not only results in a weaker relationship, but many times results in a weaker end product.
Don't play telephone
Telephone is a great game to play as kids, but playing it at work presents a whole host of challenges. Cutting out the folks in the middle and finding the source of the request is critical, as is your followup.
Broken Comb Skillsets
Broken Combs have expertise in a few areas, in addition to general skills. This makes them a great addition to any team since they can fill multiple gaps. This can, however, result in them getting spread too thin…