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Developing Project Management Skills & Strategies Congratulations. Your boss just left your office after announcing that you will be heading up the department’s next “project”. It may be a technology upgrade; it may be an office move. It may be staff reorganization or a process redesign. Regardless of the “opportunity”, as it was presented, you are now a “project manager”. This may be a temporary assignment or just added duties “as assigned”. Now the panic can set in. What does a project manager (PM) do? What tools are available? Where do you go for training/coaching/mentoring? More and more, professionals are charged with project management responsibilities and interestingly, few have ever had any formal training in PM. You would think engineers and IT graduates would have extensive exposure to PM in the formal training. Not so. At Everson Consulting we have been leaders and trainers in Project Management for over 20 years. We have a set of proprietary tools that will better help you define/plan/implement/complete a project on time and on budget. The tools are not sophisticated and you don’t have to be an accountant to put them into practice. Our training programs are designed to help you select the right Project Management tools to meet your needs. From the initial project charter to the overall activity lists, from the key phase diagram to the CPM (Critical Path Method) and Gantt Charts, we can help you Conceptualize/Plan/Implement/Complete your project (See Diagram). We have also discovered that most projects don’t fail because of poor documentation, although it is important. Most of the time they fail because of the human dynamics that go into making changes and personal resistance across an organization. If not “sold” properly, even the best “project” may be doomed to failure, or sub-optimization. To help secure commitment and buy-in, we also stress the importance of meeting management related to your project. Like it or not, when you are on a project team you will also be a regular meeting attendee/leader. Poorly run meetings can be a major roadblock to your project’s success. Finally, as the project manager, your role is a fluid one. During the Conceptualization phase you will require one set of “leadership” tools/traits, during the Planning phase another set of skills appear. When you move into the Implementation and Completion Phases you will need to pull in completely different tool sets. If you are comfortable making those transitions, go for it, you are most likely a successful “project manager”. If not, give Everson Consulting a call. We can help you define your preferred “leadership” style, diagnose any gaps in your toolbox, and help you better prepare for that upcoming “challenge.”
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