New to Project Management?

Do you feel like thrown into a swimming pool, without really knowing how to swim? You go through this feeling each day at work. It happens to many of us at the new workplace. New place, new role, the new set of responsibilities followed by the new set of expectations. It is not easy to be a Project Manager. The management starts with first and foremost managing your own self.

Many startups today follow a screening process of temporarily hiring the interviewee. They pay the interviewee as well. The game starts with allocating the work. You are expected to excel at every challenge thrown at you. You might find yourself in an overwhelming situation. Too much to handle. Jotting down pointers below on what I experienced and how I approached it.

You can feel stuck at:

Too much to handle

Multiple projects in your kitty with a limited time frame. All projects with distinct problem statements. Some with very poor or minimum business requirement documentation. Start from scratch and document your understanding at one place.

Time frame

You have a window of few days to plan, execute and implement. The results need to show in your presence. Interact with the employees around to understand their approach to problem-solving. Do not spend too much time on building a bond here. Nobody has time for you especially when they know their due deliverable.

Chaotic documentation

A brand new project for you. But in reality, it is a project dropped a few months ago by the company. The complexities may vary from ambiguous requirement documentation to no documentation at all. A project with changing requirements and decentralized documentation modes. You need to collate and bring all the facts on one sheet.

Resource allocation

You have been introduced to your team for the project. However, they are preoccupied with other projects. Try and approach them with your project, all you will get is access to more documentation and a very quick walk through. Can you highlight the issue with one of your reporting managers? Not at this stage.

Use of multiple communication tools

You have all the documentation with you. Looking at walkthrough content with different metrics raises a question in your mind. Which one is authentic? Which communication channel is updated? Step out of it and communicate digitally with your team followed by the reporting manager.

Step Up and resolve:

The cleaning therapy

There are ways to clean your head. Some prefer to start with, cleaning their desks. While some prefer to change the seating location altogether. I worked with a Product Manager who not just cleaned her desk but devoted her early hours in updating her trello board. She also did the same with the sticky notes on the board. I tried this and it helped me see my entire day’s activities in one place. I was clear on what to focus and get done with. Daniel Threlfall emphasized it his blog.

Digital communication

You see other Project Managers run around the office taking updates from developers. Is this approach correct? Only if it is super urgent. As an experienced Manager, you should coordinate with your team by organizing daily scrums for your project. Taking the scrum is not enough, drafting a quick update note and updating team members with their activities for the day marks its completion.

Plan ahead

Let your reporting manager know your plan. This discussion should include your findings about the project, challenges and possible solutions. Be ready to jump right in the client calls. You can be a mute spectator in the beginning and analyze the current scenario quietly. Susan Madsen has written an elaborate piece on planning a project.

Track Progress

You don’t have to run behind your team to track the progress, scrum call daily would get you the updates. However, you can ping your team to update the tracker sheet for the urgent tasks occasionally. Tools like JIRA, Slack and Trello are at your service. Use the technology and save your energy for mentally tiring challenges.

Value your team

It is important to discuss things other than work with your team. The idea is to open a communication channel where they feel comfortable expressing themselves. Conflict resolution is bound to pop up when you work in a team. These interactions will let you take the right call in resolving things. It is because of the team efforts that lead to successful project completion.

I look forward to your comments on this blog. In the meantime, I am planning to research more on how to strategize project plan.