The scope is highly technical, the schedule is tight and the budget must be parsimoniously managed. With so many aspects to balance all at once, how is it that we have come to be the project manager of this endeavor.
Why?
Did you choose to study the discipline of project management and make a career out of it? Perhaps you were chosen because of your technical skills. Or maybe you drew the short straw. But one thing is for sure, you are it. You are the project manager and all eyes are focused on your actions, right or wrong.
I write this post to ask the pmStudent audience to share their personal story of “Why Project Management”.
Please, share your story by leaving a comment below!
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for asking Travis!
I was a manager in two seperate organizations that were highly functional org structures. I was authorizing and running projects before I knew they were anything more than just “get’n things done.” Then I discovered project management as a discipline and became very interested. From that point on, the answer to your question is yes, I chose project management.
I’m excited to hear everyone else’s stories!
Josh,
I think project management was a happening for me. As I worked as a team member in a functional organization, our project manager was constantly being undermined by department heads. Low and behold, he quit. Guess what, there I was. Young and eager to make a name for myself, I stepped up to assist. I quickly realized that there was more to managing projects than just setting up conference calls to gather status. So I decided to get a BSc PM degree to become more skilled in project management.
So there I was and so I did, only to realize that regardless of the discipline and degree in project management, organizational structure and support has everything to do with successfully utilizing project management. In a functional organization the PM has all the accountability, but limited authority.
Can you elaborate your experiences regarding org structure and how that has any relation to project management?
Thanks,
Travis
Travis,
I am choosing to get into project management. For 13 years I worked for small consulting companies and was an independent application development consultant for 3 years. Most of the projects I worked on were relatively small, but I had to fill all of the roles. Now, I work for a regional insurance provider with three pm’s and 15 application developers.
Like Josh, I was in “just get the stuff done” mode much of the time. I’m not a hard-core developer and the last few years I have been interested more in the application development process and planning than in the actual doing.
Project management may not be what I am looking for, but I am choosing that path and am excited to learn and do more.
Sean M. Severson
Thanks for sharing that Sean! If your experience turns out to be anything like mine, after I started learning good formal PM techniques I had a lot of “aha!” moments looking back on my career where I could have applied something and been more successful, had I only known back then.
Sean,
Well, a path is better than no path. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over only to get the same results.
I am curious, can you elaborate a little more specifically on this path you have chosen? What was the moment that you decided that project management was the direction to break from insanity? Was there any specific person or event that enlightened you to seek out the discipline of project management? etc…
Thanks for sharing,
Travis
Travis,
Much of my experience with application development project has been without formal project management. These projects have followed one of two paths…
Path 1
1. Client calls and says they have a project
2. We meet to discuss “requirements”
3. I give the client an estimate
4. Client accepts estimate
5. Work as many hours as necessary to finish the project, but still only get paid the original estimate.
6. Tears and suffering
Path 2
1. Client calls and says they have a project.
2. We meet to discuss “requirements” only to learn that the client isn’t really sure what they want, don’t have the time to go through a complete requirements gathering process now, but still want to start the project. So, they want my body at their location for x number of hours per week until sometime in the future. My main contact with the company is this person who is out of the office a lot and in meetings the rest of the time. The client wants to know when I will be done with this project?
Path 1 is a money loser and can be a business-killer (one of the main reasons I am not an independent software consultant today). Path 2 turns into reacting to the client’s immediate needs and then undoing past changes because the client chose a route too quickly and without enough information.
Unfortunately, I have been involved with too many Path 1 and Path 2 projects to count. Even during these projects I knew there was a better way, but didn’t have the knowledge (or the gutts?) to apply project management techniques. In the past few months, I have realized that I want to be in a position to help make software application development projects successful, just not as a coder.
My path to project management starts with my current position as an application developer. My company provides career coaching, tuition reimbursement, and job-shadowing opportunities. I am an avid reader and have several books on the subject of project management and am even familiar with MS Project. However, I want real-world experience to go along with the book knowledge. I hope to gain that over time with my current employer.
I am very early in this process and look forward to the learning and the challenges ahead.
Sean M. Severson
Sean,
I believe you are off to a right start. You must be your best own advocate. Keep plugging away and make sure to document your lessons learned. Keep a portfolio of what you have learned and done over these next couple of years. If your current employer does not appreciate your effort, then you next employer will. And you will have the portfolio to prove it.
Thanks for sharing.
@Sean
It’s a eye opener and truely insightful story u posted here.Thanks a lot…You will be doing very well..
Well, I have decided project management initially, because I like working with people and I like to take the responsibility working on stress, being different and I have acceptance for the new objectives and and last but not at least, the money.
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