Taming the Wild Wild West (Project Management) environment

The Wild Wild West environment that is just focused on completing projects with no regard for an approach with standards works for many companies. The question is how long can a company operate efficiently with the Wild Wild West mindset.  

Bringing in Project Management professionals to run projects in an environment that has been operating in a "let's just get it done" approach will be a challenge. There will be resistance and a waste of my time attitude given. 

Leadership skills to win over the staff and management will be crucial. The Project Manager needs to show confidence and control without intimidating the staff and management. A company that has not practiced structured Project Management will need to be educated on the value it delivers. 

Baby steps, one step at a time will be the approach to get staff and management onboard with practicing structured Project Management with defined approach and standards. Select small projects to start off with. Have a kickoff meeting to go over the expectations of the team when there is a Project Manager running the project. Ask for input from the team so you can make appropriate adjustments to the approach that will be used. Create the project timeline with tasks and distribute to the team. 

Completing a few small projects will provide valuable insight into how well the staff and management adapted to a Project Manager running projects. It will also show the staff and management the value of a project that is run by a Project Manager.

It's ShowTime for the staff and management to be presented with a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation from the Project Manager. The presentations will give an illustration of examples of the approach, standards, and reports. The presentation should be done after you completed a few projects to allow appropriate tunning for approach, standards, and reports. 

I recommend a Hybrid or Hybrid-Plus method to be used. It will be a continuous work in progress to fine-tune as you get to learn more about the company. A hybrid-plus will provide more flexibility.

I have two posts on my blog here on projectmanagement.com for the Hybrid-Plus approach.

The Lean / Agile / Waterfall made to order Hybrid-Plus for software projects

The Hybrid-Plus called The LAW

It's going to be an adventure to go from an unstructured Project Management environment to a well-tuned structured Project Management environment. This is your time as a Project Manager to become an even better Project Manager. All your skills will be tested and tuned. You will be a better Project Manager after you tame the Wild Wild West in the company.

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in March 2019)

The Spectacular March Sunset in Hawaii

Ala Moana Beach Park - Oahu

What can I say! You just have to be there to experience the beauty of nature closing out a day in Hawaii. Just make sure you stop in your tracks and take in nature's awesome display of beauty if you are at the beach when the sun says Aloha, see you again tomorrow.

The Hybrid-Plus called The LAW

Lean Agile Waterfall

A Lean Mind

The entire team needs to have a lean mindset of working efficiently to deliver defect-free deliverables to avoid wasting valuable time that could be spent on other tasks to get ahead.

Being Agile

The project could have some requirements that are still being finalized. Do not let missings requirements holdup the project start date if the missing requirements are not needed in the beginning. Create an Under-Construction task at the anticipated point in the project timeline. The team members need to be ready for new tasks to be assigned to them once the requirements are finalized. The Project Manager needs to keep a close watch on Under-Construction tasks in the project to ensure the project timeline stays intact. 

The Waterfall

The project flows like a waterfall. Each team member has important tasks in the waterfall. The timing for a team member to complete their tasks on time in the project is imperative to give other team members adequate time to start their tasks on time. Always keep the project flow in mind on how you affect other team members. We are all in it together as a team. The Project Manager is the safeguard to monitor progress and guide the team along the waterfall. 

The LAW

The ability to deliver any project on time by reducing waste and being flexible with the task assignments. Having a map of the waterfall (aka project timeline) will ensure you don't miss anything. The Project Manager is the architect of the map. 

(Note - this article was originally written by Drake Settsu and published on projectmanagement.com/blogs/419316/Project-Management-in-Real-Life in March 2019)