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Project Management for the Rest of UsCarol Smith, Google, Inc.
T3CON North AmericaMay 31, 2013
Who Am I?
Who Am I?
Undergraduate degree in journalism
Who Am I?
2 years as an administrative assistant
Who Am I?
3 years in Google's Network Operations and Deployments
Who Am I?
2 years managing software releases half-time.
Who Am I?
3 years in Google's Open Source Programs Office
Who Am I?
A lot of time spent doing it the "hard way."
Who Am I?
Let me tell you about an easier approach.
What is Project Management?
What is Project Management?
Maybe you've been thinking of project management more as a system for releasing software, or maybe you've just been thinking of it as the job the person who nags you has.
What is Project Management?
I consider project management to be simply a system of organization. You can apply it to
any task or group of tasks to make your own work more efficient and productive.
What is Project Management?
I also consider project management to be the system of persuasion and negotiation you
use to get people to do work.
What is Project Management?
People managers have it easy!
What is Project Management?
They can get work out of people simply by having the power to hire and fire or affect an
employee's performance review.
What is Project Management?
People who just have to get other people to do work have to figure out other ways to
manage it.
What is Project Management?
Project management is a skill and an art.
What is Project Management?
It's a skill and an art worth developing.
What is Project Management?
It can be used in all aspects of our lives, not just at work, and not just by a select group of
people.
What is Project Management?
We all have to do project management in our day-to-day lives just to keep them running smoothly, often whether we like it or not.
What is Project Management?
The companies that we work for function as microcosms of our day-to-day lives.
What is Project Management?
They have to be managed to keep them running smoothly too, and often we have to
help that process along.
What is Project Management?
Here are some examples of project management.
What is Project Management?
Inbox Zero.
What is Project Management?
Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule [1]
[1] - http://www.paulgraham.com/makersschedule.html
What is Project Management?
Here's the way it typically goes wrong.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
Imagine this situation.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
A new project manager, just hired!
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
Much like most of us in this room, she wants to do it right the first time and impress her boss
and her co-workers.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
So she makes a spreadsheet. Or a Gantt chart. Or even just a big project plan.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
She goes to her first team meeting and presents this document to the developers.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
The developers smile and nod. Maybe they even say it sounds like a great plan!
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
Our project manager goes back to her desk happy to have gotten buy-in from her colleagues so early in the process.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
But then the time for the first item to be done, and it's not done yet.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
So she sends a friendly email asking about the deadline.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
She only reaches out to the one developer, hoping she will just respond and say, "oh
yeah! I'm almost done!"
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
The email goes unresponded to.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
So does the next one.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
The project manager ends up in the team meeting telling her boss that nothing is done
yet, and she doesn't know why.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
Her boss decides to get involved. Her boss starts emailing the engineers and "helping" to
"get things moving."
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
By the time the project manager is a month into her job, she has to re-do that Gantt chart
from scratch.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
And now her boss is managing the project instead. Any credibility she might have had
with the team is lost.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
And nothing is done.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
She meant well.
The Perils of the Well-Meaning Project Manager
But instead of focusing on the people, she focused on the details.
Some (Somewhat Embarrassing) Examples
Some (Somewhat Embarrassing) Examples
When I was in Network Deployments, I knew almost nothing about networks.
Some (Somewhat Embarrassing) Examples
My half-time project managing a software team.
The Easier Approach
The Easier Approach
Focus on the start of the project.
The Easier Approach
Before you get into the details of each individual task that needs to get done, instead take an accounting of what's happening with the project already.
The Easier Approach
Has any work been done already on the project?
The Easier Approach
Understand and agree in writing what the most important aspects of the project are.
The Easier Approach
What's the point of the project? What are you trying to achieve? Is there an easier way to
do it?
The Easier Approach
Focus on the people.
The Easier Approach
Colleagues who don't care or don't like the project they're working on aren't going to be motivated to get things done, no matter how big a spreadsheet you make and how much
you email them about deadlines.
The Easier Approach
Make sure you've got everyone you're working with in agreement with your philosophy.
The Easier Approach
Make sure you've got everyone you're working with in agreement with your role on the
project.
The Easier Approach
Make sure you've got everyone above you in agreement with your philosophy.
The Easier Approach
Make sure you've got everyone above you in agreement with your role on the project.
The Easier Approach
Assume competence until proven otherwise.
The Easier Approach
Use common sense.
The Easier Approach
This is a relationship.
The Easier Approach
Frequent, honest communication is fundamental to making the relationship work.
The Easier Approach
Develop the ability to "read" people and negotiate with different personalities.
The Easier Approach
My colleague who put tiaras on our engineers' heads.
The Easier Approach
Make sure you are a "poop umbrella," not a "poop funnel."
The Easier Approach
Be flexible.
Project Management for the Rest of Us
Project Management for the Rest of Us
Good project management isn't about managing projects.
Project Management for the Rest of Us
It's about defining whatever system of organization is going to work for you (and
your colleagues).
Project Management for the Rest of Us
It's about working with people.
Project Management for the Rest of Us
It's about making sure your colleagues are excited about the work they're doing,
whatever it is.
Project Management for the Rest of Us
And it's about keeping the communication open and honest.
Project Management for the Rest of Us
Think about it.
Project Management for the Rest of Us
What in your life do you wish had clear goals, everyone involved excited and interested in,
and everyone was openly communicating about it?
Project Management for the Rest of Us
What about your last family vacation?
Project Management for the Rest of Us
Or maybe your last big life decision?
Project Management for the Rest of Us
The last project on your house?
Project Management for the Rest of Us
Or maybe just your last talk with your spouse?
Project Management for the Rest of Us
This is simply a way to organize your life and collaborate effectively with the people in it.
Project Management for the Rest of Us
I hope it helps you!
Project Management for the Rest of Us
Thank you.
Project Management for the Rest of Us
Questions?
carols@google.com
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