project management role - advice, tips?

pcwares

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damnyanks

Learn all the relevant buerecratic crap that goes on in said company as that will be one of the major hinderences for you. If its a tech role look out for change management

Always identify the main sponsors, stakeholders and enemies of your project. It's funny that it would seem like the most obvious thing but from my experience peoples roles can get confused which hamper the project.


Oh also... there are 16 productive days in the month, 25% contingency is just about enough.

pcwares

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RainyDay

Put together 1 single document to define the project -what are you trying to achieve, how will success be measured, who is going to be involved, what are the change control processes, what are the communication processes.

Get the document signed off by all parties.

utopian

pcwares wrote:

cheers mate..

Im really after a good project managment book. Im familiar with change managment structures in other companies i have worked in.

But good advice so thanks.

This publication is very good, if short (PDF):

The Challenges of Complex IT Projects : The report of a working group from The Royal Academy of Engineering and The British Computer Society

It provides a good overview of IT projects, particularly in comparison to "proper" engineering projects.

pcwares

thanks for the resource link. Scanned it and it is useful.

pcwares

damnyanks

Laptops are always a good idea. Don't see how an XDA would be useful. Maybe a blackberry, but do you really want to be contactable 24/7 ?

I've seen pointless / stupid e-mails come out from senior guys on their blackbury (They were on the commute somewhere or were just bored and they got a ping pong so reply!)

Once again back to basics. Identify all the milestones right from the start, never be afraid to change the project plan / update it. (Think of it as a business plan)

solidgear

Project Management – A Managerial Apprach – Jack R. Meredith & Samuel J. Mantel (Wiley)

Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling & Controlling – Harold Kerzner (Wiley)

The Portable MBA in Project Management – Eric Verzuh (Wiley)

hope these books may help, you may also consider doing some "Institute of commercial management" syllabi.

www.instcm.net/syllabi.php

pcwares

Good stuff - will buy those book resources.

not doin pm core.

Thx again all.

PcWares

solidgear

R u doing their PM core module ?

solidgear

ur a brave man walking into such a role, What's ur qualification in the field of PM? I do understand that experience counts for a lot! I sit my exams next month & am doing PM as 1 of my 2nd year Hdip studies. No laughing matter this subject.

pcwares

thanks.

solidgear

best wishes my man.

dazberry

"The Software Development Edge - Essays on Managing Successful Projects" - Joe Marasco (Addison Wesley). ISBN 0-32-132131-6
Found this a really enjoyable read, one or two bits were a bit heavy going, notably around scheduling.

"The Mythical Man-Month - Essays on Software Engineering" - Frederick P. Brook, Jr (Addison Wesley). ISBN 0201835959
This is the updated anniversary text. A bit dated and I'd probably have issue with one or two bits - but still a great read.

Might be worth reading "Rapid Development - Taming Wild Software Schedules" - Steve McConnell (Microsoft Press). ISBN 1-55615-900-5
Read this a while ago - definitely a good read if you're in the software end.

"How to Run Successful Projects III - The Silver Bullet" - Fergus O'Connell (Addison Wesley) ISBN 0-201-74806-1
Also read this quite a while ago. Think I got a bit bored with it tbh - probably should revisit it again myself.

btw: I'm not a pm. I'm reading up on this because my current project is on its 3rd pm and is late by a factor of 3, and I'm desperately stressed and dismayed by the bad decisions, the politics and in generally lack of sense by people who should know better. I'll stop now before I start a rant!

D.

pcwares

maybe there should be a project management forum?

GoneShootin

I'm doing my Thesis on Software Project Management. I can zip you up my resources and bookmarks if you want em.

kluivert

Boylesports are looking for a project administrator in Dundalk at the moment. Check out there website.

Gordon

Why was this thread edited?

WhiteWashMan

ask pcwares.

im still waiting for him to come back and tell me what action hes going to take for me not deleting it.

Gordon

I'm also very interested in that.

MoneyMagnet

Setting up a project right from the start is the key to project success. When done right its simple, but a lot of the books make it over complex.

Happy to help where I can.:D

DublinWriter

Chrisht, where to begin...

1. Know what a Gant chart is
2. Know what a critical path is
3. Realise that software projects normally take 4 times longer than originally estimated to complete
4. Realise that software projects normally take 4 times more money than originally estimated to complete
5. Always have a project sponsor/champion high up in managment
6. Always give projects snappy names, preferably based on abbreviations
7. Programmers are not your friends
8. Management are not your friends
9. Always have a Plan B.
10. Monitor progress on a daily basis.

rick_fantastic

go out and get urself a copy of the prince2 project management book. its sh1t hot atm