Podcast episode 035: Managing small projects (part 2 of 2)
Finally the Olympics are over and I can get back to producing podcasts again on a more regular schedule. Today’s episode is part 2 of a roundtable discussion held not too long ago with Cornelius Fichtner of the Project Management Podcast ( www.thepmpodcast.com) and Shawn Futterer of the International Community of Project Managers (www.theicpm.com) on managing small projects. Cornelius, Shawn, and I continue our discussion from part 1 with topics covering how to effectively use part-time or inexperienced team members, our experience using Critical Chain Project Management, or CCPM, with small projects, and which is more critical for businesses, small or large projects.
Show Commentary
When sharing project team members with other project managers, Cornelius would work with other project managers within his organization to share resources. They would work together to meet both their individual project goals, but also with a focus on their company goals. This is better than those situations when the functional manager makes the decision for you on your project priority. Unfortunately, this prevented the project manager from being able to deliver to plan.
In those situations when the functional manager can redirect team members to another project, Shawn states that it is extremely difficult to maintain a project schedule.
Cornelius recommends a good relationship with resources to help reduce the effects of other projects taking resources away. Although this is always a concern.
Both small and large projects influence the success of a business. You may have a smaller amount of large projects, you probably have a larger amount of smaller projects. Both influence the way the strategy of the business is accomplished. In some cases smaller projects are a way to realize revenue faster. Shawn feels you really can’t delineate between smaller projects that achieve revenue faster and larger projects that may take more time to achieve a larger amount of revenue as long as they both fit within the corporate strategy.
An example of a smaller project having a great impact is the iPod for Apple versus its computers and OS systems.
Shawn believes that if you give a new project manager, or even someone without a lot of project management experience, a framework or methodology to work within they will be more successful in their execution of the project. Cornelius agrees that it is better for a new project manager to start off small. Even occasionally seasoned project managers prefer multiple small projects over a single large project to prevent boredom of managing a single project.
Shawn recommends getting your scope and your deliverables on paper upfront to get a good result. Cornelius recommends that regardless if it is a small or large project, you need to take the necessary steps to plan your project and to execute against a formalized methodology to insure success. And Shawn points out that regardless of the scope of the project that communication is key.
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[...] And if you missed it in August, you can view Ron’s previous Podcast interview with Mindjet’s Jagdish Mirani on managing small projects, at this link. [...]