Learn how to engage people on projects and manage stakeholder relationships at work. Get things done, even when your colleagues have different priorities!
The best thing about going to the hairdressers is having someone wash my hair. The second best thing is being able to sit there for an hour and be lost in my thoughts while someone makes me beautiful. I don’t talk to my hairdresser about holidays or work, and we have fallen into companionable silence….
There has been a notable shift in recent years to talking about project leadership, as distinct from project management. Management, as the saying goes, is about doing things right, and leadership is about doing the right things. In reality, both leadership and management are often done by the same person – the project manager. But…
This is a guest post by Shawn Kent Hayashi, of The Professional Development Group. Many wonderful experiences and products were born out of a smart project manager recognizing the differences in needs, identifying unmet needs, and working through a conflict to find a resolution. Slowing down when faced with conflict helps us to stay aware…
In this final instalment of the ‘working together’ series, I’ll be looking at how to improve the working relationships between project managers and business analysts. Changing working relationships is often more about culture than concrete tasks, but there are some things you can do to smooth any blips in the way that project managers and…
Last week I wrote about what project managers value when working with business analysts. This week I want to focus on what we don’t. Don’t worry: it’s not that bad! The differences in the ways that project managers work and the ways that business analysts work means that it’s not always easy to work together….
Last week I wrote about the way that project managers work, and how this relates to OTOBOS. This week I want to explain what project managers value in our working relationships with business analysts. Project managers see BAs as architects. They are detailed, they decide on and build solutions, they work in a methodical way….
About a month ago I spoke at the IRM UK Business Analysis Conference 2009 about how project managers work, and how business analysts and project managers can work together more successfully. As you can imagine, telling a room full of BAs that project managers don’t want to hear all that detail and analysis paralysis was…
I was at the International Congress for Project, Programme and Risk Management last Wednesday and Thursday and listened to some really interesting speakers. Liz Underhill, Programme Manager for the London Olympics Programme, spoke early on the first day about the progress so far on planning for the Games. What struck me about her role is…
The construction of the new Scottish Parliament building is a good example of how things can go so wrong on a project. The innovative design was in its early stages when the procurement process started. Architects were bidding to deliver something within a specification of 20,740 m² and £50m. At this point, there were no…
In a new job, it’s hard to know what details are important and what you can let slip in one ear and out the other. I’ve been trying to soak up everything – a strategy which has been moderately successful. I’ve picked up a lot of low-level detail and, not yet knowing if it is…