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PM Pitfalls—DPM:UK, Manchester 2015

Suze Haworth
January 31, 2015
320

PM Pitfalls—DPM:UK, Manchester 2015

Being a project manager is easy… said no project manager, ever. There are plenty of hazards, perils and obstacles waiting to get in the way of running a project smoothly, making us want to tear our hair out on a daily basis. There are ones of our own making (yes, we are human), or caused by our team or the client. There are also external factors lurking around every corner just waiting to derail our projects.

In her talk, Suze goes through some of the common pitfalls facing us every day on our projects—as well as ones we least suspect—and how best to tackle and overcome them. All while keeping a smile on our faces and our sanity intact!

Suze Haworth

January 31, 2015
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Transcript

  1. How to plan for the unknown! ! PM PITFALLS How

    to think like an action hero…
  2. pitfall! ˈpɪtfɔːl/! noun! noun: pitfall; plural noun: pitfalls! ! !

    1. 
 a hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty."the pitfalls of buying goods at public auctions"! ! ! synonyms:! ! ! hazard, danger, risk, peril, difficulty, issue, problem, catch, snag, stumbling block, drawback; informal banana skin ! "the pitfalls of setting up an office at home”! 2. ! a covered pit for use as a trap.
  3. pitfall! ˈpɪtfɔːl/! noun! noun: pitfall; plural noun: pitfalls! ! !

    1. 
 a hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty."the pitfalls of buying goods at public auctions"! ! ! synonyms:! ! ! hazard, danger, risk, peril, difficulty, issue, problem, catch, snag, stumbling block, drawback; informal banana skin ! "the pitfalls of setting up an office at home”! 2. ! a covered pit for use as a trap.
  4. pitfall! ˈpɪtfɔːl/! noun! noun: pitfall; plural noun: pitfalls! ! !

    1. 
 a hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty."the pitfalls of buying goods at public auctions"! ! ! synonyms:! ! ! hazard, danger, risk, peril, difficulty, issue, problem, catch, snag, stumbling block, drawback; informal banana skin ! "the pitfalls of setting up an office at home”! 2. ! a covered pit for use as a trap.
  5. Risk vs uncertainty • Risk: the events and issues that

    can be foreseen, so mitigation can be put in place
  6. Risk vs uncertainty • Risk: the events and issues that

    can be foreseen, so mitigation can be put in place • Uncertainty: the unknown issues that you can’t plan specifically for that can derail your project
  7. The tech • Try not to over rely on your

    tools • Back up • Consider a generic contingency response plan
  8. The PM—you! • You don’t have to do everything •

    Make sure you delegate tasks to the right members of the team
  9. The PM—you! • You don’t have to do everything •

    Make sure you delegate tasks to the right members of the team • Try to minimise the single points of failure
  10. The team • Ensure there are back ups • No

    single point of failure - again! (Hint, this is important)
  11. The team • Ensure there are back ups • No

    single point of failure - again! (Hint, this is important) • Work fast to isolate the single points of failure, and put in place actions to get rid of them
  12. So an action hero… • Knows the enemy • Keeps

    things simple • Takes on a sidekick
  13. So an action hero… • Knows the enemy • Keeps

    things simple • Takes on a sidekick • Makes sure they don’t have single points of failure
  14. So an action hero… PM • Knows the enemy •

    Keeps things simple • Takes on a sidekick • Makes sure they don’t have single points of failure