Project Management as a new focus?
Posted this a part of my personal journal/blog tonight and then realize that I should probably x-post it here.
Big revelation (for me) at work today: there are those on my team who, recently, have begun to feel like they are being pressured to work faster and therefore produce lower quality product (courseware). I (and a couple of others) have commented more than once during these discussions (ok… venting sessions) that I’m not feeling that pressure. Today, after discussing the situation with a couple of others, it occurred to me that some of this may be a result of our differing project management styles. On our team, each person (whether LD, LC, IT, or hybrid) hold some level of project management responsibility (beyond just managing their own specific tasks). I think I had been assuming that the projects I was working on were just not as high profile as some of these others, but now I’m not so sure that is the case. So – I’m beginning to think this may be an even better focus for my ARP (than the more general departmental changes I had planned to focus on). Most of my project management skills and style were developed “on the fly” – rather than through formal training, so I know I could benefit from learning about more formal approaches. I also think the whole team could benefit from a sharing of project management knowledge, styles, approaches, etc. Such an ARP could also provide a more controlled environment for setting up the 3 cycles necessary in the limited time I have because I wouldn’t have to wait for the corporate decisions on departmental change. Definitely worth spending some time mapping out. Hmmm… I should probably cross-post this part of my blog in my ARP blog.
Big revelation (for me) at work today: there are those on my team who, recently, have begun to feel like they are being pressured to work faster and therefore produce lower quality product (courseware). I (and a couple of others) have commented more than once during these discussions (ok… venting sessions) that I’m not feeling that pressure. Today, after discussing the situation with a couple of others, it occurred to me that some of this may be a result of our differing project management styles. On our team, each person (whether LD, LC, IT, or hybrid) hold some level of project management responsibility (beyond just managing their own specific tasks). I think I had been assuming that the projects I was working on were just not as high profile as some of these others, but now I’m not so sure that is the case. So – I’m beginning to think this may be an even better focus for my ARP (than the more general departmental changes I had planned to focus on). Most of my project management skills and style were developed “on the fly” – rather than through formal training, so I know I could benefit from learning about more formal approaches. I also think the whole team could benefit from a sharing of project management knowledge, styles, approaches, etc. Such an ARP could also provide a more controlled environment for setting up the 3 cycles necessary in the limited time I have because I wouldn’t have to wait for the corporate decisions on departmental change. Definitely worth spending some time mapping out. Hmmm… I should probably cross-post this part of my blog in my ARP blog.
posted by susan @ 8:39 PM
1 Comments:
At 12:08 PM,
Margaret said…
Susan,
I am so glad to see you thinking about this so early in the process. I am confident that you wll find the right way to approach this. Keep thinking about problems you see, think about what you do and what problems you really care about solving. Once you are clear on a problem, start thinking about how to characterize it. Ask as many questions as you can. Then think about the answers. Do you know the answer? If yes, look at another one until you find one you don't know the answer to. Then as what would you do with the answer? How might it change what you do (and if you change what you do you might be changing who you are). We will working on questions soon. So keep writing to yourself. When you put your ideas infront of you, it is like creating creating a reflection of your mind...then start to talk with yourself. It is a great way to figure out what you think.
Margaret
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