Proactive project management
Tom Mochal
Published: 16 Nov 2005 16:20 GMT
There are three types of project managers. The first type is the "accidental" project manager. Usually, this project manager comes up through the ranks. For instance, a strong programmer becomes the project manager on a development project. Or a strong network technician becomes the project manager on a large network upgrade. These people understand the types of projects that they are managing, they can build a workflow and they can assign work to other team members. However, they don't have a lot of project management discipline.
The second type of project manager understands that successful project management requires you to manage issues, scope, communication, risk, etc. The question is whether you are a strong enough project manager to understand that project management discipline needs to be proactive. The proactive project manager, the third type, is someone who has made the mental transition to apply his or her discipline on a proactive and ongoing basis. Look at the following examples of how this works.
Project Definition (charter)
While a good project manager completes the initial Project Definition
(charter) because it's required by the organisation, a proactive
project manager understands that the project must be defined ahead of
time and if it isn't, the team won't have a clear picture of the work
that must be done.
Monthly status report
A good project manager always creates a monthly status report for
sponsors and managers but a proactive project manager completes this
same status report, while also understanding that a status report is
the minimum requirement for communicating.
Communications Plan
A proactive project manager manages communication in the context of an
overall Communications Plan. This allows them to proactively determine
and fulfil the various communication needs of the project stakeholders.
Identifying risk
The project manager should be actively identifying risk at the
beginning of the project, however a proactive project manager
identifies risk at the beginning of the project and then manages and
monitors risk throughout the duration of that project.
Resolving issues
Resolving issues as they occur will be an integral part of the role of
a good project manager, but a proactive project manager has an issues
management process in place to deal proactively with all major problems
when they occur.
Quality solutions
A good project manager builds a quality solution because of pride and
knowing it is the right thing to do. A proactive project manager
determines the client's expectations for quality and puts a plan in
place to meet that level of quality.
The difference is clear — the merely "good" project manager understands the basic responsibilities of a project manager. The very good, proactive project manager has internalised these project management responsibilities and makes them a normal part of the project work. Proactive project managers don't perform these duties just because they're required. They perform the responsibilities because they understand that these project management processes give them a much better chance for success.
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