Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done PDF
Preview Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done
CHAPTER 1 Project management—it’s not just about following a template or using a tool, P R O but rather developing personal skills and intuition to find a method that J E works well for everyone. Whether you’re a designer or a manager, Project C T M Management for Humans will help you estimate and plan tasks, scout and A N address issues before they become problems, and communicate with A G and hold people accountable. E M E N T “The craft of digital project management finally has its bible.” F CARL SMITH O Bureau of Digital R H “Harned provides specific guidelines, motivational tips, and empathetic advice that will align your U M teams and elevate the way you plan, run, and manage your projects.” A N AHAVA LEIBTAG S President, Aha Media Group B R “Finally, digital teams have a reference book that covers everything they need to know about E T project management, from scoping and budgeting to managing teams and clients.” T H KAREN MCGRANE A author, Going Responsive R N E “Brett’s done the thinking about how to make your projects successful, and distilled it into what D you really need to know to deliver on your targets time and time again. Recommended.” ELIZABETH HARRIN creator of A Girl’s Guide to Project Management Cover Illustration by Jason Kernevich l Interior Illustrations by Deb Aoki PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR HUMANS www.rosenfeldmedia.com Helping People Get Things Done MORE ON PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR HUMANS http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/project-management-for-humans/ BRETT HARNED Foreword by Greg Storey PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR HUMANS HELPING PEOPLE GET THINGS DONE Brett Harned Rosenfeld Media Brooklyn, New York Project Management for Humans Helping People Get Things Done by Brett Harned Rosenfeld Media, LLC 540 President Street Brooklyn, New York 11215 USA On the web: www.rosenfeldmedia.com Please send errors to: [email protected] Publisher: Louis Rosenfeld Managing Editor: Marta Justak Illustrations: Deb Aoki Interior Designer: Danielle Foster Cover Design: The Heads of State Indexer: Marilyn Augst Proofreader: Sue Boshers © 2017 Brett Harned All Rights Reserved ISBN-10: 1-933820-51-9 ISBN-13: 978-1-933820-51-4 LCCN: 2017934297 Printed and bound in the United States of America HOW TO USE THIS BOOK Who Should Read This Book? Project management is not just a role—it’s a critical skill that is required in everyday life. Whether you’re organizing a party or building a website, you need the skills to complete a task successfully (and we all know that isn’t always easy). So this book is not just for project managers, but it’s also for people who find themselves in a position where they need to organize and lead projects. What’s in This Book? The purpose of the book is to provide a solid foundation on leading projects, including the following: • Information on what project management is and how you can adapt principles and processes to your needs • Project management techniques to help run projects effectively • Better ways to communicate and collaborate with multi- functional teams and clients • Simple techniques for estimating projects • Ways to build and manage project plans What Comes with This Book? This book’s companion website ( rosenfeldmedia.com/books/ project-management-for-humans/) contains a blog and additional content. The book’s diagrams and other illustrations are available under a Creative Commons license (when possible) for you to down- load and include in your own presentations. You can find these on Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/rosenfeldmedia/sets/. iii FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS I’m not a project manager. In fact, I know nothing about what project managers do. Can you tell me a little more about it? The role of a PM can certainly be a mystery—particularly when it’s not done well. There are specific characteristics that make a great PM, like being a clear, calm communicator, or adaptable and flexible. And there are a ton of tasks that many PMs take on, such as creating estimates, crafting process, and reporting on project status among others. It’s equal parts technical and soft skills. Check out Chapter 1, “You’re the PM Now,” for the full details on what makes a good project manager. I keep hearing about Agile, but I can’t tell if it’s right for me. Is it? People tend to think that Agile means “fast,” but in the context of project management, it’s a formal method that is characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of work and frequent iteration and adaptation to meet a goal. It’s made up of formalized roles and meetings or “ceremonies” that help guide projects. There is a lot to consider when adopting a new process: project types, goals, budgets, and people. It’s best to learn a little about other processes and discuss the pros and cons with your team before just diving in. To learn more about project management methodologies and digital project man- agement principles, check out Chapter 2, “Principles over Process.” I’m terrible at estimating projects. How can I get better? Hey, creating accurate estimates is tough work. As the word “esti- mate” implies, there is a lot of guesswork involved. However, if you want to get closer to a really good estimate, you should examine projects or tasks and break them down into subtasks to determine a level of effort. You’ll find that information in Chapter 3, “Start with an Estimate.” iv I’m nervous about talking to my client about how our project is going to be over budget and probably late. Do you have any tips for how I can handle this? You’ve got to be comfortable addressing sensitive or difficult issues head on when you’re leading projects, because they tend to come up quite often. Whether you’re worried about scope creep or you need to address a performance issue with a team member, it’s best to take a measured approach that is empathetic and gets straight to the point in order to resolve it quickly. Check out Chapter 9, “Setting and Managing Expectations,” to learn about how to set and manage expectations better in order to avoid some of these conversations, and Chapter 8, ”Navigating the Dreaded Difficult Conversation,” for some tips on how to navigate the conversation itself. Frequently Asked Questions v CONTENTS How to Use This Book iii Frequently Asked Questions iv Foreword x Introduction xii CHAPTER 1 You’re the PM Now 1 What Is a Project Manager? 3 The Role vs. the Title 4 The Qualities of Good Project Management 6 Typical PM Tasks 9 The PM Is the Backbone 15 TL; DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) 20 CHAPTER 2 Principles over Process 21 The World of Project Management Methodologies 23 Devise a Methodology That Will Work for You 31 Principles for Digital Project Management 33 TL; DR 36 CHAPTER 3 Start with an Estimate 37 Set the Stage for Solid Estimates 39 Estimate Time and Materials vs. Fixed-Fee Projects 48 Apply a Work Breakdown Structure 49 Estimating Agile-ish Projects 55 Estimate Tasks for Agile Projects 60 Get Your Estimates In 63 TL; DR 63 vi CHAPTER 4 Getting to Know Your Projects 65 Start with Research 68 Getting the Most Out of Stakeholder Interviews 69 Identify the Players 71 Talk About the Work 75 Getting to Know Your Clients Can Help! 76 Heed the Red Flag 77 TL; DR 82 CHAPTER 5 Create a Plan 83 Project Plans Will Help You 85 Before You Create the Plan 87 Formalize Your Plan 93 What You Really Need to Know 102 Get Planning 106 TL; DR 106 CHAPTER 6 Managing Resources 107 Set the Stage for Organized Resource Planning 109 Match Resource Skills to Projects 111 Save Yourself and Your Team from Burnout 112 Stakeholders Are Resources, Too 113 TL; DR 114 CHAPTER 7 Communicate Like a Pro 115 Solid Communications Earn Trust 118 It’s Not About You 119 Set Communication Expectations 120 Frequently Asked Questions vii Be Open to Collaboration 121 Quick, Simple Communication Tactics 122 Body Language Speaks Volumes 128 TL; DR 128 CHAPTER 8 Navigating the Dreaded Difficult Conversation 129 The Anatomy of a Difficult Conversation 132 How to Conduct a Difficult Conversation 137 Meeting Means Talking and Listening 139 Finding the Right Solution 143 The Most Difficult Conversation I’ve Ever Taken On 144 Say Hello to Agreement and Goodbye to Disagreement 146 TL; DR 147 CHAPTER 9 Setting and Managing Expectations 149 We All Have Expectations 152 Pre-Kick-off Meetings 154 Assign Project Roles with a RACI Matrix 156 Document Requirements 157 Manage Expectations 161 TL; DR 168 CHAPTER 10 Scope Is Creepin’ 169 Managing and Embracing Change 171 Tame the Scope Creep 174 It’s Not Easy, and It’s Not Scary Either 177 TL; DR 180 viii Frequently Asked Questions CHAPTER 11 Facilitation for PMs 181 People Make Projects Difficult 183 Brush Up Your Facilitation Skills 184 Facilitation Techniques 186 Determine Meeting Roles 194 Make It a Productive Meeting 195 TL; DR 198 On and Up 199 Index 201 Acknowledgments 209 About the Author 210 Frequently Asked Questions ix
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