I wanna see you put your hands together for middle management! Alright! Yeah! …OK, so maybe project managers don’t always get the wildest congratulations in many organisations? If you DO want a software development project to be well-managed, however, and for it to be acknowledged as such, take a moment to read through the opinions of these dudes on on how to make project management ROCK.
1.Adapt and match what you do to the customer’s model
Why would you want the most gifted funky slap-bass player on a concert tour with a philharmonic orchestra? Don’t push a project model that doesn’t fit the customer, because it will only bring bad results and increase the cost. Our band will match the project management model to the customer’s own input and the operation models they use themselves. Sales play a big role in this: the customer needs to have a clear understanding of what we are going to do right from the start. So who has what responsibilities and how does the customer organise their projects? When these basic things are clarified, our seasoned rockers can “sniff out” the level of project management needed
2. COMMUNICATE
A gig definitely won’t work out if the band members can’t communicate with each other. A real band makes sure that everyone both on and off the stage can see all the dynamics of what’s going on – that’s what makes things really rock. The project manager will also make sure that the right people are connecting with each other. It might be, for instance, that if you really think about who the product is being aimed at, then it’s not the chief information officer that the team needs to be communicating with, but the end user; no matter how well you get on with the CIO.
3. DON’T BE AFRAID TO KICK UP A FUSS
It’s rare that a software development project is ever completed without changes, or according to original specs. If it’s obvious that the project is not going where we agreed it was supposed to go, there’s no point just muting the track. Real band members should not shy away from confrontation and need to be straight with each other if one of them thinks there are technical things not worth doing. A good project manager stays on top of changes and is always there for the customer to help them improve their business.
4. STAY FOCUSED
It’s important that the projects focus on the essential. Get rid of those extra administrative meetings and panels, communicate enough but not too much, and see that the team’s doing the right things in the right order.
5. Project manager must really know what’s going on and be there
In our band, the project manager’s not stuck behind the mixing desk feeding hourly work reports to higher management, but hands on and involved in the day-to-day running of the show. They know what’s happening at the front of the house, in the stage monitors, and among the customers. Project management is therefore going to be a lot easier if the manager has the relevant technical background to deliver the biggest sound and the best gig.
COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN, IT’S ALWAYS THE SAME. I’M HAVING A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, DRIVE ME INSANE!
Once all this is sorted, the whole band will be happier and the albums will go platinum. If you want to know more about how our rockers run their projects, ask for a demo from Matti.
P.S. If needed, our band can manage really big projects too. Ask Jake for more details!