Book Review: Project Management for the Unofficial Project Manager
Project Management is more about leading people and less about managing processes
There are very few books on project management that focus more on leadership skills and less on managing the process of an organization. “ Project management for the Unofficial Project manager” is one of them. Two of the authors of this book “Kory Kogon” & “Suzette Blakemore” are unofficial Project managers, While the third author “ James Wood” is a certified Project management Professional. This book has been written both from the perspective of unofficial project managers and Certified project managers.
This book explains the real definition of a Project, the three critical project constraints, the four foundational behaviors of a Project manager, controlling Scope creep, accountability & leadership in project management, and effective engagement of Key Stakeholders.
The above-mentioned concepts are explained in the following paragraphs.
Definition of a Project
A project is a temporary endeavor with start and finishes undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. This definition is given by the Project Management Institute in the PMBOK Guide. PMBOK stands for Project management body of knowledge.
So a Project is not a permanent endeavor, unlike operations. Once a project is completed, its manpower and resources will move on to another project. Every project has a specific start and end date. Every project produces a unique result, no two projects are alike.
Constraints of a Project
Project management lifecycle is categorized into Traditional/waterfall approach and Agile approach. The Waterfall approach is used mostly when your scope is clear and defined upfront, the Agile-based methodology is used when you don’t have a clear scope and the Project is taken forward by iterations.
In the Traditional/Waterfall approach, three major constraints need to be managed and integrated very carefully. Scope, Schedule, and budget are the major constraints of any project and many project managers evaluate the success criteria of their projects based upon these constraints. The three constraints have to be balanced in such a way that a minor change in one of the constraints does not affect the other two constraints.
A Project manager should always look out for scope creep in scope management, identify critical path & dependencies in Schedule management and keep enough budget to manage the cost of the project team and resources.
Success Criteria of a Project
Too many people call your project a success if all you have done is meet the deadline and the budget. Some organizations also call a project successful if it is completed under the defined budget irrespective of the schedule. However, in reality, this is not the true measure of success in a project.
The author says the first measure of success in any project is meeting or exceeding the expectations. There are few projects which not only achieve success in terms of scope, schedule & budget but also in terms of expectations of Project stakeholders and customers.
I believe most of the projects fail because they make the process and people very complex. If a project manager keeps the simple things straight and is strong in the foundations then he will achieve great success in a project.
Leadership and Accountability
Although managing the process side of a project is necessary, but I believe that effective Leadership is more crucial for a Project’s success. Project management is as much about effectively leading people as it is about skillfully managing a process. It is very important to value people as people naturally want to matter and they want to make a contribution that matters.
The true formula for winning at projects is PEOPLE + PROCESS = SUCCESS.
Formal authority comes from a title or a position. Giving people titles doesn’t necessarily make them good leaders. A title may allow someone to enforce rules or penalize team members when rules aren’t followed, but titles alone rarely guarantee willing followers who cheerfully volunteer their best talent and effort. A Competent Project manager reveals his character when he and his Project is under pressure, not when everything is fine.
Accountability means transparency. When you report a status update, you tell it like it is. When you mess up, you admit it and take responsibility for it. When a Project manager takes accountability for everything in his project, he gets motivated and driven from the inside and he does not need appreciation from other people to move forward in a project.
Communication Management
Communication is the exchange of information, intended or involuntary. Statistics show that a Project manager spends 90% of his time communicating. Project communication management is a collection of processes that help make sure the right messages are sent, received, and understood by the right people.
If you are truly interested in building a high-performance team, get to know them. Take feedback from them, ask them to be honest about their feelings and what truly motivates or inspires them. Most of the talking you do as a project leader is to clarify expectations. One of the main jobs of an unofficial project manager is to get everyone “on the same page,” as they say. This is not easy, and it’s the biggest potential pitfall you will face as a project leader.
If you really want to inspire a team to play and win big, keep them informed. Clearly communicate how each person’s role contributes to the whole. Even small tasks can make a huge impact on the project’s ultimate success, and a clear “big picture” is a surefire way to keep people engaged.
Lack of communication at the early stages of a project is the main reason for scope creep. Scope creep in Project management refers to changes, continuous or uncontrolled growth in a project’s scope, at any point after the project begins. This can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is generally considered harmful.
Stakeholder Engagement
Although many Project professionals find it suitable to call Stakeholder management, I believe it is always not possible to manage stakeholders but you can engage stakeholders positively towards a common goal.
A Stakeholder is a person or organization that is actively involved in the project or is positively or negatively impacted by it. As a Project leader, one of your most important jobs is to get everyone on the same page. The key is to start by learning what everybody’s expectations are.
In the early stages of a project, your priority is to identify the key stakeholders. Set interviews with them to understand their expectations from the project, listen before speaking and get as much input as possible from them upfront. The better the discussion about constraints with key stakeholders, the clearer the expectations become for meeting the desired outcome of the project. You can also clarify the acceptance criteria from the key stakeholders in the interviews.
Conclusion
I tried to keep this book review as short as possible with the basic foundations clarified but there are other modules like Risk management, change management, integration management, Quality management whose concept is also highlighted in this book.
I worked in corporate culture for 8 years, I found this book interesting and exciting. But I believe anybody can apply the concepts of this book in any profession because everything we do in life is a project. This book explains Project management in such a way that even an unofficial Project manager could grasp the concepts in a simple & effective manner. I would highly recommend this book to anyone starting their journey in the corporate world and specifically in the domain of Project management. After all, Life is a Project and You are the manager.
