Last updated on 30 December 2024
I’ve been a PM for under three months now, so I spoke with a pro for advice. His top three tips for project management guide me every day.
Coming from a design background (human experience design), I felt both delighted and terrified when Infosit hired me for a six-month gig as PO/PM (Product Owner / Project Manager). They’re a bespoke software development agency based in Croatia and the UK.
And sure: I’ve been designing apps and websites for 22 years. I’ve also worked with hundreds of software developers from the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. I’ve even built my own websites and understand a fair bit of front-end code.
But I don’t know a damn thing about software development, let alone project management.
So how am I supposed to be the PO and PM for a team of nine software developers? Well, I brought this question to Marko Glavaš, Infosit’s Head of Delivery.
“Whether you’re working with your client, your team, or your stakeholders, project management is all about delivering value.”
Marko Glavaš
Graciously, he took the time to mentor me and give me some golden words of advice. And so far, they’ve helped me literally every day.
So, here they are: Marko’s top three tips for project management.
Tip 1 • Define the scope before starting the work.
Starting work on a project without a shared (and documented) vision of its scope is like building a house without a clear blueprint. It wastes time, effort, money, and energy.
We need to know the requirements for every project. This applies whether it’s waterfall or Agile, fixed-price or time-and-materials.
As Simon Sinek recommends: “start with why.” Know the destination before plotting the course. Gather and document the requirements before working to fulfill them.
Requirements Mapping
My favorite way to do this is with a requirements mapping workshop. This process typically takes three or four hours and involves at least one representative from each discipline, including customer experts, subject matter experts, business stakeholders, designers, developers, and (ideally) real customers.
We start with a customer journey map and plot the requirements for each phase of the journey. Then, we prioritize the requirements with silent voting. The session wraps up with a recap and discussion to reach a consensus around the requirements and priorities.
A Shared Vision
With this requirements map, we have a tangible artifact that everyone can reference moving forward. And it serves as actionable input for user story mapping, creating and grooming a backlog, and planning the work.
Tip 2 • Challenge people’s estimates.
Planning work includes estimating how much time, effort, and (let’s be honest) money the project will take. And as a project manager, I rely on estimates from my team mates to make these calculations.
But let’s face it, we’re all human. And we humans are notoriously terrible about predicting the future. So we need to challenge every estimate with compassion and questions.
Example Questions
- What are the risks involved in this project?
- What are the processes needed to prepare, develop, and deliver this work?
- Whom do we depend on to do our work?
- Are there any seasonal factors to consider, like vacation seasons?
Bonus Examples
These come from Dolores Koverlica, Managing Partner at Infosit.
- Which comparable projects have we done in the past?
- What did we learn from them that can inform this estimate?
Tip 3 • Be human first.
So we humans aren’t great at predicting the future. And emotion drives most of our behavior and decision-making.
Project management is essentially about nurturing relationships. So it’s important for us to show up as humans.
- Really listen to people.
- Admit mistakes and take responsibility.
- Take the time to build rapport.
This mindset has the power to foster positive client relationships (happy customers are the best customers) and boost team morale (happy people work more effectively). It has the power to turn potentially stressful interactions into mutually beneficial ones.
Conclusion
For me, these top three tips for project management drive home the idea that it’s more an art than a science. It’s more about people than spreadsheets. At least, that’s how my UX brain sees it!
What are your top PM tips?
Cover photo by DJ Spirit Therapy
This photo was taken in Arillas, Corfu, Greece at sunset. He took it as we walked down the beach to meet some friends. In it, I see adventure, the journey toward new beginnings.
“The only constant is change,” they say. So I encourage us all to embrace change and squeeze as much juice out of this life as we can. 🙏🏼
