Getting started in the role of project manager is not always easy. Are there some common mistakes that you see newer project managers making that can be avoided (e.g. trying to take on too much themselves, or allowing problems to linger too long before addressing them)?
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In my opinion a big problem is that you try to solve the problems yourself and not manage the project. Your job as a project manager is to lead the people who do the actual work (of course this depends on the size of the project, in small projects you will have a technical role too). Another one is that you underestimate soft factors (and therefore soft skills). You can have as many technical tools as you like - in the end project management is people business! |
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One big mistake new (and experienced) project managers make is not managing risks. Just sitting down to think about them, brainstorm them, and log them is a huge improvement over doing nothing. |
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While many new project managers understand the project goal, many fail to understand personal objectives of those on his/her team. Some people call this understanding personalities; others call it managing politics. Within a team, team members may have different personal objectives including:
The new project manager's challenge is to meet the project objectives while making sure members are engaged, motivated, and putting their best effort. The only way to do this is to make sure the team's personal objectives are being met. |
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Reinventing The Wheel Most problems have previously been solved before by other people in your organization. Consulting with a senior PM helps bring perspective and teaches old solutions to your "new" problems. One of my senior PM's has been managing projects my entire life. He knows a thing or two. Someone like this is invaluable helping new PM's avoid reinventing the wheel, as well as spinning them. If you are new, you need help. Find someone you can meet with to spend 10 minutes every few days discussing the most critical problems you are facing. Usually, as a new PM you won't have a very long leash anyway...so there will be someone checking in with you. In the case that your organization is trying you by fire, the smartest thing you can do is get advice from someone with more experience. If you think that you will be bother that person too much, find a couple of people and spread the love. |
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One of the most common mistakes is not recognising that tools are just that and as such you need to pick the correct tool for the project you are working on. Not to be blindly led by the methodology that you have just learned/is flavour of the month. I know I did that quite a bit when I started out, thinking a new tool was the silver bullet I was looking for and not recognising that I just needed to pick the correct tool for the job at hand, and that is truly only something that comes with experience (at least in my case ;-)) |
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One mistake made (that is not entirely the fault of the project manager) is being promoted into a project management role without having the right skills. This happens frequently in IT (some companies even tout it as a "career path") where someone who spent the last 20 years developing software becomes a project manager. And he might have no idea about what it takes to manage a team, a schedule, or to deal with external parties (stakeholders, project sponsor, customers). While tutoring and the right tools can help, fundamentally, project management is an entirely different discipline. You wouldn't let a doctor start operating without years of study and training, so why let a project manager do it without even assessing basic skills? As a project manager, you need to understand your own weaknesses and overcome them. If you're put in this position, read, read, read. And then read some more. And consult heavily with your peers to avoid making costly mistakes. |
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Make sure that you nail down the scope of the Project at the very beginning. Get confirmation from the key stakeholders that their view of the scope is in line with yours. Get early sign off to your Project Management Plan and draft your stakeholder plan (including a RACI) as a first priority. Thereafter stakeholder management (and hence engagement) should be straightforward. |
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As many have answered the question from their point of view I am not going to repeat them but add one more that I thing is prevalent widely in IT. Micro management. I know the PM is new or it may be his/her first project, and they try to constantly ping the team for status, being opinionated on every task the team members complete and over motivating the employees. They too need their space and time to think. |
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Not using task management software! It is very important for those involved on a project to have a 'home base' to refer to. Emails work to an extent, but can quickly pile up into a chaotic mess of info with important elements slipping through the cracks. Having an organized task entered into a task management program can efficiently display all important info, revisions, attachments, etc. |
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The biggest mistake I found was to assume certain parameters about a project instead of using a DDD approach or writting down every aspect of a project for the client / entity to check if it's correct. Most of the projects comes a time when you realise certain things that were ommited had a purpose / certain needs that you hadn't think of before, ruining timelines and changing the value of the project. |
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Not using task management software at all is undoubtedly a big problem. However the usage of a tool that doesn't fully correspond to the needs of the company might turn out to be even a bigger problem. Project managers have to be very careful when it comes to choosing software. Bare in mind the size of your team, your budget and the features that your business needs in the first place. |
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The biggest problem I have encountered is that organisations send people on PRINCE2 training and then expect them to be able to manage projects. The mistake the newbie (PRINCE2 trained) project manager makes is trying to go it alone in the forlorn belief that PRINCE2 is all they need. |
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