Getting from there to here
Project management is both an art and a science. The science has been well described in many places. TImelines, critical paths, milestones... Yet sometimes, despite the science, despite careful planning and forethought, things slip. But that doesn't mean deadlines change or expecations are lowered.
Enter the project manager as artist.
Tell me it's a dream
Jim was supposed to deliver key information for the financial section of the Web site by Friday. But Jim's wife just had triplets, and he has taken emergency paternity leave.... No-one else in his department has a clue about the project.
Volcanoes happen
Or how about this? The on-line annual report is finished, except for the CEO's video message, due to be taped today. But the CEO is stuck halfway around the world, because a volcano erupted in Iceland, shutting down air traffic over Europe...
The show must go on
Managing a communications project is a little like putting on a theatrical performance. The project manager knows something will go wrong -- and s/he also knows the show must go on. The "art" in project management is finding "outside the envelope" solutions to make sure the curtain goes up on time, and the show is a smash hit.
No matter what.
Here's my "quick and dirty" project checklist:
- Develop timelines
- Assign areas of responsibility
- Specify deliverables
- Establish benchmarks
- Build in contingency plans
- Prepare to be a pest people
- Keep laughing -- humour is a definite management asset!
