Project Understanding

There may be times as a Project Manager that you may have to work with people (*resources) that may not have a clear understanding of a project or portions of a project. This can really happen and for some, it can be very frustrating.

Some team members may struggle with understanding the project scope; others may struggle with understanding a function or design. These are just a couple of examples. If this occurs remember that a display of frustration will not lead you down the road to success.

There are several courses of action that can be taken in this situation. I have found it best to meet one on one with these individuals in an effort to assist them and sometimes myself. For example, I have had to meet with others to discuss the capabilities of an application design or technology so that the best decisions can be made. I have also had to meet with others so I have a better understanding of a business process that needs to be incorporated into an application.

It would be negligent of me if I chose to remain clueless and try to make decisions on a topic I have no understanding of. This is why I take the time needed to have a solid understanding of the project so that great decisions are made. As a project manager we may need to be in a position to assist others at times so they too can make great decisions. There may be times when we may need to solicit SME’s if we are not the subject matter experts. This leads to a better understanding by all participants. Better understanding, better decisions, better project success.

*resources – I had some interesting Twitter discussions about the use of this word. I understand that the Agile community may not favor how I chose to use this word and I can understand this to a degree. By the PMBOK definition I have used this word appropriately. Agile may say that people are people not resources. If that is the case, how many Agile people have avoided the Human Resources department to gain employment? Is semantics so misunderstood?
Special thanks to @michaelbolton and @AgileForAll for lessons learned this week!