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ventaA million years ago, when I'd just left university, I was chatting to someone who told me she was a project manager. Oh yes, I said, what does that involve?
It means making sure the project is completed in time, she said.
I suspect at that point, for me, the word "project" still conjured up ring binders and lots of carefully cut-out pictures and geography field trips. I asked what she actually did on a day to day basis.
Oh, anything and everything, she said. Whatever it takes. Anything necessary to bring the project in.
Eventually I gave up, none the wiser.
These days, I have a little more grasp of project management. I understand the principles, though I'm still a little hazy about what a project manager actually does from one minute to the next.
If someone tells me they're a doctor, or a teacher, or a supermarket shelf-stacker then I understand (more or less) what they do. If they tell me they're a business systems analyst, or a health information technician then... well, to be honest, no idea. Someone who describes themselves as a manager or a civil servant could do pretty much anything.
But even for comprehensible jobs like dentist, or full-time parent, I don't really know how the day pans out. Is it wall to wall tooth-drilling/child-wrangling? Are there gaps of time where other, unexpected, stuff has to be fitted in? When someone says they're preparing a marketing campaign, how is their time spent? What does preparing samples in a lab actually involve? What do accountants really do?
So, tomorrow, I invite you to blog about your working day. On Monday February 4th - specifically - what did you do with your day? I'm more interested in the minutiae than the overarching goals - did you spend all your time writing emails? Were the mails answering questions or demanding answers? Maybe you were sitting in meetings, or travelling from A to B, or operating machinery, or selling things to other companies. Was it a normal, predictable Monday?
Tag it "mundane monday", and invite your friends to do the same...
It means making sure the project is completed in time, she said.
I suspect at that point, for me, the word "project" still conjured up ring binders and lots of carefully cut-out pictures and geography field trips. I asked what she actually did on a day to day basis.
Oh, anything and everything, she said. Whatever it takes. Anything necessary to bring the project in.
Eventually I gave up, none the wiser.
These days, I have a little more grasp of project management. I understand the principles, though I'm still a little hazy about what a project manager actually does from one minute to the next.
If someone tells me they're a doctor, or a teacher, or a supermarket shelf-stacker then I understand (more or less) what they do. If they tell me they're a business systems analyst, or a health information technician then... well, to be honest, no idea. Someone who describes themselves as a manager or a civil servant could do pretty much anything.
But even for comprehensible jobs like dentist, or full-time parent, I don't really know how the day pans out. Is it wall to wall tooth-drilling/child-wrangling? Are there gaps of time where other, unexpected, stuff has to be fitted in? When someone says they're preparing a marketing campaign, how is their time spent? What does preparing samples in a lab actually involve? What do accountants really do?
So, tomorrow, I invite you to blog about your working day. On Monday February 4th - specifically - what did you do with your day? I'm more interested in the minutiae than the overarching goals - did you spend all your time writing emails? Were the mails answering questions or demanding answers? Maybe you were sitting in meetings, or travelling from A to B, or operating machinery, or selling things to other companies. Was it a normal, predictable Monday?
Tag it "mundane monday", and invite your friends to do the same...
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Date: 2013-02-03 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 08:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 10:00 am (UTC)A community seems a bit OTT. I'll have to hope I just stumble across things, I think (and thanks for re-posting on your own LJ).
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Date: 2013-02-04 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-03 11:55 pm (UTC)It really is anything and everything. The detail depends a lot on the project, but the project manager's role is to make sure the project runs to schedule and meets its targets. The job starts with writing a project plan covering every aspect of the project - what the goals are, what the timings are, what resources (IT, personnel, equipment) are needed and what the budget is to supply them. After that it's a case of managing the project team, keeping track of expenditure, monitoring progress towards targets and taking action if targets aren't being met for whatever reason. The project manager will usually produce monthly reports for senior management tracking progress and detailing any areas in which the project is falling behind, the impact of these, and what is being done to rectify them.
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Date: 2013-02-04 08:07 am (UTC)As an aside - it probably helps to visualise this if you realise how *big* the projects in question are if they need a PM -- it's definitely not just a case of having all the right coloured felt tip pens to get your A3 wall chart done in time for Mrs Simmons biology class on Tuesday ;)
The example our lecturer used to pull out (yep, accountants do study PM a bit) was the Olympics - it had to happen on time; on budget: conform to health&safety - not to mention additional national security - standards; keep all the subcontractors working to those same standards & manage any conflicts between them...etcetc. Basically, if you could think of something complicated that could go wrong with the Olympics, you could probably turn it into a good example of something a PM would be meant to work to get right instead. There's a lot of delegation, but it's trying to get the whole machine working smoothly.
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Date: 2013-02-04 09:57 am (UTC)After that it's a case of managing the project team, keeping track of expenditure, monitoring progress towards targets
... is really the level of detail at which I mean I fall down. What does "managing the project team" mean? How much time does it take (obviously depends on the size of the team)? Is it just a matter of asking person A on a Monday what they're doing this week (or telling them) and checking on Friday that they did it? Hence the request for a tedious breakdown of a single day :)
(Other than about ten minutes every three weeks, I'm rarely aware of my manager actually doing anything to manage me... I presume managers must do something, but it's always baffled me as to what.)
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Date: 2013-02-04 12:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 12:34 pm (UTC)I can't really write a Mundane Monday as today isn't a normal Monday really... but here's today:
10:30am - arrive at work
10:30am - 11:00am - check emails and flag any that need to be dealt with. Discover boss is WFH as she has a flu-type bug
11:00am - 12:00pm - reply to event bookings and queries
12:00pm - 12:30pm - write website post about upcoming event
12:30pm - 1.30pm - lunch and getting refreshments for evening meeting
1.30pm - 2.00pm - printing & collating documents and packing trolley bag for evening meeting
2:00pm - 3:30pm - implementing look and feel changes on website (with Online Community Manager)
3:30pm - 5:00pm - travelling
5:00pm - 5:30pm - meeting setup
5:30pm - 7:00pm - delivering meeting
7:00pm - 7:30pm - meeting takedown
7:30pm - hometime
Like I say, a non-standard day - I normally work 9-5 and don't normally do evening work. But we're short-handed at the moment.
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Date: 2013-02-04 12:02 am (UTC)(do I get bonus kudos for knowing that the song was written by Prince, because one of the Bangles used to be his backing singer?)
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Date: 2013-02-04 08:56 am (UTC)And on the 12" single are Dover Beach, Going Down To Liverpool, and In A Different Light. I played that record almost to death for about 2 years. :D
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Date: 2013-02-04 09:52 am (UTC)I'm impressed, mind.
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Date: 2013-02-04 10:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 08:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 09:52 am (UTC)Only 1/7 of the time, I hear. You may have a kudo :)
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Date: 2013-02-04 08:53 am (UTC)(Today: do anything I want until 4pm; go by bus to collect
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Date: 2013-02-04 09:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 10:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 10:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 01:39 pm (UTC)I may blog my day for you anyway mind.
Here it is: http://lnr.livejournal.com/616738.html
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Date: 2013-02-04 02:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 09:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 09:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 10:23 pm (UTC)'Tis locked though (sorry people not on the locked list).
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Date: 2013-02-04 10:26 pm (UTC)Monday February 4th
Date: 2013-02-04 10:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-04 11:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 02:34 pm (UTC):)
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Date: 2013-02-05 01:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-07 12:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 07:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 07:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-05 09:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-06 05:50 pm (UTC)