Application is the Art

Application Is the Art
Solving Common Project Problems
Ch 14



Introduction
As much technology as we have available today to help us with our projects, we are still humans, thus conflicts will always arise. It is absolutely imperative to promptly find the most efficient solution to such conflicts, as to not hinder the overall progress of the project. Different techniques can be employed to solve a variety of conflicts, from technical aspects to personal disagreements.


Responsibility beyond Your Authority
Especially with larger projects, you may find that you must rely on people and sources over which you have no authority. If such these people are shortcoming of their respective duties, your whole project suffers. Learning how to make sure other people are reliable is a vital aspect of a successful project. This can be achieved by a statement of work, communication plans, network diagrams and sponsors, just to name a few methods.


Reducing the Time to Market
We’ve all heard the phrase “time is money”. Especially in this setting, this phrase proves quite true. Since speed counts in the industry, so it is paramount to employ any techniques you need to in order to finish as soon as possible without the suffering of quality. This can be achieved by project plans, completion criteria, project status meetings, and fixed-phrase estimating.


Managing Volunteers
In many situations, in order to get things done one must enlist the use of volunteers in a project. These people do not question your leadership, however you have no real authority over them, which if not managed properly can hinder or even stop the progress of project. This can be done first of all by treating your volunteers slightly different than you would workers. Be more respectful and understanding, because unlike your workers the commitment of volunteers really does depend on how much they like you as a leader. You can also manage a volunteer project by status meetings, statement of work, status meetings, and having small tasks with strong completion criteria.




Reference:


- Verzuh, Erick (2005). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. 2nd edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.