There are so many people who have the title “project manager” yet so many of them don’t do the basics. I am not talking about making stunning presentations, influencing senior management, leading difficult teams….I literally mean the basics…
- Keeping plans updated with the right dates, % complete, and owners
- Sending a status to stakeholders to inform them of progress and what is coming up
- Following up on open items
- Knowing the details of the projects they are managing
People like this really give the project management profession a bad name and perpetuate some beliefs that we are glorified admins who just set up meetings and take notes. If project managers aren’t on top of the basics, then the project team won’t have the direction, organization and communications required to be successful.
I am not sure what some people think it means to be a project manager but lets get back to fundamentals! Well at least the “fun” part and not the “mental” part.
[...] Kerry Wills rants about project managers who don’t do the basics. For example, “Keeping plans updated with the right dates, % complete, and owners.” Egad … [...]
By: New PM Articles for the Week of June 13 –19 « The Practicing IT Project Manager on June 20, 2011
at 4:03 am
[...] Nail the basics (kerrywills.wordpress.com) [...]
By: Project Schedule and Cost Estimating, part 1 « Martin Webster, Esq. on June 23, 2011
at 11:03 am