This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Java Buzz
by Mathias Bogaert.
Original Post: How we do project management at Atlassian
Feed Title: Scuttlebutt
Feed URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/AtlassianDeveloperBlog
Feed Description: tech gossip by mathias
When I joined Atlassian in 2008 as our first engineering program manager, “project management” was a seldom-heard phrase; “program management” was, well, unheard. Now we have a handful of dedicated project and program managers, a little club that meets monthly to share and discuss all things project management, and a steady flow of staff members expressing interest in this career path. Here is a resource we’ve created for Atlassians with project management ambitions. We hope you find it useful as well. What does a project manager do? A project manager is like the conductor of an orchestra, where the orchestra is the team doing the work of the project. The project manager typically does not pick up an instrument and play, because his or her primary function is coordinating the team and the project work from start to finish. This includes responsibility for: The performance of the team throughout the project The interim and final deliverables of the project Most importantly, the satisfaction (and ideally delight!) of the audience; the end users, internal customers, stakeholders, and the project team itself. The project manager ensures the project: Gets off to a good start with clearly stated goals and well-understood requirements (or an agreed-upon plan for the iterative development of requirements) Is executed in a planned and controlled way Is able to navigate roadblocks Can adapt to changes in scope and other circumstances Meets all of its goals The project manager is the hub of communications within the project team, as well as to all the project stakeholders: sponsor(s), the executive team, internal customers, other teams working on related projects, and any other interested parties. A project manager uses tools and processes such as planning and scheduling software (e.g. a JIRA Agile rapid board, OmniPlan, Gliffy diagrams, a simple table or spreadsheet, or — rarely at Atlassian — Microsoft Project), planning meetings (JIRA Agile), status reports, risk workshops, risk registers, retrospectives (all made super-easy with Confluence), and of course issue tracking software (JIRA and JIRA Agile). A project manager also spends a lot of time checking on upcoming tasks and deliverables, and chasing down anything that’s late. Being a charming nag is a critical skill for the role! What makes a good project manager great? According to one of the industry’s gurus, Dr. James Brown, it’s anticipation - read more here. And his Top 10 factors for success are: Establish crystal-clear, single-point accountability (for everything — tasks, risks, issues, assumptions etc.) Be a relationship builder Ensure commitment from the team and stakeholders Avoid over committing yourself and the team Know how to prioritize; prioritize everything Ensure goals, objectives, and requirements are SMART: specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic, time constrained Have a process to identify and quickly resolve issues and conflict Write and require complete risk statements for all impact areas Understand your planning horizon and plan accordingly Know how to follow up gracefully Fundamentals of the craft While we are all about agile at Atlassian, you will be a better project manager if you teach yourself the foundations before going super lean. […]
Previous Topic
