Hey, I’m pretty good at the game “Flight Simulator” on the computer! Want to hop on a real flight with me at the stick?
I’m guessing not!
There’s a difference between knowledge and skills. And there’s a difference between someone being available to join your team and whether or not they’re a good fit for the role.
In this video Andy Kaufman, PMP, host of the project management podcast entitled The People and Projects Podcast discusses why projects fail when leaders or team members with inappropriate experience are involved with the project.
Download this video
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
We tend to think that a pm who is successful on a small project can do well on a large project. This video is so true, that there must be experience and competence.
Totally true and accurate. Not all “resources” are equal. It is important to be able to rate the competency of team members for sub projects prior to assigning them.
I wish I had learned that lesson earlier! 🙂 Thanks for the feedback Gordon!
This video is so good! So many times in the big organization where I worked at some people said: let’s add resources, and those suggested resources did not have a clue of how to get things done!
I am vendor Manager and always have problems in getting a right fit. Always attrition is high, but need to deliver at the budgeted cost and agreed time lines. Customer does not agree to increase the estimate for the learning curve. This always add extra work for experienced resources and causes management issues. Any tip will be useful.
There are no easy answers that will work in every situation. However, here are some ideas for your consideration:
* If this regularly happens, you will likely need to include some reserve in your estimates up front to account for the delays that result from attrition.
* If attrition continues to be high, don’t just write that off as “normal”. What is it that is driving the attrition? If you can find a way to reduce attrition you have multiple “wins”. You get the benefit of experienced people and have less impact on your projects due to churn.
The best battle (especially with customers) is the one you don’t have to fight.
Kind regards,
Andy
Very useful and good tips. Every PM and organisation should seriusly look into this aspect.
Thank you for the kind feedback, Subra. Have a great day!
Andy
I’m a PM Competency Manager, and your video is spot-on, our folks are sometimes thought of as just resources, ours is a duty to assign the appropriate PM “person” with the interest, knowledge skills and ability (and experience) to the right fitting project. Now, I just need to sell that to my senior management….
Thanks for the encouraging feedback, Mike. Hey, bring me in for a PM brown bag or other event and I’ll do the sell to senior management! 🙂 Have a great weekend.
Hi Andy. It’s so very true that we need to research our talents on our teams. We all have different gifts and talents, strengths and weakness, but together through communication, we can plan to work better when we use our assets for the perfection of the project. It’s crucial to use each persons maximum ability to shine as a team player. This brings the ideal of succeeding to a greater result for the project.