{"id":188400,"date":"2023-07-11T17:39:27","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T17:39:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.rm.gfolkdev.net\/?page_id=188400"},"modified":"2023-07-17T01:26:21","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T01:26:21","slug":"project-management-for-humans-frequently-asked-questions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/books\/project-management-for-humans-frequently-asked-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Frequently Asked Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"

These common questions and their short answers are taken from Brett Harned\u2019s book\u00a0Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done<\/em>. You can find longer answers to each in your copy of the book, either printed or digital version.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I\u2019m not a project manager. In fact, I know nothing about what project managers do. Can you tell me a little more about it?<\/strong>
    \nThe role of a PM can certainly be a mystery\u2014particularly when it\u2019s not done well. There are specific characteristics that make a great PM, like being a clear, calm communicator, or adaptable and flexible. And there are a ton of tasks that many PMs take on, such as creating estimates, crafting process, and reporting on project status among others. It\u2019s equal parts technical and soft skills. Check out Chapter 1, \u201cYou\u2019re the PM Now,\u201d for the full details on what makes a good project manager.<\/li>\n
  2. I keep hearing about Agile, but I can\u2019t tell if it\u2019s right for me. Is it?<\/strong>
    \nPeople tend to think that Agile means \u201cfast,\u201d but in the context of project management, it\u2019s a formal method that is characterized by the division of tasks into short phases of work and frequent iteration and adaptation to meet a goal. It\u2019s made up of formalized roles and meetings or \u201cceremonies\u201d that help guide projects. There is a lot to consider when adopting a new process: project types, goals, budgets, and people. It\u2019s best to learn a little about other processes and discuss the pros and cons with your team before just diving in. To learn more about project management methodologies and digital project management principles, check out Chapter 2, \u201cPrinciples over Process.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. I\u2019m terrible at estimating projects. How can I get better?<\/strong>
    \nHey, creating accurate estimates is tough work. As the word \u201cesti- mate\u201d implies, there is a lot of guesswork involved. However, if you want to get closer to a really good estimate, you should examine projects or tasks and break them down into subtasks to determine a level of effort. You\u2019ll find that information in Chapter 3, \u201cStart with an Estimate.\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. I\u2019m nervous about talking to my client about how our project is going to be over budget and probably late. Do you have any tips for how I can handle this?<\/strong>
    \nYou\u2019ve got to be comfortable addressing sensitive or difficult issues head on when you\u2019re leading projects, because they tend to come up quite often. Whether you\u2019re worried about scope creep or you need to address a performance issue with a team member, it\u2019s best to take a measured approach that is empathetic and gets straight to the point in order to resolve it quickly. Check out Chapter 9, \u201cSetting and Managing Expectations,\u201d to learn about how to set and manage expectations better in order to avoid some of these conversations, and Chapter 8, \u201dNavigating the Dreaded Difficult Conversation,\u201d for some tips on how to navigate the conversation itself.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Back to Project Management for Humans<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    These common questions and their short answers are taken from Brett Harned\u2019s book\u00a0Project Management for Humans: Helping People Get Things Done. You can find longer answers to each in your copy of the book, either printed or digital version. I\u2019m not a project manager. In fact, I know nothing about what project managers do. Can … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":150108,"featured_media":0,"parent":187323,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/188400"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/150108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188400"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/188400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":188401,"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/188400\/revisions\/188401"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/187323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rosenfeldmedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}