Project Manager’s Survival Guide PMI Westchester - Quality SIG Presentation June 11, 2013 By: Annmarie Gordon, PMP

Know the Players Contact spreadsheet – Name/phone numbers/ – Department/company/organization – Location/country/time zone Understand their priorities, goals and business needs Develop a RACI matrix (Responsible/Accountable/Consulted/Informed) Capture schedules – Out of Office (vacation, training, national holidays) – Special business periods (change freeze black-out, fiscal year-end) 2

Know the Project Review SOW together with team and customer(s) Confirm project’s goals, objectives and deliverables Review documentation and meet with resources from previous or in-progress linked projects Ask questions 3

Manage Risk Identify risks early and prepare mitigation Create project risk log – Risk description – Date identified – Probability (L, M, H) – Impact (L, M, H) – Mitigation – Trigger – Owner – Status (Active, Potential) Review log often, include in project meetings 4

Communications Identify communications requirements – Team & sub-team meetings – Status reports Balance meeting times, especially when across multiple time zones Understand team members’ interaction style* *Quick Guide to Interaction Styles and Working Remotely 2.0 Strategies for Leading and Working in Virtual Teams by Susan K. Gerke and Linda V. Berens 5

s Identify a subject line naming convention Utilize distribution lists Refer to RACI matrix Leverage hyperlinks to files to reduce message size 6

Quad Report Single page summary report, covering: Current Issues Upcoming milestones Completed milestones Project health (green = good, on schedule, yellow = caution, minor issues/risks, red = help, missed due dates, deliverables late) 7

Meetings Have an agenda, distribute prior to meeting Provide audio conference and WebEx links – Clearly list international toll and toll-free bridge numbers – Highlight the bridge passcode – Allow extra time for 1 st time WebEx connection setup Poll attendees for input Start and end on time Take or delegate meeting minutes, distribute within hrs. post meeting Record key meetings (i.e. training sessions) 8

Leverage Resources For advice, best practices, templates, etc. PMO Peers Vendors Audit, Legal, Purchasing (Vendor Management), IT Security Your own ‘tool kit’ of experiences PMI 9

Education Include money and time for training (yourself and team members) Have SME provide cross training sessions Record training sessions (audio conference/WebEx) 10

Documentation Create file naming convention Identify any need to share externally Use a file sharing solution (i.e. SharePoint, Box) Setup logical folders for document filing 11

Turnover Documentation Identify early content required, especially regulatory requirements Leverage templates Embrace Visio – a picture is a thousand words Review meeting with recipient, obtain sign-off Designate archive location Create a reference summary list of TOD files 12

Project Lifecycle Tracking Changes to project scope Customer sign-off on deliverables Solution configuration; especially when, by whom requested, why Problem resolution; including trouble ticket #, problem description and resolution details. 13

Lessons Learned Conducted at end of project or phase Invite everyone Solicit input, providing few items to get things started – What worked well (continue) – Identify areas for change (modify) – What was not needed (stop) Remember feedback is a gift 14

Customer Satisfaction Survey Brief survey (five questions) Focus on project’s key goals & objectives, major deliverables Scoring 1-5 (1= Excellent, 5 = Poor) Allow for comments Share results with team 15

Gentle Reminders Publicize the project Celebrate all successes, big and small Mistakes are learning opportunities Always say ‘thank you’ – to the entire team – Individual with immediate manager cc’d Dependent on project’s size, importance, funding -Token of appreciate given to team members 16