Friday, January 03, 2014

47: Right Here, Right Now

The Project
I am onto the final chapter now, the action plan and road map for implementing Project, Program and Portfolio Management. It’s not quite into easy steps yet but that’s my next task. At the moment I think it is going OK but will wait for the peer reviews.

There are many ways of plotting or measuring how well a project is performing.  The Gantt chart is probably the one that most people are familiar with, it is simple and as they say, every picture tells a story.  Burndown charts are seen as a core element of agile project management.  My own preference is for a simple deliverable checklist (or function list) with the planned and actual completion dates.  But these tools only tell you what has already happened.  

The Way  
The poor project manager may use complex calculations and charts but will only confuse the team about what is actually happening.  The wise project manager is aware of what is happening on the project in the here and now.  By staying in the present and being aware of what is happening, the wise project manager can do less yet still achieve more.  

Without going outside,  
You may understand the order of things.  
Without looking through the window,  
You may see the way of things.  

To go far, is to know less.  
Thus the sage knows without going,  
Sees without looking,  
Accomplishes without motive.  

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