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The Small Business Project Manager – Day One

April 13, 2009 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Project Management Musings

The Small Business Project Manager – Day One (#1 in the series The Small Business Project Manager)
By Mark Klein

You just started a new Project Management (PM) job in a small business of about 30 people. Walking through the door on day one you begin to have second thoughts. You realize that since your vast project management experience and background is rooted in large company PMO organizations you have pretty much steered yourself into uncharted waters. All eyes are on you, the lone PM, looking to you for direction, and some skeptical eyes are wondering just what you can do to help them. You act cool intending to survey the situation for a few days, maybe even a week, before speaking up or making any decisions. As you settle in to your informal work area you do a bit of probing on your new workstation and searching the network drives. You discover that there are no development or release standards in place, no documentation, very little processes to follow, and by the way, no scheduling tools on your workstation. Later that morning, the new boss, Cliff, a very likable fellow, comes up and asks you to accompany him to an offsite meeting with a large client. In the meeting Cliff proudly proclaims to the customer that you have finally arrived and the PM will be the main focal point for crafting solutions to meet their needs. So much for sitting on the sidelines and observing. You are immediately in the middle of responding to the customers concerns and how best to quickly resolve their problems. An immediate sense of déjà vu comes across your brow and it is telling you that you have been in many meetings like this in your previous life; but always on the opposite side of the table. You understand the potential client’s point of view and begin to acknowledge and work with them accordingly.

Shortly after the meeting, back at the office, you are heading for a coffee refill and bump into Cliff in the hallway. He explains that the development team is very young and produces changes very quickly but the new releases always seem to have more bugs than he would like. Cliff wants you to assist the development manger, Ace, in getting more quality into the releases. As you approach the development manager’s workspace he is busy looking at code displayed in multiple windows spread across three rather large monitors. In talking with Ace you quickly discover that he was previously a senior developer with the company and has no real desire to lead the three other developers. He is super technical and very hands on. He admits that he does not delegate very well since it is usually faster to perform the task himself rather than explain things to the other junior developers. You discuss with him several items that worked well in your previous life to bring developers up to speed, things such as coding standards and code reviews. Ace seems interested but is suddenly called away to address a network hardware issue that just popped up. You jot in your notebook to follow up with him tomorrow.

The morning has flown by and now it is lunchtime. The folks in the small business appear to be a tight knit group as a large contingent of them eat lunch together and seem to enjoy each others company. Talking with two of the junior developers sitting close by you learn that they are releasing a new version of their web based product at 2:30pm. You ask how the testing is going and they break into laughter! They inform you that the QA person quit two weeks ago and it didn’t matter because she was really bad. You mention that you would like to learn more about the product and would be happy to lend a fresh set of eyes before the release. They happily oblige and after lunch send you the URL and passwords to begin testing. After only 30 minutes of testing you identify several show-stopper issues and thoughtfully begin to think about how to best approach the dev team without hurting feelings or becoming the “bad” guy on day one. Your communication skills are put to the test as you sit down with the developers to discuss your findings. They are surprisingly receptive and grateful for the defect information and in turn educate you on some of your basic questions regarding the product.

Next up is a meeting at 3:30pm on your calendar. The attendees are Cliff, Ace, the sales/marketing manager, and the three owners of the company. The subject line of the meeting reads “Strategy Session” with no purpose or agenda listed. It starts out with handshake, smiles, and welcomes to you from the company management. Then the fun begins. The meeting bounces from person to person with each seemingly taking turns stating visions, problems and subsequent passionate viewpoints. Thirty minutes into the meeting one of the owners has had enough and asks if you can help them come to a consensus. You honestly state that you are a bit perplexed as to what the purpose of this meeting was supposed to be and say that you would be happy to facilitate the meeting. They become quiet as you step up to the white board and begin leading them through the process of organizing a meeting. Starting out defining the purpose and moving into setting the agenda is the approach you were taught long ago and it worked well here. The rest of the meeting was smooth and several comments afterwards praised your facilitation abilities. One of the action items that everyone agreed upon is that they need to consolidate everyone’s projects/problems into one list and then prioritize it.

Returning to your work area to compile the minutes of the strategy session you realize that your first day on the job is almost history. The day flew by and you had a lot of fun. You begin jotting a few notes in regards to your daily observations and list the areas of need within the company where you think you can assist. Account management, Sales, Development Process, QA, Release Coordinator, Documentation, Strategic Portfolio Management…. Hey, What about Project Management? You chuckle to yourself! You realize that this job is nothing like your previous PM positions and yet sense that this is a good fit for you. You will be able to help the company grow and have enough authority to influence the direction and employees in a very positive way. As you pack up and head out the door you feel excited and happy about your decision and can’t wait for day two to begin!

Note: Subsequent articles will cover – Day 100 and Day 365

Mark Klein is a PMP certified Project Manager with 26 years of experience in both small and large IT organizations across a broad spectrum of industries. He has a MS and BS in Computer Science from the University of Kentucky. He is a strong and proactive proponent of constant improvement initiatives within his organizations to help them grow and mature. Outside of work he enjoys time with his family (sports and scouting) and engaging in outdoor activities.

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This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 and is filed under Project Management Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1 person has left a comment

This article describes perfectly my last job. I was indeed all of that “Account management, Sales, Development Process, QA, Release Coordinator, Documentation, Strategic Portfolio Management” and more. That’s the beauty of being in a smaller company: you get to wear multiple hats. It is an opportunity as you have a lot more control over the company but of course it is a lot more demand. Multi-tasking is the key.
Anyway great article overall.

Dan wrote on April 14, 2009 - 4:17 am | Visit Link

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