Project Management @ Confiz - An Overview
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This document provides an overview of project management at Confiz. It discusses the four Ps of project management - Project, People, Policy, and Profit. For each P, it highlights some key responsibilities and best practices for project managers at Confiz, such as clearly defining project scope, building cohesive teams, understanding company policies, and ensuring profitability through accurate estimates and client satisfaction. The document is intended to give new project managers a flavor for the skills and mindset needed to succeed in their role.
Project Management @ Confiz - An Overview
- 1. PROJECT MANAGEMENT @ CONFIZ your appetizer for first day www.confiz.com
- 2. We are excited to have you as a PM! At Confiz you will have the opportunity to not only manage projects but also inspire and lead talented teams of engineers
- 3. Project Management is a mindset to think and act in a process, but it is also a mindset to be creative and pursue success with out-of-box solutions
- 4. This presentation is a starter and it does not aim to make you a master, rather gives you a flavor of various exciting Project Management skillset
- 5. Confiz’s Four ‘P’s of Project Management Project Policy People Profit
- 6. Useful Resources • Confiz PMO Wiki - Click ‘Sites’ from your Confiz Google account and search ‘pmo’ • Confiz HR Wiki - Similarly, in your Confiz sites • Mountain Goat Software - http://www.mountaingoatsoftware.com/
- 7. The 1st ‘P’ Project Policy People Profit
- 8. Project Dimensions • You should be familiar with various project dimensions: - Client - Product (refers to Software we build for client) - Time - Technology - Risk - Process
- 9. Managing Client • The best win from client is winning their trust • A PM can win client’s trust in many ways: - Collaborating with client to clearly define the Product - No hesitation in communication via Skype voice (video is even better) - Explaining the plan and sharing any concerns on time - Produce a shared sense of ownership of work done
- 10. Managing Time • Under estimating a project is as bad as over estimating - Estimates can be revised with other PMs’ or Senior Engineers’ help • A high-level plan at project start using Microsoft Project or Open Project helps paint a roadmap • Sprint planning meetings bubble up delays, they should be frequent i.e. every 2-3 weeks • Once a delay is identified, it should be communicated with appropriate reasons
- 11. Managing Product • Assumptions and lack of clarity kills a product • A PM must not compromise on clear understanding and communication of product features • In Agile, product evolves in Sprints, but each Sprint features should have clarity • Wireframes, Functional specs, diagrams, JIRA/Redmine tickets all bring clarity to product • Understand the context of product you are building, its business value and how it fits in real life. Then set the same context for your team. You will find much more productivity
- 12. Managing Technology • A doctor can run a hospital better than a non-doctor • Similarly a technically savvy project manager can run a Software team better than a non-savvy one • Be always keen to increase your technical knowledge related to your projects. You will be a winner • Its as simple as that!
- 13. Good project managers think ahead of time and mitigate risks Three categories of project risks: • 1) Technology Risks - Lack of experience with a technology - Amateur technologies or frameworks • 2) People Risks - People planning for a job switch - Upcoming resourcing needs • 3) Client Risks - Clients can be non-cooperative - Some clients needs constant communication on progress and issues
- 14. How are risks mitigated? • Risks are mitigated using simple tools: - Communication - Intelligently and on-time raising a flag - Reaching out to your Engagement Manager - Re-thinking your timeline - Re-structuring your team
- 15. Managing Software Development Process • At Confiz we like the SCRUM (Agile) process • In SCRUM a product evolves in clearly defined Sprints via managing a feature Backlog • SCRUM has different roles, PMs generally are SCRUM Masters - Run daily SCRUM meeting - Lead Sprint planning and retrospective meetings - Maintain tickets on JIRA/Redmine
- 16. Managing Process - SCRUM
- 17. get some coffee! more slides to come…
- 18. The 2nd ‘P’ Project Policy People Profit
- 19. Managing People • A critical yet mostly ignored aspect of project management • A strong people manager has higher chances of success as a project manager • We will discuss people management in two aspects: - Managing individuals - Managing teams
- 20. Managing Individuals • Human, by nature, performs so much better in an encouraging environment • You will never find the ‘perfect’ one so take pleasure in grooming people in their weaker side, let it be technical, personal or organizational • Never criticize anyone in public but praise people appropriately in public
- 21. Managing Teams • Build the right team that has - A balance of experience in technology and skillset - Hardworking and motivated individuals - Understanding of the context of product they are building • Remember ‘B’ players create ‘C’ level teams • You should operate your team like a sports car engine - It should push hard when needed - But it should also get time to cool down and relax
- 22. Integrated Team Culture • Tightly integrated teams thrive and dis-integrated teams fail • Encourage your engineers to study and analyze product they are building and its competition. This will improve their engineering approach as well • The right team culture encourages engineers and non- engineers to cooperate respectfully • Appreciate an engineer adding product management value and vice-versa • At the end, your team will succeed together and not individually
- 23. Becoming a program manager is about learning: learning about technology, learning about people, and learning how to be effective in a political organization. A good program manager combines an engineer’s approach to designing technology with a politician’s ability to build consensus and bring people together -Founder of StackOverFlow.com
- 24. The 3rd ‘P’ Project Policy People Profit
- 25. Managing Policy • Policies are defined not to kill creativity or initiative • Policies define a operating framework for you and your project • Policies ensure uniform treatment of engineers across projects
- 26. Some policies you should understand • All policies are defined on HR Wiki (under your Confiz sites) • Important policies - Leave policy - Review and performance appraisal policies - Work during holiday policies
- 27. The 4th ‘P’ Project Policy People Profit
- 28. Managing the ‘Profit’ • Two billing models at Confiz - Time and Materials - Fixed Cost • Time and Materials - A group of engineers is outsourced and client is charged on work units, hours or month - Suits a project where requirements are fully clear the first day - Generally this model carry less risk for us • Fixed Cost - Client is given a total cost figure based on initial requirements - Requires a lot of clarity on what the product is so effort estimate is accurate - Needs a closer eye on all project progress to stay profitable
- 29. More things on Managing Profit • You will participate directly in business development via: • New project lead estimates - Helps create new business and enter new business verticals - Good estimates are not undone or overdone - More details present on Confiz PMO Wiki • Client Satisfactions - Creating un-asked solution presentations, documentation, planning makes client happy - Build a relationship with a client and earn their trust, they will make us profitable
- 30. Happy ‘PMing’! For questions, NEVER hesitate to ask your Engagement Manager or anyone you like