Think Outside the Project Management Triangle

Editor's Notes

• #3: I’m one of those ACCIDENTAL PMs Among other things, I’m a digital project manager by trade ... I’m also a writer and editor at heart.
• #4: I have a variety of experience from journalism to internal communications to marketing … I moved from focusing on print to digital, and the next thing I knew, I became a full time DPM, and I was in that role for almost 3 years at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business Recently, I changed jobs and I’m now a PM at Caktus Group, in Durham, North Carolina. Caktus is a software and app development company that specializes in Django. This is the third time I’ve been at the DPM Summit, and when I attended last year, I also took part in the workshop during which we were divided into groups and given an activity to work on … We were tasked with creating a project plan to launch a new blog on an extremely tight timeline. Most of the PMs in my group worked at agencies, and there was only one other PM in my group who worked in house, and we took a different approach from the agency PMs who were more focused on the budget. For me, working in house, I had no budget ... So I was more focused on scope and schedule. And we got into a conversation about some of the differences between working in house and at an agency ... that’s what eventually gave me the idea for this talk today, Thinking outside of the Project Management Triangle.
• #5: I’ve worked in-house and now I’ve transitioned to a more agency like setting … before I talk about some of the differences I’ve seen between working in house and at an agency, I’m curious to see who else has in-house experience. Have any of you worked in-house?
• #6: So, after last year’s summit I began to think more about the differences between working in house and at an agency … and then I changed jobs which provided even more insight At Duke, I worked in-house, but Caktus is more similar to an agency environment Here are a few examples of the differences I’ve seen between working in-house and at an agency At Duke, I wore many hats – in my DPM role, I was also involved with content production, SEO, website maintenance and I produced email marketing campaigns. I was also the only DPM there in my area. Our processes were very flexible and we didn’t have one specific, consistent process. My processes varied depending on the project and the people involved, and those internal clients were just down the hall. I saw them almost every day. It was also a more traditional working environment with a reporting hierarchy. In comparison, at Caktus I have a more specialized role as a PM and there are several other PMs who I now work with. We specifically use Scrum and as part of that, I am a product owner. We also work on billable hours, which I had not experienced before. The structure is more flat and modern, and our clients are remote – some are local, but many are national and even international. ARE THERE ANY OTHER DIFFERENCES YOU CAN THINK OF?
• #7: What about similarities?
• #8: While there are differences between working in house and at an agency, there is at least one thing that we have in common -- relationships. And I believe that positive relationships are key to project success, regardless of where you work … When you’re planning a project, when do you think about the people and relationships involved? Or do you only focus on the process and logistics? If you take a moment now to think about how you work with your clients, do you generally work with them or against them? ... What kind of pattern or habbit are you in when it comes to working with clients?
• #9: When you plan for a project, you probably think about the components of the project management triangle, or the iron triangle The triangle is key to our process, and it is a model of the typical constraints of project management -- resources, scope, and schedule -- these are all components that we have to consider when planning a project
• #10: In my world, as an in-house PM at Duke, my resources were set and consistent – I couldn’t hire additional help or contractors. Budget was fixed because there wasn’t one. Cost wasn’t even in the picture . The only constraints that I could adjust were scope and schedule  In this situation, I depended on prioritization. I regularly considered how much my team could realistically accomplish within the deadline we’re given, and often, other projects had to be put on the back burner. In-house, prioritization was critical, and was often dependent upon others – it depended on what my boss wanted, and what her boss wanted, and it depended on the school’s business goals. Reprioritization was common as things changed for our department & for our school as a whole Successful prioritization & reprioritization depended on collaboration, communication and relationships.
• #11: The only consistent leverage I had in-house was how positive my relationships were, and how much clout, trust, and respect I’d built with my team, stakeholders, and internal clients I leveraged the relationships I’d built to delegate tasks and get stakeholder buy-in. I had to be resourceful and negotiate with everyone because my resources were fixed. Occasionally, I could leverage a relationship in order to gain an additional resource, like help from a colleague in another department. For me, successful resource juggling and negotiations depended on the credibility I’d established, my institutional knowledge, and my ability to communicate, which all helped me to build positive working relationships.
• #12: As a result of this focus on collaboration and positive working relationships, I began to see that something was missing from the project management triangle … something needed to be added ... Any guesses?
• #13: Relationships form a circle around The Triangle. Relationships can be leveraged to allow the points of The Triangle to flex and adjust, depending on the situation. Relationships are key for every project manager, and one of our strengths are our soft skills and emotional intelligence. Regardless of whether you work in-house or at an agency, learn which relationships are the most important to nurture, and which ones can be positively leveraged. Of course, as Brett Harned said this morning, people do complicate projects, and often, you can’t predict those complications, but if you have positive working relationships and if you look at relationshps as opportunities, then you’ll be better equipped to deal with the complications So, how can relationships impact your triangle and your constraints?
• #14: Well, Working in-house was a constant balancing act … Scope creep was common and it was sometimes difficult for clients to identify the essential requirements or the top priorities – this could make scheduling and scoping difficult There was an internal client who was always full of tons of ideas and suggestions, and always wanted to throw a new idea into a project. It became difficult to accept all these ideas and to build them into an exisiting project schdule, but the client also was resistant to cutting anything So, one tactic I tried with her when she came up with a new idea was asking her if it was critical to the current phase of the project or could it be saved for phase 2. At that point, phase 2 didn’t exist yet, but it gave her a framework for thinking about her idea within the context of the current project – and it would lead to a more helpful discussion – most of the time, she was ok with tabling the idea for phase 2. Usually by the time we got around to phase 2 those ideas weren’t even relevant anymore But giving the client the option of thinking about a phase 2 kept our relationship positive and encouraged open discussion and it built more trust between us ... If I had just said no to her ideas, she would have pushed back, and maybe become defensive or offended, none of which would have helped our relationship or the project. But I still had to find a way to limit scope creep, and Phase 2 was the answer. My internal client appreciated being heard and considered ... And building a positive relationship with her meant that we supported each other and when a new idea came up that was really good, and criticial to the project success, I was open to hearing it By keeping a positive working relationship with the client, I was able to limit scope creep and keep to a realistic schedule, while also helping to improve collaboration and communication
• #15: The scenario I just described, and many others led me to see that relationships are an opportunity, not a constraint It’s easy to get sucked into all the negative, annoying, frustrating aspects that come with working with others ... It’s easy to blame others and get angry about how people are acting. And I’m just as capable of these emotions as you are. I’m not immune to these upsetting feelings. But there came a point where I realized that these feelings and reactions were creating more harm than good ... Not only was it harmful to my own sanity and stress levels, but it also negatively impacted those around me and it was not helpful for the projects. And as Elizabeth Harrin said this morning, if you have good relationships with people, it’s easier to handle any problems or issues So I began to catch myself ... I started to become more aware of my reactions and made a choice to look at those situations differently. I tried to put myself in the other’s shoes. I tried to look beyond my emotional reaction to a more logical one. I literally told myself to calm down and breathe ... and eventually I trained myself to be more patient and more tolerant. I changed myself ... as you all know, you can’t change anyone else, you can only change yourself. I began looking at annoying or frustration situations as opportunities for improvement If you look at the relationships involved with your work as opportunities, how would that change your outlook? I hope it would create a positive shift.
• #16: How do you make this shift? First, you have to invest in yourself – your health & wellbeing – when you’re happy, confident & at ease, others will pick up on that if you take care of yourself, then you’re much more capable of taking care of others, and being the best version of yourself Second, you have to invest in others – invest in them and their success, and not just the project’s success – again, projects are about people – and at the end of the day, you’ll feel better about yourself and your work if the people you’re working with also feel like they’ve succeeded and that they are sharing in the project’s success
• #17: When you invest in yourself, you don’t beat yourself up. Give yourself a break – don’t over work yourself, know when it’s time to quit and go home – the more anxious, tired and over worked you get, the less you actually accomplish. For me, I began to do yoga regularly for stress relief and it’s helped immensely.  Also, have confidence in yourself and your abilities. You’re doing the best you can and as Brett Harned said this morning, there’s a reason your in this job. Sometimes, you have to fake it until you make it, but the best part about that is that no one else knows that you’re faking it! Trust me, I know! I’ve been there. I’m there right now, actually ... And what Elizabeth Harrin said this morning really resonated with this point as well – she mentioned a quote that said “people may hear your words, but they feel your attitude” and I’m a firm believer in that Don’t forget the basics. If the basics aren’t covered – if you’re skipping meals or skipping sleep, you’re not going to be the best, most productive version of yourself – investing in yourself also means investing in your body and your physical health Identify whether there’s anything about yourself that you’d like to change or improve – any habits that you’d like to give up? Or is there a shift in thinking that would benefit you?
• #18: When you invest in yourself and you’re happy and fulfilled, you’ll produce better work … just like Brett said this morning And yes, I’m totally stealing from his presentation because I loved it and I’m so glad that I can build upon some of his principles
• #19: Really try to get to know the people you’re working with, from your own team to the clients and contractors, any stakeholders, developers and marketers Try to become more than just a name, or just an email address, to the people who you interact with as part of a project. Try to meet everyone in person, or by video conference call – putting a face to a name helps to build relationships and trust.
• #20: When building relationships and investing in others, collaboration and communication are key 1 Be present – focus on the moment, and the person or people in front of you. Try not to get distracted by your phone, which can easily come across as rude and offensive 2 Open up – find some common ground that you can speak to. Through social media or LinkedIn, see if there’s anything that you have in common and open up about your own experience. Usually, if you offer something about yourself, then the other person will reciprocate. Being an introvert & a more reserved person, this was and still is one of the hardest things for me. I tend to be private about my personal life and have preferred to keep work & personal separate ... but I often found that offering some insight to others about my life built a foundation for a positive working relationship 3 Next, figure out what each person’s preferred method of communication is – be a Multilingual Communicator, as Brett Harned defined it -- do they prefer email, or IM, or something else? Try to communicate with them using that method, using whatever they’re already used to ... It’s much easier then trying to get them to conform to your preferred method 4 Accept feedback from others graceously, even if it stings or isn’t what you want to hear. For me, I had to remind myself that the feedback was not personal, it was business, it was about the project, and accepting feedback doesn’t mean that you agree with it all, it means that you’re open to considering it 5 Give feedback kindly and constructively. No personal attacks. No yelling. No name calling. Frame your feedback as a question or a suggestion. I’ve often found that framing it as a question tends to elicit a more positive response and further discussion 6 Finally, ask questions and really listen to the answers. Be present in the conversation ... and this is one that really helped me
• #21: One tactic that really helped me to get over some of my insecurity when meeting someone new was to put on my old reporter hat, and ask questions … I was comfortable with interviewing people, and i began to look at each new person i met as a kind of interview opportunity So, what are some questions you can ask? Here’s a few that you can keep up your sleeve … especially when you’re first starting to get to know someone or if you’re starting a new project These questions help to show your interest and your level of involvement. It shows that you’re curious and that you want to learn from others.
• #22: Here’s another method to try … When I was at the business school, the admissions department instituted a new application essay that asked prospective students to list 25 random things about themselves – it could be anything, from the funny to the mundane – the purpose was to get a variety of responses that would illustrate who the person really was – to get to know more about their experiences and their personality When there were some changes in my team, and we went from 2 to 4, I suggested that we do our own list of random things – we each typed up various facts about ourselves, and put those in a jar, and before each team meeting, we’d pull several out and try to guess who wrote it. This often led to some really surprising and entertaining conversations, and taught us a lot about each other. We found lots of common ground and personal interests that we wouldn’t have known about otherwise, or that may have taken much much longer to tease out There are factoids about my teammates that I still remember … like finding out that one of our developers had read over 950 books in 9 years! Or about how our boss was sent to a tiny village in Russia when she was a part of the Peace Corp. We learned a lot about each other … This activity was really rewarding … it increased communication, collaboration within our team and built better relationships between us And I think it’s a great activity to do within teams, and maybe even with clients and stakeholders
• #23: Sometimes, when all else fails … bring in food … biscuit, donuts, or cookies or candy. This may sound silly but you’d be surprised at what a great ice breaker it can be. Food is a kind gesture, an unexpected and fun way to brighten someone’s morning … it creates good vibes and is a token of support and appreciation that can be a bridge to help build relationships
• #24: Because I believe that relationships are what make the DPM world go round … despite your constraints and regardless of whether you’re a project manager at an agency or in-house
• #25: Perhaps Carl Smith said it best … when you invest in others, they invest in you ... Carl interviewed me for the bureau briefing podcast, and during our conversation, he said this. I think that statement is spot on and I want to thank Carl and Brett for supporting me and investing in me, and I hope that I’ve been able to give something back to them and this conference Think about it … if you only invest in a project, does that project invest in you? No ... a project is never going to pat you on the back. It’s the people behind the project that really matter
• #26: In closing, I’m not claiming that all my professional relationships are perfect because they’re not. What I am saying is that I realize more than ever how important positive, honest relationships are to our team’s success, to my success, and to each project’s success. I believe that by investing in yourself and others, and focusing on communication and collaboration, you can build positive relationships that will contribute to the success of your projects