I thought it could make sense to start this blog (btw hello, this is my first post) with the right sequence, so what is the project, why projects are needed (are they) and how to execute them, but this will eventually come later in this blog as well.
For now, let’s spend a while about a so called ‘new normal’ (it’s September 2020) – so how to manage the projects (or the large programs) just from elsewhere (read: from home or better from remote).
Is this even possible, how to do this and what are the successful methods to deliver results?
First, short self Q&A based on so my far observations:
- Is this possible? Yes.
- Is this simple? Not really.
- Is this really a new concept (remote project management)? No, it isn’t. But it’s certainly new at this scale.
- Are companies (read: teams) prepared for this reality? No, they are not. Although as always they are better and less better depending their operating models and investments they’ve already made to the work culture.
- Etc.
Little bit about myself in this context: let’s move back to 2008, and being promoted to the Team Leader over the distributed team of individuals (different set of countries, cultures, etc.) I’ve picked up two courses (which helped me a lot that time): distributed team management and remote project management. What the courses have been all about? Can’t remember exactly but except traditional aspects of the distributed teams (cultural differences, variety of time zones etc.) – they both have been just formal and well prepared trainings about on how to be successful (project) manager working in remote.
Observation 1: so all the remote management concept wasn’t that emerging even some time ago.
Observation 2: it was a company investment to me and to the team (which paid back fairly quickly) to let us (me) learn how to manage the team in remote.
Between 2008-12 I’ve been executing the PM role with my teams from the office with occasional travels to the project locations, kind of business as usual in the past (and even last year). Then 2012-18 two large programs with +50 countries visited around the globe, barely had a desk in my office and saw my teams really rare. It worked well, but having own challenges with many of you in professional consulting business know pretty well. Then 2018 when I finally switched my role to fully remote, working from my office fully disconnected with the rest of the globe and any headquarters. Still with occasional but very rare travels at this point. Again worked well. Finally, year 2020, which was so called ‘New Normal’ – so executing our programs and projects from elsewhere (with everyone being elsewhere).
And i wanted to pick up few nuances (differences) in this article, how and what is different between before 2020 and after.
New normal (project management after 2020 – at least a.i.):
- everybody (not just myself as PM) are now working in remote
- no single travel expected (allowed) over last month and to the program go live (and afterwards)
- transition to the new normal never happened (in the planned way). It’s just happened (unplanned).
Implications:
- No travel, no meetings, no collocation, no brainstorming in the room, no live interactions, no common design, programming (XP), testing sessions, etc. Pareto travel time rule (80/20, 90/10 office/travel) is tried to be cancelled but cannot be. In the end it is the rule. Workarounds and response to this? I will come back with some thoughts.
- Everybody working in remote. Has everybody been prepared to work in remote in a systematic (trained and facilitated) way? Don’t think so. What does it mean for typical project? Number of challenges and additional risks. What’s the response? Difficult even to guess looking on a scale, but we’ll talk about this as well.
- Transition to new normal never happened. As C-19 was kind of a ‘unforeseen risk’ to the organizations and their projects, wasn’t probably enough mitigated, so people had no time to adjust or transition to the new ways of working – at least for the ongoing businesses, projects and activities. What’s the result? On the fly adjustments, which is like learning driving right there on a motorway (for the lack of better comparison). What would be the response, i’ll come back to this too.
Solution- remote project management methods and distributed ways of working:
- yes, it can be successful
- no, it isn’t easy and requires a solid preparation (education) and self discipline (this one is even more difficult)
- is dependent on personal style, personality and behavior of the PM and also of the team
- non verbal space of messaging is even 100x more important than ever. Email management never worked
- and some others – will come back in the follow up article.
#pmasaservice
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