Foundations of PM - Modue 2 - Becoming an effective PM

Question 1

How Project managers add value to their teams and organization to complete a project?

Answer 1

• Prioritization
• Delegation
• Effective communication

Question 2

Who are the stakeholders?

Answer 2

People who are interested and affected by the proejct completion and sucess

Question 3

How PM add value to the organization by prioritization?

Answer 3

PM add value to the project by selecting which tasks needs to be done first. Tasks have different level of priority, some tasks needs to be done before other tasks.

Question 4

How PM add value to the organization by delegation?

Answer 4

PMProject managers add value to the project by delegation, by matching tasks to individuals that best fits the task.

Question 5

How PM add value to the organization by effective communication?

Answer 5

PM deliver value through effective communication both their team and the key stakeholders.
Example: checking with the team if the supplies are enough to continue the project, getting necessary permissions.

Question 6

List 5 topics on how project managers impact organizations

Answer 6

• Focusing on the customer
• Building a great team
• Fostering relations and communication
• Managing projects
• Breaking down barriers

Question 7

What questions can be asked to find the desired solution to a customer?

Answer 7

• What is the problem that you would like us to solve?
• How is this problem impacting your organization?
• What prompted you to ask for help now?
• What is the desired outcome of this project?

Question 8

Why is important to build a great team for a project?

Answer 8

As a PM, you should bring the people with the right skills.
Also each individual should know that is valued, trusted and appreciated.

Question 9

How can you demonstrate your team is valued?

Answer 9

By allowing the individuals to have input
Ask questions
Address their needs as soon as possible.

Question 10

How can a PM foster relationship and communicaton?

Answer 10

• Taking the time to check in with your team, and see how they are doing
• Ask if any help is needed
• Communicate with the stakeholders

Question 11

How can a PM manage a project effectively?

Answer 11

• A succesful PM sees the impact of each process within the project and communicates those impacts to the team. This way everyone member understand their taks goal and have a big picture goal for the finished project.

Question 12

How a PM can breakdown barriers?

Answer 12

• When asked why something is done this way, you get the answer because we’ve always done it this way.
• Support your team as they try new approaches to find solutions.
• Allow tema to innovate new ways to do things

Question 13

What are project manager responsibilities?

Answer 13

• Planning and organizing
• Managing tasks
• Budgeting and controlling costs and other factors

Question 14

What are the roles under planning and organizing in a job?

Answer 14

• Making use of productivity tools and creating processes
• Create plans, timelines, schedules to track project completion

Question 15

What are the roles under budget and controlling costs in a job?

Answer 15

• Monitor and manage the budgets
• Track issues and risks
• Manage quality
• Removing unforseen barries

Question 16

What is managing tasks

Answer 16

Is how a project manager keeps track of the teams workload, ensures that things are getting done within a set period of time, and demonstrates progress to people outside the immediate team like stakeholders.

Question 17

Which day-to-day responsibility of a project manager includes maintaining timelines and schedules to track project completion?

Answer 17

Planing and organizing

Question 18

What are the responsibilities that utilize interpersonal skills?

Answer 18

• Teaching and mentoring
• Buiding relationships
• Controlling change
• Empowering team
• Communicating status and concerns

Question 19

How can a project manager guide to complete the project?

Answer 19

• Hold all team members accountable for their assigned tasks
• Ensure that issues and risks are tracked and visible and establish escalation paths
• Understand and help teammates to adopt the right workflows and project management styles
• Collaborate with other teams at the organization to deliver solutions that meet the project scope, schedule and budget.

Question 20

What is required to manage a cross-functional teams effectively?

Answer 20

• Clarify goals
• Get the teammember with the right skills for the project
• Measure progress
• Recognize efforts

Question 21

A cross functional project team is a team that has

Answer 21

A diverse skill sets and works towards a common goal.

Question 22

What are the core skills of a project manager?

Answer 22

1. Decision making
2. Communicating and escalating
3. Flexibility
4. Strong organizational skills

Question 23

What is enabling decision making?

Answer 23

• Ability to enable decision making or gather decision from appropiate leader.
• Gather information from teamates to make the correct decision.
• Empowering your team to express their opinions and make their own decisions.

Question 24

What is communicating and escalating?

Answer 24

• Clearly communicating project goals and expectations, team member roles and reponsibilities.
• Escalate issues to management is key to keeping you, your team, and organizatio on the path to success.
• This includes documents, holding meetings, etc

Question 25

Need organization skills

Answer 25

Stay organized and efficiently track and communicate using organizational tools such ash
* Planning and scheduling software
* Colalboration tools such as email, dashboards, collaboration portal
* Documentation such as files, spreadsheets
* Quality assuance tools such as evaluations, productivity trackers, reports.

Question 26

Why is important to be flexible

Answer 26

Plans change, goals change, teamember changes.
Staying cool under preasure
A project is unpredictable due to:
1. External constrains such as national holidays, teammember vacations and sick leave. Leave extra time in schedule for these ievitable events to minimize impact to your project
2. Plan for risks and challenges. If a teammeber decide to quit can you have another member join or a independant contractor to join the project? Look at the past projects and examine the challenges faiced.
3. calculate “float” in your schedule. Amount of time you can wait until a task starts ipacting your project schedule and project outcome.

Question 27

How can you handle ambiguity?

Answer 27

Project manager face ambiguity in goals, requirements, scheudles, vision, or other areas related to the project. Here is how you can deal with ambiguity
1. Keep calm. Inspire the members of your team to do the same
2. Express empathy. Let your team members lknow that you care about the challenges they are facing and support them
3. Communicate what you know clearly. Define the aspects of the are confirmed and will not change.
4. Make decisions and stick to them. Try not to second guess your decisions. If you need to change the course, clearly explain why you have chosen to change.
5. Trust the expertise of your team. Discuss what they already know or believe to be true about the components of your project. Then discuss what you still dont know and brainstorm to gather more info.

Question 28

What are the myths about project managers needing to be a technical expert in the area ?

Answer 28

HAve to be an expert in the field and have lot of technical knowledge about the project.
As a PM you are responsible to handle the communication, documentation, and organization neccesary to get the project successfyly completed. Your team members are the technical experts.

Question 29

What are the myths about project managers needing to have lots of experience with an organization to manage a project succesfuly?

Answer 29

You do not need to have worked in previous roles at that organization to be succesful in managing a project.

Question 30

What are the myths about project managers to know every single detail about their project at all times?

Answer 30

As a project manager must focus on the big picture and strategy for the project.

Question 31

What is influencing without authority?

Answer 31

A PM ability to guide teamamtes to complete their assigned work without being their direct manager.

Question 32

What are the key interpersonal skills?

Answer 32

1. Communication
2. Negotiation
3. Conflict negotiation
4. Understanding motivations

Question 33

What is communication?

Answer 33

Checking with teammates how they are progressing on their tasks.
Provide clear feedback on their work.

Question 34

What is negotiation?

Answer 34

Working with a teammate to work with a new deadline.

Question 35

Conflict mediation?

Answer 35

When there is tension or conflict within the team, may necessary to set a meeting to agree on how to deal with a task.

Question 36

Understanding Motivation?

Answer 36

Understanding how each teammate likes to receive a feedback to motivate and encourage each teammember.

Question 37

Influencing without authority challenge?

Answer 37

It is one of the most difficult aspect of project management.
Interpersonal skills are crucial to get your teammates to be motivated to do the best of their work.