PROBLEM DISCOVERY

When not writing or consulting I’m trying to gather a list of 100 problems that people like me have and see can I solve one or two with AI so I can learn about it at the same time.

Last week, I spoke about AI Calorie Counting App, where I ended up was creating my first GTP a data entry app which consumes data from images and outputs in an excel spreadsheet ChatGPT - Automated Data Entry Assistant (openai.com)

Took about 1 hour to create this, including some testing and refining.

Let me know what you think of the app and if you have created any of your own?

CONTINUOUS LEARNING

Project Management for Non-PMPs

There are some fundamental project management skills that everybody can benefit from knowing.

80% of my learnings from PMP I actually never use in my day to day since I work in agile environments.

That said there are gaps in Product Ownership, Scrum Master training on some fundamental project managements tool and techniques that they could benefit from.

Project management is a lot more than creating gnatt charts and updating status reports especially agile project managers.

What makes me a good at my job:

1. Avoid Surprises

2. Constant Communication

3. Take Ownership & Lead

4. Always Deliver

5. Ask the Dumb Questions

But instead of spending reading PMBOK on the 5 project phases, 10 knowledge areas, 42 processes, 18 plans and 44 documents

Here is my list of go to templates and techniques that help me day in, day out:

Scope Management

Understanding scope by breaking it down using a work breakdown structure template is one of the oldest tricks in the project management book.

Speaking to each individual involved in delivering the work to get their input on dependencies and opinions is a clever technique to get people on side.

Doing this before meeting as a group will help ensure you can bring alignment as you can foresee objections and potential blindsides.

This is how you AVOID SUPRISES.

Templates for high-level scope artefacts are:

• Work breakdown structure

• Scope statements of work

• Opportunity canvas

• Agile epic templates

Effective Communication

Maintain open lines of communication with all project stakeholders, including team members, clients, and management. Regular updates and meetings can help address issues promptly and keep the project on track.

Creating a a stakeholder register and understand who is who in the zoo per say helps understand impacted by your project or product.

A good stakeholder register should include influence, interest and crucially engagement strategy.

Silence is not agreement and try ensure you get people to participate in discussions and agree.

The appropriate channel for communication depends on the type of message, the urgency of the message, and the audience.

Examples of communication channels include email, phone, video conferencing, instant messaging, and face-to-face meetings.

Templates for stakeholder management

• Stakeholder Register

• Salience Model Analysis

• Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

Servant Leadership

Servant leadership is one of the most important aspects of my role and what I try to do with every team.

Servant leaders take ownership and lead by example.

Servant leadership in project management not only improves project execution but also contributes to a more satisfying and productive work environment.

It's a holistic approach that benefits the project, the team members, and the broader organizational goals.

Bring solutions to their problems. Use retrospective template to figure what is working and not so you can figure out how you can help the team.

Facilitating is one of the most important skills a servant leader needs to have. Being an active listener and reading the room to ensure everybody is participating is critical.

Other techniques that I generally use:

• In Person Agile Games (Paper airplane my favourite)

• Sailboat Retrospective

• Agile and Scrum Retrospective Templates

Always Deliver

I love delivering.

I love delivering so much I think I should of been a postman.

People get caught up in processes and ways of working and simply forget why those processes were created in first place.

The most important thing is delivering not how you did it.

If you understand processes you can easily hack them to work in your favour. Find loop holes and work with best intentions to suit your needs.

Everybody is just trying to deliver.

Ask Dumb Questions

There is no better way of active listening than asking questions.

If something is unclear to you, it probably is for others too. Never leave a room with a shared agreed understanding of next actions and expectations.

My go to analysis tools which I learned from risk management are:

• Fishbone Diagram (5 Whys)

• Assumption Logs

• Concept Technique

Getting PMP Certified in 2024

I think the Project Management Professional (PMP)® Certification | PMI was the most comprehensive and intense project management training I have ever done and it has been invaluable in my project management education.

Other certificates like Scrum Master and Product Owner were good but they are 1 or 2 day courses and a relatively easy exam.

SAFe was harder but…

PMP is a different kettle of fish.

It has a high fail rate and funny enough, it included me. I read the book, it made sense, I did the exam and failed.

It was a valuable lesson in the importance of practicing exam questions. This lesson learned led to creating my own practice exam which was published on Google forms and the start of PM-Training.

That has been made a whole easier thanks to the new PMP exam simulator…

PIVOT OF THE WEEK

The PMP for me was the epitome of waterfall project management, it is refreshing to hear they pivoted their approach to be more agile holistically.

Even having their own practice exams via the PMP Exam Prep Tool: Study Hall all new.

AGILE PRODUCT TOOLBOX

• ⭐ North Star Framework Template ready made for workshops

• 📝 The Product Vision Board Checklist to win over the business

• 🛣️ Product Roadmap Kit to help deliver product outcomes

• 📇 Retrospective Templates Rolodex to keep teams engaged

• 👤 User Stories | Examples and Template

💼 Want to work in a product driven organization?

• Jobs Archive | Product HQ

• Product Manager Job Board - The #1 Product Manager Job Board!

• Jobs - Product Management Jobs - Powered by Mind the Product

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