The Accidental Project Manager
Dale Aveling, Associate Director, Project Management Office, MCAP
How do you become the Accidental PM?
Company experiences new growth /change
Company has low process maturity
Scope creep
The project that transitions to Operations that really is still a project
What are the Pros & Cons of this Role?
Discussion of when it can and can’t be beneficial to play this role.
Keys to Success
Recognize a project when you see one
Definition of a project.
Group exercise discussing what is and what isn’t a project
Assess the size (risk, complexity etc.) of the project
Walkthrough an MCAP tool which helps you assess size/risk of a project.
Develop basic project management skills and tools
PMI organization
PM training courses
Review an MCAP tool called PM-Lite which can be used for lower risk projects.
Review Key Lessons Learned from Past Projects
Resourcing must be appropriate
Vendor commitments need to be met
Roles & Accountabilities must be clearly defined
Defined proven methodologies should be followed – they work!
Requirement gathering must be done well
Communicate, communicate,communicate!
Filed under: Survival Tips for the Accidental Project Manager
