Last week it was my turn to be Project Manager for an external client project working with Close Brothers - a leading UK merchant banking group. In this blog I will be sharing my tips and advice for being a successful Project Manager.
Think ahead
I did some initial research into the company and went over the project requirements and data over the weekend to make sure that I was prepared for the kick-off meeting on Monday. I prepared a list of questions to ask the client during the meeting, including:
- How clean is the data? If the data needs to be cleaned in any way, should we use Alteryx or Tableau Prep?
- Who is the main point of contact for questions relating to the data?
Communication
As a PM you will be the first point of contact between the client and your team so it's important that you communicate effectively with the client and build a good working relationship with them. This means replying to emails in a timely manner, arranging meetings and having good time management.
It's also important that you communicate effectively with your team - you need to make sure that you listen to them and take their ideas on board; as well as give them flexibility with their work but also setting certain rules and deadlines.
Checking on work
It's important to make sure that you have an understanding of how much progress your team has made in line with the project requirements so make sure that you check in regularly with each team member. You also need to have a high level understanding of the different topics and any struggles the team have.
End goal
Always have the end goal in sight to ensure your team doesn't go off on a tangent. The team are focused on the more detailed aspects of the project so it's your job to bring that all together to ensure the client's needs are met and you are delivering in line with the project requirements.
Presentation day
Make sure that the team leaves enough time to format their work and do a full run through of the presentation. Make sure all resources for the presentation - such as workbooks/workflows and any PowerPoint slides - are open and delivered from one laptop so that the presentation flows well.