2020projectmanagement.com: Have you been watching the latest BBC Apprentice show? Each week, the candidates fight to be Project Manager in the hope that that it’s their time to shine and impress Lord Sugar and each week as the task evolves, sparks fly, bad decisions are made and the projects generally fail.
6 comments:
I think this article did a good job listing out some of the most important parts of being a manager on a project. I personally have not seen BBCs Apprentice, however I have seen NBCs apprentice, and have loved watching it for years. It has the same concept, teams compete at challenges and each week they decide on a project manager. I am always amazed at how quick people are to take credit as a project manager when the task goes well, and the same on the opposite side, when the task goes poorly it's automatically the project manager's fault. I do think that a manager has a huge responsibility and a big part of the group's success relies on them, however how much can you really do when your team is not well qualified for the job? I think this list also focuses a little too much on the money resource aspect, I believe it is incredibly important to use your labor appropriately as well and focus on the people in your group to get the best output.
The article definitely lived up to its title. I agree with the article in its general thesis that project management is much harder than it looks. From the outsider perspective, it can seem like all it is is telling people what to do and being bossy. However, there is a level of complexity below the surface that not many people get to see. It has always been a question to me of why there are so many upper level managers in even a medium level corporation (50-100 people). I think one of the hardest tasks is his first point: defining a plan. I think that is the hardest part of project management whether you are running a multinational companies or just managing your own projects for classes. Through all of the hectic nature of things to do, money to allocate, time restriction and resources, the hardest part always seems to be that initial scheduling of the plan. It's very similar to what we have been discussing in PTM with the project to do list. Once you have plans plotted and listed out, the visualization allows for the rest of the project to have something to follow.
Couldn’t agree more with this article. Whether it be you are in management for a theater or for the business world the need for this type of role is crucial. The funny thing about management is how much the subject matter transfers across various fields. I find it so interesting to talk to business students at Carnegie Mellon, who have no idea about the management program that the drama department has and the parallels between the two. So for all of you people out there that think theatre is just thrown together overnight, you are only partials correct. So although this article was written without any thought of the theatre industry I can still find several things that I am learning in class every day. So I guess all I am trying to say is that project management is import in any job whether you are leading a team or establishing a budget for a project the fundamental skills are all the same. I would even go as far to say that the production management major in the school of drama, here at Carnegie Mellon, would trump pretty much any other management degree out there.
I think this is a great article that talks about a fantastic field. One of the things I'm very interested in if I ever get tired of doing Theatre is Professional Project Management. I think it is one of the most interesting jobs because of the variety and scope. That and the fact that I can get away from theatre while still doing something that is very skill-based and I would already have ample experience with even graduating with a theatre degree. As I currently hold an Associate in Project Management certification (mind you, theatre project management is a bit different in scope and scale) I know that I'm very interested in it and think it is a great alternative if I ever get tired of the art, but I don't think I will. The article makes many great points about how multi-faceted and complex project management can be. It just goes to show you that it is a true art form of its own.
I only read this because rube is assigned this week. The main point of this article was to always remember to plan ahead. I don’t need a degree to figure that out. If you have a structure with contingency, you can make sure everything gets done while leaving wiggle room for perfections, time off, or other things people who plan ahead get to enjoy. This will be essential in rube because I have heard stories of the one-night-before-its-due-all-nighter. Things will obviously go wrong so we gotta make time for it. This also emphasized adaptability in the process and knowing when to accept something is wrong and move on to a new idea when you still have the time. My favorite point was number nine that said retain and use knowledge. The most accurate way to estimate time in a project is to compare it to things you’ve already done a hundred times and learn where you can cut corners.
To be honest, as someone who isn't a manager in any sense of the word, it was nice and insightful to get a clear look at exactly what it is these project managers do. I know that they're integral and crucial to the smooth operating of any team, company, or production if you're looking at this through a theatrical stand point, however the entire world of project management is so foreign to me that this article was actually pretty insightful. However, despite the fact that I know that this article is mainly just a "listicle" of sorts I really wish that it went into further depth and detail in regards to the processes and daily actions of a project manager behind the things that were listed in this article. As Cosette mentioned, this is also helpful considering my class will be getting the rube project assigned to us this week, where a key factor of its success that goes beyond just the sheer construction of the machine itself is the importance of time management. The points listed in this article should be useful when tackling this project starting just next week!
Post a Comment