An On-Site Project Manager

You need an on-site
project manager.

This seems obvious
but I’ve recently been a part
of a couple projects
where this didn’t happen.

You can’t manage projects
from a distance.

Because a big part
of project management
is firefighting.
It is quickly dealing
with emergencies
and making those fast decisions.

That’s very difficult to do
if you’re not there,
on the site.

People have to hunt you down
and then describe the situation
over the phone or a video call
and it is impossible to describe
EVERYTHING that is happening.

The nuances WILL f*ck you
and your project up.

With the projects
I was involved in
that didn’t have on-site project managers,
someone else
(one time it was the client)
assumed that role.

These volunteer project managers
didn’t have the same agendas
as the true but off-site project managers.

It was a mess.

Have an on-site
project manager.

Scope Creep

I gave myself
the project of straightening up
some shelves.

While I was doing that,
I was tempted to declutter
those shelves too.

I was already
looking at the shelves.
I might as well
evaluate whether or not
I needed those items,
right?

Wrong.
This is a simple example
of scope creep
and it places the entire project
in jeopardy.

Because the time needed
to complete the project
with this add-on task
just increased.

I had the couple free minutes
that would be needed
to straighten up
the shelf.
I didn’t have the entire day
that would be needed
to declutter it.

I had a choice
– Either I limited the scope of my project
or I didn’t complete it at all.

Part of being a project manager
is controlling scope creep.

Keep your team focused
on the task
you truly want to complete.