have the luxury of devoting 100 percent of their time to one project.
Instead, many ;nd themselves responsible for multiple ongoing projects at
once. ;is balancing act is laden with
challenges: scheduling and resource
con;icts, long hours that can lead to
burnout, and the constant struggle to
keep a dizzying number of milestones
on track.
But knowing how to juggle the personal project portfolio is necessary for
professional success, says Linky van
der Merwe, PMP, senior project manager, Microsoft Consulting Services,
Cape Town, South Africa.
In theory, it’s simple.
“Make sure that you know yourself
well enough to know your limits and
how much pressure you can handle,”
she says. “Never take on more proj-
ects than you can handle or you risk
jeopardizing your professionalism and
your integrity.”
In practice, though, juggling proj-
ects can easily overload even seasoned
project professionals. Here are four
areas rife with potential pitfalls and
tips on how to avoid them.
FEW
PROJECT
MANAGERS
Annette M. Suh,
PMI-RMP, PMP,
recently juggled one
project with more than
50 stakeholders—along with
four other projects of similar size. To keep the
schedules and demands straight, Ms. Suh, a senior
project manger at data security ;rm Cloudmark
Incorporated, San Francisco, California, USA,
didn’t even consider trying to store all the information in her head.
“What gets you through
this successfully is that you
write it down,” she says.
“Block o; time on your cal-
endar to check in on every
project you have. I like to
color-code projects, so I
can see at a glance what
relates to each project. I
also keep meeting minutes
with attendance, so I know
who was present when
decisions or commitments
were made. With a large
group, it’s impossible to
keep track any other way.”
recently juggled one project with more than Balancing Stakeholder Demands
Using key stakeholders’ management and
communication plans can make it is easier
to track speci;c demands and prioritize
between projects.
Checking in, even brie;y, with all stakeholders creates the opportunity to evaluate
the project’s alignment with organizational
goals before prioritizing, according to Arindam Das, PMP, principal, business services
at Bangalore, India-based Infosys Ltd, a
PMI Global Executive Council member.
“Take a long-term perspective, and see
that everyone’s objectives are taken care of
in a balanced manner,” Mr. Das says. “Con-
tinuous communication and dialogue with
all stakeholders, including occasional joint
meetings, will reduce con;ict.” ;;
When the strategic imperatives and busi-
ness bene;ts of di;erent projects are not
articulated, project professionals may face
unnecessary confusion and con;ict, he says. ;;;
“I keep meeting minutes with
attendance, so I know who
was present when decisions or
commitments were made. With a
large group, it’s impossible to keep
track any other way.”
—Annette M. Suh, PMI-RMP, PMP, Cloudmark Incorporated, San Francisco, California, USA
