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Jennifer MacNeil, PMI-ACP, PMP, is an adviser
in program management at Bechtel Plant
Machinery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Continued from the previous page
project problem by individually contacting team
members to piece together the status and an
approach to resolution. Instead, I like to bring all
relevant team members together for a working
session. It’s particularly effective for projects with
developers who are in high demand and for tackling lingering issues delaying the rest of the project.
For example, a software configuration issue may be
impeding other project tasks as a single resource
struggles to fix the matter, so a working session
brings the team together to tackle the problem.
Given this level of focus and attention, the issue
usually gets solved; at the very least, we come up
with potential solutions to be explored.
3. Quickly share lessons learned and best prac-
tices across projects. Working with different peo-
ple on different projects enables me to frequently
encounter new ideas and approaches. As I see
approaches that work effectively, I adopt them to
quickly impact other projects I am managing.
For example, as tools for managing the development life cycle are introduced within our IT
department, I have the chance to define how the
tools are used across multiple projects. Given this
flexibility, I can experiment with a few approaches
and compare results. I may apply the results
immediately to other projects or wait for a new
phase or project to introduce a new approach.
Managing multiple projects presents a unique
set of challenges for project managers, but with
some basic and creative techniques, these issues
can be addressed. PM
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Getting It Done PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN ACTION