To be Good Manager - Understand Project Development

Project management is a skill that every product manager must master, and it is also important for us to identify development schedules and the normality of product work. so, if the project can not be online in time, is the development of the pot or the product is wrong? 

 

 

in fact, each of our project participants has a responsibility. so what can be done to better advance the project? 

 

The author summarizes a few lessons, which can be considered from the following points.project management, as a necessary skill of product managers, is easily overlooked by many people. follow up the progress of the project, pay attention to the development schedule, is also the norm in product work.

 

 

 

But trying to manage your project well is not as simple as you might think.

I have a friend whose team has had problems recently. multiple projects advance in parallel, with tight time and heavy tasks. everyone on the team thinks they're busy, but every day they sum it up and there's no real progress.

in the case of their team, if you want to move the project forward better, you can consider the following points.

Determine the time node

 

Take my friend's company, for example, where they were in such a chaotic environment for a while.

first, their leaders will explain the work of the department over the next period of time. but there will be no clear time node, don't ask, ask is to do it first.

next, for a long time, it could be a week, it could be two weeks. what people are doing, no one cares, and leaders don't pay attention to everyone's details.

in such a situation, the daily work schedule and tasks, you can imagine.

then, suddenly one day, an emergency meeting, said things are very urgent, to immediately go online.

finally, we worked overtime for several days in a row, hurrying to finish.

that's what my friends used to be for a long time, and then everyone really couldn't stand it and had to make a change.

everything is not pre-determined, any project, regardless of size, regardless of the length of the cycle, should have a clear time node.

small project cycle, large project big cycle, agile development is followed up every day.

time node, can be understood as a project of the deadline, if the lack of this premise, all the tasks, division of labor are in vain.

imagine how to arrange content properly in a case where there is no final finish time, or no final project objectives.

without a clear time node, there is bound to be a so-called delay problem, which is why everyone on the team is trapped in an inexplicable rhythm.

in summary, any project, no matter the size, the clear time node, is the beginning of everything.

Clear scope of work

take my friend's company as an example, their leaders will not say exactly what functions to do, only that you do it first, but only give a general direction.

then the development did a few days, let the product acceptance function, their leaders will say, why that function did not do, and then add new features.

cycles go back and forth, and they keep doing so. but whenever you ask specific questions, the answers are vague.

it's like, the leader told you to eat, you asked what to eat, the leader said you did it first.

you made a bowl of fried rice, and the leader asked why there was no fried vegetables. you then ask, what else does that need to be added, and the leader says you'll see for yourself first.

then you added a stir-fry, and the leader asked why there was no soup.

if so, how to keep progress under control.

so, when we've identified the time nodes, this is just the beginning, and the scope of work that follows can't be ignored.

within the specified effective time frame, specific features to do, what to do at each stage, completion of each function, etc. , need to be further subdivided.

first of all, from the project point of view, to determine the scope of tasks at each stage, and then according to the scope of tasks to allocate the corresponding personnel arrangements, as far as possible to achieve rational use of resources.

secondly, from the product point of view, to determine the implementation of the various stages of the function, and then according to the implementation of the function to carry out effective task scheduling, as far as possible to achieve a reasonable division of tasks.

once the above contents and details have been confirmed, the next step is to move on to the specific development phase.

but if the above two necessary steps are not done well, blindly into the development, there will be uncontrolled progress.

in summary, under the fixed time node, clear scope of work is the cornerstone of the start of the work.
 

Keep an eye on daily tasks

with a clear time node and a defined scope of work, the next thing to do is to keep an eye on the daily tasks.

tasks are split to people, and tasks are split into days to ensure that processes and results are controlled.

in a broad scope, clear each person's own responsibility for the content, and then we all do their part, work together.

when each person is given a specific task, the first thing to do is to segment. that's the truth of the so-called decision-making and then moving on.

we can only do more with less if we know exactly what to do and what to do.

take product work, for example, when we receive a demand, we should do this.

first, identify the time node for this requirement, that is, when it needs to be completed.

second, determine how much time it will take to determine how long this requirement will take, i.e. how long it will take to complete.

finally, combined with the time node and the approximate need for time, to arrange each day's task content, research, combing, out of the program and so on.

when everyone splits their tasks into every day, then next, come and go every morning about what you're doing today, and do it every night.

if the content of which day is not completed, it is necessary to communicate clearly in a timely manner and to adjust the follow-up arrangements, as far as possible to control the progress in the details.

in summary, keep an eye on the daily work content to ensure the smooth progress of the project.

The process of timely feedback

In fact, if we can do the three points mentioned earlier, we can basically ensure the normal progress of a project.

but if we want this process to go a little bit further and be a little more stable, then we need to focus on the possible problems in the implementation, and timely feedback and treatment of these issues.

at the beginning of the project, there is no way to make a completely controlled prediction of future events, all we can do is minimize accidents.

as a simplest example, sometimes we may underestimate the difficulty of implementing a feature, which may not have enough time left in the pre-planning.

in order to solve this problem, it is bound to take more time, the next result is bound to affect the later functional research and development. if you don't want the project to be delayed, there are ways to do it by working overtime or by increasing efficiency.

in the actual process, encountering such a similar problem, we have to be exposed early. don't wait until the project comes online to react, if so, there is no room for fire fighting.

in summary, there are problems, timely feedback, timely follow-up, timely resolution.

some things to say:

back to the article title question, the project can not be online, is the development of the pot, or the product is wrong?

in fact, this problem, from leadership to employees, from product to development, who can not escape, who have responsibility.

it is the right way to encounter problems, not to complain, to encounter problems, to solve problems.