Friday's Question - "Does a good technical person automatically make a good project manager?"

A common mistake in business is to assume that because someone is a good technical person then it follows that they will automatically make a good project manager. This is definitely not the case - promoting/moving/recruiting a technical person into a PM role can be a total disaster if the person is evaluated on technical merit alone - it is more important that the (proposed) PM has very strong "softskills" i.e. can effectively manage people, communicate well, tailor their management style to suit the broad set of personalities that he/she will come across during their PM career etc. etc.
Technically brillant does not always translate into PM star - if you have an individual who is technically strong and has excellent softskills then you've hit the jackpot BUT the two combined are almost as rare as hen's teeth ..!

So Friday's Question - "Does a good technical person automatically make a good project manager?"
Answer - Definitely not - check their softskills and if they are non-existent then consider an alternative career move for them - a PM with technical ability is all fine and dandy but a PM without softskills is a nightmare ....!

Friday's Question - "Why do we need Project Management documentation ?"

People sometimes think that the primary function of project management is to produce documentation (and lots of it!) - they incorrectly think that if they produce a (very fancy) project schedule and hang it on their wall for all to see (and admire), then they are "project managing" .. The reality is that project documentation produced during the project management activity should be used to assist the project manager and team to MONITOR and CONTROL the project - a DAILY review of key project documents should be conducted by the project manager and a WEEKLY review of team-related documents should be conducted with the team. This daily and weekly review enables the PM and team to keep the project on track and alert them to any problems that may be lurking further along - remember also that project management documents are LIVE documents that may need to be modified depending on the outcome of the daily and weekly review - so don't forget to make those modifications when required ...

So, Friday's Question - "Why do we need Project Management Documentation ?"
Answer - To assist the project manager and team to keep their project on track through daily and weekly reviews of key project management documentation ..

Should project management be taught on 2nd level curriculum ?

An article in The Irish Independent on 5th January cited a call from US firms for an overhaul of Irish education. The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland criticised a reluctance to make necessary changes to the curriculum with a new focus on creativity and innovative thinking. Should project management also form part of the 2nd level curriculum to equip students with the skills to more effectively manage their study workload and projects? By the time they enter the workforce, basic project management skills would be instinctive for most students making them more effective at managing their work responsibilities. The Irish Independent article states that “there is a need to inherently nurture creativity and innovation from an early stage to excite and engage our second-level students towards pursuing a career in these disciplines ..” Project management should form part of this nurturing of creativity and innovation ..

Project Management – an essential skill for the HR Director in 2010

An article in The Sunday Business Post on 13th December, (2010 : The year of the HR Director), emphasised the critical role of project management in assisting HR functions to operate more effectively in a recession. It stated that the HR skills needed during a recession are really two sides of the same coin – "firstly you need workforce reduction skills (which are not in abundance in Ireland), nor are the skills for project managing transition .." "2010 should be the year of the HR Director who can really get into the numbers and look both at how people work and how they are managed .." Project Management is an essential skill for any HR Director who faces the challenge of navigating their workforce through choppier waters ..