Venice and Technical Project Management
Categories: Communication, Italy, Photography, Project Management, Travel, Uncategorized
Taking a little break from zoo pics. Here’s a shot of Venice. There are many things I like about Venice as well as many things that make me never want to live there. This picture embodies much what I like: varied architectural styles, a startling amount of greenery, various docking and moorings, foot bridges and incredible light. I also love water doors, but you can’t see one here. I took this from one of the small ferries that loop all the way around and through Venice. It’s totally worth whatever small amount we spent on the trip. I can’t think of another city where you can get such a comprehensive “bus” tour with so little traffic and such unobstructed views. Of course, it was really really cold on the boat, but that’s a minor detail.
Congestion sucks. It sucks more when it causes massive headaches and persists through doses of Caritin. Today is somewhat better than yesterday – no active headache, but there’s definitely one waiting to swoop in if I’m not nice. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I suspect a diagnosis of an on-going sinus infection that has finally become unbearable.
Technical Project Management – talk to people!
In other news, my work projects are moving right along though one of the project managers I’m supposedly assisting is ignoring my e-mail. Astounding. There’s a peculiar mindset I keep encountering in project managers, that is very insular, secretive and territorial. This is an utterly counterproductive attitude to have. You end up repeating mistakes, having to relearn alone everything your colleagues could help you figure out more quickly, and hitting all the pitfalls and delays along the way. Oh, and you end up alienating people from other departments who are supposed to be supporting you. I may pester my DBA or disk storage guy a little much, but they appreciate that I ask questions and make them clarify things until I understand things fully. I try to ask my stupid questions intelligently at least and I almost always take notes so I don’t end up asking the question again. It helps that I come from a technical background and can grasp what they’re talking about fairly quickly but I think even the non-technical project manager working on a technical project should be interested in some of the geeky underpinnings of their project.
Some project managers are afraid of tech-speak or technology concepts or just don’t want to get bogged down with the details. Me, I love the details. The details not only hold intellectual interest and provide additional perspective on my project but they give me a way to bond with my tech folks. Building a good relationship with the tech folks can be more valuable than you ever imagined. First, if you show that you value their input, skills and opinions, they are more likely to raise their concerns sooner and in a constructive manner. If crisis hits, they’re more likely to put in 110% for your project because they feel like part of your team.
Of course, communing with technical people doesn’t always work. Sometimes you just don’t click or accidentally take too much of the person’s time with your questions. Honestly, I’ve found most people respond well to a genuine, intelligent effort to learn more. Some people, regardless of field, are too bitter and jaded to care that I’m interested but I try anyway. About half the time I get through their sharp and pointy exteriors and forge an alliance of some sort. The other half of the time I end up with more information than I started with so it’s still a win.
Technology just seems to be the most common phobia I see but there are many others. Asking questions is a great way to form a relationship with your finance people, quality control team and process folks, to name a few. By learning more about what they’re doing for you and what you need to do for them you are making their jobs easier as well as your own. A 15 minute conversation may save everyone a day’s work. It doesn’t get better than that when you’re trying to deliver on-time and under budget.