As if viewing the project through the eyes of the client, project managers at Menlo consider the impact on scope, schedule, and budget with every decision they make. The PM is assigned as the sponsor's advocate and partners with them to identify business goals and prioritize upcoming work. In parallel, they support the team through translating the impact of project constraints, so that team members are freed up to focus on their specific objectives. The PM also works to remove barriers which may limit the team's progress and to facilitate collaboration between the team and the client.
However, the PMs role also facilitates communication within the group of stakeholders. This may include helping stakeholders identify where they disagree over the project's direction, assisting in the creation of an agreed upon vision or discerning subtle but substantive challenges the client is trying to overcome. In response, the project manager, with support from the team, is responsible for proposing alternative solutions at varying costs.
The PM role strikes a balance between customer relations and Menlo's iterative and incremental approach to project management. On a weekly basis the PM prepares and facilitates iteration kick off, estimation, show and tell and planning game. The PM keeps the project board up to date, provides team members with authorized story cards, keeps track of the established budget, and more.
Recommended Reading
- The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management
by Tom Demarco - The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
by Patrick Lencioni - Extreme Programming
by Kent Beck - Planning Extreme Programming
by Kent Beck and Martin Fowler - First Break All The Rules: What The World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman - A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
by Project Management Institute
