[Sigia-l] IA Mission: Undercover

[Chris Chandler]

I've got a confession to make.

I've been working undercover as a Project Manager since
January. Deep cover. I drove 100 miles a day for 16 weeks to
work at a smallish software development company, behind the
orange curtain, but two blocks from a gorgeous beach and
fishing pier. I needed the money, and I needed health
insurance.

I managed two projects.

One of them crashed and burned.

The other one is a little gem of a system. On time and on
budget.

I learned a lot. I mean a LOT.

For one thing. Project Managers have a bible. The Project
Manager's Body of Knowledge or PMBOK for short. You can read
excerpts here:
http://www.pmi.org/publictn/download/2000welcome.htm but I
have to warn you that Project Managers are a pretty strict
bunch. They have certification bodies and accredited
academic programs. Like the French, they have a different
word for everything.

I did no IA, big or small. In fact, I made it a goal to
never be responsible for any deliverables. Good thing too,
since I was barely able to keep up with the constant stream
of reports to stakeholders (as outlined in my "communication
plan"), the need to harangue people about their time sheets,
and the never ending project projections and corrections.

I wrestled mightily with MS Project. It is similar to Visio.
Powerful, and extremely accommodating, yet deeply flawed as
well. We fought to a draw. Unfortunately for our hero, the
company was a bit flawed as well. I, (along with about 30
others) was laid off two weeks ago. For personal reasons,
this was not really a bad thing, and my only regret is that
I didn't get the chance to really apply the lessons I
learned. In any event, I'm back to appraising my
circumstances and career path once again!!!


... to be continued...

-cc

Don't miss the next exciting episode: The Project that Time
Forgot!