PROJECT MANAGEMENT

About two weeks back, I attended a session on "Project Management in Managed Services Organization" by Mudassir Ali Khan. The session was arranged my Zumbeel and was held at Mohammad Ali Jinnah University. The session was very informative and I learnt about Project Management and the qualities one must have to be a Project Manager. So, I thought to share it. The speaker discussed about the key characteristics of a Project- that they have a definite timeline, they are unique, in the sense that the goal, the Product of every Project is Unique, they are realistic i.e. the targets must be achievable in terms of capabilities, resources, cost and other factors (shouldn't be out of the world). They are COMPLEX. This is an interesting characteristic and it made me smile as it reminded me of the current Project I am working on and my several projects in University). They are indeed Complex as you have to deal with different (rather Difficult, I must say)Customers, you have to fulfill their demands, you have to satisfy them because Customer is the King :). Projects involve so many people, you have to deal with them and take everyone together. Every other moment a different situation arises (that you had never imagined it in your weird thoughts even!), your resources are scarce but you have to manage!. The time is short, but you have to complete within time. You learn so many things everyday, you learn handling, tackling and managing, sometimes it becomes so weird that you feel like quitting but when you achieve your targets- You feel proud of yourself. Thats why the Project life cycle is a Sinusoid having so many ups and downs, having so many phases. So, the project is Complex but at the same time its very interesting.



He talked about Managed Service Organizations. Such organizations manage and provide defines set of services to their clients. In Telecommunication, their clients are Vendors and Operators. They perform all the tasks from site building up level to the site On Air- Site Acquisition, Civil Works, Site Installation, Integration and Commissioning for their Customers. Also they do Operation and Maintainence after the Site is up. Most of us after graduation are not very lucky to join the Vendor's and Operators directly. Mostly will get into the MSOs at the early stages. But, I feel that those who get into such organizations are Lucky. First of all you get to learn everything from the scratch, from the site building up level to its commissioning (and if you get the chance of sitting with the Project Management Team you can also see the Big Picture- The Revenue Level). You get to know how a business runs. Part iculary such organizations are very good for those guys want to gain Field Experience. These are small organizations, have limited resources therefore each and every Resource (from Junior level to Top level) is of considerable importance. I am also working in such an organization, and when I joined here, I was so surprised that even an Intern who is considered just a learner in the Operators and Vendors and has to struggle himself in such giants, is assigned improtant reponsibilites. Their inputs, contributions and suggestions have importance and an intern can never feel that he is an intern :) Thats the best part that everyone's contribution is acknowledged equally. Another advantage is that your communication skills, your team work skills enhance alot. Although you are in a small organization but still you have a large domain. You get the chance of communicating with persons from Operators and Vendors directly so your confidence level raises up. Working in such an environment can make you adjustable in any kind of environment, no matter how big it is. The speaker discussed that Project Management is an art. Its not necessary that only a person who is a PMP Certified can be a Project Manager. Its a natural skill, its an art. The advantage of PMP and other special trainings is that they broaden your thinking and polish your natural skill. If you have common sense (you can get to the core of the matters), you have very good communication skills (written and oral), you can get along with others, you have the ability to delegate tasks and you can think of the Big Picture while looking at the details at the same time, then you can be a successful Project Manager.


Overall the session was very interactive and informative. The speaker was expert in is field and delivered superbly. I visited that university for the first time and was glad to find that the students were so responsive and up-to-date about the Telecom Industy. I wish them a very bright future ahead.

I found this website about the traits of highly successful project managers.

http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/10-rules-of-highly-sucessful-projectmanagement.html

Happy Reading :)