This document summarizes a presentation on how to think like a project manager. It discusses defining what a project is, why projects are important, and challenges in projects. It then outlines key aspects of project management like knowledge areas and process groups. The main part discusses six ways to think like a project manager: think balance, think globally, think in teams, think realistically, think holistically, and think about incentives. The document ends with takeaways about advancing project management through knowledge, processes, tools, and thinking like a project manager.

1. How to “Think Like a Project Manager”
JULY 11, 2013 | VERSION 1.0 | TE WU
This presentation is used during an oral presentation and discussion. Without the accompanying oral comments, the text is incomplete as a record of the presentation.

2. Agenda
PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL 2
Self Introduction
Questions and Answers
Current State of Project
How to Think Like a Project Manager

3. 1. Self
Introduction
3PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL

4. Te Wu’s Biography
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5. 2. Current State
of Project
PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL 5

6. What is a project?
According to Project Management Institute (PMI)
a project is:
“a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or
result.”
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Project– Temporary because there is a start and end date
– Unique because it is a one-time endeavor
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7. Why are projects important?
Trends
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Prior to the 1980s main business focus was
planning & operations, with some projects for
incremental enhancements.
Since the late ‘80s, accelerated in the ‘90s and
the new millennium are two unstoppable
trends:
o Globalization – present for the past 200
years but far more intense in the last 30 years,
especially with the rise of the emerging
economies such as China, India, Brazil, Indonesia,
etc.
o Technology – the general productivity growth was
moderate in the ‘80s but accelerated in the
‘90s. Today, technology is often a game changer
(e.g. Facebook, Amazon)
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
RelativeIntensity
Organization Focus
Planning Operating Changing
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8. Why are projects important?
Trends
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The rapid rise of project management as a profession is self evident.
Today the PMI entails:
an annual increase > 10%
380,000+
Certified PMPs
600,000
Members strong
6 certifications,
including PMP and
PgMP
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9. The most commonly cited
framework is the Theory of Triple
Constraint which presents three
constraints that bind the project.
Why are projects challenging?
Constraints
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Scope /
Quality
Schedule /
Time
Resource /
Cost
Projects are challenging for numerous reasons.

10. Why are projects challenging?
Constraints
But, in reality there are many more dimensions
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Process
Strategic
alignment
Risk
Governance
Relationship
how people
work with each
other
how
decisions are
made
how mature is the
project organization
how well is the
project aligned with
business objectives
unpredictability that
inevitably arises in
larger projects
Cross
Cultural
Increasingly, projects
involve teams across
cultures

11. PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL
State of IT Implementation
As IT projects are one of the most widely studied, we have some meaningful
quantitative numbers for examination.
Source: http://www.cio.com/article/495306/Recession_Causes_Rising_IT_Project_Failure_Rates_
Success rate was 25%
a decade ago – little
improvement
of IT projects are considered successful.32%
44%
were considered to be challenged
25% were considered failures
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12. State of IT Implementation
Taxonomy of IT Project Failure
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Reference: Al-Ahmad, W., Al-Fagih, K., Khanfar, K., Alsamara, K., Abuleil, S., and Abu-Salem, H. A
taxonomy of an IT project Failure: Root causes, 2009, 5 [1], pgs. 93-106.
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13. Project Management Basics
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, and techniques to
execute project effectively and efficiently.
According to the Project Management Institute, there are
Combined with techniques, collectively these provide a strong basis for the practice
of project management.
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10
knowledge
areas
5
process
groups

14. Project Management Basics
To be a professional
project manager, a deep
understanding of these is
essential - but insufficient
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10knowle
dge
areas
5
process
groups
• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Monitoring and
Controlling
• Closing
• Integration
• Scope
• Time
• Cost
• Quality
• Procurement
• Human Resources
• Communications
• Risk Management
• Stakeholder Mgmt

15. One must “feel”
and “think” like a
project manager

16. 2. How to Think
like a Project
Manager
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17. How to think like a project manager?
o Project management is a young
& growing discipline
o Its application is heavily
dependent on its context and
the project complexity
o Aside from the technical skills of
project management such as
creating a detailed schedule and
the soft skills such as
communication, it is important
to have the right mindset!
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18. Think
Balance
Think
Teamwork
Think
Realistically
Think
Holistically
Think
Global
Think
Incentives
How to think like a project manager?
PM
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19. How to think like a project manager?
• Must mentally balance optimism,
skepticism, and occasional cynicism
• Must be able to balance analysis with
action
• to avoid analysis paralysis on one
hand but tendency of “fire, aim, and
ready”
• Always think in terms of trade-offs
(there is no free lunch)
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Think balance

20. How to think like a project manager?
• Be culturally sensitive
• Be respectful
• Maintain an open mind
• Embrace diversity
- Diversity of people & culture
- Diversity of ideas
• Must genuinely appreciate differences
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Think global
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21. How to think like a project manager?
• Must have ownership and take charge
attitude – to set an example for others
• Must be willing to challenge others. Yet,
must be able to yield to expertise
• Must communicate, communicate,
communicate
21PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL
Think teamwork

22. How to think like a project manager?
(and thus require courage)
• Must be fiercely realistic, at least to
oneself
• Need to be practical when dealing with
people – sometimes play a “bad cop”, but
should balance that out with being a
“good cop”
22PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL
Think realistically

23. How to think like a project manager?
• We are all driven by incentives, whether
they are tangible or intangible
- Tangible: compensation, promotion
- Intangible: recognition, respect from
peers, sense of well being
• Design metrics carefully, to reinforce the
right incentives
23PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL
Think Incentives

24. How to think like a project manager?
• Must not lose the strategic perspective of
the bigger goals of the project
• A project is often greater than a set of
deliverables. It may have
interdependencies with other areas.
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Think holistically

25. Takeaways
Project management is progressing rapidly
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Knowledge is expanding
Processes are improving
Tools are becoming more sophisticated

26. Takeaways
But there is more…
To be a true project manager, one must think like one.
This presentation presents six dimensions:
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Think
balance
Think
global
Think
teamwork
Think
realistically
Think
incentives
Think
holistic

27. 4. Questions
and Answers
PROPRIETARY AND CONFIDENTIAL 27

28. Contact Information
Please complete a quick survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Post01
Thank you!
Name: Te Wu
Company: PMO Advisory LLC
Email: wu@pmoadvisory.com
Phone: 973-860-0758
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tewu1/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmoadvisory
Blog: http://blog.pmoadvisory.com
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