Episode 413: When the Organization thinks they don't need Project Management (Free)

Play Now: Download Project Management Professional (PMP)® training to your pocket: Jen Pfaff and Cornelius Fichtner When an organization has a structured PMO, using your project management skills can be easy. But, what if your organization doesn’t have a PMO or doesn’t even like the rigor of project management? What should an experienced project manager do? This interview with Jen Pfaff (LinkedIn Profile) was recorded at the dazzling Project Management Institute (PMI)® Global Conference 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Trust me... it was 2017 even though I say "2018" in the opening...) We’ll talk about how to execute your projects and grow your project management skills all while setting your business and IT customers up for success. We'll see how organizations without a PMO can be effective by tracking basic metrics, and how key templates in your project management toolbox will help your project managers be effective. Episode Transcript Below are the first few pages of the transcript. The complete transcript is available to Premium subscribers only. Podcast Introduction Jen Pfaff: In this episode of The Project Management Podcast™, you’ll see how organizations without a PMO can be effective by tracking basic metrics. Cornelius Fichtner: Hello and welcome to The Project Management Podcast™ at www.pm-podcast.com. I am Cornelius Fichtner. Podcast Interview Cornelius Fichtner: We are coming to you live from the dazzling 2018 PMI Global Conference here in Chicago. With me right now sitting here in the hallway is Jen Pfaff. Hello, Jen! Jen Pfaff: Hello! Thank you for having me! Cornelius Fichtner: Oh, you are welcome! How are things going for your at this Congress? Jen Pfaff: They’re fantastic! It’s great to be here. Cornelius Fichtner: And you’ve had your presentation yesterday, is that right? Jen Pfaff: That’s right, yup! I was on yesterday afternoon. Cornelius Fichtner: And how was it for you standing in front of all of these wonderful project managers excited? Jen Pfaff: It was fantastic! It was well received. It’s fun to be here and I’m glad to be a part of the presentation group. Cornelius Fichtner: Alright! The title of your presentation is “When the organization thinks they are running too fast to use project management”. What’s the story behind this? There’s got to be something, right? A company that you worked for they thought: “Ah, we don’t need to stinking project management.” Jen Pfaff: Right, right! You know before we even get started maybe I should even go back a little bit and say that I am just so thrilled to be a part of your Podcast. Thrilled that you asked me to be a part of your program. I should say that a number of years ago when I was going to learn some new technologies and new techniques that the first place I reach before I went to a book or to the internet, I love to listen to some of your podcasts to get some new information and you’re still a part of my podcast yeah so. Cornelius Fichtner: Thank you! Jen Pfaff: Thank you for asking me to be a part of your program. To answer your question, I’m with a company that many of you may have heard of with Domino’s Pizza wherein just a tremendous organizational growth period. We just became the number one pizza company in America and with that one of the things that comes along with that growth is this balance between process and innovation, innovation to speed to market. So as we’re managing our projects, we are looking at how do we make sure we get projects and products out the door quickly. And so, how does that speed to market impact or work with the way we’re working on our process and projects. And it’s very different than a lot of the companies that I worked in before. They were in a declining growth kind of market. So as I was thinking about how could other team members, what will their interests be, I thought that might be something I could share. Cornelius Fichtner: Right. So let me see if I got this right: Because you’re so successful, things are speeding