A presentation for students who want to embark on a journey to become Project Managers. The presentation is focused on digital projects, and talks from a personal perspective. Follow dana-about-pm.com for more articles or presentations on this topic.

1. A Talk About
Project Management
With OkapiStudio
Dana Manolescu / Project Manager
October 24th, 2014

2. Hello.
Nice to meet you! Dana Manolescu
Project Manager

3. www.okapistudio.com
Multidisciplinary Agency capable of
transforming ideas into polished products.
Founded 8 years ago
Andrei Ostacie + Gabi Lungu
+ Team (15 in-house) + Network (50+)

4. Background.
It took me 29 years to get here.

5. Experiment diversity to gain PM skills.
Highly organized
Multi tasker
Good leader
Able to take responsibility
Outstanding communicator
Negotiator
Detail oriented
Problem solver
& many more.

7. ...and then PM came along

8. Decide on what type of projects you
want to manage and focus on that.
Events (concerts, weddings)
Software (startups, large IT projects)
Construction
Administrative
Health Care
Accounting
& many many more.

9. Gain experience in that area.
Preferred vendors & specialists
Industry knowledge (standards, best
practices, market, publications, events)
Specific process & timeline

10. Process.
Plan. Execute. Complete.

11. Various approaches, same goal.
Waterfall (traditional)
Agile
Scrum
Lean
Critical Chain (TOC)
Kanban
etc.

12. Startups (Lean):
Idea Define Build Grow

13. Startups (Agile):

14. Factories (Theory of Constraints):

15. Our Process
We are advocates of a straightforward & proven work
methodology, and we can provide relevant input in every
step of the process:
● Plan
● Design
● Develop
●...and Iterate, Analyze and Improve every step of the way

16. Okapi’s Process:

17. People.
Coordinate talents towards the
same goal

18. “The source of most problems is people,
but darned if they will admit it. Know the
people working on your project to know
what the real weak spots are.”
Recommended reading: “One Hundred Rules for
NASA Project Managers” (1995).

19. Clients
Non-tech hustlers
Designers
Pixel pushers
Developers
Code monkeys

20. Learning.
“Once you stop learning, you
start dying.” - Albert Einstein

21. Change is inevitable.
Market
Stay up to date with industry trends, best
practices and standards.
People
Priorities and goals change over the years. Keep
an eye on what motivates them.
Management style & processes

22. Things I wish I knew.
Delegate & Responsibilize
You should never allow a project to depend on
you fully. Trust your team.
Pick your battles
Learn when it’s best to fight for more time and
money. Sometimes just “good” can be enough.
Learn to say NO
Identify the essentials and the distractions.

23. This is it.
Final Thoughts

24. Project Management is not for
everybody
PM is the new career of choice. It’s sexxy.
But don’t do it if:
● You’re an introvert & you lack strong communication skills
(spoken & written)
● You are not a leader & you are not flexible
● You find it difficult to delegate tasks or take charge
● You are not very well organized & you hate following a
process
● You don’t read the industry news

25. Thank you!