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Project management for Digital Nomads
- 1. Project Management for DigitalNomads Andrew Crichton
- 2. Do any ofthese ring true? • Too much to do • Spinning your wheels • Losing your way • Wondering what happened
- 3.
- 4. A project: • Hasa clear objective • Has a clear finish point
- 5. A project also: •Has a deadline (usually) • But you don’t need a deadline if you commit to the right process • Process might be as simple as putting five hours in per day
- 6. Don’t be thisperson
- 7. Turn dreams intoprojects • “Travel Australia" is a dream • “Spend six months travelling Australia in a 4WD" is a goal • “Spend six months travelling outback Australia, including Ayers Rock, the Simpson Desert and Cape York starting 28 April 2011" is a project
- 8. Project Management infive steps Set the goal Make a plan Get to work Stick to it Achieve the goal!
- 9. Set the goal •Make the goal ultra-clear and specific • First critical step • Can be hard for DN’s
- 10. –Basil S. Walsh “Ifyou don't know where you are going, how can you expect to get there?”
- 11. Define the scope •A clear definition required • What is really important • What can be ignored • What can be done later
- 12. Don’t make theproject goal bigger than it needs to be
- 13.
- 14. Another way oflooking at the PM triangle Choose any two
- 15. –Winston Churchill “Those whoplan do better than those who do not, even though they rarely stick to their plan” Make a Plan
- 16. Make a Plan- Schedule • What is the sequence of activities. • How long will each activity take? • Can some activities be done together? • What are the critical path activities?
- 17. Critical path • Activitiesthat must occur in sequence • The activity sequence that directly impacts project completion
- 18. Plan - Resources •What will you will do • What key activities do you need others to do • Use people smarter than you
- 19. Fast and Good Significantexternal resources
- 20. Fast and cheap Limitedresources Fast and Good Significant external resources
- 21. Fast and cheap Limitedresources Fast and Good Significant external resources Good and cheap Alternative resources eg. Skill swaps
- 22. Plan - Hurdles •What are some difficulties you anticipate • Do you have ideas to overcome them
- 24.
- 25. Stay focussed • Absolutelycritical to your success • Prioritise ruthlessly and with a single minded focus • List actions, every day, and put critical dates in your calendar. • Identify and eliminate distractions
- 26. The importance offocus
- 27. Distractions are projectcyanide • Take actions to get you closer to the goal, every day. Stay focussed • Don’t take actions which don’t contribute to the goal. Stay focussed • Get used to saying no. Pressures exist around you. Stay focussed • If you don’t protect your time and your money, other people will spend them for you. Stay focussed
- 28. Rocks, pebbles and water Prioritisethe big stuff first Fit the smaller things around the big project goals
- 29. • Your projectis a rock • Your friends are a rock • Your scooter is a pebble • Your clothes are pebbles • Everything else is water and sand
- 30. Scope creep killsprojects
- 31. Scope creep killsprojects • Just one more feature • Wouldn't it be cool if we could include this • Broadening our target market • Freelance clients asking you to do something you hadn’t quoted for Scope creep is:
- 32. Don’t let thishappen OutcomeDesign
- 33. Review • Continually reviewyour project. • Is it going where you want. • Is it taking too long or costing too much? • Can you take steps to mitigate further cost and time loss? • Review. Act. Repeat
- 34. Communicate • Communicate withyou and your team daily. • Your team: Trello, Slack/Hipchat, emails or short Skype calls. Make it brief, and make it daily. • You: review your goals and your progress toward them. • Record what you have done, in your diary, in Evernote or use iDoneThis. Do it daily.
- 35. Take the laststep • The last step is often the hardest. • Publish the book. • Put a Buy Now button on your website. • Send your product to Amazon. • List your app on the App Store.
- 36. Just do it •Call the project finished. • Congratulations - it has been a long journey • Take a break, and start turning your next dream into a project
- 37.
- 38. Set the goal Finishthe Hawaii half-marathon in April 2016
- 39. Make a plan- Activities Identify activities and critical path Join running group Run training Find running coach - critical path Book flights and accom
- 40. Plan - Hurdles Identifyconstraints Too busy to train Not enough money to buy a plane ticket Potential actions Get up earlier and run before work Eat out less to save money for ticket
- 41. Plan - Resources Potentialresources required Running trainer (coach) Running group (mastermind group) New shoes - critical path to start running
- 42. Start! Follow the criticalpath Buy new running shoes Locate and join a running group
- 43. Stay focussed Run twohours every day. Rain, hail or shine Say yes to social activities on Saturday nights Say no to social activities every other night, because you need to run in the morning Say no to cake Say no to your cousin’s wedding in New Zealand, because that will ruin your budget to get to Hawaii Say yes to running in Hawaii in April 2016
- 44. Choose a dream Makeit a project Stay focussed Make it happen Do it now andrew@taitua.com taitua.com/coaching
Editor's Notes
- #5 For DN’s, having a clearly defined objective is the number one thing that will make a huge difference to getting stuff done. If you can't define when a task or project is finished you can't manage it, and the odds of success are low. A goal without a defined finish is a dream.
- #6 Deadlines may add extra stress to DN’s with personal projects. They aren’t always required, if you use a process instead. But the process to win the championship is the same as the process to become great basketballers. That is, the process might be to practice 4 hours a day, study footage of other teams and your own skill, and get input from a great coach. Focus on the process, and the results will speak for themselves.
- #7 No scope, no design, no budget, no hope
- #9 Simply put: Project management is a process to make a defined outcome happen.
- #14 Project management triangle. You can focus on two of these items
- #19 After you have identified and planned your activities, you need to plan your resources. I am good at project management & problem solving. I am not so good at design or marketing, so I need to collaborate with others who are good at those functions in order to have a great project. Even though my design skills are basic, I have successfully run a $2m design project, because I had some highly skilled people on my team. Resources in particular are influenced by which two aspects of the project management triangle you choose to focus on.
- #20 Fast and good. You want high quality resources that are fully trained and good-to-go. Think quality and specialist freelancing platforms, typically staffed from developed countries You will need to pay a good price for these resources
- #21 Fast and cheap You will only be able to use limited resources, and your resource quality will be less. Think online freelancing platforms to developing countries
- #22 Good and cheap Alternative resources such as: skill swaps training your own resources, eg. employing low-cost staff and training them or DIY Skill swap - offer something in return. You design my app, I will market your business. Or maybe offer a small salary for someone to escape their job and work in Bali, while you provide an interesting job, accommodation, assistance and a chance to start a new life with very low risk.
- #23 What commonly derails projects? Lack of time (deadline too short). Potential solutions: Extend the deadline, cut product features, or hire additional resources. For the 4WD trip we cut features on the 4WD, only did a basic 4WD course instead of the advanced one, got a friend to assist in managing the 4WD equipping, and negotiated with a client to finish some work remotely instead of in his office. Lack of focus (too many competing interests). Postpone or cancel some other commitments. For the 4WD trip I stopped playing sport in another city and didn’t go surfing nearly as much as I wanted to. Lack of commitment (project manager gets sidetracked or distracted) Seek help. Talk to like-minded people, join a mastermind group, get a mentor, and revisit your objective (and your why) The 4WD trip was a huge goal, and sometimes it seemed too big. I talked to my friend (who loved 4WDing) and he helped re-motivate me. Lack of money (budget too low or is non-existent) Do more yourself. Look for skill swaps and non-monetary ways to get help. Reduce the scope of the project. As earlier, we scrapped some features to save both time and money. Also, travelling 7 hours to look at a 4WD the day after breaking my foot put things clearly - if I didn’t buy the automatic I had driven 7 hours to look at, I couldn’t go to work on Monday and wouldn’t get paid for at least two weeks. The joys of self-employment! Scope creep (features are added instead of shipping the product). Review objective regularly. Be ruthless. If it isn’t required for a minimum viable product, don’t do it. One-and-a-half metres of action items for the 4WD. New items were discussed thoroughly before they were added to that list, and often only made it on if another item came off. When problems come up, take action. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. For the 4WD, breaking my foot, having the vehicle held hostage pending payment, and not renting the house out immediately were all major issues. In each case, I took action (often after some soul searching) and still reached the goal
- #25 This one is self explanatory. You have set your goal, chosen your priorities (time, money or scope). Now you need to start. Take the first step. Jump into the project pool. Start your journey of 1,000 miles. Get to work
- #26 Staying focussed is fundamental to keeping your project on track Refusing to prioritise is a choice, but not a good one Seek help to stay focussed. As previously mentioned, join a mastermind group. Use clarity.fm. Find a mentor. Talk to others doing similar stuff.
- #27 STAY FOCUSSED TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL!
- #28 To quote the Tropical MBA: Your friends are throwing weddings in different countries. Can you attend? No. Your family are throwing a lavish reunion at a 3rd party sites. Can you attend? No. Friends having 6 hour Sunday afternoon party. Coming? No. Beach vacations NO. Saturday morning shopping to ‘invest’ in new clothes? NO. NO. NO. You get the point here. Someone wants detailed help with a marketing strategy, in return for a coffee. Does more coffee help your project? NO
- #31 The scope creep monster shatters deadlines and chews up budgets for breakfast
- #32 These things should be done only AFTER the main goal is achieved, if at all. No, the app does not need to work on both iPhone and Android up front. Do this later. No, the 4WD does not need a hot-water shower. Don’t do this. No, the book does not have to be written as a trilogy. Do the first book, publish, then write the second book, then the third.
- #34 You have a clear goal You have your activities planned You have identified necessary resources You are focussed on your goal with the eye of the tiger To keep on track, continually review your project. Do this daily or weekly. Write down your weekly review some
- #36 After the first step, the last step is the hardest. You are putting yourself out there. To your friends, to your family, and to the world. Don’t be afraid. You have done a great job.