Plugging In

What I mean by 'plugging in' is the ability to deliver needed capabilities as a project evolves over time.
For instance, I was assigned as a QA resource on a project which is what the manager on the project felt he needed. It soon turned out that what was really needed was an env manager to sort out issues currently experienced in UAT by outside users. So I straightened that out. Then I started sending out emails about the resolution of those issues daily. Then we got out of firefighting mode.

We've been able to move forward but now other issues have cropped up: we decreased the scope of our release but the other groups weren't notified so a change in the strategy was needed. I made sure this happened.

So now I'm communicating daily with all stakeholders about the status of the project. Sounds like what a PM does eh?

In addition, as those things get sorted out, I am actually doing some QA on the side and noticing things that are off-kilter. I'm communicating these to the dev team for fixes.

So what I am trying to communicate here is 'plugging in': the ability to fill in gaps as they arise. So I'm doing PM & QA/UAT and Env mgmt. The project takes a life of its own and as usual, we are short on resources. I can scream that I was only assigned to do QA and that I shouldn't be doing anything else, but I choose to engage on all levels and move the project along by seeing what needs to be done and doing it.

What it really takes to make it as a PM or BA in this industry is to be a generalist with a passion for learning. To speak with colleagues on the phone an ocean away whom I'll most likely never meet and to understand their pain from their point of view (netmeeting, webex anyone?) and then to demonstrate that pain to an SME who knows how to fix it. This is how I plug in. The SME may not be able to talk directly to the user because of time-zone issues or an inability to properly communicate, etc so I fill that gap.

It's taking care of the simple things: building the small bridges that most people overlook. I like to say that 'adding value' to something doesn't necessarily have to be a big-bang type of thing. You just see what needs to be done and do it. You see where things are being dropped and pick them up. Not rocket science, but it makes all the difference.

Eventually, people will think of you as a go-to person, someone who doesn't drop the ball, who gets things done. And nothing is better than that if you're worried about job security!