A Project Management Reality TV Show?

I am wondering how many of you guys like watching reality TV series? Likes The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, The Apprentice, Majide, to name a few…

Interesting enough, I notice that many episodes in The Apprentice have requires the contestants to push their skills on project management. Pause, I am thinking that it would be so nice if we could have a local reality TV show on project management. Yeah,,a Project Management reality TV show on contestants managing different tasks of renovation, Mechanical & Electrical and Civil & Structural works etc.

Some real squabbles that I could think of are:-

Scenario 1

Derick (Project Manager): Why are you cutting the ceiling at this late site progress stage?

James (Electrical contractor): I need to high level the conduit on top the ceiling.

Derick (Project Manager): Why not you did this earlier?

James (Electrical contractor):  The positioning of the new points not being confirm until recently.

Michael (House owner): Phone conversation: Derick, I cannot risk not having my house warming party by this month end.

Derick (Project Manager): Ok,Mr. Michael. I will make sure you do.

Derick (Project Manager) to James: I will make sure you paid for this. Fxxk….

 Scenario 2

Henry (Door access contractor): Mr. Bob, we got a bit of problem here, I have to punch an opening into your slab to enable my wiring to come out from level below.

Bob (Project Manager): You crazy!..your action will damage the waterproof underneath the slab. Are you going to pay for the warranty?

Henry (Door access contractor): Any suggestions?

Bob (Project Manager): I don`t know,,you tell me!

Both parted ways without any solution yet

 Scenario 3

Ray (Project Manager): How many times I need to tell you to clear the debris after you finished hacking the brick walls?

Melvin (Electrical Contractor): A few times maybe. (Pretend to listen and continue working)

Ray (Project Manager): Hey, seriously! I am reminding you again and again and again!

Scarlett Johansson

Haha,,what do you think? I wanna know…these scenarios are quite common to happen as my experience of seeing it.

Oh,,not to forget,,,,this show need to have a host…and I dream that the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson could just be the one!

Project Management Indiscipline or Discipline

One year ago, I wrote an article about project management indiscipline. It has been the most read article in my blog.I feel like wanna write little about my project management indiscipline part 2,,,,or perhaps discipline events.

Ever since I was a teenager, I had encounter strangers who like to share their thought with me. One event happenned somewhere in 2003 while I was just finished a job interview ( been to quite a number prior to that but not successful in nailing any) and sat on a bench outside McDonald Ampark Park, when one working salaryman on lunch time sat next to me while we started a conversation. He told me that “It doesn`t matter about your qualification and working experience, the most important is how do you perform during an interview”.  Since then, I achieved many successful job interviews but this is not what I am going to blog right now,,maybe I will blog about the secret to nail a job during  interview in my next post.

When I apply this to project management; this could be mean that it doesn`t matter about adopting real project management discipline or indiscipline, the most important is how do you smoothly manage the project during the implementation.

Some project manager work very hard just to make sure everything is on order, some rely others to do the job, some focus on real teamworks, some are forcing the contractors to follow every his commands(often being hated), some are rational (but this type of PM are always being taken for granted), and many more.

My project management at Bukit Kiara

The project manager should use varieties of attitude and approach when dealing against each different type of person or party. The is no right or wrong in situation like this, just think of your best option and do the execution. Other might think you did the wrong decision but you must be sure you do the right thing in the end.

Relax living at East 12 @ Kiara Heaven

Project management indiscipline

I always wonder what the important of project management and why people keep implementing it in a project. What are the advantages or disadvantages of it? I came across many books, thesis, and articles about the useful of project management. What are the disadvantages? Project management loopholes or people involved with it do not master the skills yet by doing the wrong implementation. I do not know much too or else I could be researching a university thesis now.

Project Management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives. A project is a finite endeavor of having specific start and completion dates undertaken to create a unique product or service which brings about beneficial change or added value.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while adhering to classic project constraints—usually scope, quality, time and budget. The secondary and more ambitious challenge is to optimize the allocation and integration of inputs necessary to meet pre-defined objectives.
A project is a carefully defined set of activities that use resources (money, people, materials, energy, space, provisions, communication, motivation, etc.) to achieve the project goals and objectives. Regardless of the methodology used, the project development process will have the same major stages: initiation, planning or development, production or execution, monitoring and controlling, and closing.

I wonder if any delay or shortages of the above said resources could trigger the delay of executing the project. Or maybe the project manager has the skills to make sure it progress amid of the missing resources? hmm..or maybe,, some party may end up the winners and some will be the losers in order to balance the project shortages.

Interestingly, monitoring and controlling stage consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. I found this very important stage is lacking in our society project management.

Monitoring and Controlling cycle

My view on project management is that it can be very useful and effective if being implemented correctly and everyone is playing on the rules and regulations. Otherwise, some people will try to manipulate it in order to gain advantages.