3 experts have described difficult decisions they had to take in one project.
Now think about what was important for them in taking the decision the took. Would they act differently in a different context? Why?
(If you are part of an ongoing PM bootcamp cohort on DEXA, also copy your comment to your group)
Dealing with difficult decision requires skills and a lot of tolerance especially internal decision.
That decision to terminate a project will be due unable to keep up with timeline with few equipment, resources.
They acted differently to all problems because all problems have specific and designed solution.
A key factor that drove their decision is communication. That’s about 80% of all the requirements in Project Management.
They all had their customers in mind and worked harder to find solutions to all the challenges they encountered in the course of satisfying them.
So, with a customer-satisfaction and solutions-based mindset, it was easy to move mountains, make compromises and galvanize the support of all stakeholders, through effective communication, towards solving the problems and getting the projects done.
Each project comes with its uniqueness and it difficulties. Time and manpower also has a way of affecting a project also
Dealing with difficult decisions
Managing a project manager is not an easy task. This involves dealing with difficult times and people. Every project manager must take serious decisions during difficulty situation. Different measures should be taken while looking in different perspectives. However, project team managers should collaborate with project stakeholders for common understanding.
Oliyide Oluwatobi
Cohort 13
Team 10
Dealing with difficult discussions (Discussion)
When making difficult decisions, it is important to consider all of the available information and options carefully. This includes weighing the potential risks and benefits of each option, as well as considering the potential impact of the decision on others. These are some factors important to them(experts in the video) in their decision-making process are:
– Project goals & everyone’s expectations: What did they want to achieve, and what did others involved need?
– Risks & uncertainty: What could go wrong with each choice, and how unsure were they of the outcome?
– What they had & what they lacked: Did they have the people, tools, and time they needed for each option?
– Team & expert input: What did others think, and what expertise did they offer?
– Right & wrong: Would the choice be fair and good for society?
The project managers would act differently based on their individual context which are as follows:
1. Organization
2. Local community
3. International community
They would adapt their decisions to align with the goals and values of these context listed above.
The vital things to experts in making decision are:
1. Proferring solution e.g buffer storage
2. Adding value
3. The strategic goal of the project
4. Better working relationship
Different context could call for different approaches, but with the same guidelines for problem solving and arriving at a win-win situation.
Difficulties in projects arise when projects do not flow according to predetermined specifications or when surprises happen. In that moment, an honest analysis of the situation is required—an honest analysis free from exaggerations and assumptions. When the analysis is done, a hard or difficult decision has to be made, like pulling the plug, or changing the team working on it. The person to pay for it should also be clearly stated, in some projects I have handled, the project manager and some members of the team bear the additional cost, while in others, the client bears the additional cost.
– Chijioke Obioma, Team 5, Cohort 13
Different projects comes with different challenges that needs different approaches
It is possible to act differently in a different context as different projects always come with its own kind of problem.