As everyone repeats time and time and again…’every organization is different.'
Organizations can differ in culture, in project management style, in how they like to celebrate company holidays, track their budgets, etc. While keeping trade secrets under lock and key within a company is a great way to maintain a competitive edge, collaborating on ways to turn over projects faster, implement new project management software or simply how to communicate seamlessly within an organization can be a win-win for everyone. In the past, I’ve received invitations to user conferences and user group meetings, and to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure why I should go. Now, I think I have idea. So over the next few posts, I’ll break down reasons why I think user groups and conferences are a good idea.
#1 Companies newer to project management have a clean slate
Some companies are just starting to development their project management cycle, while others have one that has been set in place for the past 20 years! So where do these two, very different types of teams meet?
One would immediately think that the company with a history with project management would provide insight and guidance to the company still building their cycle first. And yes, that can definitely be beneficial for the company that is still trying out new ideas, but that’s not the point of this particular reason. The point is that a new project management office or a company just beginning to develop a process are starting FRESH. No bad habits have been formed yet, no ‘flaws’ to be fixed, etc.
Here is where a user group comes in handy. Collaborating and learning from other teams that do have a set project management cycle prevents them from starting from complete scratch. By watching how other teams manage their projects, a newer PMO can take bits and pieces and build a process that suits their organization the best way possible.
Janelle Abaoag, Project Insight
