Retrospective: PM Standards
The PM Standards project was successfully implemented despite an ironic amount of project mismanagement.
Phase 1 Goal: To present the repository content in a way that helps aid the project management process.
Objective(s)
| Objective | Test |
| 1. The repository includes rules for enhancements. | Pass* |
*There isn’t an explicit set of rules but it is easy to enhance.
Origin
This project was sparked during the Retrospective of the Online Notes (Phase I) project which was the first Cryptiquest project that officially kept notes. There were several issues with that project that revealed a guide of best practices could have helped to mitigate the problems.
This has become even more apparent as subsequent projects revealed more and more lessons that would apply to the process of project creation. And as new practices were implemented, errors and double work started to drop; showcasing that following best practices was working.
Need: To create an official repository for project management best practices
Proposed Ideal Situation Vs. Actuality
The proposed ideal situation was a workable template for project generation. One where a creator could think of a project and use the template to guide them to launch while mitigating pitfalls.
In actuality, the outcome produced…
Production Plan vs. Actuality
| Step | The Plan | Actuality |
| 1 | 1. Document the practices listed in the Retrospectives 2. Identify additional practices used that were not listed in Retrospectives 3. Determine additional practices that have not been instituted yet. | Did what was prescribed |
| 2 | Explore how much of what content should be included in this project. | Did what was prescribed |
| 3 | Plot the solution for this project and slate new projects in the All Project Deliverables table. | Did what was prescribed |
| 4 | 1. Draft instructions 2. Templates 3. Project Anatomy / Terminology | 1. Drafted instructions 2. Drafted terms 3. Drafted templates |
| 5 | Review the documentation | 1. Conducted internal review 2. Conducted confidant review |
| 6 | Implement the documentation on the site | Did what was prescribed |
| 7 | Launch the project | Did what was prescribed |
Session Rundown
Issues
Session 01: Kick-off
This session started off like any other kick-off session but a problem formed while assessing limitations. It became clear that research needed to be conducted but rather than conducting the research before defining the goal, a snap decision resulted in an attempt to break the project up into two different phases each with their own goal and objectives.
The result was successful in that the goals were met but the approach created unnecessary complications. The correct method going forward – which has already been integrated in the project management guidelines, is to carry out research as its own phase before moving on to the next step of the project.
Session 02: Gathering Data
This session was dedicated to gathering project management notes from the previous Retrospectives and listing out project management standards that haven’t been implemented yet. This went well with nothing to highlight.
Session 03: Analyzing Data
In this session, all the gathered data was compiled, organized, and categorized. Categories were tagged as either within or outside of the scope of the project, revealing an outline of data categories to include in the project.
Session 04: Designing the Presentation
This session started as a design exploration but ended up simulating a “kick-off” session. A failure here lied in the objectives. There was no consideration given for company values and the only objective that was developed was not very helpful. The project management guide now suggests to do this.
Session 05: Drafting Instructions
As indicated, this session was dedicated to drafting the instructions. There isn’t a lot to report here as it went well.
Session 06: Drafting the Terms
This session went as expected. Notably this exercise helped refine the process and helped to think about the organization of project management in a more structured way.
Session 07: Drafting the Templates
This session was pretty straight forward with little to report.
Session 08: Internal Review
This session focused on editing the terms, instructions, and templates to prepare them for an external review. This went well.
Missing Sessions
After the internal review, development stalled. Production was intermittent due to external conflict. During this time, session notes were abandoned as progress was executed when possible.
A “Confidant Review” was executed followed by “Implementation”. Then the project was launched. There were some steps skipped and while it’s impossible to prevent external conflicts from interfering with production, the usage of the guidelines should at least mitigate missed steps.
Issues Addressed
- Since the issues raised have been addressed via external actions, there are no issues left to address here.
Action Items
- With no issues to claim, there are no action items left to take.