Project managers need allies. Some you create. Some you find. Others find you.
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The first time we met was at a conference call with a cast of thousands. It was my third project day at a company and industry new to me.
From various departments they came. Scores of us crammed in a huddle around a Frisbee-sized disc with holes in it. Everyone knew everyone else.
Here I was, the introvert hired to transform the company’s digital world, listening to flecks of conversation laced with mysterious terminology.
Several questions came and went. I waited for some airtime to ask a question that seemed relevant to the problem I’d been hired to solve.
I had zero technical acumen in this field. What I did have at the time was 15 years of project management experience. During the call, I kept hearing a term I didn’t fully understand: usability testing.
Finally, I grabbed a moment of silence during the Q&A, leaned into the Frisbee and asked, “What is usability testing?”
Did everyone in the room turn toward me like I’d asked the dumbest question on earth? Or did I imagine it? I consoled myself with the standard I was brave enough to ask the question others wanted to ask but didn’t.
The vendor briefly responded to my query, then said, “We’re out of time” and ended the call. I didn’t understand any better how “usability testing” might relate to my project than before I asked the question.
An instinct whispered, Learn more.
The huddle dispersed. As I gathered my papers, I noticed a slightly built man with a warm smile and mussed hair. He remained at the table then scooted a few chairs toward me. “I know a lot about usability testing. And I can point you to some good papers on the subject.”
Cue music: some enchanted meeting/you will see a stranger…
Wicked smart and full of heart, this colleague became the first of many technical allies who would be critical to the project’s success.
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