Interview with Egile Waterfall about Project Management Topics in 2015 – Part 2

… this week – Interview with Egile Waterfall – Part 2

We remember last weeks interview part …

projektkladde had the luck to interview Egile Waterfall in the middle of january about their vision of project management methods for online projects in 2015. Egile Waterfall is Senior Project Manager Evangelist at DDBB in San Francisco. (…)

Egile: thanks for all the flowers, you are so kind! my guess for 2015 is, that we have to work on these 5 main topics:

1. to make a real marriage of agile project method and the classic way of project handling
2. to open the project managers mind
3. to reduce the project managers focus
4. to love the project again and again
5. to care of the environment of the project

Today, we continue with TOP 4. …

p: in top 4 you talk about love to the project?! sounds a bit strange for us to connect love and big projects isn’t it?

E: what do you think how real big projects go live? only by planning? only by enormous budgets? no. at the end it is all about love of the team and it’s project manager to their project. wouldn’t they love the subject, wouldn’t they really, really want the GO LIVE, it would give much more failed projects than nowadays.

p: … and what do you mean by „love again and again“ …

E: … and again and again. it’s all about hating and loving in circles. there is no linear, no constant relationship between PM and project, they are all professionals for sure, but they had to kick theirself in the as from time to time during the different phases in the project to reanimate their love to the project and its planned outcome. like in long-lasting a marriage. (she giggles). a big project is like a short, compressed lifetime marriage with all its ups and downs of such relations.

p: puh!

E: (a glimpse of erotic smile on her face) yes, but at the end you’ll love the results!

p: (looks on his watch): i could talk to you for hours but we have to hurry up, because of your next flight. out of this reason we come to the last issue: „to care of the environment of the project “. please give our readers a hint what you summarize in here?

E: One aspect is the project itself, that’s for sure. but as a project manager you have to keep in view the project surroundings, the edges of the project. it is not enough to concentrate on the next milestone or phase or sprint or whatever you will call in 2030, you have to uplift yourself and get an helicopter view, to check what is going on in the company you launch the project for, what are doing the stakeholders, how changes the market during the project work, question yourself: are there new technologies outside, which can help me to solve an certain aspect of the project …

p: … that sounds like much time the PM has to invest beside the project?!

E: yes, indeed, but it is worthwhile. PMs of these days have to define theirself as explorer, leader of an expedition, because projects getting more and more complex and their is no exact, no in beforehand defined and guaranteed way of solution which you can read out of one of these PM standard books. Talent for improvisation and ability of change your mindset fast is the answer to a good PM job description. project plans and reports are your tools, not our passion! (she breathes deep after this explanation and a very fast speaking speed. always with a light weighted smile in her face.)

p: thank you very much for your time & the very inspiring interview! enjoy your trip to stockholm and good luck with your new client h&m! (he looks full of expectation)

E: the pleasure for the interview was on my side – and – i newer confirmed you last comment. (she laughs out loud).

Half an hour later charming Egile Waterfall was on her way to sweden … hopefully we meet her agin next time to talk about further topics (f.e. Kanban, lean PM, …) of project management.