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Project Management Operating Room

Project Management Operating Room

by Allerion Solutions

Season 1

Ep.6: Why A Project Manager Ended Up In Tears

In Episode 6 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at 3 cases: Acute Spinelessness - A PM refuses and is unwilling to stand up for the team during messy handoffs from sales Platform Rejection - A PM decides to use tools against company security policy because they don't like Microsoft tools Contagious Panic - A PM struggles to navigate a toxic work culture during a company-wide panic, but in the process adds fuel to the fire Have feedback? pmor@allerionsolutions.com

Ep.5: When Project Management Is Done Via 80 Slack Chats

In Episode 5 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at three interesting cases: Misdiagnosed Authority - A new PM is struggling to mesh with the team on an urgent project and wants management to make the lead and senior developer the PM's direct reports Agile Dysfunction - A PM struggles to adapt to a new environment where the team works informally across Slack without following any Agile framework Phantom Artifact Pain - A PM is frustrated that they spent a lot of time making a beautiful Gantt chart, but the team wasn’t interested in reviewing or discussing it. Have feedback? Send it to pmor@allerionsolutions.com

Ep4: PM Burnout, Unchecked Scope Creep, and PM Fighting The Wrong Battles

In Episode 4 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at three cases: Third Degree Burnout: A PM neglects their 50-person team to pursue a two-year personal tech plan, while justifying it by claiming soft skills are "stupid." The Double Bypass: Informal discussions between the client and developer yield new scope that isn't brought to the PM's attention, which leads to delays. Conflicting Treatment Plans: A debate between the PM and the team over horizontal vs. vertical spreadsheet layouts exposes a bigger question about which battles we should fight as PMs. Have feedback to share? Send it to pmor@allerionsolutions.com

An Agile Coach Who Doesn't Practice What They Preach

In episode 3 of the Project Management Operating Room, we take a look at a case where a brand new project manager is struggling with being responsible without authority. Then, we look at a case where an Agile coach is concerned that the team is pushing back on their desired ceremonies. Finally, we look at a case where a PM is frustrated that their efforts to implement Notion were not well received by the team. Have feedback? I'd love to hear it - PMOR@allerionsolutions.com

Project Manager Believes Team Is Using AI Too Much

In Episode 2 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at 3 cases. First, we break down a case where a project manager has lost their privileges for scheduling meetings due to a series of mistakes that were made. Next, we look at a case where a project manager is potentially stepping over a boundary with the team when it comes to the use of AI. Lastly, we look at a case where a failure to document decisions is hurting the project. All feedback is welcome. You can send it to PMOR@allerionsolutions.com

A Project Manager Struggles To Adapt To New Leadership

In Episode 1 of The PM Operating Room, we examine three real project management problems sourced from the project management community and diagnose what's actually going wrong and what to do about it. Case 01: Template Amnesia The same types of projects are executed over and over, but the team starts from scratch every time. No templates, no shared repository, no reuse of previous work. We diagnose why a seemingly simple problem is not that simple and where responsibility lies. Case 02: PM in Quarantine A veteran PM with 15 years of experience gets a new CIO who bars them from planning and estimation sessions. The tactical quarantine creates a context gap and leaves the PM questioning what the role even means going forward. We break down what's really driving this dynamic and what the PM should actually do about it. Case 03: Self-Induced Coma A PM secures a verbal commitment from a team member to own critical testing work. Six months later that person claims they never committed to anything. The project is in chaos, deadlines are at risk, and everyone is pointing fingers. We diagnose how this really happened and how to start fixing it. No textbook answers, no buzzword mumbo-jumbo. Just practical solutions from someone who has been there. Send feedback to pmor@allerionsolutions.com

Ep,7: When Risk Management Is Done From The Sidelines

In Episode 7 of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at what happens when risk management is done from a project manager relegated to working on the sidelines. This episode covers: Hyper Hubris - A 2 person team decides they are no longer happy with the UI of their SaaS PM tool and decides to create one from scratch Sensory Deprivation - A new PM joins the team and is asked to manage risk, but is not invited to all of the meetings and feels like they are not contributing to the project Over Prescription - A new PM is trying to lead a small Indie game development team, but is getting hung up on what tools to use and what work to assign Feedback is always welcome at pmor@allerionsolutions.com

Debunking Linkedin Project Management "Thought Leadership"

If you scroll through Linkedin and immediately want to close the tab, this episode is for you. In this special edition of the Project Management Operating Room, we look at some of the "thought leadership" posts on Linkedin and break down how so many of these viewpoints don't hold up outside of social media. 00:00 - The LinkedIn "Thought Leadership" Problem 00:28 - Case 1: Spiderwoman: The Dependency Mapper 04:26 - Case 2: The Translation "Miracle" 10:14 - Case 3: PM Responsibility in Changing Organizations 16:14 - Case 4: AI Requirements "Shortcut" 22:10 - The Takeaway: Why Real PM Work Isn't One-Size-Fits-All All feedback is welcome at pmor@allerionsolutions.com

Case File: When A Project Manager Demands Authority

In this episode of the Project Management Operating Room, we focus on a case file of a project manager who demands that two developers who aren't doing what the PM says be made direct reports of the PM. We take a look at the many misconceptions this PM has, examine the other advice on Reddit and why it is misguided, and then offer practical solutions. Have feedback? pmor@allerionsolutions.com

Project Manager's Error Sends Project Into Chaos

In this Project Management Operating Room Case Files episode, we do a deeper dive on a project where a project manager relied solely upon a verbal agreement to complete project work only for the team to come back 6 months later and say they never made that commitment. Project chaos ensues.