Video: https://youtu.be/dqJYS_vbBlY Writers are involved in project management. From the smallest piece of content (maybe just a review of a letter) to the most complex content going (documenting an airplane, drug, electric car, government policy, software manual, medical device, or any other information) we manage scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, stakeholder input, and so much more. Isn’t it about time we leveraged the best practices of project management to deliver the best documentation we can? Learn to manage projects better by knowing more about the core components of a project. Identify what these mean for tech comm. Leave with a key list of 10 knowledge areas, and an understanding of how they relate to every single tech comm project we work on. Better documentation through better management of our work. Sounds easy, right? Show up, learn how, show immediate value when you return to work.

1. Project Management and TC Fundamentals
Bernard Aschwanden
www.publishingsmarter.com
Plan for Tomorrow
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@aschwanden4stc

2. The next hour or so…
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 Writers are involved in project management
 From the smallest piece of content to the most complex
content going we manage scope, schedule, budget, quality,
risk, stakeholder input, and much more
 We can leveraged the best practices of project management
to deliver the best documentation
 Learn to manage projects better by knowing more about the
core components of a project
 Identify what these mean for tech comm
 Leave with a key list of 10 knowledge areas, and an
understanding of how they relate to every single tech comm
project we work on
 Better documentation through better management of our work
 Learn how, show immediate value when you return to work

3. Who The Heck Am I?
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 Bernard Aschwanden
 A past President of
www.stc.org and founder
of Publishing Smarter
 Helps teams make the
case that content is the
key business asset with a
focus on how creating,
managing, planning, and
sharing content makes or
breaks a relationship

4. These lead to project
success
1. Integration Mgmt
2. Scope Mgmt
3. Time Mgmt
4. Cost Mgmt
5. Quality Mgmt
6. Human Resource
Mgmt
7. Communications
Mgmt
8. Risk Mgmt
9. Procurement Mgmt
10. Stakeholder Mgmt
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10 Knowledge Areas, by order in the PMBOK®
Guide
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5. Annual global survey of project,
program and portfolio managers
charting major trends in project
management
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PMI Pulse of the Profession
https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/
thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2018.pdf

6. Summary of Success
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 Champion organizations see 80%+ of projects delivered
on time, on budget, and meeting business intents by
managing time/resources well
 Continue to mature project talent, capabilities, and culture
 Higher project success rates (92 percent versus 32 percent for
underperformers), more successful business outcomes and waste
significantly less money due to poor project performance
 No single factor is driving success
 Smart organizations understand that proven PM
practices lead to greater success and less waste
 In technical communication, let’s borrow their ideas and
successes

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8. Key phrases in the report that stood out
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 Part of being a great
project leader is being an
actively engaged sponsor
as it helps ensure
stakeholders are aligned
and the vision is
communicated
effectively—Tony Meggs,
Chief Executive,
Infrastructure and Projects
Authority (IPA)
 The PMO directors and
executive leaders
interviewed have seen the
role of the project manager
is expanding to:
 Communicator: is always
clear and concise—no
matter the audience
 PMOs are being leveraged
in improving
communication or
interaction between the
organization and
customers

9. More phrases
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 Over half of champions
feel:
 digital transformation will
have a major impact on work
 one in four mentioned the
ability to learn,
understand, apply, and
keep up with technology
as the most-needed skill
 Other skills include
 communication (22%)
 leadership and
management skills (18%)
 change management,
adaptability, and flexibility
(12%).
 4/5 respondents report that
soft skills, such as
communications,
leadership, and negotiation,
are more important today
than they were just five
years ago
 Effective project sponsors
use their influence to
actively overcome
challenges by
communicating the
project’s alignment to
strategy, removing
roadblocks, and driving
organizational change

10. And finally…
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 An organization should
understands the link
between projects and
strategy and has a
culture that supports
project management
 That includes
emphasizing
communication and
knowledge transfer

11. As defined by PMI and what your job
should be to achieve success
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10 Knowledge Areas

12. Integration Management
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 … is primarily concerned with “making choices about
where to concentrate resources and effort on any
given day, anticipating potential issues, dealing with
these issues before they become critical, and
coordinating work for the overall project good”
 Your Job: Pulling together the activities from all the
other knowledge areas to make the project a
success
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13. Scope Management
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 … is primarily concerned with “defining and
controlling what is and is not included in the project”
 Your Job: Ensure that the project includes all the
work required, and only the work required, to
complete the project successfully
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14. Time/Schedule Management
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 … is primarily concerned with accomplishing “timely
completion of the project”
 Your Job: Identify activities, sequence them,
estimate resources required to complete them,
estimate time requirements, and schedule them
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15. Cost Management
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 … is primarily concerned with “planning, estimating,
budgeting, and controlling costs so that the project
can be completed within the approved budget”
 Your Job: Estimate cost of resources for project,
budget these across activities/work packages, and
influence those factors that create cost
variances/budget changes
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16. Quality Management
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 … is primarily concerned with the project satisfying
“the needs for which it was undertaken”
 Your Job: Identify which quality standards are
relevant to your project, apply them, and monitor
project results for compliance
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17. Human Resource Management
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 … is primarily concerned with “processes that
organize and manage the project team”
 Your Job: Ensure early involvement during the
planning process, identify project roles and
responsibilities, clarify reporting structure, find
bodies to do the work, build/improve on existing skill
sets (provide training), track performance
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18. Communication Management
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 … is primarily concerned with ensuring the “timely
and appropriate generation, collection, distribution,
storage, retrieval, and ultimate disposition of project
information”
 Your Job: Determine who is a stakeholder and what
info they need, distribute required information to
stakeholders, report on status and performance,
resolve any stakeholder issues
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19. Risk Management
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 … is primarily concerned with risk “identification,
analysis, responses, and monitoring and control on a
project”
 Your Job: Determine which risks might affect the
project, prioritize them based on probability and
impact, analyze their effect, develop options and
actions if they occur, monitor them, and execute
response plans if required
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20. Procurement Management
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 … is primarily concerned with the purchase or
acquisition of “products, services, or results needed
from outside the project team to perform the work”
 Your Job: Determine what tools or training to
purchase, what additional hardware is needed, and
whether a consultant is needed and who to hire;
determine timing; follow-up after delivery
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21. Stakeholder Management
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 … is “a strategic discipline that successful project
managers use to win and sustain support for their
projects from others, both internal and external to
their project and to the project's organization.”
 Your Job: Ensure you know who is impacted, within
and outside your company, and keep them “looped
in” on what is happening in all areas. Read more:
https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/stakeholder-
management-plan-6090
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Integration
Scope
Time
Cost
Quality
HR
Communication
Risk
Procurement
Stakeholder

23. BTW, Certification in PM is huge
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 72% of PMO leaders feel certification is very relevant
for mid-career project managers
 Certifications typically require ongoing professional
development, allowing project managers to evolve,
enhance, and grow a variety of skills, including
technical, leadership, and digital skills
 Sound familiar?
 It should. STC has certification and as it grows this will
become crucial to project success.
 Current certification is ideal for newer to TC and mid level, but
more is being developed

24. www.publishingsmarter.com
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