Learning From a Project "Post-Mortem"

Projects can be a tricky business, that’s for sure.  There are so many details involved.  One must keep track of what the client wants, assure all stakeholders are on the same page, and assure timelines are met.  I learned a lot about this type of business from working in the sales department when I first graduated college, in what I call my first career.  I was working for a promotional products company out of St. Louis, MO.  The Edward Jones account was my “baby” so to speak.  I was the assistant sales representative for the account.  Anything Edward Jones needed with their logo printed on it, I handled it.  I found out very quickly the detail that goes into managing the accounting by shadowing my boss. 

Looking back, I recall a very large order in which Edward Jones wanted their logo printed on Waterford Crystal vases.  The stress alone from that order is still present in my body as I think back to the time I went through the process of ordering the vases from Waterford, assuring the logo was in the proper placement on the vases, nothing would be broken, the shipments would arrive on time to the location, etc.  Nothing went terribly wrong with the order in the end, but I recall several small hiccups along the way.  My boss and I stayed many late nights to get this order to go as planned.  My husband and I often joke about the two month time span when he did not see me (I was working on this project).  In the original conversation with Edward Jones they had wanted a particular vase that would be backordered for too many days to meet the deadline, so we had to have them pick another vase.  This caused us to have to re-work the way the logo would set on the new vase because there was no clear place for a logo on the other vase.  My boss and I had some scary moments in which we thought the etching company had incorrectly etched the logo on the vases.  It was an extremely expensive order and the largest budget I have ever worked with and possible ever will.

After helping to run such a large-scale successful project like this, and many more over the course of three years, you would this I could easy place a small order and assure it goes fine.  OH NO!  I was so upset, angry, and downright mortified with myself this summer when I ordered t-shirts for our community volleyball league.  The shirts were the same design, but the kids, men, and women had different colored shirts.  I placed the orders for sizes never once thinking for a second that the two older kids who wore adult sizes would receive the women’s color instead of kid’s color, until I got them.  I ended up reordering the two shirts I messed up and paying for them myself, since it was my fault.  The problem with reordering such a small order with the t-shirt company is that they charge nearly double for such a small order. 

Had I thought back to the days I spent with Edward Jones and that Waterford Crystal order, I would have known the importance of paying attention to detail.  I would also have a little more in my budget (the cost of a couple of shirts).  The first stage of this project was when a group of friends and I got together and decided we wanted to have t-shirts made for our volleyball games.  That was the planning process.  When relating this to the project management world, this was a kind of “kick off meeting” as mentioned by Greer (2010).  During this meeting I should have done more initial planning by discussing the sizing as it related to the details of the shirt colors.  I took notes on the shirt sizes of each person wanting to order and knew of a lady that could make the shirts for us.  Projects large and small need alike must have another set of eyes to look over the plans, in my opinion.  Greer (2010) calls this “review and input,” which were both lacking from my project.  I took on the entire project myself and did not ask for anyone to review it and never asked anyone for input before placing the order.  My mistake and it cost me. 

 

Resources

 Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.