Sunday, 13 February 2022

The "3 sides and 6 beats" of project management!

"Three sides" refers to: while planning, while implementing, while modifying, "six beats" refers to: pat the head, pat the shoulder, pat the chest, pat the table, pat the ass, pat the thigh! "three sides and six beats" is very graphic and thought-provoking!

"three sides and six beats" is not my original, at the beginning i heard it from my leader, i think it is very interesting, very graphic, very practical. here's a look at what is the "six beats" of project management and some of my feelings; then i'll introduce the "three sides" and my experience.


first beat: pat your head


the customer leader and the software company leader together, "pat their heads" to determine a project, so the project is about to start, and your trouble is about to come.

the main problem of "patting your head" is that you did not think clearly about why you wanted to do this project, did not think much about the feasibility and final effect, and impulsively let the project start.

my feelings:

as a project manager, you are often unable to intervene in this "head-patting" process, and it is unlikely that your leader can shoot his head better the next time. all you can do is figure out the context of the project, figure out what is the motivation of your leaders and the leaders of the client to do the project?

for a project to be successful, you must meet both your leaders' and clients' ideas. of course, the ideas of the leaders of both sides may not be sure, which may make you very passive, but it also brings you the opportunity to "control" these things, although the early stage is "patting the head" to arrange the project, but you can fully communicate with the leaders of both sides in the later stage, and gradually clarify the unclear things in the leader's head (of course, the difficulty is super high), so that the project has a chance to succeed.

second beat: pat on the shoulder


when the leader arranges the project work for you, he often says something like this in a serious tone: how important is the project to the company, you are a very important person in the company, the project is not as successful as you can... patting you on the shoulder is to set cordiality and trust with you, and sometimes invite you or even the project team to dinner to show gratitude and trust to everyone.

my thoughts:

we do software development, in fact, is not stupid, these  actually make me feel very disgusting, and when you encounter such a situation, you must hypocritically do the following third beat thing, even more disgusting! but if i were the leader, how would i arrange the project work? could it be that this is the same disgusting

third beat: pat on the chest


some friends, may really think that the leader attaches great importance to you, and "pat the chest" without hesitation ensures that there is no problem!

some friends are smarter, he knows that you can't shirk this project (unless you want to leave), but he also knows that the task is arduous, he will pat his chest at the same time, ask for more manpower and extend the construction period, often get some compromises from the boss.

i am a kind of stupid, i will directly tell the leader about some of the major problems of this project, some projects i learned about the project "head patting" process, i will even say that the project is unlikely to succeed. i often do this to upset the leaders, feel that i am disobedient, think that i have no confidence in the project, etc.

my thoughts:

it is really difficult to be a person, i am not a person who promises casually, i can list the specific problems of the project, indicating that i have seriously considered, there are naturally directions for efforts, there is no problem, in fact, the problem is bigger, i don't know how the leader thinks? patting your chest is really painful!

fourth beat: pat the table


the project is not progressing well, and the leader slaps the table and scolds people!

the leader slapped the table and scolded people, it may be really angry, can't help but shoot, or it may be to give you a sense of deterrence, so that you have more pressure to work.

there are also leaders who are very powerful and will hold back their anger, he knows that at present, he can only rely on you, and will not "clean up" you after the project is completed!

my thoughts:

using the factory model to manage software projects is actually a silly approach. software projects are creative things, boring and high-pressure, often making the project team not think about how to be simpler and less workload, but tired of running and constantly reworking. and the boss sees you working overtime desperately, although the success of the work is not ideal, but at least the boss will be more comfortable. what a boring and strange phenomenon!

if you encounter a powerful leader, temporarily hold back your anger and continue to "treat you with courtesy." someone will take the opportunity to "blackmail", at this time ask for a salary increase, 90% is no problem, but you wait for the project to be fired, and it may be fired very badly.


fifth beat: pat on the butt


now it is not a slave society, i am not selling to you for life,  can fight the west family if he does not fight the east family, you can be mad  is gone, you take care of your broken project yourself!

my thoughts:

whether it is the east or the west, in fact, the family is a ghost, you just jump from one fire pit to another. don't pat yourself on the back and think about whether you deserve to stay! everything is not perfect, it is even more impossible to go well when you come out to work, from your career planning thinking, are you worth continuing to fight for this project? of course, remember that there must be a basic work ethic to be a person, he is not kind, i will not be unjust!


sixth beat: pat the thigh



the leader took the project manager away, and the project was left unattended, so he patted his thigh and regretted it.


my thoughts:


if you knew that, why did you do it in the first place? but many leaders still keep repeating the "six beats", and the leaders are really not good!


"trilateral" means: planning, implementing, and modifying.


many projects are often rushed without overall planning, tight project schedules, too many unclear factors, the project team under high pressure, often see one step at a time, while making modifications. the final project effect will not be very good, not only the project team is painful, the interests of customers will also be hurt, and the final result is "lose-lose"!


in fact, many projects may not escape the fate of the "three sides", because when the project is launched, the demand is uncertain, and the technology is often uncertain, but the construction period is limited, and the budget of the project is also likely to be limited, under the framework of "two major limits, two uncertainties", "three sides" is difficult to avoid. the projects i have done are almost impossible to get comprehensive and accurate requirements from the beginning, and it is impossible to make a long-term and comprehensive plan at the beginning of the project, and it is my usual practice to iterate in small versions. in fact, agile has the characteristics of "three sides", but it is not "seeing one step at a time", but there is a long-term strategic plan, through a small version of the gradual approach to our goal, to maintain dexterity while also predicting changes.


so my impression of "three sides" is: "three sides" does not mean a low level, the key is whether you are agile "three sides" or passive "three sides"?


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