The expression “trial and error” is a heuristic method for obtaining both propositional and procedural knowledge, testing one alternative after another until finding the solution to a problem.
This talk aims to explain precisely what my own “trial and error” has been throughout the different challenges I’ve faced while working with international public organizations such as the European Commission and the United Nations.
I will begin by sharing, based on my experience, what the minimum required knowledge was and which resources I relied on at the beginning. I’ll talk about different methodologies (or rather, the best aspects of each) that helped me maintain control over the project and its scope, avoiding deviations and mitigating risks.
Then, we will focus on the different areas of project management, reviewing the challenges we encounter and how we overcome them:
Managing your own time:
When I first started taking on management tasks, I felt overwhelmed by meetings, tasks I didn’t fully control, emails—so many details in my head and a huge mental load. I’ll explain how I’ve managed to avoid letting anything slip through the cracks and keep everything under control.
Managing other people’s time:
It’s important that your team understands what they need to do and when—but above all, it’s crucial that the time they dedicate to the project makes them feel happy and motivated.
Managing a project:
What are the keys to making a project succeed? No one has the magic formula… maybe a pinch of common sense, 100 grams of flexibility, three tablespoons of commitment to the client, and a generous amount of diplomacy to taste. I believe that simply having a clear scope and managing change well (if we’re dealing with a waterfall project) or being flexible yet coherent (if we’re leaning toward agile, the complete opposite) is not enough—and I’ll explain why.
Managing clients:
Do you understand your client? Are you aligned? Do you share a sense of commitment? In my case, I’ve worked with very technical clients who wanted to understand the reasoning behind every line of code, as well as clients who didn’t even want to perform a UAT. We’ll review the different types of clients and the “trial and error” I applied with each of them to keep the project moving forward.
