And now for something completely different…
I spent this afternoon working with the architects and project managers for a new office build we are about to kick off. My experience with managing projects has been predominantly in the business & systems space so construction is something a bit new and different for me.
My first impression is that project management - irrespective of what the project is - seems to be pretty much the same across the board. Locking down scope, building in plenty of contingency and managing (usually shifting) risk are the name of the game. Things get even more interesting when there are multiple players in the game.
Over the last 12 months a team of us have spent quite a bit of time looking at working cultures, office spaces, policies and the usage of technologies both here in NZ & overseas and this is a fantastic opportunity to put those experiences and learnings into practice on a live project.
I’m looking forward to the coming months as we move through the various project phases and see the building literally rise up out of the ground. We are not simply looking to build an office but rather create a working environment which promotes more cross-team collaboration, new & different ways of working and the usage of a range of modern technologies.
I will continue to blog about my thoughts and experiences as the project progresses so watch this space.