Occasional Project Manager Masterclass

This module introduces the critical concept of “mindset” as it relates to project management. It distinguishes between a mindset and a way of thinking, and explains how values and core beliefs shape how we interpret challenges, make decisions, and adapt under pressure. The focus is on understanding the differences between Agile, Lean, and Traditional (Waterfall) mindsets, and how Occasional Project Managers (OPMs) can pragmatically borrow what works from each. You’ll learn that mindset determines whether you operate with agility or fall into rigidity, and why successful OPMs ruthlessly simplify and stay context-responsive.

Learning Objectives:

• Configure your mental “OS” for pragmatic adaptation
• Extract and apply only the useful elements from Agile/Lean
• Focus on values as the foundation of trust and adaptability, not just ceremonies
• Understand real-world team dynamics and the value of “just barely good enough” thinking
   

Topics Covered:

• What is a Mindset?
• Ways of Thinking
• Doing Agile vs. Doing with Agility
• Agile Values & Characteristics
• Agile Teams and Team Dynamics
• Theoretical vs. Practical Differences Between Agile, Lean, and Traditional Mindsets
• Tailoring Project Management Approach (Mindset, Principles, Practices, Roles, Governance)
• Occasional Project Manager mindset vs. Technical/Professional PM mindset
   

This module is about assembling the right team, scoping work, and crafting a crisp, actionable project vision—even when handed a vague or incomplete brief. It focuses on using diagnostic skepticism: surfacing assumptions, unknowns, and hidden constraints up front. You’ll learn how to build scope boundaries that are clear and actionable, practice just-enough planning to prevent disasters, and clarify what success really looks like for every stakeholder.

Learning Objectives:

• Practice diagnostic skepticism (don’t accept briefs blindly)
• Surface hidden risks, assumptions, and constraints early
• Draft vision and problem statements that are clear and actionable
• Build scope boundaries that are clear, actionable, and hard to misinterpret
• Use planning to prevent disasters—not to chase false certainty
   

Topics Covered:

• Team Management and Staffing
• Scope Management
• Vision Statement
• Problem Statement
• Goals Definition
• Scope Definition and Decomposition
• Team Formation, Roles, and Agreements
• Project Organization Structures (Adaptive vs. Fixed)
• Governance Layers and Communication Flows
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Product Breakdown Structure (PBS)

This module guides OPMs from scope to actionable plans, estimates, and routines. It breaks the habit of “analysis paralysis,” encouraging fast, minimum viable planning, realistic roadmaps, and just enough governance to avoid drift. Communication is reframed—not as status theater, but as honest risk-sharing and sanity checks.

Learning Objectives:

• Break analysis paralysis and launch before everything is “ready”
• Use estimates and roadmaps as living documents
• Set up routines that create accountability without bureaucracy
• Establish feedback loops that catch problems early
   

Topics Covered:

• Effort Estimation (Relative, Consensus-Driven, Analogy)
• Estimation Techniques (Story Points, Bucket System, etc.)
• Why Planning Fails (activity vs. feature planning, multitasking, ignoring uncertainty, etc.)
• Work Management
• Delivery Planning Approaches (Kanban, Precedence Scheduling, Agile Planning)
• Governance and Communication Models
• Launching with Minimal Viable Planning
• Team Accountability and Stakeholder Engagement

This module covers the real work of getting things done: managing backlogs, dealing with inevitable scope changes, accelerating value delivery, and measuring real progress. It equips OPMs to pivot from traditional “command and control” to a situational, adaptive coaching approach—enabling course correction and fast action.

Learning Objectives:

• Adjust tactics in real time based on project “feel” and feedback
• Embrace and handle scope changes without drama
• Measure performance by value delivered, not activity
• Make events (standups, reviews) short, focused, and meaningful
   

Topics Covered:

• Working with Backlogs
• Backlog Prioritization (MoSCoW, Kano, etc.)
• Addressing Scope Changes
• Accelerating Value Delivery
• Measuring Performance (Cycle Time, Lead Time, WIP, Team Velocity)
• Managing Project Events (Issues, Risks, Dependencies, Decisions, Actions)
• Root Cause Analysis (Fishbone, 5 Whys, FMEA, Pareto, Data Analysis)
• Kanban, Scheduling, and Flow Management
• Project Management Fabric (Aligning events to strategy/goals)

Project closure is more than paperwork. This module is about building a ritual for closing projects—handover, review, documentation, gratitude. It focuses on capturing lessons learned in real time, ensuring support teams are ready to take over, and “cleaning up” so future projects aren’t haunted by past mistakes.

Learning Objectives:

• Build an effective closure ritual: handover, review, documentation
• Create a feedback culture and capture lessons as you go
• Ensure clean, confident handoff to support/operations
• Lock in wins and learnings for the next project
   

Topics Covered:

• Project Handover to Support Teams
• Lessons Learned and Postmortem Activities
• Identifying Known Issues
• Clean Documentation and Handover
• Project Closure Rituals
• Retrospectives and Feedback Culture

This module focuses on stakeholder mapping, adaptive communication, expectation management, and conflict management. OPMs learn how to track actual—not just official—influence, practice adaptive communication, and set/reset expectations continually. Conflict is defused early through clear communication and feedback.

Learning Objectives:

• Build a stakeholder map that tracks real influence
• Adapt communication to fit the audience and situation
• Manage expectations actively—not just once, but continuously
• Defuse conflict before it escalates
   

Topics Covered:

• Stakeholder Management
• Social Attributes of Effective Communication
• Stakeholder Analysis and Mapping
• Setting and Resetting Expectations
• Communication Models (Push, Pull, Interactive)
• Feedback Culture and Controlled Failure
• Managing Team Conflicts
• Psychological Safety
• Tuckman Model (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing)
• Workplace Conflict Types and Management Strategies