Project Mastery: How Damian adapts project methodologies to ensure success.

Scrum, Kanban, or Lean? Damian Schurman, our IT Project Manager, explains his flexible approach to project management and how he tailors methodologies to fit each project's unique needs. Dive into his adaptive strategies for successful project delivery.

Q1: How were your first 100 days at Assemblio?

My first 100 days at Assemblio have been immensely rewarding. The company’s clear vision, excellent product, and people-centered approach have provided an ideal environment for me to contribute my experience. I've had the opportunity to collaborate on new projects, drive continuous improvement, and help define our ways of working, all while being guided by Assemblio’s values. We embrace a Lean Agile methodology, focusing on what the teams need and what is feasible, without being overly rigid. The freedom to work creatively, the genuine interest in my ideas, and the high caliber of my colleagues have made this an exceptionally satisfying and joyful experience.

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Q2: Can you describe a recent project you managed and the key challenges you faced? How did you overcome them?

?I led the introduction of a discovery phase aimed at refining initial ideas by analyzing their impact, effort, and value, with a strong emphasis on feasibility. This process presented several key challenges, such as ensuring alignment and a shared understanding across various departments, each of which approached projects differently. Since we work toward different goals, including the balance of needs of customers, the company, and available resources, we had to set priorities.

To address these challenges, we fostered an environment of open communication and leveraged collaborative tools. These efforts enabled us to successfully implement the discovery phase, significantly enhancing our idea refinement process. By utilizing tools that facilitated cross-functional collaboration and engaging in critical discussions that considered all perspectives, we developed an effective and cohesive approach to our projects.

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Q3: How do you ensure effective communication and collaboration within your project team, especially when working with remote or distributed teams?

Ensuring effective communication and collaboration within a project team, especially with remote or distributed members, requires a strategic mix of clear processes, appropriate tools, and a focus on team dynamics. Best practices include establishing clear communication channels such as Slack for messaging and Zoom for video calls, as well as using collaborative tools for project management and document sharing.

To achieve successful outcomes, we distributed clear roles and responsibilities, recording them in task assignment tools for transparency and accountability. Additionally, we emphasized continuous improvement through regular retrospectives and feedback loops, allowing us to evaluate and enhance our collaboration practices based on team input.

Q4: What project management methodologies do you prefer and why?

As a project manager, I use a wide array of agile methodologies such as Scrum, Kanban, and Lean, depending on the project's specific needs and context. As different projects have different requirements, a tailored approach is the most suitable. This way, I can switch or combine methodologies, which allows me to have greater adaptability in response to project dynamics and stakeholder expectations. I prefer Scrum for projects that require a structured framework with clearly defined roles, events, and artifacts because it provides a well-defined structure and helps detect issues early. For more flexible and visual projects, I use Kanban as it offers a visual representation of work items and allows for continuous delivery without the need for fixed-length iterations. Finally, Lean is suitable for projects focused on maximizing value and minimizing waste. With its value-focused design, it helps streamline processes, improve efficiency, and reduce waste, leading to cost savings and faster delivery.

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Q5: How do you handle scope changes or unexpected issues during a project? Can you provide an example of a time when you had to make significant adjustments mid-project?

Handling scope changes or unexpected issues during a project requires flexibility, proactive planning, and clear communication. Before tackling a project, I implement a formal process for submitting and approving change requests and assess the impact on the timeline, budget, and resources for each change. During the project, I maintain open communication with involved stakeholders and continually reevaluate priorities based on the new scope or issue. Since I’m a fan of agile methodology, I use agile practices to accommodate changes with minimal disruption. At the same time, I update documentation and maintain a change log to track all modifications and their impacts. To avoid major disruptions, I continuously assess and manage risk, including potential scope changes. With the maintenance of clear structures, fluent communication, and risk management, I’m confident that great results can be achieved.

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