Web Design Day 2011

I recently gave my "Project Management for Humans (No Robots Allowed)" talk at Web Design Day in Pittsburgh.

I loved Pittsburgh. I have not been there in a really long time, and was really impressed by the city. But, really, I was most impressed by what seemed to be a really friendly, passionate web community. These guys showed up for a full day event on a Saturday and stayed engaged all day long. The (other) speakers were great, so I guess that wasn't too hard to do!

I have to say, I was slightly nervous to give my talk to a group of designers and developers. There were a couple of PMs in the audience, but I was talking mainly to an audience outside of my practice. I had no idea how it would go over. And I was totally happy with the outcome. We did an exercise to get people thinking about project process, I talked A LOT, and then there were a bunch of questions. I could not have been happier, and am so happy to know that designers and developers are generally engaged in process.

If I had one wish, it would be for more project managers to attend events like Web Design Day. Hearing super-smart professionals like these guys is what makes project managers better at what we do. It's important for us to keep up on practices and trends in the industry, and to think about how we can change our process or help our colleagues in the face of change. So, if you're not a PM and you're reading this and going to events like Web Design Day, ask your PM along to the next web-related event you attend. Trust me, it will be good for everyone.

Check out the slides from my presentation: BHarned_WDD_presentation