This resource is designed to guide projects that cross area lines and affect multiple teams at Buffer, so we want to do everything we can to set you up for maximum success.
You don’t have to be a formal project manager to lead a project initiative. However, you do have to be willing to direct a project as well as work on it. As a project manager, you might wear multiple hats depending on project needs and the availability of others to jump into specific tasks.
Embrace project management as your new gig for the duration of this project. Apply the tools and logic of project management to the work of clarifying your objectives, detailing the work, building a team, and executing and monitoring the work.
Read on for our best suggestions for helming a cross-functional project.
If managing a project on this scale is a newer experience for you, no problem!
It might be a great idea to look into some training resources:
Here’s an online course we recommend; talk to your lead to make sure the cost can be expensed somewhere in your team’s budget
Here’s a link to other courses and seminars that might be useful for you
General Productivity Resource: by David Allen
Getting Things Done
<aside> 💡 You may use your Growth Mindset Fund to cover the cost of any of these trainings that might be useful to you.
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Define the scope:
The first step in any project is defining the scope of the project. What is it you are supposed to accomplish or create? What is the project objective?
Equally important is defining what is not included in the scope of your project.
We can all relate to a wedding reception. In planning a wedding reception, you may have as your scope: prepare a wedding reception for 100 guests, complete with dinner, open bar, wedding cake and a live band for dancing by a certain date at a cost not to exceed $20,000.