A day in the life of a Rocketmakers Project Manager

The life of a Project Manager’s is mostly focused on organisation and the administration of different projects. I tend to have 2-4 projects running at the same time, which means there can be a lot of multi-tasking or juggling of tasks - from reporting on budget spent and remaining to reviewing client feedback on a recent set of wireframes.

My typical day starts with a cup of tea and a read through of any new messages on Slack. Rocketmakers uses Slack for almost all communication, from updating clients to internal team chit chat. So when I check through Slack each morning I might find a new project wireframe, a report about a new bug or error, or just a chance to catch up on team chat from last night’s Thirsty Thursday banter.

Once the Slack notifications are back to zero, it’s usually time for a project stand-up. As a proud user of the Agile methodology, a Project Manager’s life revolves around the different ‘ceremonies,’ of which the regular project stand-up is essential. The stand-up is a quick 10-15min check-in with the project team, as well as the client, confirming how each member of the team is doing with their assigned piece of work for that Sprint (or phase), highlighting any areas for concerns, and drawing attention to any requirements or unexpected issues that might have popped up.

With the stand-up for one project over, it might then be time for the Backlog Refinement meeting for another project. My inner project management geek loves a good Backlog Refinement meeting - it’s where the vision for the project comes together to meet the builders of the project.

The Product Owner from the client team creates user stories which detail the different features and aspects that need to be added to the project. The developers then take these stories and determine the work and effort required to build them so we can then prioritise the work and schedule them in for completion. By breaking the project down into user stories, we can not only keep track of what needs to be done, but also how we’re going to do it and when.

Thankfully, when the admin tasks and client meetings get a little overwhelming, there are plenty of opportunities to engage with the rest of the team and take a break. Whether that’s with the latest recommendation for what to put on my playlist next; to a virtual water-cooler chat in Gather, there’s always a crew member willing to lend an ear.

One reason it is so easy to pace your workload at Rocketmakers is because of our fantastic company culture. Rocketmakers gives you room to manage your own workload in the way that suits you best. There are deadlines, and timeframes, requirements and commitments, but there’s no micro-management or the feeling that you’re being watched or timed on every minute of your day. You’re trusted to complete your work when it’s needed.

Rocketmakers has also been super helpful in ensuring that I have everything I need to work from home during the pandemic. This includes a MacBook Pro, keyboard, mouse, monitor, and anything else I needed to be comfortable in my home office.

But of course, it is really the type of work we do at Rocketmakers which is the best benefit of all.

This is actually what piqued my interest in working for Rocketmakers in the first place. I really appreciate the variety of projects - it never gets stale or boring. But mainly, what really attracted me was the chance to work on so many projects which have a positive impact on the community.

Having a job I enjoy, and working with a supportive team on projects that are helping to improve the world we live in really makes Mondays worth getting up for.

At Rocketmakers we leverage our experience to build innovative software for companies of all sizes. If you have a vision for a project and you need a technical partner to help you design, develop and deploy it, get in touch: firstcontact@rocketmakers.com