What project managers need to know about… Reddit

Reddit (aka “the front page of the internet”) has a very useful ‘subreddit’ community for project managers.

The project management subreddit is one of those corners of social media that’s both civilised and informative. With more than 22,000 subscribers, it’s also lively. Worthwhile questions get answers in the teens, and generally they’re of a high standard.

The subreddit is heavily skewed to US users, but the language of project management (PM) is pretty universal. So questions about software, methodologies and the softer side to working on projects all translate for a transatlantic audience. And while IT and engineering dominate, it’s a worthwhile destination for any project manager who knows how to safely navigate Reddit.

Top post of all time

It’s a PM variation on an old meme about perceptions of work. Perhaps a little cynical, but hey – this is Reddit...

Questions of the month

“What EXACTLY does a ScrumMaster do for the rest of his day after the daily standup?” (Answers from lots of very helpful ScrumMasters… who only occasionally get defensive.)
“I start working my first PM job in 3 weeks. Overwhelmed. Best way to go about developing a strategy for success?” (TL;DR: Listen, write things down and ask simple questions.)
“How do you format your meeting notes before sharing them?” (Simple but practical advice on using apps such as OneNote and setting our agendas and actions.)

Quote of the month

“If you’re feeling relaxed then trouble may already be brewing.” User Trentwood posted their list of ten most effective project management behaviours, and it’s pretty good. Like a lot of the contributions on the PM subreddit, it’s occasionally profane – but contributors like this are a useful sanity check when you’re labouring away on a project and wondering whether your struggles are unique to you.