Many people associate project management with courses, certifications, and lengthy project plans. It was only as an adult that I realized I had been practicing project management since my teenage years. My experiences with the school newspaper and local radio provided a foundation that would later prove surprisingly relevant in my professional career.
How Volunteer Work and School Projects Built Project Management Experience
I believe most of us encounter project work for the first time at school through group assignments where roles are assigned and tasks must be completed together. My first real experience with project management came when I was editor of the school newspaper as part of an elective photography and journalism course in ninth grade, but it was probably as a volunteer at Skjervøy Community Radio that the real foundation was built.
It was only later in my career that I realized a broadcast rundown can be compared to a project plan. As I reflected on why I seemed to have a natural ability to manage complex tasks, I recognized that creating broadcast schedules from the age of 14 had given me a solid foundation that I have benefited from throughout my working life, even though I did not understand until adulthood that this was, in fact, project management.
Both project plans and broadcast rundowns are designed to structure and organize activities to ensure they are completed efficiently and within a specific timeframe. Both require planning, coordination, and the ability to handle unexpected events.
A project can be defined as a temporary effort undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. Projects have specific objectives, clear timelines, and limited resources, and often include phases such as planning, execution, monitoring, and closure. Unlike ongoing operational activities, projects have a defined beginning and end and are typically established to achieve a specific goal or outcome.
Similarities Between Broadcast Rundowns and Project Plans
Looking back, I can see many similarities between the broadcast rundowns we used at the radio station and the project plans I later created throughout my career.
- Activity Planning
A broadcast rundown contains a detailed schedule of what will happen and when, just as a project plan outlines all necessary activities and their deadlines.
- Time Management
In a radio broadcast, every segment must be carefully timed to ensure the program runs as planned. Similarly, project activities must be completed within defined timeframes to keep the project on track.
- Resource Management
A broadcast rundown often involves coordinating various resources, such as technicians, presenters, and equipment. This closely resembles project planning, where personnel, equipment, and budgets must be managed effectively.
- Monitoring and Control
During a radio broadcast, the rundown must be followed closely, and any deviations need to be addressed immediately. In the same way, a project plan serves as a management tool for tracking progress, and any issues require corrective action to ensure project objectives are achieved. After each broadcast, we also submitted reports to TONO and GRAMO detailing the music that had been played.
- Achieving Objectives
Both plans are designed to achieve clear goals. A broadcast rundown ensures the program is delivered as intended, while a project plan ensures project objectives and deliverables are successfully completed.
From Radio to the University of Tromsø
As I entered the workforce, I quickly found myself drawing on many of the experiences I had gained earlier. At the University of Tromsø, tasks often required coordination between booking, operations, and IT departments, providing valuable experience in managing people, resources, and schedules.
I was involved in several projects, including organizing a national conference for IT consultants in the higher education sector. I also developed a project plan for the installation of ICT equipment in teaching facilities. The work included everything from documentation and budgeting to planning and coordinating the implementation. The project was approved, the equipment was ordered, installed, and put into operation as planned.
From the University of Tromsø to the Private Sector
Over the years, I have led a variety of projects, ranging from installing video conferencing systems in meeting rooms to developing both hardware and software in collaboration with international partners in China and India. While the projects differed greatly in scope and complexity, they all shared a common need for careful planning, clear communication, and coordination between people with different skills, cultures, and responsibilities.
These experiences have given me a practical understanding of what it takes to bring many moving parts together and make them function as a cohesive whole.
PRINCE2: A Framework for Experience
After many years of project work, I chose to formalize and further develop my skills through PRINCE2 certification. For me, this was not about learning project management from scratch, but about putting structure and terminology around much of what I had already experienced through school projects, volunteer work, and professional life.
One of the reasons I appreciate PRINCE2 is its flexibility. The methodology can be adapted to both small and large projects. It emphasizes clear roles, defined objectives, and continuous monitoring, while allowing the approach to be tailored to the size and complexity of each project.
What appeals to me most is its focus on business value. A project should not be carried out simply because it can be, but because it creates value for the organization. That mindset aligns closely with how I have approached my work throughout my career.
How Experience Builds Great Project Managers
Project management is a skill that many people possess without even realizing it. Whether it comes from school assignments, volunteer work, events, fundraising activities, or participation in clubs and organizations, these experiences often involve planning, coordination, resource management, and achieving objectives.
Many of us probably led our first projects long before we held a formal title or understood what a project methodology was. Perhaps it was a school newspaper, a fundraising campaign, a sporting event, or a class activity. When a group of students organizes a bottle collection drive to raise money for a school trip, they are essentially managing a project with goals, deadlines, tasks, resources, and responsibilities.
A project is a project, regardless of the methodology used. Frameworks such as PRINCE2 provide structure and a common language, but the experience we gain through planning, collaborating, and solving challenges together is often what forms the foundation of successful project managers.
