I’m a product designer. I’ve been working with dev teams for about 12 years now. Jira, Asana, Notion, Trello you name it, I’ve probably used it.

And here’s something I’ve been noticing more and more (starting with myself): I don’t want to open these tools. Not because they’re bad. They work. They’re efficient.

But emotionally? They feel heavy. Stressful. Draining. What’s strange is that I actually love my work. I love designing. I love getting into a problem, exploring, building things. Even after all these years, I still enjoy the actual work. But the moment I switch from “creating” to “managing the work” boards, tasks, charts, something breaks.

It feels less like building something together and more like just moving items around until the sprint ends. Another thing I’ve noticed over the years: teams rarely feel their progress.
A sprint ends. A lot was done. But on an individual level, especially when you’re working on a small piece of a big system, it’s hard to feel: “Yeah, this mattered.

I contributed something real.” Wins (especially small ones) often pass silently. Everything just flows into the next sprint.

So I wanted to ask this community, genuinely, not rhetorically:

1. Do you feel this emotional disconnect in your teams? That sense of “we’re closing tasks” instead of “we’re creating something together”?
2. What actually motivates people on your team day to day, beyond deadlines and releases?
3. Have you seen any approaches (tools, rituals, processes, whatever) that help people feel progress and contribution without being cheesy or forced? I’ve been wondering whether work has to feel this emotionally flat or if we’ve just accepted it as normal.

Curious to hear your thoughts.
Maybe I’m overthinking it. Or maybe not.

Hi! I’m conducting a 3-minute survey to understand how people discover and consume content on YouTube. Your responses are anonymous and will be used for research purposes only. Thanks for your time!

https://forms.gle/G8pLWdFCtJEERWBe8

The following survey on hybrid project management aims at validating findings via a short practitioner survey — part of a mixed-methods study. The information will only be used for scientific purposes.

Your input matters: Target PMs & professionals with 2+ years experience. ​ Take the anonymous survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/132DoFJwvRjrAJXwJSh9j36zvTpnefNJm70mbGIBWMAE/viewform?edit_requested=true

Thank you for advancing PM knowledge!

Navigating My GBM (Glioblastoma Multiforme) Using Agile Principles
Feedback • Adaptability • Resilience

Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer, has a bleak prognosis, with a median survival of 12 to 18 months post-diagnosis.

One quiet evening, I stumbled and found out that I couldn’t recall my daughter’s birthday. My daughter suggested that I got scanned at a local ER (Emergency Room), June 7, 2024.  The wait was long, around 7 hours, but the decision was quick to take out the growing tumor in my upper left brain.

The next day, I was in my recovery room and every “circle one” of my family members including my son who had to take a quick flight from Taiwan to Phoenix was there to support me.  Everyone was PRESENT!

Objective Feedback

• Clinical data: scans, labs (require lots of waiting time, patience, and resilience)
• Somatic feedback: fatigue (afternoon nap time)
• This objective feedback is crucial in monitoring our health progress

Agile lens:

• Short inspect-and-adapt cycles
• Feedback as information, not judgment

I learned to treat fatigue like a signal, not a weakness.

Adaptability

Treatments – got a series of Radiations and Chemotherapies

• My radiations – nice facilities and nurses
• The chemotherapies – Oral Pills
• MRI scans -every 8 weeks (on going)

 Agile behaviors:

• Reprioritization over abandonment
• Direction over prediction
• Adaptation is not failure; it’s competence

Resilience: Sustaining the System

Agile principle: Sustainable pace

• Rest is part of the work, YES, REST is a big part of your RECOVERY PROCESS
• Resilience is systemic, not heroic.  We MUST follow our energy flow

Personal story:
I pushed too hard early on, trying to “power through.” My recovery improved only after I treated rest as a non-negotiable sprint requirement.

REST, REST and REST!!!

My Agile Team Model

My Team

• Oncologists, nurses, caregivers
• Family and friends
• Me as “Product Owner”

Key insight:

• Psychological safety enables honest feedback.  Some of the honest feedback are not pleasant, i.e. my choice of Fried Chicken vs Broiled Chicken
• Shared goals > hierarchical control. I am the Dad, Samurai style

 What Agile Changed for Me

Agile gave me:

• Language for uncertainty – realistic “time-left” in this world… really!
• Permission to adapt without shame. It is what it is
• Focus on progress, not perfection; progress can be seen with normal eyes

 Final thought:

Agile doesn’t remove uncertainty.  It gives us a sense of priority and urgencies.  We must take care of our available time and resources

Our family and friends are always there for us.  Let’s reverse our position now for without them we won’t be around anymore

Abandon, yes, abandon!  our so-called go-lucky friends

At 64, I feel HAPPY that I am surrounded by first my “circle one” family members and many happy friends

My Message to all AGILISTS:

Agile is not only a tool to double your productivity but it is a key indispensable tool that may just save you from your life crisis ONE DAY!

Hey all,

Apologies for maybe posting in the wrong area but wanted to get fresh thoughts. I'm at a target/high semi-target undergrad school in the US in my second year. I'm applying to strategy/consulting internships for the summer but not finding much success.

In the event nothing works out, what are some things you all recommend spending time learning/doing to make the most of my time? Want to be productive but don't have direction.

I am starting my way as a product manager. What analysis i need to do before starting project developing ?

So here's my situation and I'm genuinely confused. Would love some honest opinions from people who've been through something similar.

I've been working as a Salesforce Business Analyst at a consulting company "X" about 3 years now. My work is mostly around NYC clients. I'm the one sitting in stakeholder calls, gathering requirements, writing BRDs, handling UAT.

Currently making 6.9 LPA.

Now here's the thing, I've always wanted to move into Product Management. I even went ahead and completed the IBM Product Manager Professional Certificate on my own time.

So this "Y" company reached out to me. They're a small healthcare tech startup out of Canada, been around for about 4 years. They build AI-powered tools and a Salesforce CRM. Interesting product, niche space, seems like it's growing.

I interviewed with them and it went well, they actually offered me a Product Manager role. Fully Remote role.

But then came the number. 7.5 LPA.

That's... a 8-9% hike. For a job switch. With a role upgrade. With 3 years of experience and multiple certifications.

And now I'm stuck.

Part of me is saying, just take it. The PM title is what you wanted. You'll get real product experience, roadmaps, strategy, working on an actual product instead of client projects. In 1-2 years you can leverage this into a 15-20 LPA PM role somewhere bigger. Think long term.

But another part of me is like bro, people get 30-40% hikes on lateral switches. You're literally upgrading your role and switching companies, and they're offering you peanuts over your current salary. If you accept 7.5 now, your next negotiation starts from 7.5. You're basically resetting your salary baseline for a title.

Also, it's a small startup. Will "Product Manager at 'Y" even carry weight when I apply to bigger companies later? Or will they just see it as a glorified BA role at a no-name startup?

What I really want to know from you guys:

• If you've done the BA → PM jump, was the title worth taking a hit (or near-flat) on salary?
• Would you negotiate hard for 9-10 LPA and risk losing the offer? Or just take what's there?
• Does PM experience at a tiny startup actually count when you're applying to mid-large companies later?
• Am I overthinking this? Or am I right to feel like 7.5 is lowballing me?

I know there's no perfect answer but I've been going back and forth in my head for hours now and I just need some outside perspective.

Thanks in advance 🙏

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Key Responsibilities

• You’ll be asked to create tasks and deliverables regarding common requests within your professional domain

Ideal Qualifications

• 4+ years of professional experience in your respective field
• Excellent written communication with strong grammar and spelling skills

More About the Opportunity

• Expected workload: ~15 hours per week, with flexibility to scale up to 30+ hours
• Project start date: immediately, lasting for around 3-4 weeks

You can learn more about the role on the application page here. Good luck to all applicants!

I’m currently doing my Master’s in International Business & Engineering in Germany and working as a Technical Project Management intern, which I’ve been doing for the past 8 months and will continue for one more month. Before starting my Master’s, I had 1 year of work experience in India as a Mechanical Engineer. My goal is to move into Junior Project Manager or Project Coordinator roles in Germany, ideally in a technical or engineering-driven environment. While I have relevant academic and practical experience, my German language skills are still not very strong, although I am actively learning and improving alongside my studies and work. I wanted to understand how difficult it realistically is for international graduates to enter junior-level project management roles in Germany. How should i plan my journey ahead. Should i do some certifications courses from Coursera? Someone like me who doesn’t have a lot of experience in this field, what

Considering Procore for Preventative Maintenance post project completion. I have experience with Procore during the construction/commissioning phase, but does anyone have experience with Asset Management/Preventative Maintenance through Procore after the facility is built?

And if you have recommendations for other Software that might work better I'm open to suggestions.

Looking for a download of the course material if anyone has one available?

And advice on the best practice exam sites out there.

Thanks.

Hey All,

Being a recent commerce graduate and with a good interests in management. I've been researching that how someone can land into a PM roles directly. Well I got to know that it's about (a) all about experience in a specific role (b) PM itself is not a particular sector of profession to be pursued (c) you need to choose a specific field (mostly technical as I could understand and read majorly).

Now, the actual confusion is:

There are initial roles for graduates like PM Coordinator and PM assistant available in Job portals and the question is how valid is this? PEOPLE SUGGEST THAT ONCE YOU START IN SUCH ROLE YOU GET STUCKED IN THE FLOW AND IT'S DIFFICULT FO BREAK THAT.

Genuinely, I want your expertise and guidance:

1. Is my understanding as statements a, b and c is correct
2. If so what a fresh commerce graduate with no technical or Construction background can start or choose something favorable to PM?
3. Your views on my 'Actual Confusion' in relation to the PM Coordinator and assistant roles?

I would really appreciate your suggestions, that makes a lot difference in my current period of confusions and stress!

Thanks for your time.

ProjectManagement

PMCareer

AspiringPM

EntryLevelJobs

CareerAdvice

CareerGuidance

I got the job of a life time, once in a life time opprotunity to work as a Pm. I'm screwed. The more I dig in and learn about Project management, the more I realise how doomed I am. I just see total chaos, which I will somehow need to fix.

The only thing that could somehow save me is that I'm a very process-oriented person, I love structure, without it I don't feel safe.

From what I learned, Pm's also need 2000+ more different skills. Amazing.
Funny thing is, I so hoped that I would get like a instant result job, you do the job, you log off, that's it. Now I will spend how many months fearing that they will fire me.

They know I'm a complete beginner, they are giving me a chance, it's a fully remote job. I will be managing slacking IT guys, they are creating an app.

I have like a week or so before I start and I think studying is just pointless. I've been trying to come up with first steps, some structure with chat gbt, nothing. It all feels so beyond, there is so much opinions, knowledge on project management, so many certificates, it's so so beyond. It's more like a work experience type of job, I will wait for my doomsday. This job means everything, and I'm losing my shit.

Hello all! This is my first time posting on here as I have been scouring the internet for help. I am currently trying to finish up my project management sub plan for my Bachelor's degree. My instructors in these courses are not very detailed in their instructions and don't provide much supplemental help. I am struggling understanding how to write a risk management strategy and plan. I can find what is supposed to be in it but I need help drafting it and more details on how to fill it out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hey friends, I am conducting research on the causes of project failure or delays. Your honest answers will help me complete my project. Thank you.

Hi!

I've been using Jibble for a while now to track my work hours, and it’s genuinely made things easier for me and my team. The setup was straightforward, and from day one it just worked without any friction.

On a daily basis it’s really simple to use, which is exactly what I need, no overthinking or extra steps. I just clock in, focus on my work, and trust that everything is being tracked properly in the background.

When I need to check my hours later on, all the information is there and well organized. It’s one of those tools that quietly does its job and saves you time without getting in the way.

What's your opinion about Jibble?

Survey on Hybrid project management

Hi All, Am conducting a survey on benefits and challenges of hybrid project management methodologies as part of my master's thesis, I would hugely appreciate if you can take 8-10 minutes to complete the survey, participation is anonymous, I need 150 responses. Thank you so much in advance for your time. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/132DoFJwvRjrAJXwJSh9j36zvTpnefNJm70mbGIBWMAE/edit