PM Profile: Lindsay Harrison

Project managers are a critical part of every development team at Acro Commerce. Get to know the people who coordinate all the magic behind the scenes and ensure project success.

If you need a refresher on what a project manager is, what they do and why they are an integral team member to every project, check out this article: Agile Project Management at Acro Commerce: Driving Success in Ecommerce Development.
 

Lindsay Harrison

The basics

• With Acro Commerce since November 2021
• Current projects: TELUS, Northern Health, Concept2

What’s your favourite thing about being a Project Manager

• Team collaboration & communication
  Building great relationships with clients & team members
• Goal achievement
  Successfully delivering a project within scope, budget, and timeline that the team is proud of, and ultimately, seeing beautiful sites come together
• Continuous learning & growth
  Working within a dynamic field that allows me and my team to be agile and gives continuous opportunities for consistent improvements together

Greatest challenge a PM can help a client overcome?

Project Managers serve as the intermediary between our client and the development team. We work to ensure successful project delivery. PMs are the guides, coordinators, and problem solvers throughout the project lifecycle and are essential to successful delivery for the client and their needs.

What are some risks people often don't consider when starting a project?

The most common hurdles we see as project managers are:

• Scope creep
• Unrealistic timelines
• Stakeholder feedback and approvals
• Changing requirements
• Legal and regulatory compliance
• External dependencies

How can Scrum support a client/project to achieve its goals?

What is scrum?

Scrum is an agile project management framework that helps teams structure and manage their work through a set of values, principles, and practices. Much like a rugby team (where it gets its name) training for the big game, scrum encourages teams to learn through experiences, self-organize while working on a problem, and reflect on their wins and losses to continuously improve. - Atlassian

Scrum provides a solid but flexible framework for goal achievement and ensures the entire team is involved, aligned, and collaborative throughout. It allows close communication and for any blockers to be recognized and mitigated early on. It provides a platform for the team to identify and action opportunities for continuous improvement to optimize the project's trajectory and maximize value delivery.

What is something unique you bring to the role?

I embrace and embody the values of Agile & Scrum, placing kindness, transparency, and effective communication at the forefront of my leadership approach. With a marketing, communications, and event planning background, I have cultivated a strong foundation for organizational skills, effective communication, and critical thinking. These qualities are valuable assets to my project management skillset, enabling me to efficiently coordinate tasks, manage stakeholders, and navigate complex projects. By leveraging my diverse background and embracing Agile principles, I strive to bring a unique perspective and contribute to the success of every project I undertake.

Just for fun

What makes you, well, you?

When I’m not PM’ing, I am a recreation aficionado. I love snowboarding, cross-country skiing, touring the backcountry on my split board, camping, hiking, dirt biking, and playing slow pitch.

What’s the best advice you’ve received?

Not necessarily advice, but the best quote I always try to remember is from Buddha: “There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.”
 

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