One of the things that I am trying to learn on the job is what level of focus is right for which situation. When do I need to focus on the details as apposed to taking a step back and looking at the "big" picture. I was just completing a project that had been left open by the previous manager, and lets just say it went down hill pretty fast.
Looking back, the reason why it went down hill wasnt because of a lack of information, it was all available to me if I wanted it. It wasn't because of a lack of communication, there was regular communication. It was because my focus was on doing what was always done, without really knowing what it was trying to achieve, or even what was done previously.
Now we were at the "implementation" part of the project, so I was focused on finishing off the "doing" part. What I should have done was taken stock of where things were at, which I did, but then I should have looked and understood the actual requirements. This step back needed to be the second part of the taking stock that I was doing BEFORE I even started trying to implement the project. I assumed things based on my understanding on of what I thought happened prevoiusly. And therein was my problem.
I was focued on implementing my version of what I was implementing. And my understanding was wrong. Not totally, I even understood the overall goal of what the project was trying to achieve. But the errors in my understanding ment that, at the end of the day, I was doing the wrong thing. I should have taken a step back and changed my focus to the big picture then as I understood what was going on, then slowly focused more and more on the details as I checked that I understood correctly what was going on.
So, always remember to look at the biggest picture possible first on a project that you are starting to work on. It dosent matter if you are starting a project from scratch, or picking up a project that is basicly done. A quick glance at the data flow of the project, reviewing the aims and sitting down with the stakeholders (if you can) to make sure that you understand what you are doing from their point of view. Then refine your focus into the details to complete the project.
