From the initial post, I too believe having a more transparent connection between the manager and the engineers under him or her is key to guarantee the elimination of unexpected drawbacks and mistakes during a project. Personally, the dynamic my company enforces on our teams is a very realistic and suitable method that accomplishes just that. Each team in my company has what is called a VPM (visual project management) board. This board consists of a series of rows, each belonging to a single member, and a set of columns for each week for the timeline of a project. The cells within this board contain tasks and important milestones that correspond to the respected individual and the week it begins, is due, or occurs. This visual representation helps the manager and the engineers on the team tremendously to ensure that not only each engineer is aware of the deadlines, but also helps the engineers remain aware of other tasks that may impact their personal timeline. In addition, each team holds their own weekly alignment meetings, as well as brief daily meetings that involve all members of the team. This ensures that everyone is aware of the current state of everyone’s tasks and allows the manager to make alterations, provide resources, and reprioritize certain tasks early enough to ensure that deadlines are met.

From personal experience and what I’ve outlined, I strongly believe that a team with a dynamic that takes advantage of visual representations and constant communication between all members of the team on nearly a daily basis is on the right track to ensure an efficient and successful execution of any project.