Lego. Arguably one of the best inventions of our time. A fabulous toy and an incredible tool to fuel imaginations, young and old. I remember using it when I was taking my Master’s in Project Management. It was a great way to visualize work while having a productive and fun time.

I saw this particular image last week, posted on LinkedIn from a data specialist. In his post he said this image floats around the analytics world as a tool to demonstrate the importance of data storytelling. I immediately saw the benefit for project management:

1. The first image is a pile of lego representing data - in a project this equates to what we know at initiation to build our plans 
2. The second image is that same data sorted - in project management this is what we do in the initial planning stages. We apply tools and techniques to help organize the work we will need to accomplish. 
3. The third image are those same pieces again, arranged and categorized - like when the project team begins to make sense of work plans and how they will integrate with each other,  adding meaning to how we manage the work. 
4. The fourth image is lego stacked up side by side and easy to measure - the project plan presented visually in project documentation and the artifacts we create to show where we are now in the project giving us scale and scope.
5. The fifth and final image is the data represented as a story: the full picture; the macro instead of the micro - project completion.

Lego, as individual pieces, is just lego. It exists to create meaning but not necessarily to be the meaning itself. As in projects, unless the pieces can be ordered to create meaning, it’s just data. Just stacks and stacks of work that can be measured, moved, ordered or altered but unless it creates something of value, it's just data. 

The work we create to accomplish the project story is what’s important. The relationships, the lessons learned and the value delivery. 

It can be tricky to not get bogged down into the micro in project work. We learn as the project work progresses and each piece has its importance BUT we cannot ever lose sight of the macro. Without the project's end goal in our sights, we can lose perspective and purpose for why we started the project in the first place.

As in life, don’t lose sight of the story you're building.  The ‘stacks and stacks’ of experiences we have that can be measured, moved, ordered or altered aren’t the value;  it's the story we create along the way that’s the value,

Amber (a.k.a. The Feisty PM)