To me, the PM role is really about seeing the big picture and making sure that things get "delivered" -- the biggest part of this is anticipating and managing roadblocks (contingency plans for people, equipment, or materials). I agree with you that Action Item lists can be boring, but they can also be useful for keeping people aware of schedule-related expectations.
For those of us who aren't officially trained project managers: it's an excellent intro. I think most of us have performed project management in one form or another in grad school without knowing it.
To me, the PM role is really about seeing the big picture and making sure that things get "delivered" -- the biggest part of this is anticipating and managing roadblocks (contingency plans for people, equipment, or materials). I agree with you that Action Item lists can be boring, but they can also be useful for keeping people aware of schedule-related expectations.
For those of us who aren't officially trained project managers: it's an excellent intro. I think most of us have performed project management in one form or another in grad school without knowing it.