What a Trip Through Uganda Taught Me About User Journeys and Project Management
What can a trip through Uganda teach us about managing a project?
Quite a lot, as it turns out. And none of it required a spreadsheet in the safari vehicle.
Great leadership is often compared to being a tour guide who knows the path, sets the milestones, and walks alongside the team.
On our G Adventures tour, we traveled from open savannas to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The wildlife and landscapes were unforgettable. But the trip also made me notice something less visible: the experience our guides created around those remarkable moments.
We knew where we were going. We had a professional tour manager (our CEO) to turn to with questions. And when the day did not unfold exactly as planned, our guide, James, had to respond agilely.
That is a user journey.
A project has one too. So does a workshop or a team meeting. People arrive with expectations, move through moments of uncertainty, and leave with an impression of whether their time and effort were worthwhile. The project manager or facilitator helps shape that experience.
The journey also asks something of us as leaders. To guide others well, we have to examine our own habits: Are we listening? Are we adjusting? Are we so focused on the itinerary that we have stopped noticing the people traveling with us?
Here are five lessons I brought home from Uganda.
1. Know Who Is Coming Before You Plan the Route
A tour can have an excellent itinerary and still miss the mark if no one has asked what travelers need. One person is excited about an early start. Another is wondering whether there will be something vegetarian to eat. Both are going on the same trip, but they are experiencing it differently.
Projects work the same way.
A sponsor may tell you what the project must deliver. The people who will use that result can tell you what it will take to make it useful. Before a kickoff or workshop, find out who is coming, what they already understand, and what concerns they have.
For a team meeting, this can be as simple as asking: “What decision do we need to make, and what information will people need to make it?”
The management lesson: Preparation is more than organizing activities. It is understanding the people who will take part.
2. Have a Plan, Then Look Up From It
You can plan a day in Uganda. You cannot tell the wildlife when to appear.
A guide who only watches the clock could miss the very thing everyone came to see. Project managers can make a similar mistake when we become determined to finish every slide, even after a question reveals that half the room is confused.
An agenda matters. So does noticing when the conversation needs to go somewhere useful.
In a workshop, pause when people interpret a requirement differently. In a project, reconsider the next phase when an early test reveals a problem. In a team meeting, make space for an issue that needs a decision today.
The inward journey: Ask yourself, “Am I leading this group, or am I defending my plan?”
3. Check In With the Whole Group
Are you the CEO of your Team?
If you think of every action as a user journey, checking in is part of the job.
“Is everyone okay?” is a useful question. It is also remarkably easy for everyone to say yes, including the person who is decidedly not okay.
A good guide notices the group. Who has questions? Who is falling behind? Who seems unsure but has not spoken up?
Managers need that awareness too. Silence does not always mean agreement. A colleague may lack the information to challenge a proposal. A user may already see a problem but assume it is too late to change anything.
Try asking a more specific question: “What would make the next step easier for your team?” In a meeting, invite someone who has not spoken to share their view without putting them on the spot to deliver an instant solution.
The management lesson: Checking in is part of doing the work. It helps you spot needs before they become obstacles.
4. Ask for Feedback While You Can Still Use It
Imagine telling a guide on day two that the pace is too fast and hearing, “Thank you. Please put that in your feedback form at the end of the trip.”
By then, the opportunity to improve your trip has passed.
The same problem appears in projects. We ask users what they think after the solution is built, the workshop is over, or the new process has been launched. Feedback is much more valuable when you still have time to act on it.
Show an early mockup. Test a small part of the process. Ask participants halfway through a workshop whether they have what they need to make a decision. Then tell people what you changed because of their input.
The inward journey: Feedback can feel uncomfortable when you are proud of the plan. Treat it as help with the next step, rather than a verdict on the work you have already done.
5. Give the Journey an Ending Worth Remembering
At the end of a trip, people share their favorite moments. They compare photos and talk about what surprised them. That reflection helps turn a series of activities into a memorable experience.
Yet many projects end with a handover email, a closed task list, and everyone quietly moving to the next deadline.
Make time to show what changed for users. Thank the people who helped. Talk honestly about what worked and what you would do differently. A workshop can end with a clear decision and next steps. A team meeting can end with each person knowing what they own and why it matters.
Celebration doesn't require balloons, though I am not opposed to them.
The management lesson: A good ending helps people recognize the journey's value and carry its lessons forward.
Why the Experience Matters
This is about more than making people feel comfortable. Project success depends in part on whether stakeholders believe the outcome was worth the effort.
In a 2025 study involving more than 5,800 project professionals, stakeholders, and knowledge workers, the Project Management Institute found that only half of projects met its definition of success: delivering value that exceeded the effort and expense involved, as perceived by key stakeholders. That finding does not mean a better meeting alone will rescue a troubled project. It does remind us that people’s experience and judgment shape how project value is assessed.
PMI President and CEO Pierre Le Manh put the broader challenge this way: “We must take accountability beyond the technical side of our work.” pmi.org
That line stayed with me. Good management requires budgets, schedules, decisions, and deliverables. It also requires the curiosity to understand people and the humility to change course when their experience tells us something important.
Uganda gave us extraordinary places to see. It also reminded me that reaching the destination is only part of a successful journey. Whether you are leading a major project, a workshop, or Tuesday’s team meeting, look after the experience of getting there.
Which part of the journey could you improve for your team or users this week?
