PM Resources

How do you lead and develop resources across the miles? Having a strengthened project team can be hard enough if everyone is located in the same location, but how do you ensure success when the project is global in scope? In this article, we explore different aspects of team and individual development and leadership--and some of the specific challenges that are introduced in a global project.

To be successful in achieving our goals, project managers need to build a culture of efficiency within their teams. In this article, we explore how we build that culture of efficiency without sacrificing project quality--a step made all the more challenging given the economic constraints we face today.

It scares this writer how many project managers believe that projects start with the planning phase. It scares him even more that their employers often agree.The project starts during the justification phase of the initiative, and the project manager needs to be a part of that process.

What sets PM Masters apart from the rest of us? Is it their learning, innate talents and aptitudes or is it more? In observing those who exhibit PM mastery this writer has found they share some common traits and capabilities that provide some interesting insights.

Ever stop to ponder all the different PM frameworks that have been developed over the years and which one you should be using in your organization? Is there really one best framework out there? The options are dizzying, so here we take a look at four of them in depth. What can they do for you? Remember, one size does not fit all...

There’s more to vendor management than deliverables and deadlines. Let's look at a few basic concepts that will help PMs avoid some of the biggest pitfalls.

Effective project activation is more than just hard work and good luck. It's an important focus on the work required to bring the project up to speed, and this article explores some ways to get from zero to 60 as quickly as possible.

Need help with project recovery? A whole new skill set and strategy is needed to recover an IT project from free fall. Here we provide practical recovery pointers on four project areas for failing IT projects, with a focus on software development for business applications.

Can you have a successful project if the PM is also a team member? It isn't an ideal arrangement and clearly qualifies as an “alternate” approach to project management, but in the current economy it is probably more common than we might like to think.

The basic premise for the New York state project management methodology is that there are two lifecycles in managing a software project: the Project Management Lifecycle and the System Development Lifecycle. This article briefly examines both cycles, worthy processes to follow for any organization seeking a quality PM solution.

A new study shows that more than a third of projects are at risk and, not surprising, a key factor for recovering troubled projects is the actions of the project managers.

Employers often look only at their own industry when hiring, because not every PM can make the jump--and if they can’t, things can get very bad very quickly. So what should employers look for--and by extension, what should PMs demonstrate that they are capable of doing? Does industry matter in your career? How transferable is the project management skill set?

Adversity on a project can come in many different shapes and sizes. Here’s one PM's usual five-step process for managing through issues on a project.

Project managers usually tend to focus on the methodology for executing the technical part of the project. However, a good understanding of a practical SOA landscape and its associated challenges can help a technical PM make the SOA adoption on technology projects run even smoother.

Nothing helps a project get headed down the right path than a well-planned and professionally organized project kickoff. The five-step process outlined here will help insure that the customer and your delivery organization are of the same mind as you start your engines.

Based on current trends, project managers will see an increase in the need for them to have more experiential training in real-life situations in order to stay competitive. To maintain a professional edge, PMs will need to set goals to gain significant knowledge through work scenarios and industry learning.

So you want a career in project management? What will it take to be successful, and what about earning potential? This article will explore the pursuit of a career in project management, including looks at characteristics of successful PMs, what employers are looking for and salaries.

The key challenge to organizational PM is that companies tend to view projects in isolation by ignoring the obvious (and sometimes not-so-obvious) linkages. Here we present a list of essential factors to ensure the organization can begin to not just benefit from the discipline of project management, but be able to maximize the benefits that organizational PM can provide.

Is there any advantage to using Cloud-based project management tools to manage projects? Is it cheaper and more effective? Are the tools more feature-rich? And what about the disadvantages? Here is what some research has revealed…

There’s no manual for a recession, so how do you stay effective in a bad economy? In this article, we look at how you as project managers can strive to balance the reality of managing projects in a tough economy with the desire to still do things “the right way”.

It is clear that both roles are essential and integral to the success of a project, but often on small projects the manager and administrator role are combined. Regardless of which role you are playing in your organization, it is important to understand the distinctions and the need for both.

With the recent economic challenges, project pressures have grown even more--there’s less money available, and that means fewer resources and a need to get money-making (and money-saving) work completed more swiftly than ever. Can project teams be the secret to better project management in the future?

Forget what the PM's background is, forget where their expertise lies. What is the optimal amount of business knowledge that a PM should have on a project? How well do they need to understand the business to be successful? Are you becoming the man or woman who knew too much?

Project control is not about the minutiae, it’s about the big picture. Here we provide some guidelines on how to move from micro-level project management to a more macro-level control phase.

This writer has seen some truly atrocious project communications where the PMO seems at a loss to be able to assist. In this article, he looks at a few ways that the PMO may be able to assist in building a communications model that brings consistency without burying the PM in “dashboard hell”.

What will project management look like in the future? One writer summons his smarts as he comes up with some dramatic predictions about governance, PMOs and the accountable PM. Is he a genius or a goofball? You be the judge...

How can PMs harness the power of the cloud? There are many aspects of cloud computing worth noting from an organizational perspective, but this article will focus on two technologies that can be especially useful to project managers: software as a service and commoditized computing.

Managing projects that span countries and cultures brings with it its own set of challenges, not the least of which is a greater risk of failure. This article explores some of those challenges and complexities that are unique or amplified when managing global projects.

This writer has had enough with so-called "project managers" making a mockery of the profession on so-called "reality" television shows. So in this article he takes you into the near future to the next reality TV sensation--The Next Great Project Manager. It’s going to be epic!

Three-way partnership with American University, Management Concepts and MCR provides training program for federal agencies and government contractors.

After more than 20 years in the financial services industry, this writer thought he knew exactly what to anticipate moving into his new role as a software vendor project manager. He was wrong...

Here’s our December 2010 roundup of the latest technology solutions and services for project leaders, teams and organizations, including an application to leverage SharePoint … Agile offerings for distributed environments and portfolio-level planning … mobile capabilities for PPM … a free project management tool for small teams ... and more.

Most project managers think of changes to a project to be related to change requests that modify the scope of deliverables. But changes to projects go far beyond mere scope changes, so it's important to have a change management process in place that can address any manner of project change. While the majority of organizations have fairly mature change request processes in place, most lack similar processes to handle event-driven changes.

Gone are the days of seeing a project through from beginning to end. These days, you're likely to jump on a moving project or turn one over to another project manager. As the incoming PM, you need to get up to speed fast. Here's how to do it.

There’s no patented formula for creating the right PM practice. But here are five steps that your organization can take to improve on what it has (or had) and hopefully rise from the ashes with something that will work better than the last iteration.

Is there a "best" way to start a career in project management? Assuming that you have started a career in an organization already, how should you focus on it? If the "by accident" approach isn't for you, there are two very distinct planned paths.

Developing and valuing its project management culture has paid dividends for ADP, forming the foundation for an improved customer relationship by establishing expectations, recognizing when things aren’t going right and taking action to remedy problems.

A project management office can operate on a continuum, from providing project management support functions in the form of training, software, standardized policies and procedures to actual direct management and responsibility for achieving the project objectives. Here, we look at some of the key responsibilities and features of a typical PMO.

Let’s assume that we’re all new PMs or new to project management. What do we do with this thing that has been dropped in our lap? It’s all about exuding confidence and following best practices.

What advice has helped you survive this crazy profession? One writer weighs in on some valuable tips of the trade.

What should the PM know about a larger program? Should the PMO mandate a consistent level of understanding for PMs whose initiatives fall into larger program? It's time to explore the right program-level perspective for the project level manager.

It is not in the best interest of an organization for either project managers or business analysts involved in defining business needs. They need to be focused on delivery of the solution and ensuring that it meets the business need. And they do that best when they are neutral facilitators, now owners of the project.

Which governance/compliance model is right for you? Like so many things in project management, there is no one-solution approach to governance. Here we discuss two models.

Three schools join the ranks of institutions offering PMI-accredited project management degree programs.

In the next few years the PMO is going to evolve considerably as EPMOs become the new norm. The concept of an EPMO is gathering support in a lot of different environments, and the recent economic challenges have only accelerated the process. In this article, we look at what that might mean for traditional PMOs and identify some of the things that you can do for the arrival of an EPMO in your organization.

Why do PMOs have such a high failure rate? It's time to take a look at the top 10 PMO worst practices--and advice on how to avoid them.

Developed in conjunction with a project plan, resource plans help provide tactile information on what is needed, when and for how much--thus making them huge assets during the activate phase of project management.

Enterprise project management is rarely the same across different entities; however, there are common denominators that collectively define the new age of EPM in the public sector.

Welcome to the PMO! Does your Program Management Office have a plan for helping new project managers? More than any other function, the PMO varies hugely from one organization to the next--and even from one division to the next. That means that there will always be a ramp-up period for anyone entering as a project manager--and yet many PMOs make no allowance for this.