PM Resources > PM Budget

Do you have a dual personality? A PM that also has a foot in the business analyst camp has a “leg up” on the competition for jobs--and has more job security.

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.

New benchmark study on project management offices shows consistent, two-year trend in delivering quantifiable value, with upwards of $400,000 in savings per project.

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.

Why do sponsors refuse to provide contingency for risks? It’s not going to go away, you know! It's time to talk about reserves--the amount of time and money that needs to be put aside to cope with the risks on a project. In particular, we want to look at the mindset of the sponsor who refuses to acknowledge this contingency in the budget and schedule.

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.

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

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?

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.

Project managers hate risks. But is this always a good thing? When projects are established, there's a lot of focus on budgets, schedules and scope (and the relationships between those constraints). Here, we argue that there should be more conscious focus on the role that risks play in that equation--and explore why you shouldn’t always try to minimize negative risks.

If you have not been a project manager on a contingent worker status, you're missing a great deal of experience. If you are ready to jump into the consultant PM life, what should you be aware of so that you are happy in the long run?

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.

The social engagement of the project is what underlies every aspect of the project process more so than normal. In social PM, collaboration, transparency and mutual participation is central--with the assumption that if this socially engaging environment and the necessary collaboration tools are in place with a clearly defined project goal, then success should follow. But in order for social PM to work, some principles and guidelines need to be incorporated.

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...

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…

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.

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...

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...

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 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 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.

Scope management changes can be divisive. The project manager must recognize change requests for what they are and not let that requirements line in the sand be moved without a complete understanding and agreement among all parties--and a documented change that identifies how the project budget and hours are going to be affected.

Managing scope is like babysitting a two-year-old … developers don’t wait for your green light … you won’t be finishing every project … and forget glory: most accolades will come from customers, not your executive team. This is some of the best advice I never got as a new project manager.

The latest snapshot of project management trends from the ProjectsAtWork community shows smaller projects continued to rule in 2010, more projects were cancelled, more organizations invested in PM and PPM solutions, and PMOs increased their reach.

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.

When something goes rotten in your PMO or project portfolio, all of your projects may be in jeopardy. The best way to handle crisis across multiple projects is to treat it like the train wreck it appears to be. Take a lesson from the medical community and triage the damage before you start trying to treat the wounded.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Are you ready for EVM? Our writer conducted a study on earned value management readiness based on 40 critical factors found in successful EVM implementations, and here we present the Top 10.

If you’ve ever been involved in a highly visible project in which major stakeholders are jockeying to position themselves to impose their own agenda, then you would have experienced project partisan politics. And If you are a ScrumMaster on an agile project, there isn't a more important impediment to get out of the way.

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.

How many times have you managed a project with so many bumps, there was no way you were going to finish on time or within budget? You likely have a customer on the brink of dissatisfaction--or already there. Here's how to mend wounds and fix relationships.

Establishing a program management office is a project in Itself. And like all projects, you need a charter that presents a clear and measurable purpose, scope, schedule, quality, budget, risks and critical success factors. Here are guidelines for creating a charter for your PMO project.

“Project manager” does not mean “stakeholder gatekeeper”. The PM always seems to control that relationship, but there is a better way: When the relationship between team members and stakeholders is working, it’s the PM’s responsibility to stay out of the way.

With social media continuing to gain traction in the marketplace, it's an easy bet to say it’s here to stay. Read on for some additional thoughts about what social media can do for the PM profession.

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.

As you embark on your next project journey, what techniques and tools do you absolutely need to succeed? Acknowledging that every initiative is different and some require more “items” than others, three project management veterans share their PM Survival Toolkit, packed with the bare necessities to bring most projects safely home.

A costly lesson in failing to gather proper requirements led to significant challenges of a large and ambitious wireless project. Take a lesson in proper planning from this misfire.

What can you do to make sure your projects fail--and fail in a big way? History and experience have shown this writer that it's an art form unto itself. Here are some ideas to consider to help make your next project a colossal misfire.

Let’s face it--business has an insatiable appetite for all kinds of technology projects and as a PM you usually end up caught in the middle. How can you balance competing requests and demand for limited resources? One way is to ask for intercession of governance.