Understanding philosophical foundations are required for success in managing projects in the “real world”. That will allow you to better pick and choose which methodology (essentially a philosophical framework) to adopt--not adopt or mix and match to achieve project success.
Last month we looked at how agile methods provide multiple opportunities for embracing proactive risk management. This month’s article extends risk management beyond the project manager role and introduces the benefits of making it more of a collaborative team exercise.
Managing uncertainty is one of the most important challenges facing project managers, but many have no consistent process for dealing with risks, large or small. One helpful step is to take a page from Agile practices and pay more attention to the size of team tasks and the quality of our conversations about them.
An overview of the project management discipline’s two leading structured approaches, and the PMO’s role in supporting each.
Did you know that PMI published its latest update to PMBOK--the fourth edition to be published since 1996--on the last day of 2008? This writer decided to take a look at what has changed since the previous edition of PMBOK--and to see in what direction the project body of knowledge is evolving.
Agile methods incorporate many mechanisms for dealing with late-breaking changes that also lend themselves to proactively responding to risks. Here we explore how these methods make effective risk management easier to implement.
It's easy to find a million ways that software managers can fail with their teams and their projects. This article prioritizes seven practical leadership tips and techniques that can help build great teams that consistently deliver great projects. And these habits are so simple, you can put them into practice immediately!
Agile adoption outside of software is nothing new--it dates back very close to the origin of today’s agile methods, predating the term “agile”. However, what is new and noteworthy is the rate and scale of non-software agile adoption being witnessed today. Now--as more companies than ever are exposed to agile methods in their IT practices--these methods are being employed beyond the regular IT domain.
As agile methods continue to gain in popularity and Project Management Institute events offer more and more agile content, the demand for agile-related offerings has increased substantially. Is this new certification offering a good idea, and what does it mean for you?
Is it possible to make leadership easier? It is if you make use of a certain characteristic of leadership actions. Here we present three quickly implemented project leadership tactics.
You're leading the team to deliver...what more do they want?! This article highlights a few, simple best practices that--if introduced at the beginning of your project--might help you easily control costs along the way.
The fourth edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge is now available on the Amazon.com Kindle.
The project management blogosphere is weighing in on the upcoming Agile certification from PMI. Here’s a recent sampling along with an interview with PMI vice president of IT Frank Schettini, who discusses the development of the certification and what it can offer the profession.
We all want Subject Matter Experts, but what happens if we get Subject Matter Zeros? How does that impact your schedule, and what about team members who have “other project commitments”? Before you know it, that six-month schedule that looked pretty comfortable is looking like a fairy tale.
Applying 30 years of domestic and international experience in IT from both the customer and provider side, Mark Perry has spent the past decade focused on developing and supporting project management offices. Here, the founder of BOT International and director of PMO Services for gantthead shares his perspective on PMOs and Scrum.
Just as we always look out for the good of our projects, we must also look out for the good of our career. We can never assure that they will continue to advance and grow, but there are some factors we can look to that might optimize our chances. Taken by themselves, none of these factors will assure a smooth and rewarding career progression. But leveraging several of these factors can help maximize success.
This extensive project plan will help you plan your next IT system development project. It can be applied to both IT or software engineering projects.
Procurement management is one of the knowledge areas in PMBOK, but procurements for large computer systems or multi-year projects can easily take on a life of their own. This article will provide guidelines for issues that are unique to a procurement project. Ensuring that these guidelines are followed (or at least considered) by the appropriate stakeholder will assist the PM in successfully completing the procurement so that the real work can begin.
Is there a “secret sauce” or shortcut that will help you pass the PMP Exam? Not really. However, there are seven essential resources, concepts and best practices that will make your PMP Exam preparation go smoother.
Project Management Institute is seeking proposals from scholars both within and outside the field of project management for research with a direct application to any aspect of the Project Management Body of Knowledge or its practice.
We know, we know...you just want to sit down and eat. But before you do, we have one last lesson from The Sub Shop. How does it know that it's producing a product that meets your requirements? Is the sandwich being produced a quality sandwich? Is your experience a positive one? We can examine this through the quality control step in our quality management process.
Morale killers can disrupt and damage a project’s forward momentum. This article explores some of the ways to move past them and keep the project on track.
Want to go fast, but keep getting interrupted? What you need is a smart way to manage these interruptions without all the stopping and starting.
Six universities have received academic research grants from Project Management Institute to study new theories in project management, including decision-making processes, retaining specialist knowledge, and more holistic stakeholder management.
A team at the insurance company implemented a project that evolved into a blueprint described as “…the beginning of our future.”
Is your work more industrial-worker based or knowledge-worker based? The way people work together on projects has changed. Have your project management methods kept up?
We've already looked at the opportunities agile methods offer for proactive risk management and examined the benefits of engaging the whole team in risk management through collaborative games. As our agile risk management series continues, we walk through those games and explains how to engage a team in the first three of the six risk management steps.
Who knew that a seemingly simple effort in rewarding workers would turn into its own agile exercise? An energy company assignment led this writer to another unexpected lesson in evolutionary design and the rewards of prototyping. Read on as we explore one of the core benefits of agile methods.
Attending a “boot camp” to prepare for the Project Management Professional exam is widely pitched as a quick, surefire way to ace the test. But while this popular training method may help you pass the PMP exam, there are a number of significant drawbacks.
Just being an expert on agile and focusing on delivery of “working software” doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. This article shows tips and techniques for those of you struggling with getting your team and your company to adopt agile.
A Gartner research director’s critique of the Project Management Institute’s recently released portfolio and program management standards engages practitioners, vendors and consultants.
PMI recently honored the National Nuclear Security Administration, which was able to deploy a flexible IT platform ahead of schedule, allowing project managers to filter and analyze large amounts of real-time information.
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.
How can you adapt Scrum-like tools and techniques within a Waterfall project management environment? What can you do to reduce resistance and reap the benefits Scrum has to offer? In short, how can you get down and Scrummy within a Waterfall world? Here are some ideas you might find useful.
There are now more than 240 PM-related apps for the iPhone and iPad. One of the latest contains 675 flashcards to help individuals preparing for the PMP exam or seeking PDUs for re-certification.
People seem to think that the Project Management Institute is all about pushing burdensome, plan-driven, pre-codified approaches. Quite the contrary, PMI provides the worldwide platform, leadership and knowledge to help the community figure out what works, and it was on display in the person of PMI president Mark Langley at a recent event.
RFPs are a double-edged sword for many vendors. In the first article, we looked at the challenges with layout and content. In this second installment, we look at the challenges vendors experience in the process from the point they are made aware of the RFP to the submission of the bid.
Many people still do not understand the Standard and the differences between its implementation tools. What are the differences between the OPM3 Standard, OPM3 Online and OPM3 ProductSuite? The answers await inside...
The PMBOK Guide and other best-practice frameworks provide considerable detail on schedule, budget and risk management techniques, but much less guidance on how to manage the people-related challenges that threaten the execution of these plans, and are the most commonly cited reasons for the failure of complex change initiatives.
What we perceive as reality is as much about what’s inside our heads as it is about what’s out there...which may be one reason why scope management can sometimes be a vexing experience for project managers.
...and an M-B-O-K! What's that spell? Relief. How much do you know about A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge? How much should you know? Here's the 411 on the PMBOK Guide, what has been referred to as the oracle project managers should follow. (Pom-poms optional...)
Why do so many project managers fail to deal with risks on their projects? In this article, we examine some of the reasons and explore some ways to tackle the problem.
Agile methods are powerful approaches that bring many benefits to how we undertake project work. However, they are not immune to misuse or failure. The following list of five common pitfalls is often seen in organizations switching to agile.
Are you treating the attainment of your PMP as a project? When you view the PMP through a project lens, it will help you stay focused on the end objective and ensure that you get your certification sooner rather than never. Join us as we have a look at the key phases...
The Mayans may have had the first timeboxed project--they had a strict 2012 timebox cutoff with little room for extension (you know, since the world would no longer exist). Although agile methods have been preaching the benefits of fixed timeboxed schedules since their creation, it still raises concerns with many stakeholders. That's because timeboxing with flexing scope is the worst form of project compromise--until, that is, you try the alternatives.
Beyond obtaining more certifications, project managers should take the processes, tools and techniques learned in a certification project and focus on putting them into practice. Training and education is great, but it’s not until you apply the knowledge that you’ll benefit from the hours studying to pass an exam. Here are are just a few ideas on how you can apply your certifications.
Need help scheduling agile delivery dates? We’ll examine a pragmatic way to derive a schedule (and subsequently a project cost) for a process framework that is inherently flexible--but one that still must plan for a release date. The approach covered will hopefully satisfy both your management and your team’s desire for practical schedule planning.
Don't believe everything you hear. The truth behind many agile software development myths will help you identify alternative methods to successfully deliver software.
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.
There's a new certification by PMI--the Program Management Professional (PgMP). What is this certification, and where does it fit? And is it something that we need to be thinking about including in our development plans?
