Project Management Training > Cultural Change Management

In many ways, starting a new Project Portfolio Office is easier than inheriting a PPO that is already in process. However, the risk assessment process is essentially the same. Assessing risk of project delays and failures on the PPO basket of projects, at a minimum, should consider six areas. Find out what they are--and plenty more crucial risk management information--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.

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.

Have you noticed that the phrase “change management” takes on completely different meanings depending upon the audience? This is often because varying disciplines use the same phrase with completely different definitions.

To achieve a Zen culture of Scrum will take time, resources and a radical paradigm shift. Is it worth it? Yes, because this practice places humans--not processes or techniques--at the center of an organization. Let's learn more about a valuable history.

For a project to be successful, the communication triangle should be respected. In Part 2, we look at how perception and personal filters are used by people--and we discuss culture and leadership styles.

Project management is becoming recognized on an international scale. In support of this, there are a number of efforts underway to promote a global view of how we think about, discuss and practice project management. But to what extent is project management a universal language? To what extent can it be? Or are we all simply sowing confusion as we use the same words to mean very different things?

The most important contributor to successful risk management isn’t processes or tools, which are important, but an organizational culture that is risk-aware and encourages people to take the right risks. This can be achieved by addressing cultural aspects up front or allowing it to emerge naturally by putting a supportive infrastructure in place first.

The research projects will focus on a range of project management subjects, including cultural perspectives, procurement and sustainability, among others.

Diverse, distributed teams add risk and complexity to projects. Here are five tips — culled from a new report by Forrester Research senior analyst Mary Gerush — to help project managers bridge cultural, geographic and organizational gaps among team members.

Global projects present significant obstacles to project leaders, but with the right tools, a little flexibility and the willingness to step out of your comfort zone, you can prevail. Here are six common challenges and suggestions for overcoming them.

Tools are only one piece of the puzzle. Here are five reasons why data warehousing solutions have not become as mature as expected, and what you need to do in order to make your data warehousing implementation successful.

Collocated teams are the heart and soul of agile project management, but there's one small dilemma: The world’s supply of human talent is not aligned for a PM model based on collocated project teams; the marketplace is better aligned for one based on virtual teams. So how do you adapt the agile project management model?

Despite this global recession, the competitive landscape keeps becoming more urgent and faster paced. You will be expected to keep managing new projects to keep your organization competitive--but will do so with less (and exhausted) resources, tight budgets and more scrutiny for success. How does one meet such challenges and succeed? One of the agile practices tailor made for such an environment is the Lean method.

How can you ensure that your PMO is as strong as it can be as the economy recovers? In this article, we look at how you can use this opportunity to improve your PMO--making it a more significant contributor to your organization than it was before the downturn.

Why do organizations pursuing Agile transformation need a coach and how do they make it stick after the coach leaves? In this new series, we explore these and other questions, starting with Certified Scrum Coach and Trainer Xavier Quesada Allue.

Having the ability to connect to systems with round-the-clock availability has led us down a path of high expectations and preconceived outcomes. These challenges exist for any organization that chooses to make some portion of its operation available to customers at all times, causing some resources and personnel to get stretched in all directions.

Even if it feels right, make sure you know and fit the culture as well as the job before you accept an offer.

Thousands of years ago, humans developed a sophisticated system of navigating at sea--a methodology that is nothing if not agile project management. Their skill and their wisdom, known as wayfinding, have much to teach us as we navigate the challenging waters of the agile project.

There is a huge difference between using Agile practices and being Agile. Here, a chief engineer discusses his organization’s strides in creating an Agile mindset and a customized approach to producing high-quality work in short time frames. The journey offers practical advice and techniques to those getting started or struggling with Agile transformation.

As long as people are involved in the project process, project managers will have to deal with politics. As intuitively obvious as that statement might be, it must remain an enigma to many project managers because they seem to be very politically challenged. Many PMs fail to understand that projects are comprised of people who must find a way to work together toward a common goal.

PMI seeks proposals involving multi-disciplinary teams of scholars or teams consisting of academics and practitioners, who can potentially bring new ways of thinking and related bodies of literature to the field.

The American Way isn't the only way. Before you head into international territory, get to know the culture. Your national pride depends on it.

How global are we, and how global are we likely to become? If we’re not seeing the evidence of increased globalization, does that mean that it doesn’t exist or that--once more--we’re being passed by and made redundant? And what does all of this mean for project managers who are still working hard to get their projects done? The answers are are a click away...

Sometimes the true spirit of Agile gets lost in burndown charts, daily standups and endless debates of what it is and isn't. That the Agile Manifesto is uncomplicated and open to interpretation presents both challenges and opportunities. So do what makes sense and continually re-evaluate what that means.

Agile can help steer a company through organizational culture and process changes, but the project requires a strategic shift in operations. But even with these challenges, agile provides the necessary tools to make this transition possible.

Globally dispersed teams and stakeholders present daunting challenges to project, program and portfolio leaders. It is imperative that organizations develop a formal communication strategy that addresses distance, language, culture and access to information. In this undertaking, “the cloud” is a friend.

How do we tackle 2011? There are a couple old practices we can draw upon and some new methods we can use to keep moving forward and--hopefully--put ourselves more in the black.

How project portfolio management transformed the way the city of Tacoma delivers goods and services to its 200,000 residents.

A majority of SAP users are implementing the IT Infrastructure Library framework, starting with incident management, but cultural issues remain an ongoing challenge.

If you don’t see how your project fits into an overall strategic vision, you’re operating with blinders on, and without information critical to success. Here’s some guidance on what you need to know about the relationship between your project and your organization’s business plan, and how it can improve project performance.

Happy workers are productive workers. Keeping your workforce happy and motivated is the best way to keep your business productive and success ful in the long run.

As technology becomes ever more critical to business success, changes are coming in IT governance that tighten its relationship to strategic objectives. Here, analysts discuss the business basis for the shift.

There is a subtle but important difference between measuring outcomes and measuring people. So what should we measure? Here are five measures that can bring about extraordinary results.

How do the rules around communication change when we add the global element? When we add a global perspective into the picture, things can get a lot more complicated. The physical distance can be a big part of that--as can time, language and culture. In this article, we look at how communication needs to adjust on a global project in order to remain effective.

Don't spend too much time on upfront planning because, no matter how well you do it, you'll be wrong, insists new GlobalLogic chief technology officer Jim Walsh. Here, the ardent Agile advocate talks about winning the development race the right — and perhaps subversive — way.

As we enter 2011, it's time for a refresher--it's the perfect time to explore the cross section of views and perspectives about PMOs. It's the perfect time to see what others are thinking regarding the state of PMOs, and this article will focus on starting a PMO, avoiding PMO failure, trends and the future of the PMO.

Are you in the market for an Enterprise Resource and Project Management (ERPM) tool? Here's a novel thought: reconsider. Or at the very least, make very sure both you and your organization are ready for such a system. Sounds a bit extreme? Read on and you'll understand why.

Harnessing the power of social media tools can greatly improve the communication and collaboration on your projects. But a test drive is prudent, and you must take into account team skills and location, among other considerations, before you dive in. Here are five pre-requisites for a successful social media deployment.

Big companies are desperate for experienced global project managers. Here we take a look at the tough, demanding and exciting international marketplace--and what it takes to succeed as a global project manager.

We've talked about how to create PMOs of value. Now let's take a look at a more detailed exploration of what it takes to create a value-adding PMO, how to get there and why it makes sense to do so.

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.

Collaborative planning is never a simple process, and nearly impossible to distill into a reliably repeatable process. The fact is, we often marginalize or outright exclude those who frustrate our planning with opposing views. After pushing through the plan, we get to live with the result. But communicating your command intent through “clabberation” — not a tidy plan — might just be the purpose of every project.