If we want better projects, we need to be better at our project management. But is consistency and formality the answer? Is demanding adherence to a common process what is required to get to “better”? The evidence here is mixed.
PMs don’t always have the right view of what makes a project successful. Our discipline has evolved and now requires us to have a much more complete view of how our projects impact organizations. Just how do you define "failure"?
In software development, testing is one of the most important functions. But too often, there is a fundamental problem: We aren’t always testing the right things. Where’s the quality? Testing is a relative exercise, not an absolute one.
There are many different methods a project manager can use to rebaseline the project plan. Unfortunately, the one most often used is reactive instead of proactive. Approach your rebaselining event in a careful and methodical manner to make it worthwhile and benefit the project.
Now is a great time for us as project managers to consider how we might change our habits for the better. It’s very easy to get trapped into a set of activities without examining how we can improve our delivery. By incorporating the three “Rs” (reduce, reuse and recycle) we can better manage our projects.
Adoption of LEED standards is typically framed as a means of reducing operating costs; the greater expense in designing and building sustainable facilities is offset by reduced energy consumption in future years. This becomes a theoretically easy business case that should be readily accepted: an investment in current periods providing future savings in costs. The challenge, however, is two-fold: it requires foresight and a willingness to invest in the long term, and there needs to be confidence that the promised benefits are realistic and attainable.
Analyzing information and data is a very important skill for a project manager in all phases of the project. Are you getting an "A" for analysis effort?
As environmental concerns and sustainability become bigger issues across all aspects of society, there is an argument for taking a rather longer-term view of product development--the concept of whole lifecycle thinking, ensuring that the costs of the product are considered from birth to retirement. What can project managers do to help develop and implement the concept?
One writer understands the need for carefully considering the impact and consequences of our decisions and actions, but why project management? Isn’t it everybody’s responsibility? But after researching and pondering the options out there, she realized that being green is actually pretty easy sometimes...and important.
Welcome to "The Truth About Projects", a popular new show that helps save you from missed budgets, blown timelines and under-performing or under-delivering projects by answering your questions on all things project management! Caller, you're on the air...
The Olympic rings are five intertwined circles that represent the elaborate and complex Games. Similarly, project managers can bring five rings of discipline together to manage very complex projects. Each of these rings builds upon the other--and they give the project manager a taxonomy by which to manage Olympian efforts
How well do mega-projects get managed in comparison with normal projects? Given the size, the scale, the visibility and the sensitivity of these projects, would it be reasonable to assume that they are managed more formally and more effectively than “normal” projects? Reasonable: possibly. Correct: sadly, no.
We need to recognize that as we start taking accountability for larger initiatives, the way that we lead those projects needs to change and evolve. To manage Olympic-size projects, you need a strong leadership team.
"Big" is somewhat defined in the eyes of the beholder. Beyond sheer size and mass, what makes big projects so daunting? Certainly as a project grows in size and scope, a number of things increase along with it--each adding complexity and risk to the effort. While there is no foolproof way to eliminate the risks associated to big projects, there are some things you can do to reduce those risks.
Personal projects allow you to improve your skills in project management in a safer venue. These examples show how you can find meaningful practice even if the activities have nothing to do with information technology.
What do your project management abilities have to do with your own sense of contentment? In some ways, projects reflect on how we want to affect the world around us--the feeling that we can make a change, make a difference and take charge of a situation.
Code inspections are an implicit, often unspoken best practice among agile project management teams. This silence has caused some people to question the quality control of the agile PM paradigm. Surprisingly, agile teams have not forgotten to mind the Ps and Qs of quality engineering--and not only continue to perform code inspections, but perform them more often. This results in even greater quality than traditional project management teams.
Issues and action items are often lumped together, but there are differences--and they require different strategies to make sure they don't derail your project. Do you have a plan in place?
Your project work climate may be bad enough for you to have to use an unusual set of workforce management techniques to be successful. (Would you tell an overworked worker to do something extra?) In our concluding chapter, a third signal specific to contingency workers and their improper management is explained.
Recently, concerns have surfaced regarding the viability of the remaining three months of your project. Management wants quantitative evidence that it will finish successfully and on time. You need to act and act now. Before hitting the panic button, rely on these proven techniques to help achieve success.
QA in an Agile environment is very different…are your teams ready? Here we look at how QA needs to evolve in order to best support Agile development practices.
New year, new baseline? Don't be scared...sometimes, a fresh start can help a troubled project get back on track. Here's some help in adopting a healthy outlook.
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.
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?
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!
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.
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.
They approved the scope statement?! Freeze the client! Sigh...if only it were that simple. Maybe it's time to learn to love change instead of struggling against it.
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"More than any time in history mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness, the other to total extinction. Let us pray that we have the wisdom to choose correctly." - Woody Allen |
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