Project managers often see themselves as problem solvers, but that’s not quite the right way to look at things in every situation. Problem solving shouldn’t always be the project manager’s job...at least not directly. Are you enabling your team members to solve problems?
The real success of a completed project comes when the benefit reaches the customer, employee or company it is designed to help and an appreciable bottom line impact is made.
Do you recognize that you are your own project, and that investing in you is necessary and appropriate? Personal projects are where you have the opportunity to explore and discover new capabilities. This requires effort and commitment, and perseverance in the face of inevitable challenge.
In her book How To Cheat at IT Project Management, author Susan Snedaker synthesized fundamental concepts of project management, from managing scope and assessing risks to communicating with teams and sponsors. Here, she answers some frequently asked questions on how to implement these concepts in the business world.
Project leadership takes guts. Face it, you take on some of the most complex assignments and are responsible for large budgets, resources and operational impacts. The steps outlined in this article will enable you to tap into your leadership potential, engage your teams and utilize proven techniques for successful project outcomes.
Maturity models and assessments may help an organization peg its current project management capabilities, but the information is only of use if executive management supports a course of action to go from where the company is to where it wants to be, step by step.
Current events are leading to ever more calls for the development of agile business environments. But if agile is going to help businesses that have not yet embraced its benefits, then the focus needs to be somewhere else. It needs to be on changing the minds of business leaders.
We can’t schedule innovation, but we can schedule and fund discovery—an essential part of building products that matter. How do we make the case for discovery as the true path to innovation? Make it tangible and frame it in non-specialist language.