Everyone’s talking about going green, but many organizations are getting bogged down in how and where to start. When it comes to the document-laden world of project management, going paperless is a modest but important first step. It not only helps the environment, it can be more cost-effective and save you time.
When you're catapulted into an ongoing project, the situtation is often volatile, potential minefields abound, and there isn't much time to ramp up and get the existing team on your side. Revamping plans and schedules is almost always critical, but rarely sufficient. Here are seven best practices to hit the ground running.
Despite our best planning efforts, unexpected events will bring problems to some projects. When they do, resist the temptation to respond in an ad hoc fashion to get back on track. It’s better to perform a formal assessment and make changes with the same care that went into the original plan.
By accepting resource insufficiencies when assembling their plans, project managers blur the costs of the resulting inefficiencies. But by optimizing the critical path schedule, they can capture the impact on project profit of delays caused by resource bottlenecks — and at least make a more persuasive, bottomline case for hiring vital resources for future projects.
Even when everything seems to be going well, things may not be as rosy as you think. All the facts might point to success, but perceptions can often trump that reality. Here's some practical advice on aligning how things are and how they appear.
No one performs their best under pressure. There are situations that bring the best out in you, but that’s completely dependent on your surroundings and the methodology you follow. Here are some tips to stay cool under pressure.
As project managers, our role is all about relationships with people. But some of our greatest growth comes when we look inside ourselves.
Projects succeed because of the relationships between people and the ability to create an environment where everyone involved is engaged and committed. Lessons learned sessions can be stressful experiences for those involved, but is that a reason to avoid some of the more sensitive aspects?
Phone blues giving your customers a coronary? No need...read this and fix your problems before they get out of hand.
Activities might help your team. However, they are not real progress. Focus on what the user needs and deliver that. Then do that again and again. That’s how you de-risk projects and make real progress.
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"Only those who have been in the frying pan are really qualified to talk about the heat." - Winston Churchill |
