Remember the last time you joined a new team or organization. What was it like? Was it awkward? Did you make decisions easily? Were expectations clear? Did the team gel immediately? You probably answered “No” to these questions. High-performing teams do not form quickly or […]
Well facilitated brainstorming sessions are amazing. A creative, sharing atmosphere is built. Numerous ideas are generated. Participants feel productive, valued, and are enthusiastic. By contrast, poorly run meetings are horrible. Little is accomplished. People feel frustrated and that they wasted their time. Brainstorming is a […]
Ben Franklin was a an American founding father, inventor, diplomat, and philosopher. He also wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac which contained information for farmers and timeless adages. When it comes to project management, two quotes come to mind: “An ounce of prevention is work a pound of […]
Recently, my wife and I took a trip. We were at the airport. Our flight was delayed. She was sitting with her back to the window and checking the flight’s status on her iPhone. She said that we should start boarding in 5 minutes. I looked […]
Many organizations struggle with project portfolio management (PPM). On the face of it, portfolio management should be easy. We want to align our fi\unding decisions to the organization’s strategic objectives. Since budgets are limited, this becomes a constrained optimization problem, which most easily performed in […]
Years ago, I begrudgingly took my project management certification (PMP®) exam. I passed. Almost a decade later, I now teach PMP® preparation classes and see the value of the Project Management Book of Knowledge® Guide (PMBOK®) and the rigors of the PMP® certification. When I […]
Project management has a consistent and unimpressive performance record. The Standish Group’s on-going survey of project performance finds the percentage of projects that were deemed “successful” has hovered in the 25% – 30% range since 1994. Successful projects are defined as those meeting expectations of […]
Many of us are “knowledge workers.” We do not physically create a product. We work in areas that are important to our enterprise, but do not directly serve customers. We work in finance, marketing, technology, or similar functions. As knowledge workers it is hard to […]
Effective communications are the cornerstone to successful projects and productive teams. The Agile Manifesto extolls the virtues of collaboration, individual interactions, and face-to-face communications. Projects represent our ability to coordinate the work of many people to accomplish a goal. It is no surprise that project […]
Projects with involved stakeholders are far more likely to be successful. But many projects suffer from low engagement from executives, users, and key stakeholders. The PMI’s Pulse of the Profession survey found that projects with high executive support were 40% more likely to be successful […]