One of a project manager’s greatest challenges is keeping the project “on-track.” Many forces conspire against meeting this goal. To overcome these challenges, the project manager should plan for success early—even before the project completes initiation. Here are six recommendations for keeping a project […]
When a project goes bad, it’s like getting sick. At first, you think it’s just allergies or you are a little under the weather. The symptoms mount and finally you accept the fact that you are really sick. The longer you wait, the sicker you […]
“Lies, damned lies, and statistics”…Mark Twain Project managers need to be very careful how they use probabilities and statistics when discussing their projects. Individual projects do not conform to the laws of statistics, and statistical references in the context of an individual project are often […]
Mega-projects (aka, massive strategic initiatives) are not just big projects. The scale and complexity of these undertakings can overwhelm the typical enterprise. To successfully execute mega-projects, enterprises should adjust and adopt their ‘regular’ approach to project management. Cooking is the best analogy to describe the […]
The value of the project lessons learned process is to transform information into actionable knowledge to improve the outcome of future efforts. If we do not apply the lessons to future work, then little has been achieved. Furthermore, embedding the lessons into the organizational […]
Every project manager can construct a good project schedule. Great project managers can take that same body of work and deliver it more quickly without reducing scope or compromising quality. The great PMs can cut 10%-25% from a schedule by understanding how teams work and […]
“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers.” Robert Half It is generally accepted that a conducting lessons learned meeting or a project post-implementation review at the end of a project or phase is a best practice.at the close of […]
What do the following have in common? Best Practices, Business Process Re-engineering, Matrix Management, and Management by Objective According to Inc.Com, these are five of the 10 worst management fads. Several research groups have found that PMO failure rates are high with approximately 50% of […]