Project task lists are vital to success. They provide guidance on what each team member should be working on and they help PMs confirm that the project is progressing according to plan. But putting together a useful task list is more complex than simply writing down the activities that come to mind. One mistake PMs…
Project Management Blog
Project Kick-Off Meetings: Teams and Customers
May 14, 2019 by
With every project there’s a kick-off point—that time when things actually begin to happen, even if it’s just a lot of talk about what the project is expected to accomplish. But these kick-off meetings aren’t just low-priority formalities. They’re an important opportunity for PMs to begin setting expectations, gathering the kind of insight that will…
Why Good Leaders Fail at Project Management
May 10, 2019 by
Good leaders possess a range of important skills. From effectively managing people to making solid strategic decisions, leadership requires experience and knowledge. But the baseline skills that many good leaders possess make up only a small part of the project management discipline. Unfortunately, senior staff may not have good awareness of the core competencies a…
Make Better Use of Project Feedback
May 7, 2019 by
As part of your continuous improvement efforts, your project team should be gathering, analyzing, and acting on project feedback received from stakeholders. Whether they’re customers, sponsors, executives, internal support departments, or even your vendors, your project collaborators can often provide important insight into how well your team is performing and where things need to be…
FIND 10 TAKEAWAYS FROM EVERY PROJECT
April 30, 2019 by
If your Project Team isn’t learning something new each time it executes a project, then the project management team isn’t spending as much time on improvement efforts as it should. The lessons don’t need to be earth shattering or obscure, but the Project Team should be able to take something constructive from every project. Is…
Project Managers are Key to Agile Success
April 25, 2019 by
More teams are finding it advantageous to incorporate Agile concepts into their traditional waterfall project management structure. This strategy can deliver some big benefits, but a hybrid approach has the potential to present challenges if PMs don’t address a few key issues early in the process. Whether this is your first time implementing a hybrid…
Two Project Technology Traps to Avoid
April 22, 2019 by
Project teams can reap enormous benefits with the help of technology. From keeping e-mails flowing when they’re on the go to getting the latest status reports on a can’t-fail initiative, technology empowers people at every level to know more and to accomplish more. But if there isn’t a thoughtful approach behind your technology deployments—or if…
A Proven Project Management Methodology that Fixes the Pleaser Problem
April 17, 2019 by
We’ve looked at some of the problems pleasers can sometimes create within the project team as they try to execute initiatives without upsetting customers. Fortunately, a strong project management methodology gives PMs the tools they need to eliminate many of the issues pleasers commonly trigger. This not only keeps customers and the executive group happier, it…
Project Management: The Problem with Pleasers
April 17, 2019 by
Project teams want to deliver good results. They want to move their initiatives to a successful completion and provide stakeholders with the expected benefits. In short, PMs and others working in the project group want people to be happy with the final outcome. That’s an important attribute for any project professional, but there can be…
6 Ways to Make Your Project Better
April 17, 2019 by
When your team handles projects on a routine basis, it’s tempting to just plug the information on the latest effort into your software, add in a bunch of time and budget estimates based on previous projects, and start working on the first set of tasks. Stop! This approach sets you up to repeat mistakes you’ve…
