Executing a project successfully requires that all participants in the effort—from the project team to sponsors to end users—work together. Everyone needs to have a common set of expectations and be moving toward a common set of goals. The feedback loop is an integral part of building and maintaining that alignment from a project’s inception…
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Manage Today’s Project Stakeholder Expectations
January 15, 2020 by
The pace of business today can be downright frantic at times. Given the scope of activities within a normal project and the number of people involved in even relatively small efforts, PMs often face additional challenges keeping up. Not only does their team have access to more technology tools than ever before, they also have…
4 Reasons Executives Hate Project Contingency Plans
December 10, 2018 by
If it seems like your organization’s leadership team is reluctant to approve your project’s contingency plans, you aren’t alone. Contingency planning can sometimes be a difficult concept for executives to embrace and the mere mention of contingent planning efforts has been known to derail meetings with C-suite stakeholders. Contingency plans are useful for addressing all…
6 Things Executives Want to Know About the Project Portfolio
August 18, 2018 by
Think a project portfolio management methodology is only useful to your project team? Think again. Broad awareness into the company’s active projects, along with those initiatives that are still in the planning pipeline, offers tremendous benefits to executives and other senior decision makers. The amount of information that can be gathered and analyzed across the…
Protect Your Project’s Task Chain
July 6, 2017 by
Every project is comprised of a number of individual tasks. Some tasks can and should be executed simultaneously, and at other times one task must be completed before the next activity can begin. Unfortunately, there’s a lot that can go wrong with these task chains, and the potential for problems grows along with the scope and complexity of the project. For example, the Project Team might not realize that one delayed task doesn’t just impact one other activity, it actually affects the execution plan for many other tasks that are scheduled to happen later in the project.
Why Power Plant Projects Need Real-Time Status Updates
July 4, 2017 by
Information is one of the core pillars underpinning every successful project. With the evolution of technology and more compute power available than ever before, there’s little reason centers of excellence should continue to rely on data that may be days or even weeks old when it comes to identifying potential issues, forecasting activity schedules, making strategic decisions, and pouncing on opportunities in the marketplace.
Why Power Plant Projects Need Real-Time Status Updates
March 21, 2017 by
Information is one of the core pillars underpinning every successful project. With the evolution of technology and more compute power available than ever before, there’s little reason centers of excellence should continue to rely on data that may be days or even weeks old when it comes to identifying potential issues, forecasting activity schedules, making strategic decisions, and pouncing on opportunities in the marketplace.
A robust project management methodology enables the team to access the kind of real-time status updates that are critical to success. If your Project Team hasn’t yet prioritized the use of real-time data, consider how it could improve the landscape for team members, executives, and the other stakeholders involved in the effort.
Technology Gotchas (and Solutions) for Power Plant Project Managers
March 16, 2017 by
Technology has invaded nearly every corner of the business world, with tools such as robust data analytics driving more strategic decisions than ever before. For power plant project managers, technology has created a few challenges along the way. Fortunately, with the right approach, project teams can overcome these gotchas and take advantage of everything technology offers.
Power Plant Projects Bring Unique Communication Challenges
March 14, 2017 by
Strong communication skills are a must for any project manager. But when it comes to planning and executing projects in the highly demanding power plant environment, the ability to craft, plan for, and oversee communication efforts moves to the top of the priority ladder. Tackling these unique challenges requires experience and expertise.
Cracking The Nut Of Competing Project Objectives
September 28, 2016 by
One potential issue for project teams is the existence of competing objectives. Whether it’s an individual sponsor or an entire group of end users, there might come a time when stakeholders are focused on achieving things other than the project’s stated goals. They may be at odds with each other about what’s important, leading to…
