Many project management teams are good at brainstorming new ways to make their processes more efficient and to devise strategies that allow them to have repeatable successes. But sometimes moving those innovations into practice is harder than coming up with the ideas in the first place. How good is your Project Team at turning all…
duration-driven
THE TASK CONUNDRUM
May 3, 2013 by
In project management, there are two schools of thought on doling out tasks to team members—assign all tasks at the beginning of the project, or assign them as they come up in the project schedule. Each method has merits, along with some notable pitfalls. Here we examine both strategies to see what’s good about each,…
Confronting Challenges by Adding a Project Management Consulting Firm to Your Team
January 27, 2013 by
There are many reasons that corporate executives turn to external consultants to provide project management support for their projects. The challenges that organizations face include: sub-par project performance, the potential for lost credibility, lack of experience with a particular project type, and a lack of internal project management practitioners. Project management consulting firms can supply experienced
practitioners that offer high-quality solutions to the complex issues facing project teams. Here are six ways that project management consulting firms are making a difference with leading organizations.
Going Beyond Mentoring
November 13, 2012 by
Mentoring remains an important way for project management professionals to expand their knowledge base (6 reasons-mentoring still matters), but sometimes your needs go beyond what a mentor can provide. We’ve outlined a few instances where a different kind of expert might have the information or expertise you’re seeking.
Project Management Documentation Tips: Forms & Templates
April 7, 2010 by
Forms and templates are the foundation for many types of project documents. Rather than putting unnecessary effort into creating new forms for each project, the use of existing forms and templates can streamline your project’s documentation requirements, and allow your team to focus on higher-level objectives. A variety of resources are available to you when…
Project Management : The Power of the Checklist
March 11, 2010 by
Checklists, when thoughtfully created and diligently maintained, offer your team a simple yet powerful tool to accomplish a variety of project management tasks, such as tracking communications, accommodating unexpected absences of key team members, and overseeing resources. Depending on the needs of your project, checklists may take many forms. They might be tweaked to accommodate the specifics of a project, expanded or reduced based on scope, and created anew when the need arises. The versatility of the simple checklist is what makes it a useful, constant fixture in any project.
Documentation Tips: Archival
March 9, 2010 by
At the end of each project, it’s important to ensure your documentation – including e-mails, invoices, contracts, schedules, diagrams and anything else related to the project – can be easily located, retrieved, searched and referenced later.
Conducting a Useful Post Mortem Analysis
March 3, 2010 by
Once a project is complete, take some time to review what was successful and what needs improvement. By evaluating each project in retrospect, you’ll be able to apply the lessons learned to future endeavors.
Software is a Tool, Not the Answer to Project Planning & Control
February 26, 2010 by
No matter what the job is at hand, great tools in the hands of a trained professional will lead to exceptional results. But what about providing great tools to an untrained person? Would you expect comparable results? The answer is a resounding NO! If this is true, then why do some people believe that having good project management software tools will make them good project managers and ultimately lead to successful projects? The missing variable in this equation is a sound project management methodology to guide them through the planning and control process. Engraining a sound project management methodology in your organization, supported by a suite of great tools, is the first step towards getting great project results.
