Every project stems from an organization’s need to accomplish something—to increase production capacity, for example, or to reduce costs across a process or within a department. No matter the type of need that launched it, each effort is expected to return some kind of value back to the company.
tips
Don’t Let Today’s Delays Sink Tomorrow’s Projects
November 7, 2017 by
The on-deck project. It’s there, waiting in the wings, ready to go as soon as your team wraps up its current efforts. You and your stakeholders are probably excited to get going on it. It may be a garden-variety project, or it could be a one-time, strategically important initiative that will catapult the company forward. Either way, if its start date hinges on completing other tasks, it’s in a precarious position, because if something—anything—goes wrong with your present schedule, that on-deck project will almost surely be bumped.
What Can An Integrated Project Plan Do For You?
October 31, 2017 by
When multiple sub-teams and cross-functional groups are working on the same project, there is a risk of disparate project plans popping up. These are typically fractured and incomplete, and they create all sorts of trouble for PMs and the organization’s leadership. One key to project success is avoiding this proliferation of different plans and schedules, particularly when executing large, complex, or high-visibility initiatives that are strategically important to the company.
Tips for Managing Process Changes During Facility Startups
August 1, 2017 by
The need to develop new processes should be an expected part of any facility startup project. Depending on the type of site that’s being launched, the organization may not have established protocols that address any number of functions—inventory management or materials receiving, for example. Or it’s possible that formal processes do exist within the company, but that they aren’t comprehensive enough to encompass all the activities that will occur in the new facility.
5 Challenges of Internal Project Training | PMAlliance Project Management Blog
June 15, 2017 by
Ongoing education is a critical part of maintaining a Project Team’s base of skills and expertise. Using internal team members to train others in the group is often an attractive option—it doesn’t entail the typical hard costs associated with outside training and classes can be conducted with little advance planning. This takes good advantage of downtime while keeping everyone up to date on best practices. However, though the cost savings and flexibility may be tempting, there are some challenges that teams need to be mindful of if they want to get the most benefit out of their internal training opportunities.
Your Project Is Not Special
March 4, 2016 by
It’s a premise that goes against everything many PMP®s hold near and dear. Conditioned to see each project as a unique set of challenges in need of highly-targeted solutions, it can be difficult for those in the Project Team to shift their thinking and instead view projects in more standardized terms. But it’s a fundamental…
6 Steps to Being a Good Mentor
July 2, 2010 by
Being a mentor is an enormously rewarding way to support and expand the project management profession. Nervous about jumping into the mentor role? Don’t be—use these tips to make the experience fluid and fun. Also check out: (GOING BEYOND MENTORING), (MENTORING MISTAKES SMART Project TeamS MAKE), (find-the-right-business-mentor) and (6 reasons-mentoring still matters)
Neutralize Personality Conflicts
June 1, 2010 by
Project management professionals are generally organized, skilled, and highly driven. Any time you have several of these strong personality types working together on a team, you’re bound to discover some tension. How do you keep these self-motivated people working toward the same objectives without letting their personalities hinder progress?
Project Management in a Down Economy
February 26, 2010 by
Each year, companies execute projects for the purpose of improving their bottom-line and expanding their competitive advantage. The difference between success and failure often depends on how committed organizations are in utilizing project management to monitor and control schedule delays. Schedule delays are the villain in project management and are the biggest cause of budget overruns, missed deadlines, and poor quality. During good economic times, investing in project management is financially feasible and acceptable by most companies. However, during bad economic times, project management is considered an overhead cost and the tendency is to downsize. This paper discusses the importance of investing in project management to mitigate the impact of schedule delays in good and more importantly during bad economic times.
