Last week we talked about running project schedule validation checks on a schedule that has few completed tasks. As your project continues, there are checks you can run to insure your schedule is still valid. If you missed the first part, visit here. Invalid dates check If you reviewed the schedule when it was new, you should have found these before getting started. Sometimes, as […]
Many project managers have no real idea of how to validate their initial project schedule. How do you know that this schedule can get you to your ultimate goal? I won’t try to make this up. The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) has developed 14 quality checks for validating schedules. This agency manages contracts for the Department of Defense here in the U.S, working with suppliers […]
Scheduling is an important part of every project manager’s job. I’ve developed a lot of schedules over the years, and each one was very dynamic – they changed a lot from their first iteration to final close-out. Here are a few tips to developing a better schedule. Tips for a better schedule The six hour day Here in the U.S. most company’s use a standard eight hour day. For […]
As a new project manager, scheduling seems to consume lots of time. Learning the software, building the schedule, re-doing the schedule, managing it, statusing it and reporting on it. Schedules are a very important part of project management, though still only a management tool. The Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK) details scheduling under Time Management. According to PMBOK, developing a schedule includes defining and sequencing […]
Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. —Winston Churchill As project managers, one of our most important functions is developing a plan. If you missed Project planning – problems, scope, and deliverables, feel free to read that now. Create a work breakdown structure Never fear! I’m not going to do a PMBOK interpretive dance here. There are lots of text books where you can […]
Plans are nothing; planning is everything. — Dwight D. Eisenhower If you missed Project Initiation: Let’s get this party started! go ahead and check it out now. For some companies, project planning is a nuisance. As project managers, we often must balance the urgency of senior management to see results and the importance of ensuring the team knows exactly what they are trying to accomplish. We know […]
Let’s get this party started! As project managers, we’ve all been approached by someone in the company who has a great idea for a new project/implementation/process. After congratulating your colleague for that fine bit of thinking, gently remind them that before anything can be started, they need a sponsor for the project. Send those well-meaning colleagues off to find the person that can really get […]
I think from time to time, we all need to be reminded what exactly a project is and why we’re doing them. Many times we get so “in the weeds” around all the tasks we’re trying to accomplish, we forget some of the basic principles of projects and project management. Projects end I know that it seems that the projects you’re on never end. […]
Life gets in the way. We have goals that we want to accomplish, but never seem to get there. Even for those who are naturally task-oriented and project-minded, getting those wanna-do’s done is a challenge. Many of us are in the “busy trap,” and are cleaning house, cooking, shopping, surfing the web, watching TV, or working out for hours a day – staying busy but […]
