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. […]
Better status meetings Status meetings are like exercise – everyone should participate, but it’s tough to get motivated. In most companies, these meetings are dreaded events that most folks would do nearly anything to avoid. The Project Manager is not always a fan either. She’s constantly searching for any way to make these meetings better, faster, and more productive – including not having them at […]
