Project managers seem to be very popular with large corporations, but what about businesses with fewer than 100 employees? Can project management help them? Small business owners and managers tend to have everything on their plate. Marketing, sales, payroll – everything is the owner’s responsibility. Which means that all the projects that are part of those ongoing efforts are being run by one person – […]
Art and science have so much in common – the process of trial and error, finding something new and innovative, and to experiment and succeed in a breakthrough. –Peter M. Brant, American businessman. Those of us who spend many hours involved with projects, sponsors, teams, and deliverables often don’t have the time or the inclination to look at the bigger picture. For those who are […]
Requirements management has always been part of the project manager’s job. It was something that I handled as the project progressed without much thought. In today’s world, requirements management is an important part of the overall project. What is “requirements management?” In short, requirements management is the compilation, monitoring, and control of stakeholder needs for the project. According to PMI, the Requirements Management Plan is a component […]
As project managers, our job is to deliver a defined set of deliverables. Those deliverables may be as small as relocating a team to another floor, or as large as a satellite that hovers over the earth. No matter what the deliverables, the members of the team are crucial to the success of the project. Team development In many companies, team development for projects […]
Many of us in the project management field got our start before there was such a thing as a project manager. In fact, many folks today are probably working in the role of project manager, but don’t have that title. That may be just fine, or not. It all depends on where you want to go in your career and how you want to get […]
“The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”—Alan Watts The one item that you will certainly have on any project is change. It always seems that as soon as the project is agreed upon, there is someone who has a better idea and wants a change. As project managers, managing change is the […]
Everyone is always interested in “How did you get here?” and what led me to a career in project management. To that end, I’m starting a new series on ProProjectManager.com. The “How did you get here?” interview. I’ve got lots of friends (at least now) that are project managers and got to that place in many different ways. Let’s get started! My first interview […]
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 […]
