Rebel’s Guide to PM

DECEMBER 7, 2016

I ran a subscriber-only webinar recently about trends in project management collaboration tools and the barriers to adopting new technology in a project environment. I think people had a great time and the feedback was fantastic. I certainly got a bigger buzz out of presenting my own webinar than I was expecting! The only problem was that we ran out of time to get through all the questions so I wanted to address some of them here.

2015 228

2015 2016 Closing PMI 228

Moira Alexander

DECEMBER 19, 2016

Many challenges confront today's project managers -- new technologies, remote workforces and a global market to name a few. To take a project from inception to finish can be grueling and you've got to have great dedication and skills if you're going to be successful. But what sets apart good project managers (PMs) from the truly great ones? What does it take to go from being the manager of projects to a game-changing leader?

Influencer 217

Influencer Leadership Risk Management Executing 217

Project Risk Coach

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Scope and Schedule Management How should you break down your project? Steven Pressfield said, “A great trick that I learned having worked as a screenwriter for many years, the way screenwriters work, is they break the project down into three-act structure: Act 1, Act 2, Act 3. I think that is a great way to break down any project, whether it’s a new business or anything at all.” Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Initiating 214

Initiating Defining Process Planning 214

The Digital Project Manager

DECEMBER 5, 2016

Agile is everyone’s favorite project management and delivery buzzword, but what agile tools can you use to help successfully run an agile project? In this. The post 10 Agile Tools for agile project management appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

Agile 186

Agile 186

Speaker: Chris Townsend, VP of Product Marketing, Wellspring

Over the past decade, companies have embraced innovation with enthusiasm—Chief Innovation Officers have been hired, and in-house incubators, accelerators, and co-creation labs have been launched. CEOs have spoken with passion about “making everyone an innovator” and the need “to disrupt our own business.” But after years of experimentation, senior leaders are asking: Is this still just an experiment, or are we in it for the long haul?

Innovation

Musings on Project Management

DECEMBER 29, 2016

Now, this could be a bit stuffy: "The Requisite Law of Variety" But actually, it's an interesting concept to consider, to wit: Essential Elements (E): these are outcomes, results, or other artifacts that you want to have some control over, even if you are Agile Disturbances (D): these are events or actions that impact E. usually there are a lot of these!

Controlling 170

Controlling Agile Engineering Risk Management 170

Rebel’s Guide to PM

DECEMBER 14, 2016

The Inspiring Women in Project Management series is an occasional column that sees me interviewing women who are inspiring and who do inspire others in the world of project management. Today is the turn of Natalie Warnert, who set out to promote and support women in Agile. I asked her all about it. Natalie, what does Women in Agile do? WomenInAgile has created a place and community for women to network, share experiences, and spread diversity through the Agile community.

Construction 224

Construction 2016 Agile SCRUM 224

The Lazy Project Manager

DECEMBER 30, 2016

A New Year’s resolution is a tradition in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement, such as losing weight, doing exercise, giving up smoking etc. Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts apparently, and the Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.

2017 150

2017 PMO 2014 Leadership 150

Project Risk Coach

DECEMBER 19, 2016

The Problems with Crashing, Fast Tracking, and other Schedule Compression Techniques How do project managers unintentionally create schedule risks? As a result, perhaps you feel a cloud of uncertainty about your schedule. Image courtesy of Adobe Stock. Many times, it starts with pressure from a sponsor to deliver the goods early. For sure, project managers have a responsibility to work with their sponsors to understand the requirements and to complete the projects within the sponsor-imposed dead

Risk 209

Risk Risk Management Influencer Software 209

The Digital Project Manager

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Hub Planner is one of the tools featured on our list of resource management tools. It’s a powerful and robust resource and team scheduling software. The post Tool Review: Hub Planner – resource scheduling, time tracking & project management software appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

Software Review 0

Software Review Software 0

Speaker: Timothy Allsopp

Payment challenges often lead to delayed projects, financial bottlenecks, and strained relationships. With construction projects becoming more complex, outdated processes are no longer sustainable. By refining financial workflow, companies can improve cash flow, reduce error, and foster trust between stakeholders. Discover practical strategies for redesigning payment systems to overcome workflow challenges while creating a smoother, more reliable process for contractors and subcontractors alike.

Construction

Musings on Project Management

DECEMBER 13, 2016

“It took a year of thinking before we built any prototypes,” Serge Montambault, Mechanical engineer with Hydro Québec’s research institute And, to top it all off, his project to build robots to inspect high power transmission lines is a business success. It's remarkable what thinking will do. And of course, take note that from thinking, the next step was prototypes, not full scale.

Engineering 150

Engineering Risk Management Risk Planning 150

Kiron Bondale

DECEMBER 4, 2016

Ask someone which delivery roles are critical to successfully completing a project and you will get a wide range of recommendations. Three of the more common roles likely to be stated include a project lead, a requirements lead and a solution lead. This is logical as the first is responsible for the delivery process, the second what needs to be delivered and the third how it will be delivered.

Risk Management 146

Risk Management Sustainability Risk Change Management 146

Rebel’s Guide to PM

DECEMBER 16, 2016

This time last year I reviewed the trends in social and collaborative technology in the project management space: some of my predictions had come to nothing and it was interesting to look backward and hold myself accountable for what I said would happen. This year I’m looking forward into 2017 to highlight some of the project management trends I think it is worth watching out for. 1.

2017 214

2017 2015 Technical Review 2012 214

LiquidPlanner

DECEMBER 20, 2016

Are you grappling with a stubborn project management work issue? Ask Elizabeth! Email your question to: marketingteam@liquidplanner.com. Anonymity included. Dear Elizabeth: I’m currently running a large project that’s a mess. We’ve lost team members, the customer has asked for more features and now we’re scheduled to go well over our deadline. I’ve had endless conversations with my manager about the need to add more people to the project—I’ve even shown her my resource workload report.

Controlling 99

Controlling Risk Management Closing Process 99

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Project Risk Coach

DECEMBER 18, 2016

Knowing what your teams really need I recently had a friend ask me — since I have an agricultural background — how to take care of her Christmas poinsettia. She said, “The leaves have been turning yellow and falling off. I think I’m killing it.” Poinsettias have a reputation for being hard to maintain. I asked a few questions such as: How many hours of sunlight has the plant been getting?

Leadership 163

Leadership Influencer Planning 163

Binfire

DECEMBER 5, 2016

There are two things people say about Microsoft Project. Microsoft Project is the industry standard for project management software. And everyone hates Microsoft Project. Although there have been some declines in market share for Microsoft Project, it is still the dominant solution in the marketplace. The gold standard. The 1,000-pound gorilla.

Software Review 90

Software Review Agile Software Planning 90

Musings on Project Management

DECEMBER 10, 2016

In 1711 Abraham De Moivre came up with the mathematical definition of risk as: The Risk of losing any sum is the reverse of Expectation; and the true measure of it is, the product of the Sum adventured multiplied by the Probability of the Loss. Abraham de Moivre, De Mensura Sortis, 1711 in the Ph. Trans. of the Royal Society I copied this quote from a well argued posting by Matthew.

Risk 163

Risk Risk Management 163

Kiron Bondale

DECEMBER 18, 2016

A good practice with agile delivery is to keep team sizes small to reduce the number of communication channels. But when planning a product release which cannot be delivered by a single pod within a reasonable amount of time, we need to structure the work across multiple pods of five to a dozen team members working in parallel but also orchestrating release cadence and work item priority based on the dependencies between work streams.

Cadence 136

Cadence Agile Defining Planning 136

Speaker: Jay Allardyce, Deepak Vittal, Terrence Sheflin, and Mahyar Ghasemali

As we look ahead to 2025, business intelligence and data analytics are set to play pivotal roles in shaping success. Organizations are already starting to face a host of transformative trends as the year comes to a close, including the integration of AI in data analytics, an increased emphasis on real-time data insights, and the growing importance of user experience in BI solutions.

2025

Rebel’s Guide to PM

DECEMBER 12, 2016

This year I received two emails that changed the way I think about this blog. The first was from a lecturer in Africa who teaches project management to female students. He said he uses this site to show that it’s a real job that women can excel at. Some part of what we do here might have inspired a new generation of girls to go into project management.

Technical Review 231

Technical Review 2016 2017 Software Review 231

LiquidPlanner

DECEMBER 14, 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, it’s time to look at some project management trends we can expect to see in 2017. With all the talk of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and anticipation among future-thinkers and business leaders around Industry 4.0, a lot of industry trends and processes are focused on how to succeed in a new world of technology, market demands and productivity requirements.

2017 103

2017 Manufacturing 2016 Influencer 103

Project Risk Coach

DECEMBER 9, 2016

What tips do you have for breaking down your project into deliverables and activities? I asked this question on LinkedIn: What tips do you have for breaking down your project into deliverables and activities? Bill Duncan responded with the following tips (which I thought were great): Recognize that “work packages” are only the lowest level of the WBS from the buyer’s perspective in a contracting environment.

Estimate 150

Estimate Planning 150

Binfire

DECEMBER 19, 2016

As many of my readers know, I have been a project manager for longer than I care to admit. In my career, I have mentored many young project managers at the start of their careers. I hope that I have helped steer them in the right direction. At the same time, I have seen project managers burn out mid-career for multiple reasons (perhaps the topic of a future blog).

Budget 83

Budget Controlling Planning Software 83

Speaker: Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions

Is your manufacturing operation reaching its efficiency potential? A Manufacturing Execution System (MES) could be the game-changer, helping you reduce waste, cut costs, and lower your carbon footprint. Join Nikhil Joshi, Founder & President of Snic Solutions, in this value-packed webinar as he breaks down how MES can drive operational excellence and sustainability.

Sustainability

Musings on Project Management

DECEMBER 1, 2016

Chapter 12 of my book, "Maximizing Project Value", posits game theory as tool useful to project managers who are faced with trying to outwit or predict other parties vying for the same opportunity. When John von Neumann first conceived game theory, he was out to solve zero-sum games in warfare: I win; you lose. But one of his students challenged him to "solve" a game which is not zero-sum.

Risk 163

Risk 163

Kiron Bondale

DECEMBER 25, 2016

Project management methodologies define policies, principles and practices. Methodologies will also usually mandate the completion of some standard artifacts. On the low end of the prescriptive scale, specific documents might need to be produced only where organization policy dictates whereas with other methodologies, a whole slew of artifacts are required to comply with expected standards.

Agile 136

Agile Defining 136

Rebel’s Guide to PM

DECEMBER 19, 2016

As the holidays approach it’s hard to find time to do any reading. I haven’t even been using my commuting time to read because I’ve been crocheting Christmas tree stocking decorations instead. My NCT group from when Jack was born has had two new babies this year and it’s a bit of a tradition that I make them a little red stocking for the tree. The pattern I use works up quickly and small projects like that are good for the train.

2016 152

2016 Initiating 152

LiquidPlanner

DECEMBER 7, 2016

Innovative project teams are increasingly becoming an invaluable asset for corporations. Not only is it becoming vital that project teams make use of the latest technological advancements in the products and services that they’re developing; it’s also vital that teams continuously improve the way in which they work—and that they find new and innovative ways of cutting costs in order to stay competitive.

Innovation 115

Innovation Controlling Monitoring Risk Management 115

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This text offers practical guidance for project managers navigating diverse frameworks. It covers topics like centralized reporting, standardized metrics, communication, training, risk management, and alignment reviews. By implementing these strategies, project managers can improve efficiency and achieve their project goals.

Risk Management