July, 2019

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How to create a project budget

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Creating a project budget involves: being able to identify all the items that are going to cost money building a complete picture of what you need to spend getting approval for that amount. I have left items out of several project budgets and I can tell you it’s pretty embarrassing having to ask your project sponsor to approve spending from the reserves because you messed up the budget.

Budget 294
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5 Reasons the Best Project Managers are in Sales & Marketing, Too

Project Bliss

You may not realize it but as a project manager, you are also in sales and marketing. Sure, your primary job may be to plan and execute projects that are delivered on time, and within budget and scope. But if you’ve created a great product and nobody uses it, have you really delivered to value? If you’ve made something but it’s sitting on the shelf not being used, the intended value is never realized.

Executing 180
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If Risk Is Your Business, Do It Better Than Captain Kirk

LiquidPlanner

As a great philosopher and chewer of scenery, Star Trek ’s James T. Kirk once said, “ Risk is our business ”—nothing great can be accomplished if you’re not willing to take some risks. I like to say, “If failure isn’t an option, then innovation isn’t an opportunity.” However, risk must be managed carefully. In “ Return to Tomorrow ,” The Original Series episode that this line comes from, the risk is poorly managed, and the impact is nearly catastrophic for all of humanity.

Risk 119
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The Agile Manifesto, Explained

ProjectManager.com

Any good movement has a manifesto, which is a public declaration of policy and intention. There have been manifestos for art movements, political movements and just about anything you can think of. More along the lines of project management, though, is the Agile Manifesto. Agile is a bit of a controversial topic in the field. Some call it a methodology, while others refer to it as a framework.

Agile 299
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The 2nd Generation of Innovation Management: A Survival Guide

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?

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The Best Tips for Accurately Estimating a Project

TimeCamp

Project management has existed forever now and with it – project estimation. Now it’s more.

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Risk Management: When All Hell Breaks Loose

Project Risk Coach

What would you do if all hell breaks loose in a critical company project that you are managing? You lose two of your best team members. Your budget is shot. A key stakeholder is breathing down your neck. Behind schedule by four weeks. You haven't slept well in two weeks. And you feel like throwing in the towel. Taking on Risky Projects Some projects are more risky than others.

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Getting the Most Out of Your Project Planning Sessions

Project Smart

As a manager or team leader, you should be full to the brim with innovative ideas about how you can improve both your workflow and business objectives. When you come across an idea that you want to implement - whether that's a new way to sustain growth, manage your inventory, or hire new staff - chances are you'll be in a rush to get it launched.

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How do you know if your team is being agile?

Kiron Bondale

It is easy to say that demonstrating behaviors consistent with the values and principles of the Manifesto is proof of agility but this test leaves significant wiggle room for interpretation and for exception cases which fall through the cracks of the four values and twelve principles. It is also somewhat of a cop-out to plagiarize Justice Potter Stewart’s famous phrase “ I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of behaviors, practices or methods I understand to be embrac

Agile 149
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30 Best Business Quotes to Inspire Entrepreneurs & Go-Getters

ProjectManager.com

Daily affirmations have long been used to boost self-esteem. They compel people to start their days on the right foot. But while letting a smile be your umbrella might fortify your positive attitude, it’s not going to inspire your business ventures. Everyone must work, but for many of us that job isn’t just a paycheck, it’s an opportunity to express ourselves and make something better.

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Breaking Ground on Better Payment Processes: Strategies for Construction Pros

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.

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10 Places to Get Free Project Management Templates

Rebel’s Guide to PM

You’ve got responsibility for a project. And yet… somehow the organisation doesn’t have the documentation you need to get it started, keep it on track and close it down successfully. So you turn to the internet to find the paperwork you need. Let me make it easier for you. I have researched the best places to get free project management templates for download online.

Prince2 349
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Discover The Best Flowchart Software of 2019

The Digital Project Manager

A list of the best flowchart software and diagramming tools, along with FAQ and an explanation of the criteria used in selecting the top choices. The post Discover The Best Flowchart Software of 2019 appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

2019 284
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How to Perform a SWOT Analysis

Project Risk Coach

If you are looking for a great way to engage your key stakeholders and identify project risks, perform a SWOT Analysis. Project managers or other facilitators can use this powerful tool to identify strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, strengths may give rise to opportunities and weaknesses may lead to threats. Let's look at how to perform a SWOT Analysis.

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The Balanced PMO

The Lazy Project Manager

As with most things in life (and business) getting a balance right can prove far more effective, especially in the long run, than having a single focus that ignores other key elements. The same is true of the PMO. A balanced approach will definitely pay dividends and will not only ensure that the PMO is as effective and efficient as possible but will also aid the acceptance of the PMO by the rest of the organisation.

PMO 212
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15 Modern Use Cases for Enterprise Business Intelligence

Large enterprises face unique challenges in optimizing their Business Intelligence (BI) output due to the sheer scale and complexity of their operations. Unlike smaller organizations, where basic BI features and simple dashboards might suffice, enterprises must manage vast amounts of data from diverse sources. What are the top modern BI use cases for enterprise businesses to help you get a leg up on the competition?

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Agile Leadership — A Brief Overview of Concepts and Ideas

Scrum.org

TL; DR: Agile Leadership. I recently started aggregating my notes, links, and references related to agile leadership to understand better what it — in the context of an agile transition — may look like. In the end, becoming agile is not the goal of a transition; surviving as an organization is. Hence I appreciate whatever appeals to business leaders and their motivation to delve into agile ideas, frameworks, or practices.

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7 Problem-Solving Skills You Need to Improve to Get More Done

ProjectManager.com

When confronted with a problem, many of us like to procrastinate or avoid the problem altogether. Avoiding problems is a short-term solution. Problem solving keeps you moving forward. It’s essential for getting work done. Therefore, the faster you can solve a problem, the faster you can get the work done or review the solution to ensure it’s correct (and get home on time).

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Backlog Review (Nulab – 2019)

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Backlog (from Nulab) is a project management tool for prioritising and tracking work. This is a review of the product using my laptop and Chrome browser, and my iPad with Safari, in June 2019. General Information. Name: Backlog. Vendor: Nulab. Hosting options: Online and enterprise version which is self-hosted. Cost and plans: There’s a full free trial for 30 days, and a free plan (1 project, 10 users, plenty to give it a test drive).

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The 10 Best Creative Project Management Software For Creative Teams in 2019

The Digital Project Manager

Here’s a list of best software and what to consider when choosing creative project management software for creative teams, agencies, and studios. The post The 10 Best Creative Project Management Software For Creative Teams in 2019 appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

2019 293
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Prepare Now: 2025s Must-Know Trends For Product And Data Leaders

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.

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Five Ways to Reduce Risk Exposure Early

Project Risk Coach

When is risk exposure greatest in a project? In the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the project? It's actually highest in the beginning. Let's look at how to reduce risk exposure early in your projects. Why Risk Exposure Is Greatest in the Beginning So, why is your risk exposure greatest in the beginning? Project managers have the least amount of information.

Risk 268
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Sprint Planning in Scrum (Part 1): Why sprints will never be perfect

Inloox

Scrum vs. Perfectionism Sprint planning and perfectionism only fit together to a limited extent. Perfectionism conflicts with the basic idea of Scrum. Scrum is primarily characterized by it iterative and regular approach. The process is mainly based on experience and is divided into regularly repeating stages called “ Sprints ”. Let’s take a look at why your team won’t think of everything in sprint planning and why that’s totally okay.

SCRUM 187
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PO Perspective: Team development for the Development Team

Scrum.org

A while ago I was brushing the teeth of my 3 year old son when I thought of something. This little dude can walk, run, talk (A LOT!), climb, undress, etcetera, but somehow every morning and evening I’m brushing his teeth, instead of him doing it himself. This mainly has to do with the fact that I’m always short on time. At night he just needs to go to sleep quickly and in the morning we are rushing to get to the kindergarden.

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An Introduction to Supply Chain Management (SCM)

ProjectManager.com

Supply chain management (SCM) is the discipline that manages supplies and processes through all of the stages of a project, product or business deliverable. Business material has a journey as it moves from one state to the next until it’s ready to be delivered to the customer or stakeholder. Then there’s the logistics of taking the finished product from one place to another.

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How to Drive Cost Savings, Efficiency Gains, and Sustainability Wins with MES

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.

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Project Management Prepcast Review [2019]

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Social media has been awash with info on the changes to the PMP exam that take effect in December. The CAPM exam changes in September. And my inbox has been full of people asking what they should do. My advice is if you know you want to do the PMP or CAPM exams, do it now before the changes come in. The changes to the exam content don’t actually look that sweepingly different, but with any new exam comes a period of adjustment for candidates and examiners, and testing how the questions score.

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Tool Overview: Celoxis—A Complete Project Management Solution

The Digital Project Manager

Celoxis is an award-winning project management software. Learn more about Celoxis’ features, benefits, integrations, and pricing in this overview. The post Tool Overview: Celoxis—A Complete Project Management Solution appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

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The Power of If-Then Risk Statements

Project Risk Coach

IF. Have you thought about the use of this two-letter conjunction in risk management lately? Let's look at how to use the power of If-Then risk statements. IF is a simple word that can open up new doors to writing clear risk statements. And it can be used to write opportunities as well as threats. If-Then Risk Statements Write Opportunity Statements Opportunities are events and conditions, that if they occur, have a positive impact on your project objectives (e.g., schedule, scope, budget, quali

Risk 257
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What can we do when a team member isn’t pulling their weight?

Kiron Bondale

One of the learners in a class I taught asked me how self-organizing teams would handle the situation where a single team member is not performing a fair share of the work. In a traditional, push-based work assignment model, this issue can also occur. Usually whoever has pushed the work onto the low performer will follow up with them in a timely manner and take direct steps to ensure that performance improves, the work gets re-balanced or the team member is replaced.

Lean 176
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Navigating Chaos in Project Management

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.