November, 2016

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The 5 Skills You Need For Managing Complex Projects

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Sometimes projects can seem a bit overwhelming. I know – I’ve cried with frustration after a meeting where totally the wrong people put together an unachievable plan. Complexity adds to the overwhelm. Not only are you feeling that the project is like a cat you can’t get in the carry case to take the vet, but there are a ton of other complicating factors.

2016 345
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When Projects turn to a Tower of Babel

The Lazy Project Manager

Different countries, multiple languages, global organizations…The challenge of international projects. In this day and age, international teams and projects affect most companies; and they can often be a source of headaches for project managers. They must be managed from different countries and in multiple languages. Needless to say, international projects prove to be strategic for companies that wish to remain competitive.

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5 secrets to creating the best project management resume

Moira Alexander

Your resume is an extension of you professionally, and to some extent personally, and because you only have one chance to create that best first impression on paper, make sure it counts in a big way. Before you actually get an interview, an employer has to value your resume enough to want to pick up the phone. Here are a few secrets to the making of an eye-catching project management resume that will get employers calling. 1: First pass the visual test.

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How to Identify Scope Risks

Project Risk Coach

8 ways to identify scope risks Some project managers struggle to identify scope risks. Why? Image courtesy of Adobe Stock. First, individuals may lack a concrete understanding of scope; scope seems to be a nebulous concept. WHAT exactly is scope? Second, individuals may not know HOW to identify scope risks. Either way, the failure to identify (and manage) scope risks can be costly.

Risk 235
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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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5 levels of Agile planning. and the DoD

Musings on Project Management

Some years ago I picked up this nice summary image of agile planning over several time cycles. It came from a white paper at AgileConnection.com " entitled "Scaling Agile Processes: Five Levels of Planning Fortunately, to give some credibility to his thesis, the author says right up front that agile methods don't scale to enterprise level without some changes!

Agile 250

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Inspiring Women in Project Management: Erica Pepitone

Rebel’s Guide to PM

In the Inspiring Women in Project Management series, I normally interview people who have had a relatively long career already. But you don’t have to be hugely experienced to inspire others. Today I’m interviewing Erica Pepitone, PMP, a first year project manager living, working, and learning in New York City. She’s recently moved from a coordinator job to a project management job – a leap that I know lots of people wonder about making.

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13 Resource Management Software & Resource Scheduling Tools

The Digital Project Manager

Resource management is a tough gig. Wrangling your agency’s management team, primadonna’s, and resources into some kind of order without resource management software is hard. The post 13 Resource Management Software & Resource Scheduling Tools appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

Software 282
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How a project manager can smooth interdepartmental conflict

Moira Alexander

The causes of interdepartmental conflict are numerous, but how much can a PM do to resolve the issues? Let's take a look at some of the more common conflicts today's project managers might be forced to deal with and what, if any, actions they can take to improve the situation. Leadership conflict that trickles down. If interdepartmental conflict is rooted at the top of an organization, it's virtually impossible for a project manager to help undo this.

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What determines when project planning is just right?

Kiron Bondale

I’d written previously about some similarities between baking and project management , but a key difference between the two is that even a novice baker can procure the right ingredients, follow a plan step-by-step and still manage to achieve a reasonably tasty outcome. Unfortunately with projects, there is no set recipe. That is the Achilles Heel of many project management development programs – they can do a wonderful job of teaching you how to correctly execute certain practices bu

Planning 196
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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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Agile in the critical systems space

Musings on Project Management

I read a recent posting about agile from a very odd corner of the PM space for an agile conversation to be: CriticalUncertainties, a (conservative) blog about critical safety and failure (or fail safe) requirements in complex systems.

Agile 174
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The Social Project Manager

The Lazy Project Manager

The Social Project Manager. Balancing Collaboration with Centralised Control in a Project Driven World. We human beings are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others’ actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others’ activities. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others.

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The Causes of Conflict On Project Teams

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Projects can be a hotbed of conflict. From the difficult stakeholder who wants to undermine the project’s success to a disagreement about a feature of a deliverable, project work lends itself to workplace conflict situations. And project managers contribute hugely to that because we go out and look for it. We challenge leaders, we talk about risk and what might go wrong and we call people out on poor performance through project monitoring and control.

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The best project management software tools for agencies

The Digital Project Manager

Posted in General Tools. The post The best project management software tools for agencies appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

Software 263
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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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Project Management in Manufacturing: Solving the Resource Management Issue

LiquidPlanner

If you work in manufacturing, you’re likely familiar with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) or Materials Resource Planning (MRP)—the system used to manage product planning, inventory management, production, fulfillment, and other aspects of production management and control. What’s more, you probably have a decent appreciation of how ERP/MRP systems have enabled manufacturing companies to optimize core business processes.

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What should a good project management training simulation include?

Kiron Bondale

Project management is a profession where the most common response to a scenario question is “it depends” This stems from the basic definition of a project – it is a unique endeavor and hence a good practice for one project may be the wrong practice on another. While this can be frustrating for those asking the questions, it also makes it challenging to develop effective training programs for new project managers.

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Understanding project statistics

Musings on Project Management

Chapter 14 from the GAO Cost Estimating Manual on "Cost Risk and Uncertainty" is a good read, easily understood, and very practical in its examples. Here's one illustration that I particularly like. When you look at it, it's understood in a moment that the repeated random throw of two dice generates a probability density function [PDF] that has a bell-shape curve.

Estimate 220
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Puppy Love

The Lazy Project Manager

It is OK, you can relax – I am not launching in to a version of the (in)famous Donnie Osmond song, but the house has a new puppy. Well to be brutally honest, after only 7 days, it is really that the puppy has a new house since pretty much everything revolves around this 4 lb bundle of chaotic energy and general cuteness. Even I, who didn’t want a dog – we have cats; cats are easy, arrogant and aloof but they show you just enough love to make sure you keep feeding them and keep the central heatin

PMO 161
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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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5 Reasons Why Capacity Planning Is The Secret to Successful Projects

Rebel’s Guide to PM

This article is sponsored by Resource Guru. Not that long ago, a project manager – who, for the purposes of this article has asked to remain anonymous – was planning out Phase 2 of her project. There was a lot of work to do for the project management team, which was just her. No problem, she thought. A project coordinator, or an admin resource from the PMO would be the perfect extra pair of hands.

Planning 274
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Tool Review: Workbook a full featured agile agency project management toolkit

The Digital Project Manager

WorkBook is a powerful agency specialist project management software tool that’s designed to power an entire agency’s process. It’s a fully featured project management software suite. The post Tool Review: Workbook a full featured agile agency project management toolkit appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

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How well do you organise yourselves

Ron Rosenhead

Over many years I have asked many many groups of people who attend project management training courses the above question. The answers are clearly many and varied but one thing does stand out – the long hours worked by project staff. It was therefore refreshing to see an article that said the company has looked at this issue and made some decisions for them.

Executing 139
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Risk responses which PMI never taught you!

Kiron Bondale

We’ve all learned the standard risk responses to threats (accept, avoid, mitigate or transfer) and opportunities (accept, exploit, enhance or share) from the Guide to the PMBOK, and Dr. David Hillson recently wrote about a ninth possible response of risk escalation. But these nine only represent a recommended set and hence aren’t inclusive of what we see practiced on projects every day.

Risk 150
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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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Are Your Project Plans Helping You Execute Successfully?

LiquidPlanner

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”. – Mike Tyson. Project plans exist for a reason. And while your odds of success improve if you actually use them, plans are all too often consigned to the rubbish bin during the execution stage of a project. Why? Even the most meticulously crafted plans get tossed aside because they struggle (and often fail) to deal with change and uncertainty.

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How project management software can save you

Binfire

When we think about the benefits of desktop project management software, efficiency and speed to market come to mind. Project management software visualizes plans and timelines that can be referenced by the entire team. Commitments are made and formalized. With project management software, deliverables can be completed on-time and within budget.

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The Battle Between Process and Progress

Rebel’s Guide to PM

This is a contribution by Chris Hammond from smartitpm.com. Chris Hammond. As Project Managers, we’re all familiar with process. In fact, sometimes it can feel as if a project manager’s world is but a never-ending universe of interlocking processes and procedures. But what happens when the need to follow organisational process inevitably conflicts with making project progress?

Process 260
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10 Time Tracking Software Tools

The Digital Project Manager

Time tracking software is painful. Not only for those of us doing timesheets but also as project managers, trying to manage project budgets and getting. The post 10 Time Tracking Software Tools appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

Software 153
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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.