February, 2022

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11 Leadership Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Celoxis

Coming to a leading position may sound like a career dream coming true. But a closer look at a whole load of responsibilities reminds me of how much hard work is required to be a good manager. If you’re already on this journey, it’d be useful to know what kinds of mistakes you’d prefer to avoid so you stay on track towards your professional goals.

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7 Ethics Tips For Project Managers

Rebel’s Guide to PM

A project manager approached me recently with a problem. She knew that some of the data that was being submitted in internal reports was — frankly — made up. It was made up with the best intentions from educated guesses and extrapolation. It’s probably fairer and less controversial to say that it was ‘estimated’ rather than created totally randomly from scratch.

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Gray Is A Color You Want To Avoid

Clinton M. Padgett

In project management, back and white are your friends – murky gray is not. As a project manager, you want to deal with clear and verified information, not assumptions. When assumptions are made and not validated, mistakes get made, timelines get delayed, and projects fail. Assumptions are dangerous things to make, and like all dangerous things to make — bombs, for instance, or strawberry shortcake — if you make even the tiniest mistake you can find yourself in terrible trouble.

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A Quick Guide to Project Charters: Definition, Steps & Key Elements

ProjectManager.com

Projects need approval before they can be executed. A project charter is a project planning document that sells the project to stakeholders and sponsors. If you’re able to show its viability and return on investment, the work will get the green light to move forward. But there are a lot of elements to any successful project charter. If you’re new to project management , a project charter template can set you up to make sure you’re hitting all the major points.

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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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PMOs Shifting from Watchdogs to Strategic Enablers

Project Risk Coach

Unfortunately, many Project Management Offices (PMOs) become nothing more than a watchdog, one that ensures compliance to a strict set of rules. In this article, we will explore why this happens and what it takes for PMOs to become strategic enablers. PMOs Have Gone to the Dogs PMOs are started with the best of intentions. Management sees it as a way to give oversight to all the programs and projects.

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Key Skill for Project Managers: Concept Development

Inloox

Does this sound familiar: A manager calls an employee in and proudly informs them about new challenges, ideas and projects. But first of all, they need a concept, and the employee has to create one. Back at the desk, the employee sits in front of a blank sheet of paper or an empty Word file. What now? Following various analyses (e.g. risk analysis ), concepts are usually created as a starting point for important and large projects, as well as other endeavors.

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How agile is your team (and what you can do about it!)

Rebel’s Guide to PM

This is a guest article by David Daly. Did you know, one survey found that the most common reason to adopt agile is to be able to deliver products more quickly? Yet the same survey found that 75% of people did not believe their organisation had a culture that supported agile ways of working. This matches my experience. I regularly see that software teams are expected to deliver new features faster, become more productive, and create amazing, intuitive and easy to use applications that are bug-fr

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How the 12 principles in the Agile Manifesto work in real life

Scrum.org

Agile is an umbrella term encompassing a variety of frameworks and approaches to value delivery in complex environments. The word agile came into widespread use following the creation of the Agile Manifesto in 2001. That year, a group of 17 software practitioners looking for a better way to deliver software settled on the the term agile to refer to their more rational, human approach to complex work.

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Risk Breakdown Structure for Projects: A Complete Guide to RBS

ProjectManager.com

Uncertainty is a certainty in projects. Risks will arise and threaten the successful delivery of your project. Using a risk breakdown structure (RBS) is how you prepare for the unexpected. A risk breakdown structure is great for identifying and prioritizing risks so you know which will be more or less impactful. That’s the first step in planning, managing and mitigating risk in your projects.

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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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Are You Tired of Missing Project Risks? 3 Ways to Stop It

Project Risk Coach

I have had the privilege of managing three Project Management Offices (PMOs), composed of several project managers. The best project managers were the ones who had a habit of identifying and managing risks. Let's look at three ways you can improve your risk identification and reduce major misses. Wise project managers know that there are unknown risks lurking in every corner.

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You say “positive risks”, I say “opportunities”

Kiron Bondale

Similar to my previous article, this topic stemmed from a discussion I had with the learners of the PMP preparatory course I taught this week. While presenting the project risk management knowledge area from the PMBOK framework, when I indicated that while in our daily conversations risks are usually threats there can be positive risks as well, I was met with some disbelief and skepticism.

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Product Development with the Stage-Gate® Process (Part 2): Strengths, Weaknesses, Pitfalls

Inloox

The Stage-Gate® process is a process model for the targeted development of innovations - for example, in the form of products and services. In the first part of this blog series, we looked at the definition and basic principles of the method according to Robert G. Cooper. In the second part, we now dive deeper into the strengths and weaknesses of the Stage-Gate® process as well as potential pitfalls and responsibilities.

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15 Tested & Practical Tips from Women in Project Management

Rebel’s Guide to PM

I wanted to share some tips from the fabulous women in project management whom I have interviewed on this blog. Looking back through the discussions we had, there is so much wisdom and what struck me was the total willingness to share. Here are 15 practical tips from our community of amazing women, all tested and proven by the women themselves. Can you make these work in your projects and career?

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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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5 TOOLS TO HELP CREATE PRODUCT GOALS AND SPRINT GOALS

Scrum.org

Since it’s the beginning of the year, it makes sense to talk about setting great goals. As you know, Product and Sprint Goals aren’t optional in Scrum. However, many teams are struggling with it. Btw, stay tuned for an upcoming video on that topic to uncover why setting goals is so hard. It’s not a Scrum Master accountability to set up goals. Instead you need to help your Scrum Team, and especially the Product Owner, to do so.

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How to Use a Project Decision Log for Optimal Results

ProjectManager.com

Projects are a series of decisions. Each decision should, ideally, be the result of thorough research, counseling from the team and historic data. Project managers use a decision log to keep stakeholders updated on who authorized a decision and how it came about. A decision log is a critical communication tool that all project managers need to understand.

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Are You Tired of Missing Big Project Risks? 3 Ways to Stop It

Project Risk Coach

I have had the privilege of managing three Project Management Offices (PMOs), composed of several project managers. The best project managers were the ones who had a habit of identifying and managing risks. Let's look at three ways you can improve your risk identification and reduce major misses. Wise project managers know that there are unknown risks lurking in every corner.

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Safety is a prerequisite for effective non-solo work

Kiron Bondale

When we consider the benefits of non-solo working approaches such as pair programming or mobbing, the ones which normally come to mind are related to improvements in the speed or quality of delivery. The old adage “two heads are better than one” applies as we are usually able to get more work completed faster and with fewer defects. And by injecting variety by having participants alternate between different roles frequently, we also reduce the likelihood of fatigue.

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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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Product Development with the Stage-Gate® Process (Part 1): Definition and Basic Principles

Inloox

Content. Definition. Basic principles. One of the greatest challenges that companies are facing is the continuous development of new products and services. Only with innovations competitiveness can be secured and market share increased. Innovative strength is therefore an important competitive advantage. But, of course, creating innovations is not easy and brings several challenges: The entire process as well as targeted output are characterized by high uncertainty and risks.

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The Complex Project Toolkit (Book Review)

Rebel’s Guide to PM

The Complex Project Toolkit is really a book about paradigms in project management and how to encourage teams (and project managers) to stay curious and to embrace uncertainty. This is not a ‘how-to’ book with templates or checklists, but rather a scaled-out strategy view. It’s packed with examples from history, science, as well as some project anecdotes.

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How to Sabotage A Product Owner — 53 Anti-Patterns from the Trenches

Scrum.org

TL; DR: How to Sabotage A Product Owner — 53 Anti-Patterns from the Trenches to Avoid. One of my favorite exercises from my Professional Scrum Product Owner classes is how to best sabotage a Product Owner as a member of the middle management. The exercise rules are simple: You’re not allowed to use any form of illegal activity. So, outsourcing the task to a bunch of outlaws is out of the question.

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What Is an Issue Log? Templates & Tips

ProjectManager.com

Before defining an issue log, let’s define project issues. An issue is any roadblock or unintended impact that directly affects your project’s timeline and or performance. It’s different than a risk, which can be defined as a potential problem or future issue that might happen in your project. An issue is something that has already come up in your project, and you need to identify and track that issue immediately.

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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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9 Steps to Managing Risk for Your Projects

LiquidPlanner

Risk and uncertainty are inherent parts of all project work, making project risk management an important topic for teams to address. Which is why so many projects—especially large technology projects—run into trouble. When studies tell us that easily half of all IT projects run over budget and past deadline , we see how easily risk turns into real trouble for projects and their organizations.

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8 Resource Management Challenges That Every PM Needs to Know

nTask

You’d agree with me that a company’s biggest asset is its resources. However, no matter the size of it, resource management challenges are natural to occur. Keeping a perfect balance between your team members and the back-to-back projects can be a hustle. Most of the time we end up leaving unsatisfied and unhappy employees. Consequently, this greatly affects the success rate of the project and the growth of the company.

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Product Development with the Stage-Gate® Process (Part 3): Procedure and Structure

Inloox

In the last parts of our blog series on innovation management with the Stage-Gate® process, we looked at the basics such as the definition, strengths and weaknesses, and the basic principles. In this article - the third part - we dive even deeper and look at the basic structure as well as exemplary the idea-to-launch model, which structures and accompanies projects from the idea to the market launch.

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How We Chose the Perfect Planning Poker Tool

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Planning poker® is a great technique for scrum teams. It is a team-based estimating approach to work out the efforts involved for achieving business goals. Even serious developers like gamification! Our company is a part of Wisebits Group and develops an online entertainment streaming service. The organization consists of several software dev teams that develop different parts of our product.

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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.