May, 2021

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3 Ways to Improve Cost Estimates with Your Teams

Project Risk Coach

Do you ever feel like the Lone Ranger when working on cost estimates? Actually, you're not alone; you have a team. Let's explore how to engage your team members and subject matter experts to improve your cost estimates. So, let's look at three techniques to use with your teams: Brainstorming Delphi Technique Nominal Group Technique 3 Team Techniques to Improve Cost Estimates 1.

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Product Backlog vs. Sprint Backlog: What are the Differences?

Inloox

In recent years, “agile” has become an increasingly important topic in the corporate world. Driven by the need for better performance, efficiency and results, companies are using various agile management methods. Scrum is probably one of the best-known methods. For many teams , this agile management method has become an indispensable tool for effective collaboration.

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Future Trends in Project Management: The Debate

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Recently I spoke with Lela Machaidze on Clubhouse about future trends in project management. Here are the notes from that discussion. Lela: For the last decade, there have been a lot of changes in the PM profession. The trend that is here to stay is remote work and digital teams. That’s echoed in the PMI Pulse of the Profession 2021 report. Maybe not in the same volume as we are seeing now, but it will definitely stay. .

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What Is Contract Administration? Key Practices and Processes

ProjectManager.com

If you’ve ever worked on a large-scale project—especially a construction project—you’re familiar with the concept of contract administration. An employer hires a contractor to do work. The two parties come to an agreement on what the work will be, how long it will take and how much it is worth. These details are outlined and solidified in an official document; a contract.

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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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Psychological safety might help to reduce “zombie” projects

Kiron Bondale

In a recent HBR article , the authors wrote about research they had conducted over a year on the relationships between how dispersed teams were and the speed at which their projects either succeeded or failed. While dispersed teams appeared to be more efficient than co-located teams when it came to completing successful projects, co-located teams were quicker at abandoning those projects which were doomed to fail.

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How to Be a Productive Project Manager: 7 Tips

Project Risk Coach

Many project managers feel overwhelmed with emails, phone calls, and meetings. They often work overtime, but few feel as though they are making progress. Although we are all given the same amount of time each day, some project managers are able to produce greater value for their organizations. Some are more engaged. Imagine yourself as a more productive project manager, one with greater capacity and energy to complete each day’s tasks.

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Project Management Guidelines (Part 1) - What We Can Learn From Project Failures

Inloox

Projects are becoming increasingly complex. This may be due to the project itself, which is becoming more complex because of the multitude of parameters it contains. Another reason can be the influence of the project environment or a high number of stakeholders. A good project manager knows that some developments are out of their control. However, it is the way you react in such situations that can make the difference.

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Project Management Career Tips

Rebel’s Guide to PM

I recently spoke with Anna of Women in PM Network on Clubhouse about project management career tips. These are the notes from that conversation. What do you think of the Google certification? Wendy @woshifodunrin asked about the Google certification. Anna recommends it. Lydiah @lkimberly1 also shared her experience of taking the course and was positive about it too.

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Benefits Management for Projects: How to Make a Benefits Management Plan

ProjectManager.com

A project is a vehicle to deliver benefits to their stakeholders. These benefits include improved quality, reduced cost of production, better customer service, increased customer retention and so on. Identifying, describing and measuring these benefits is called benefits management. Having a benefits management plan lets project managers maximize these outcomes for the organization and stakeholders, and it’s part of any successful project management plan.

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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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Psychological safety provides the foundation for a team culture of kindness

Kiron Bondale

A recent HBR article showed how kindness could serve as a lever to generate productivity improvements. The authors explain that while receiving kindness can enable us do better work, the act of giving compliments is equally powerful at making us feel better. Some suggestions were provided in the article on how leaders can create a kinder work place but will a few tactics be enough to change culture?

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Four Scrum Master Success Principles

Scrum.org

Contrary to popular belief, the Scrum Master success principles are tangible, when we guide the analysis with an outside perspective. Read on and discover four Scrum Master success principles: From when not to use Scrum to product quality to supporting the Product Owner to putting self-management at the center. ?? Shall I notify you about articles like this one?

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How to Actually Close a Project

Project Risk Coach

If you are like most project managers, you are managing several projects. And when you finish one, you are anxious to start your next assignment. However, I encourage you to actually close each project before moving to the next one. There are many benefits. As your project comes to an end, here are some steps that you can take to close out the project: Evaluate the project Review the risk register Archive the documentation Pay the invoices Thank the team Reassign the human resources Let's look a

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Most Googled Methodologies: The Surge In Agile During COVID

The Digital Project Manager

The post Most Googled Methodologies: The Surge In Agile During COVID appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

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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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Industrial Psychology for Project Management

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Professor Tirado is a native New Yorker, and when he started out in this field he was one of 5 people in the world who married together managing initiatives through projects and industrial psychology. In today’s Clubhouse room, we talked about what industrial psychology is and what it means for people in the project profession. What is industrial psychology?

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What Is Scope Creep and How Can I Avoid It?

ProjectManager.com

Before we can explain how to avoid scope creep in your projects, we need to understand what project scope and scope creep are. What Is the Scope of a Project? In simple terms, the project scope refers to all the work that is required to complete a project. You can use a work breakdown structure to help you identify all the individual tasks, activities and deliverables of your projects.

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Could nudges help to increase psychological safety?

Kiron Bondale

In one of my earlier articles , I had proposed the use of behavioral nudges to help improve project governance. After reading an HBR article this week in which the authors provided a number of suggestions on how to sustain newly adopted behaviors in the context of the imminent return to in-person office work, I thought that a nudge-based approach might also help with increasing psychological safety.

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The ‘Developers Code’ Fallacy — Making Your Scrum Work #9

Scrum.org

TL; DR: The Developers Code Fallacy — They Should Talk to Customers, Too, Though. There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Given that Scrum is a framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. The Developers Code Fallacy starts with the idea that Developers are rare and expensive and should focus on creating code.

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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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Modernizing PPM: A Practical Four-Step Roadmap to Accelerate Agility

The Lazy Project Manager

Special Live Webinar with Peter Taylor – The Lazy Project Manager – and Planview. Modernizing PPM: A Practical Four-Step Roadmap to Accelerate Agility. PM Today is delighted announce that our associate editor, Amy Hatton, will be hosting a very special live Planview webinar , featuring Author, Speaker, Coach, Consultant and Trainer, Peter Taylor – AKA The Lazy Project Manager.

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How To Adapt Agile And Kanban For Remote Teams

The Digital Project Manager

The post How To Adapt Agile And Kanban For Remote Teams appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

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Master’s in Project Management vs MBA: 10 Expert Tips to Help You Decide

Rebel’s Guide to PM

Here’s the TL;DR: The MBA will give you more flexibility later in your career and should probably be the route you choose. While everyone has individual goals and it’s impossible for someone on the internet who doesn’t know your personal situation to advise you, an MBA is worth serious consideration. In this article, I’ll share 10 expert tips from a range of people about their experiences to help you choose the right higher education goals for you, so you can make the right choice for your caree

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Time and Materials Contract: When to Use One & Best Practices

ProjectManager.com

There are two ways owners can pay for work done on a project. One is by a fixed price, where a contract defines what will be done and sets a specific and final price for that work. If the team takes too long to complete their tasks or requires more materials than outlined in the contract, they eat those costs. The other is a time and materials contract.

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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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Helping team members avoid the fears of working remotely

Kiron Bondale

HBR published an article this week titled Managing your WFH paranoia. In the article, the author focuses on the impacts of the “out of sight, out of mind” concerns which many workers have developed over the course of the past year resulting from COVID-19 pandemic work restrictions. Such fears could include a sense of persecution, feelings of abandonment or being disrespected.

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Gold-Plating Beyond Done — Making Your Scrum Work #7

Scrum.org

TL; DR: Gold-Plating Beyond Done. There are plenty of failure possibilities with Scrum. Given that Scrum is a framework with a reasonable yet short “manual,” this effect should not surprise anyone. However, creating Product Increments that “over-deliver” in scope or quality — also known as gold-plating — with regard to the previous refinement agreement demonstrates that the Developers need to acquire a more entrepreneurial mindset and embrace their responsibility.

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How to have bigger impact by deepening your project communication

Susanne Madsen

We often say that one of the most important roles of a project manager and leader is to be able to communicate effectively. Being the hub of the project, the PM communicates with team members, stakeholders, end users and the project sponsor – all of whom have different preferences for how they would like to be communicated with. Some people prefer email and written status reports whereas others favour telephone and face-to-face interactions.

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Project Dependencies Are Eating Us Alive: A Zombie Handbook

The Digital Project Manager

The post Project Dependencies Are Eating Us Alive: A Zombie Handbook appeared first on The Digital Project Manager.

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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.