PMcrunch

Most good managers in project and program management know the importance of maintaining relationships with team members and stakeholders. Basic human relations can go a long way in improving overall program and project quality. However, I have learned that there is a community beyond our immediate team members and stakeholders that are worth considering in everything we do.

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“Managing an IT project is like juggling chunks of Jell-O: It’s neither easy nor pretty.” So it says in an excellent article on IT Project Management is CIO magazine. The article goes on to say, very accurately I think, that “Information technology is especially slippery because it’s always moving, changing, adapting and challenging business as we know it.”

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We need to consider how clear the objective of the project scope is when we build our project teams.  For an extremely well defined project of relatively short duration, and well-defined deliverables, this could be fairly easy.  However, for a project that is less defined, which may involve some significant shifts of some sort over the [...]

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We have all heard at one time or another someone say that people are products of their environment.  Undoubtedly, the environment is a strong influence on how people turn out.  However, it is each person’s reaction to their environment that really determines who they are and what happens.

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Most of us like the idea of being socially responsible.  Most of us respect our neighbors.  Most of us care about the other guy.  The reality is that this is much easier to do in good times than it is in tough times.  How can those of us in project and program management be highly socially [...]

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As a program or project manager, one must keep an eye on both the near term and long term.  Today, under tough economic conditions, we typically turn to more near-term thinking because the focus needs to be first on survival before considering future plans.  We need to be careful however to not take this near-term thinking too [...]

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Corporate need for stream-lined, large-scale training has prompted many organizations to look to learning management systems (LMSs) and virtual teams. Virtual teams can aid companies in discovering, recruiting, and training talent.

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Can you use a 30/60/90 day plan for non-sales jobs? Certainly — it works for engineering, project management, technical support, and many others. For instance, I got a call from a candidate going for a job in Marketing Communications. He had a 30-60-90 day sales plan template, but needed help translating it into a document [...]

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In the realm of project management certification, there is a transition occurring in the exam for the project management professional (PMP) certification exam. On January 1, 2009, the 4th edition of the PMBOK was officially published. Many people wonder, especially at this point in time, whether they should take the 3rd edition exam or wait to take the 4th edition exam.

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In today’s online age, product reviews are very popular and widely available. They provide a great service to consumers and they do put power in the hands of consumers, eroding some of the power of advertisers. However, like the skewed views we can get from advertisers, we can get equally skewed views from reviewers.

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