PMcrunch

Networking, to me, is a fun thing to do. Over time I have gotten to meet many people, many different situations — and I love learning about what people do, how they think, what they have experienced, and what their perspective is. However, what I’ve also found is that the approach that you take to networking can bring about very different results from another approach. Let’s take a look at this topic.

[Read more →]

Project managers got to be project managers from a variety of career paths. Many of us have become specialists in certain areas, such as earned value, or scheduling, or critical path methods, or other such specialized techniques within the project management skill set. However, many others of us got here because it represented an opportunity to actually broaden skill sets and qualify us for other positions.

[Read more →]

This may seem like a crazy question, but it is a valid one: “Does your project have some lunacy?” As project managers, we have been trained, for the most part, to be very rational about what we are doing. Of course, some of us may have a greater foundation in that than others; but nonetheless there is a firm rationality that exists within the profession. The question is, does that serve us well on our projects?

[Read more →]

As project and program managers, we are leaders within organizations. Indeed, we lead small, smaller, organizations that are subsets of the larger organizations. As such, we are responsible for making decisions, and in the process, we need to define ourselves. Let’s take a look at this concept.

[Read more →]

There are a variety of project management templates available on the market today.  A common reason that why project management professionals avoid using templates that are out there is that they think they need to customize their own, because their own situation is very unique.  However, if you really give it a try, as I […]

[Read more →]

It’s human nature to stay with what is familiar, even when we know that a big change is needed. The prospect of venturing into the unknown comes with fear and risk. Tough times, like that presented by our current economic climate, might make changing necessary.

[Read more →]

Much is written on earned value techniques, and I am not going to delve in depth into the techniques in this post. I am only going to emphasize that to whatever degree you practice earned value techniques, the most important thing is to be very detailed about work packages and costs. If nothing else, go about this with eyes wide open.Much is written on earned value techniques, and I am not going to delve in depth into the techniques in this post. I am only going to emphasize that to whatever degree you practice earned value techniques, the most important thing is to be very detailed about work packages and costs. If nothing else, go about this with eyes wide open.

[Read more →]

Basic project management teaches us that quality is defined by meeting requirements, but not exceeding them. If we deliver more than what the customer asked for, it is considered to be gold plating - a bad thing. The premise is that there is a balance as per the triple constraint among quality, cost and schedule, and that it is the job of the project manager to manage that balance. In these tough times, however, how can a project manager produce excellence and in essence exceed customer expectations without gold plating?

[Read more →]

In today’s crazy times, there are cuts and changes effecting all people everywhere. Many of us have seen projects cancelled. Others have actually lost jobs. Some have suddenly seen thier long stable situations turned upside down by a buyout or downsizing or reorganization. The key in dealing with this, I think, is to thirst for the future and not hunger for the past.

[Read more →]

On your project teams over time, there surely have been “pivotal performances”. Just like in a basketball game there was something that the winning team did throughout the game, that proved to be pivotal to the outcome of that game. There are things that each team member, and the team as a whole does throughout a project, that are pivotal to the projects success. The question is, how do you find those things, and how do you get your project team to turn in pivotal performances, routinely.

[Read more →]