PMcrunch

A great question that we can ask ourselves as project managers is, “Would we invest in our projects”? This is probably the single best indicator, if we are honest with ourselves, as to the health of our projects, our positions, our teams, our organizations and more. Here is a look at an investment perspective to managing projects.

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Project organizations really are not unlike other organizations. Like a small, medium, or large sized corporation, projects have specific objectives that need to be supported by its own project culture. Projects inlcude collections of people and stakeholders, surrounding a concept or idea and particular action, take on a persona. Discovering, and even more important creating, and maintaining the character of that persona, is an important job of the project manager and supporting organization.

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Innovation is one of those buzz words that evokes positive emotions. It is generally considered a “good” thing, and therefore is something that we want to do. However, there are other things to consider so, lets put innovation into perspective as a project management tool.

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I say, a resounding YES to the question “Is a political campaign a project?”. Why? Well, a political campaign has a distinctive beginning and end, and in between there is a lot of planning, a great deal of execution, and a great deal of monitoring and controlling. And of course there is a closing – usually with lots of lessons learned. Let us look a bit at these elements.

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There is an interesting aspect to the relationship between processes and projects. Where processes are what keep a business flowing on a day to day basis, projects are what puts new processes in place, re-shapes existing processes, or replaces a process. Processes have lifecycle; most processes have a finite life. Thus projects have a very definite place in the lifecycle of processes.

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Billboards are arguably one of the oldest means of promoting products and services commercially, for mass marketing. In terms of sheer size, billboards are the largest, capable of being displayed and viewed from a considerable distance. In the right situation, they can be an effective means of project communications.

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It is good for project managers to learn persuasion techniques used in sales. It is not easy to be a salesman, but it is a great skill for PMs. To be an effective one, you need to sell yourself first and your products or services second. People buy not just because they want the product; they buy because they like the person who is selling the product to them and believe every word he says. In sales, trust must be gained.

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There are 5 keys to managing risk in an organized, structured manner. The key here is to THINK AHEAD! PLAN for potential risks! The larger the situation, and the more complex the interrelationships and dependencies among elements of the over program, the more critical it is to be formal about this.

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Be aware of how the web can be a great distraction and provide “procrastination support”! Think about, even when you may seem to be “surfing” for something worthwhile.

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How do we define risks on projects? How do we control risks to ensure successful outcomes? These are some interesting risk management questions. Based on some current experience coordinating risk across scores of major defense programs, here are 5 key items that can be considered in a ‘closed loop’ risk management program.

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