PMcrunch

“Performance metrics” is an especially popular topic in management today. The idea is to try to measure everything by some sort of metric that gives a true picture of our degree of success or effectiveness. But like many management techniques, it is subject to misuse. Here are my suggestions for identifying relevant metrics and using them effectively.

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“Performance metrics” is an especially popular topic in management today. The idea is to try to measure everything by some sort of metric that gives a true picture of our degree of success or effectiveness. But like many management techniques, it is subject to misuse. Here are my suggestions for identifying relevant metrics and using them effectively.

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In the hassle and buzzle of day to day work life, of course mixed with a busy personal life, we need to remember that our team members also have their own personal goals, aspirations and challenges. There are many things we can do related to this but the first step is always awareness. Here are [...]

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As project and program managers we need to make sure that our projects are moving forward. We need to make sure that we identify the obstacles that get in the way of progress and that we address and remove them. We need to make sure that the greater project team has the tools and resources [...]

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Oftentimes, as[tag-dir]project managers[/tag-dir] and leaders, we are called upon to compare a variety of potential solutions and to either recommend or choose the best one for our situation. There are a variety of ways to do this. It is important for us to recognize that the answer we come up with is very closely related to the questions we ask and how we do the comparison. Many times—perhaps even most of the time—we do this comparisons in a relatively informal way, putting together our own structure. In other cases however, there is a much formalized organizational structure with a formal name such as [/tag-tec]“analysis of alternatives”[tag-dir] that is performed.

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As [tag-tec]project managers[/tag-tec], we are often called upon to present choices to our [tag-dir]stake holders[/tag-dir]We are often called upon to present options for solutions, scenarios, and items for discussions, priorities and more. There is a well proven rule that when it comes to choices, less is better.

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What do you do when hopelessness seems on the horizon? What do you do when it appears you have tried everything and nothing is working? What do you do when it appears that you are at the end of the road?

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There is a great deal written on the subject of building teams including, building [tag-tec]project teams[/tag-tec], however one thing that is very notable about this process is it is of a very personal nature. Two people that might build a project team or the same exact project might very likely to do it differently just as every person is different every [tag-dir]project team[/tag-dir] that they build will be different.

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[tag-tec]Gold plating[/tag-tec], or the idea of delivering more or better than requested is generally not accepted in [tag-dir]project management[/tag-dir] doctrine. However, I think we need to take this with a grain of salt and consider how to discern when and how we might over deliver.

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[tag-tec]Task estimating[/tag-tec] is a critical skill for [tag-dir]project managers[/tag-dir] and [tag-dir]project teams[/tag-dir]. We cannot manage what we cannot estimate. However, realistically, it is very difficult to be able to estimate every possible task accurately.

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