http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/articles.html Project Smart is the project management resource that helps managers at all levels to improve their performance. We provides an important knowledge base for those involved in managing projects of all kinds. With weekly updates it keeps you in touch with the latest project management thinking. en Copyright: (c) Project Smart Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:00:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/img/logo.gif http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/articles.html Do you have difficulty engaging in budget discussions for new projects, particularly during initial client meetings when it can be tempting to make promises that will be challenging to carry out? If so, you're not alone! This article explores five ways to help you gracefully avoid backing yourself into a corner. Cost Management Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:37:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/5-ways-to-finesse-budget-discussions-for-new-client-projects.html Why do so many projects fail? Researchers regularly conduct studies to find out the leading causes of project failure. Some of the studies are in the public domain. You can look up studies by such groups as Gartner, Carnegie Mellon University and the Project Management Institute. The studies reveal a recurring theme. Best Practice Mon, 29 Dec 2008 15:21:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/ten-tips-for-running-successful-projects.html Can you be a lazy and successful project manager? Ok, so I have been reviewing corporate and government processes for managing projects this week, and the first thing that came to my mind is "OH my! There is no way I could get all these steps, documents, gates, checkpoints, etc. accomplished and still manage the project!" In some cases you would need a bevy of administrators just to make sure all the project management stuff got done! Lifecycle & Methodology Tue, 23 Dec 2008 22:28:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/balancing-project-management-process-with-project-delivery.html A RACI chart is a matrix of all the activities or decision making authorities undertaken in an organisation set against all the people or roles. At each intersection of activity and role it is possible to assign somebody responsible, accountable, consulted or informed for that activity or decision. This guide sets down in a clear way the benefits of the approach and takes the reader through the steps needed to create and then analyse a RACI Chart. Miscellaneous Mon, 22 Dec 2008 20:54:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-do-raci-charting-and-analysis.html Depending on the structure of your organisation, the project manager is most likely the person who interacts with the broadest range of stakeholders. Sure the managing director will intermingle with project managers, business development, maybe even the client at early stages. But a project manager will interact with all these people and more; most notably, technical staff such as programmers and graphic designers. And let's not forget the client; a project manager will probably spend the largest amount of time with them compared to anyone else. IT Project Management Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:30:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managers-programmers-and-designers.html Project managers, when you hire well, can become your most favourite person on the planet. Hiring a good project manager means you can sit back and relax knowing that the project tasks are being taken care of in a professional, productive, and profitable manner. It frees up your time, reduces or even eliminates stress, and increases your bottom line. However a bad hire can affect profits, increase stress which can kick your blood pressure up to dangerous levels and waste a tremendous amount of time and money. Here's how to hire a qualified project manager. Team Building Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:41:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/10-steps-to-finding-a-project-manager.html The accuracy of your cost estimation process can make or break project success. Learn the strategies that will help you gain control of this key area and ensure future project profitability! One of the greatest challenges for a project leader is to successfully deliver on all aspects of a project both according to the client's specifications and within the allotted budget. Cost Management Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:30:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/make-or-break-why-accurate-cost-estimation-is-key.html "Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." This quote from Henry Ford was used by a proud dad at a recent wedding I attended. It was a well chosen piece of advice, but as the managing director of a business solutions provider the quote hit a familiar note with me because it sums up exactly what we have been telling our clients during the implementation process. Best Practice Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:57:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-tips-for-project-implementation.html For most service departments the demand for new projects will occasionally outweigh the department's capacity to do them. Whether it's due to financial constraints or skills being completely exhausted elsewhere, sometimes you just have to say "no." Saying "no" is easy, it's deciding who to say "no" to. Projects that bring the highest return on investment from the scarce resources available must be pushed forwards. Projects that drain resources and eat up the budget must be discarded, or at the very least, put on hold. So how do you decide which projects stay and which ones go? Project Portfolio Management Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:43:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-portfolio-management-managing-the-project-pipeline.html When you manage a new project to streamline an organisation's website or to develop a new website, you must gather input from many people inside the organisation. In "Content Management Bible," Bob Boiko has authored a section on the requirements process. His process concerns finding out what site users expect from the site improvement or the new website you will develop. IT Project Management Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:23:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/considerations-before-soliciting-input-for-your-content-management-project.html Browse up on your organisation's competency requirements and set more informed business directions concerning your people. Management needs a checkpoint to determine if performance meets organisational requirements, given the knowledge and skills set of the employees. This is the birth of competency analysis. Team Building Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:35:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/discovering-future-performers-in-your-team.html In my last article we learned the 6 key skills required to be a successful project manager, and why those are more important than qualifications. In this article, I look at how you can acquire, learn or improve these skills, in order to become a more successful project manager. Role of the Project Manager Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:52:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/so-you-want-to-be-a-project-manager-getting-the-skills-you-need.html You've worked on a project, and you think you'd like to have a try out at doing the project management role. It doesn't look too hard, or maybe it just looks exciting. So what does it take to become a project manager? What skills do you need? Role of the Project Manager Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:52:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/so-you-want-to-be-a-project-manager.html A business tale of what it takes to turn around troubled projects. The year is 2005 and times are good. The business environment is vibrant and the economy is strong. Large businesses are committing large amounts of capital and resources to implement new strategies, establish new capabilities, and open new markets. It was no different at PintCo, where Jack works as a Director of Customer Relationship Management. Case Studies Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:53:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/a-tale-of-two-projects.html A short case study about the importance of using appropriate tools, such as Gantt charts, when managing time sensitive projects. Having run 15 months late on completion of a construction project, a building company incurred extensive penalty charges, which eventually led to its closure. Not having any project Gantt charts indirectly led to the company's failure. Case Studies Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:38:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-gantt-charts-can-help-avoid-disaster.html A project brief describes what needs to be done. The project plan explains how you are going to do it. The business case gives the reasons why. In PRINCE2 terminology, the business case is the "driver" of the project. Senior management review the business case before authorising the initiation, and at each subsequent stage of the project. The business case is used as a yardstick to measure project progress. Before allowing any change to the project plan, the executive must consider the impact that this change will have on the business case. Business Case Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:22:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/writing-an-unbeatable-business-case.html When choosing a development life cycle, don't just trust your feelings. Decide based on factors that really matter. Which life cycle will work best for your project? This is an important strategic question because making the wrong choice could lead to disastrous results of catastrophic proportions. Think about delayed deliveries, unhappy clients, project overruns, and cancelled projects. Agile Project Management Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:21:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/which-life-cycle-is-best-for-your-project.html Good communication is vital to the success of your project. This article explores the methods used by successful project managers to tailor their communications to suit their audiences. It offers advice and tips on how to implement the best practices taught by the PMBOK and many PMP Exam Preparation courses. Communications Management Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:23:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-communications-how-to-keep-your-team-engaged-and-informed.html Many project teams have faced the time when they need to make a major decision. Should one try to custom build a solution or buy an off-the-shelf product and customise it? These solutions can run the gamut of being a full enterprise class package that does nearly everything but feed the dog to small programs or libraries that do something very specialised such as drawing graphs or providing encryption functions. Frequently, a wrong decision can result in cost overruns, project delays, or a solution that does not fit business needs very well. IT Project Management Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:33:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/build-versus-buy-making-the-right-decision.html The success of a business relationship between a company and an outsource vendor depends on how well the delivery team implements projects on-time and on-budget. But while these three items present only the quantitative facet of this relationship, the dedication and professionalism of the outsource team sometimes tell a different story. How do you sustain the interest of your new outsource team? Here are ways to keep the team passionate about providing you with top-quality service. Outsourcing Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:10:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/motivating-your-outsourced-offshore-team.html Business requirements are solved either by building a new system or by buying a readily available product or by a combination of both. The 'Build vs Buy' decision is made by the stakeholders after weighing various parameters. A 'Build' decision results in tailor made projects (also known as bespoke projects or custom development projects) whereas a 'Buy' decision results in product or package implementation projects. The technical, functional and managerial challenges vary between these two categories and therefore the practices during project execution vary as well. IT Project Management Sun, 09 Nov 2008 08:43:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/factors-that-influence-project-management-in-package-implementation-projects-and-bespoke-projects.html Some days IT executives earn their salaries and then some: multiple deadlines for simultaneous projects, staff with different skills, competing schedules and priorities, and multiple unforeseen variables. What's the best way to allocate resources across projects? How can you ensure you stay on budget and meet established deadlines? Read up on the latest tools designed to make your job easier! Miscellaneous Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:49:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-pie-charts-mr-spock-and-the-big-picture-can-optimise-your-projects.html Passing the PMP exam is challenging, but hundreds of thousands of people have already done it! What is the secret? One of the keys is to put into practice the discipline, practices, tools, and frameworks that are the subject of the exam. This is accomplished by making a plan based upon the many structures, terms and concepts that are part of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). These are the things that experienced project managers will learn that takes them beyond their project management experience base. This article discusses some keys for building an effective project plan to pass the PMP exam. PMBOK & PMP Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:15:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/making-a-project-plan-to-pass-the-pmp-exam.html How do you know when your part of the development race is over? Learn how to establish a clear finish line for your project. When undertaking a software development project, an effectively designed closure plan serves as an outline of required tasks that must be carried out appropriately in order to result in successful project delivery, and adequate preparation is one significant element when it comes to ensuring a smooth transition to implementation. The closure plan must be considered at the outset of the project, as the client outlines their specific software requirements. IT Project Management Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:24:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-beginning-of-the-end-defining-project-closure.html Stephen Covey's seven habits of highly effective people have become classic pieces of leadership and management wisdom. The habits are applicable to having successful conflict conversations, both at home and at work. Here's how to use them next time you find yourself in a tense situation or conflict. Miscellaneous Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:04:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-dialogue.html As a Project Manager, communication will occur in many forms, with many individuals, including project stakeholders, your internal team, management within your organisation, vendors, and more. Communication may happen verbally or through e-mail, as well as through charters and project plans, addendums and status reports. These long lists are a small indication of the significance of communication to a Project Manager. Communications Management Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:53:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/effective-project-communications.html While feedback is vital to the growth and sustained success of any business, regardless of industry, employees or customer base, it may often be met with some level of resistance or uncertainty. For some, feedback seems to equate to, and therefore is received or delivered as, (negative) criticism, when in reality, this belief or response is unwarranted. Team Building Fri, 17 Oct 2008 07:06:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/exploiting-feedback-to-improve-bottom-line-performance.html For organisations, flexing the right side of the brain can dramatically improve decision making, team building and innovation, and ultimately drive greater organisational performance. In fact, whole brain thinking is a secret weapon that successful organisations are using to evolve their business to the next level, and stay ahead of the competition. When you combine left-brained data-driven decision making skills with non-linear right-brained thinking, the result is greater insight and more well-rounded experience that will ultimately help you arrive at better solutions to complex problems. Team Building Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:03:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/use-your-whole-brain-leveraging-right-brained-thinking-in-a-left-brained-world.html Ambiguity is a fact of life in all organisations. In many cases it can be an advantage. But in most cases, the clearer the requirements, the better. Use SMART goals, keep them simple, and watch people respond with a high level of commitment to the enterprise. They can be, as in this case, the difference between success and failure. SMART Goals Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:03:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals-reduce-ambiguity-and-increase-commitment.html The world is getting smaller. Well, it isn't physically getting smaller but that is one way of saying that global communications have become so fast paced that the world is really one community in a lot of ways. With the advent of the Internet, email, instant messaging and VOIP, it is entirely possible to have your project team members around the globe. Communications Management Mon, 13 Oct 2008 20:03:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-of-a-global-team.html Poor software project management often means missed deadlines, cost overruns or even outright failure of the project. How can your company avoid this industry-wide problem? In our brief you'll learn best practices for successfully completing software projects. Risk Management Wed, 08 Oct 2008 21:03:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/is-software-development-risk-costing-you-money.html One of the most common problems that project managers weep about is "unrealistic timelines," a common consequence of clients having set their expectations too high even before the project starts. Ironically, there are occurrences in the duration of a project when a staff is sitting idly, waiting for a colleague to finish so he can start his own task. In this situation, does the project manager shout foul and blame other people? Chances are, as a project manager, he needs to give the project schedule a second look. Scheduling Wed, 08 Oct 2008 07:49:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/useful-techniques-to-fine-tune-your-project-schedule.html Project Managers who aspire to take the PMP exam need to have 35 hours of documented training in the area of project management. However, there is some level of misunderstanding around just how they can achieve this. Many believe they must take specialised and expensive courses, and some are not aware that some of the training and education they already have may qualify. Others think they need to acquire a single 35 hour certificate. Here is a survey of the ways PMP aspirants can satisfy that requirement. PMBOK & PMP Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:49:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-training-for-the-pmp-satisfying-the-35-hours-requirement.html Any project manager who has been around the block a few times has experienced a visit to the project management guillotine. Perhaps it was with a sponsor, management, or a customer. The project either had a massive schedule slip, cost overrun, or scope slash (or sometimes all three - now that's a party!) and the project manager was first in line at the guillotine. Some of my most uncomfortable situations in my 20+ years as a professional have involved me getting my head handed to me on a silver platter because I bungled a project. Best Practice Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:10:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/execute-or-be-executed-avoiding-the-project-management-guillotine.html For a long time, IT professionals were apt to believe that ITIL and project management certification (PMP) were conflicting frameworks, and you were either certified in one or the other, but rarely both. The ITIL framework and project management framework both serve different purposes to be sure, but when combined within an organisation, they ultimately create great synergy. The ITIL framework, a lifecycle that addresses the way an IT organisation operates, is first and foremost business driven and answers the question "Are we doing the right things?" The project management framework addresses the implementation of projects throughout the organisation, requiring that companies ask "Are we doing things the right way?" IT Project Management Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:52:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/pmp-and-itil-framework-methodologies-with-valuable-synergy.html Outsourcing work to offshore organisations has become the latest arsenal in software development over the last seven to eight years. The strongest drivers to outsourcing focus on driving down costs, increasing productivity, reducing time to market, and providing a flexible resource pool. If you're looking for a sure-fire way to find a highly-qualified outsourcing partner, learn how CMMI ratings can help you pinpoint the best candidate for the job. Outsourcing Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:42:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/cmmi-does-your-supplier-make-the-grade.html Risk is a concept that denotes a potential negative impact to an asset or some characteristic of value that may arise from some present process or future event. In everyday usage, risk is often used synonymously with the probability of a known loss. Risk is measured in terms of impact and likelihood. Since risk is directly correlated to loss, it is important to be able to assess risks in one's business and to address them. Needless to say, inattention to risks can definitely affect a company's bottom line. Risk Management Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:52:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/ranking-risks-rare-to-certain-negligible-to-catastrophic.html When you have finished planning your project, and you have all the scheduled dates, hours, and costs (and charges if applicable) agreed, why is it a good idea to store those values? We explore the reasons. Cost Management Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:32:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/3-main-benefits-of-project-baselining.html Since its beginning in 1990, Microsoft Project represents a common and powerful project scheduling tool to control project schedules and finances, eliminating surprise when it's too late to make changes to the process. This ultimately results in better corporate profitability and competitiveness. This proactive planning tool works like project management around the triple constraint of scope, time, and resources adding value to software development companies and their clients by enhancing customer satisfaction, using resources effectively, and providing a competitive advantage. Microsoft Project Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:34:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/get-in-the-drivers-seat-with-microsoft-project.html If you are thinking about using a project management consulting company to assist your organisation with implementing a Project Management Office (PMO), there are a couple of important factors that you should consider when choosing the right firm. Project Management Office Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:12:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-phased-approach-to-project-management-implementation.html The concept of competency as a factor in recruitment, selection, hiring and employee performance evaluation has become very popular not only among HR practitioners but to the management echelons as well. Yet, in the more than three decades since it became a buzzword, still many are really unfamiliar with the details of the concept. More so with its appropriate application and utility. Training Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:16:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/12-competencies-which-ones-should-your-people-have.html Gantt charts and PERT charts are useful tools for visualising and communicating information about projects, but they have a number of limitations. In addition, the ease with which they can be created using software applications makes them open to misuse and misinterpretation. Work Breakdown Structure Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:15:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/gantt-charts-pert-charts-what-use-are-they.html Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, Sloth. You either recognise these as the seven deadly sins or as themes for prime-time television. Nonetheless, you were probably taught as a child that these are bad and you shouldn't do them. For purposes of this article, do as you were taught and think bad when you commit these similar sins in the workplace. Role of the Project Manager Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:45:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-leadership.html A successful project manager is one who can envision the entire project from start to finish, and have the prowess to realise this vision. To keep pace with business and IT, project managers need to make their management practices more flexible. Role of the Project Manager Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:48:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/10-rules-of-highly-successful-project-management.html Scope creep is a significant risk in software development projects. We discuss why this is so, and how to avoid or at least mitigate the risk. New software is usually developed as a result of a customer identifying a need. The next step is to specify how the software will meet that need; specifically, what functionality will be developed. Scope Management Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:50:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/dealing-with-scope-creep-in-software-development-projects.html The advent of the Internet and the continuous innovations made in information and communication technology has brought about the steady rise of a recently established business practice, offshore business development. Is your company looking or already into outsourcing? Here are five indicators that your company is on its way to outsourcing success. Outsourcing Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:32:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/is-offshore-outsourcing-working-for-you.html Has your company developed entirely new software or added to software already in use throughout the organisation and found the process cumbersome, frustrating, and sometimes not living up to expectations or meeting organisational goals? If so, the solution to a smooth and effective development programme may be as easy as staffing a well-qualified project manager and adopting a proven development process. IT Project Management Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:16:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/9-steps-to-a-hassle-free-and-effective-software-development-project.html Across the UK at the moment there will be hundreds of programmes being run, but how well are they being run and how does the sponsor know that his/her programme is in a healthy shape? There are a number of ways to find out, most of them costing money from consultants. Most programmes are complex and are being run using a methodology that fits one of three descriptions. Programme Management Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:53:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-fit-is-your-programme.html The title of project manager (PM) is used to mean different things in different companies. Fortunately there is a standards body called the Project Management Institute which provides excellent guidance around the role and function of a project manager. Some will disagree, but I don't care if your project manager is PMI certified or not. You need to care about having a project manager with the skill to carry out the role as the Institute defines it. It's your change management strategy, and it's your reputation on the line. Change Management Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:54:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/strategies-for-managing-change-the-project-manager.html The benefits of risk management in projects are huge. You can gain a lot of money if you deal with uncertain project events in a proactive manner. The result will be that you minimise the impact of project threats and seize the opportunities that occur. This allows you to deliver your project on time, on budget and with the quality results your project sponsor demands. Also your team members will be much happier if they do not enter a "fire fighting" mode needed to repair the failures that could have been prevented. Risk Management Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:48:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/10-golden-rules-of-project-risk-management.html There is often a misunderstanding, and hence a mixed and overlapping use of terms, when it comes to programme management. Sometimes a programme is called a project. Sometimes a project is called a programme. In addition, sometimes project portfolio and programme are mistakenly used interchangeably. This article is intended to clarify the main differences and to distinguish the unique aspects of project portfolios, programmes, and projects. Project Portfolio Management Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:58:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/distinguishing-portfolio-management-programme-management-and-project-management.html One of the most common challenge questions I get when teaching PMP Exam Preparation courses is "Why doesn't PMI make the test more real-world? Why do they insist on testing for a world that no-one really lives in?" Over the years, my response to that question has evolved, but the more the question comes along, the more I realise we don't insist on the perfect world often enough. PMBOK & PMP Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:33:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/in-defence-of-the-project-management-perfect-world.html Effective management is not just about being able to apply budgetary constraints or running projects to time. In fact, 70% of businesses fail to achieve their desired goals and the causes for failure are usually lack of strong leadership, lack of team skills, and lack of stakeholder engagement. These more subtle skills can have a huge effect on successful outcomes. Role of the Project Manager Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:49:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/leadership-for-programme-and-project-managers.html Gathering and managing requirements are important challenges in project management. Projects succeed or fail due to poor requirements at any time throughout the project lifecycle. The continuously evolving baseline of requirements needs to be managed effectively. The project manager needs to assess and understand the uniqueness of the requirements gathering process for his/her individual project. Requirements Management Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:54:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/reduce-project-risk-in-the-requirements-process.html Objectives that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Aligned, Realistic/Relevant, and Time-bound) are likely to be achieved. Learn how to develop SMART objectives with the power to focus goals, work plans, and commitment to performance targets. Because meaningful and practical measures are built in, SMART objectives also enable feedback and learning that can keep you on track to success. SMART Goals Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:55:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/use-smart-objectives-to-focus-goals-plans-and-performance.html A project manager has to be many things. To name just a few, a PM has to be a great communicator, a leader, a visionary, and be able to both build and inspire the team. First and foremost, however, a project manager has to be proactive. We employ strategies to plan the future in order to proactively minimise risk on our projects so that we can deliver on time and on budget. Why then is it that when November comes around you can hear a collective groan rise from the worldwide community of PMPs as they ask, where they could quickly get 20, 30 or even 40 or more PDUs before the year is through? PMBOK & PMP Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:19:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/pmi-pdu-secrets.html The current Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide is labelled "Third Edition" and was published in 2004. Every 4 years the Project Management Institute (PMI) brings out a new version and the fourth edition has just been released to reviewers in exposure draft format. I was a contributor and reviewer for version 3 and will likely submit some feedback for version 4 too. One thing that will be of interest to agile project managers is the increased acceptance of iterative lifecycles. PMBOK & PMP Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:57:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/pmbok-4-this-time-its-iterative.html Project management is defined as the art and science of getting work done with the active co-operation of individuals and organisations who are directly or indirectly involved with the project. This includes Senior Management, Project Sponsors(s), Customers, End-users, Stakeholders, Team Members, Sub-contractors, Vendors and Consultants. Given the reality of minimal authority and total responsibility for the outcome of the project, the Project Manager's biggest challenge consists of "Getting Work Done." Team Building Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:56:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-human-side-of-project-management.html One of the most challenging aspects of Enterprise Architecture (EA), and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) in particular, is that rather than address a discrete problem or set of problems in the enterprise, it attempts to address a range of interconnected and perplexing issues that have long troubled IT. Specifically, SOA approaches to EA address long-term issues of integration in environments of continued heterogeneity, application development in the face of continuous change, governance, management, and quality in environments of continuous complexity, increasing reuse and reducing redundancy across multiple IT initiatives, and organisational and methodology approaches that favour iteration over monolithic, waterfall-style approaches to development. IT Project Management Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:44:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-problem-with-it-project-management.html In any improvement process, managing the influence of change and the anti-change culture that will continually try to raise its head will be one of the most ardent tasks. Learn to deal with this as effectively as you do the project management itself. There are many well-written books on the subject of change in every category of change that you could imagine. Change Management Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:05:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/understanding-change-in-a-quality-culture.html For project managers "no" is often the toughest word in the English language to deploy. We often prefer the classic PM strategy of "Yes, but..." as the softer, kinder, gentler alternative. "No" sounds harsh. Uncooperative. It sounds reticent and recalcitrant. It sounds negative. And yet, for many of us, the time has come as professionals to set "yes, but..." aside and venture into the world of "no." Role of the Project Manager Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:11:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-hardest-word-in-the-project-management-vocabulary.html While there are likely as many unique Project Management approaches as there are Project Managers, there are two well-know production cycle methodologies that have been the topic of much discussion in PM circles - agile and waterfall methodologies. As I evolve in my own area of expertise, I am constantly reinventing small aspects of what I consider best practice. Most recently, to address the incredibly complex requirements of a large client initative, I challenged myself to come up with a "super" Project Management process that would not only improve the way in which we deliver, but what we deliver at the end of the engagement. I determined there was a way to combine the best features of waterfall development disciplines with agile principles for superior results. Agile Project Management Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:02:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/can-we-combine-agile-and-waterfall-development-strategies.html This is an article about Presentation, Planning and Processing; the three cornerstones of project management. Anyone who has ever tried to organise something important seems to either love it or loath it. I remember friends organising trips out for people's birthdays and just not being able to cope with having multiple people to deal with, the planning of train times or car pools and the often continual flood of questions, niggles and other bits and bobs that are important to the person, but overall not so key. Therefore I would like to break project management down into three categories and speak a little about each and what it means for our clients. Best Practice Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:01:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-3-ps-of-ppproject-management.html One of the first major uses of project management as we know it today was to manage the United States space programme. It started with the inauguration speech in 1961 of John F. Kennedy who said, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." In 1986 the Challenger space shuttle disaster focused attention on risk management, group dynamics and quality management. Today NASA continues to focus on project management best practice to deliver major aerospace projects costing many billions of dollars. Case Studies Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:19:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/nasa-project-management-challenge-2008.html I like to think of programme management as business lessons learned because it is the experiences and successful practices that help us understand how to manage effectively and efficiently. I also like to think of programme management as an open-source discipline, because we, as a community of practitioners, continue to contribute to its growth, success, relevancy, and acceptance. Project Portfolio Management Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:47:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-pm-paradox.html All professionals know it is important to network. It helps to keep up with the profession, to be aware of developments and new opportunities, and chances for career growth. It can also be very helpful to solve problems that other colleagues have already encountered. So in this era of social networking, where can the best project management networks be found? Miscellaneous Fri, 27 Jun 2008 18:57:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/8-top-places-for-project-managers-to-network.html More and more in today's environment Project Managers are being judged on how well they operate within, and adhere, to standard practices and disciplines. This is all very well, but let us stand back and think for a moment. If I were to challenge any one of you to think of someone you respect, who consistently delivers projects on time, who always gets called on when things get tough. I am sure that you could name that person without knowing how well they work within the practices and disciplines of your company. Role of the Project Manager Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:45:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/successful-projects-are-led-not-managed.html MSP (Managing Successful Programmes) is a best-practice guide from the OGC (Office of Government Commerce, an independent Office of the Treasury). It has been developed using the collective expertise and practical experience of some of the leading practitioners in the field. Managing Successful Programmes is unique in its status as a flexible generic best practice framework, and although it has been founded on best practice, it is not prescriptive. Programme Management Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:41:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-businesses-should-use-msp-programme-management.html Coaching is a highly effective management tool and yet, I have met only a small number of project managers who adopt a coaching style when supporting their staff. The unfortunate truth is that many project managers do not understand coaching and have received little or no formal training. Team Building Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:04:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-project-managers-should-coach.html Traditional project management involves very disciplined and deliberate planning and control methods. With this approach, distinct project life cycle phases are easily recognisable. Tasks are completed one after another in an orderly sequence, requiring a significant part of the project to be planned up front. For example, in a construction project, the team needs to determine requirements, design and plan for the entire building, and not just incremental components, in order to understand the full scope of the effort. Agile Project Management Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:54:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-blending-of-traditional-and-agile-project-management.html An excellent manager taps into talents and resources in order to support and bring out the best in others. An outstanding manager evokes possibility in others. Role of the Project Manager Sun, 15 Jun 2008 18:40:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-10-qualities-of-an-excellent-manager.html Regardless of where your IT organisation has progressed in the evolution from a utility like service to a executor of business strategy, the bread and butter of most IT organisations is the successful execution of projects: non-recurring, limited duration activities designed around completing a defined task. As organisations have grown savvier about project management, successful execution is on the rise, however choosing the right projects to deliver remains a challenge for many companies. Project Portfolio Management Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:17:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/building-the-project-firing-squad.html Your boss has asked you to take the lead on a project in your company. Maybe you are a project manager, or maybe you are not. One thing is certain. Very few people know how to report status on a project, even when they are expert project managers. The basic problem? Most people do not understand the perspective of a manager who is being pressed for information about a big project. Here are some basic rules of reporting status that you can use to further your reputation as someone who knows how to keep management and the project team informed and drive a project to success. Best Practice Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:49:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-report-status-on-a-project.html Status is project management communication, and any channel of communication available to you is a possible delivery method for status. There are two basic kinds of delivery method: presentation and verbal. When you give status in presentation format, you have a reference document that you are reviewing with a group of people. When you give status verbally, you are delivering it without much preparation and without referring to a common document. Best Practice Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:43:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-deliver-project-status.html There is a way of doing things and a way of getting things done and they're not always the same. Most organisations of size have a Project Management Office (PMO) charged with defining processes and best practices (the way of doing things). These organisations typically sell the processes to a CIO to get executive-level support and then use that support as their stick to make sure the processes are followed. These people are often referred to as the PMO Cops by project managers. Project Management Office Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:52:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-pmos-fail.html The programming press and IT journals are full of stories about the failure of software outsourcing. The statistics are sobering. Less than 50% of outsourcing meets financial objectives. The outsourcing of many business processes besides software development also has the same less-than-stellar results. Outsourcing Sat, 31 May 2008 09:21:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-outsourcing-fails-even-with-good-project-management.html Managing software projects is difficult under the best circumstances. The project manager must balance competing stakeholder interests against the constraints of limited resources and time, ever-changing technologies, and unachievable demands from unreasonable people. Project management is people management, technology management, business management, risk management, and expectation management. It's a juggling act, with too many balls in the air at once. Best Practice Fri, 30 May 2008 20:18:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/21-project-management-success-tips.html PRINCE2, the abbreviation for Projects In Controlled Environments, is a process based method, derived from the initial PRINCE project management methodology. It is a recognised international standard, a registered trademark of OGC, deployed extensively by the UK government. PRINCE2 crucially assists with the optimal usage of resources and project risk management initiatives, thus securing for itself an eminent position in the overall relevance graph. PRINCE2 Wed, 21 May 2008 22:00:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/procedural-worksheet-on-prince2-project-management.html Communication, Communication, Communication! In our world of project management today, it has become increasingly more important to turn our efforts toward more effective means of communication, especially since many of us are faced with more and more virtual teams operating around the globe. Start your projects on the right foot, with a "Capital C" and begin the communication process early and often! Communications Management Tue, 20 May 2008 08:50:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-starts-with-a-capital-c.html When we examine what makes projects succeed or fail, we're actually looking at a variety of vital success measures that can keep our projects healthy, or offer a powerful remedy if they start to break down. As a form of prevention, using these measures from the very beginning will make our projects considerably more successful. They'll avert many potential snags stemming from mixed communication signals, ignored problems, and unrealistic expectations that can lead to project downfall. Rescue & Recovery Mon, 19 May 2008 15:41:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/keys-to-rescuing-ailing-projects.html One of the challenges of explaining project management to people who are unfamiliar with the approach, is that descriptions are often either so high-level as to be meaningless, or so detailed that they are overwhelming. Over the years, I have come to use a model as a framework for introducing and discussing project management tools and techniques. It can be used as the basis for a five-minute explanation of what is involved in project management, but also as an outline for more detailed discussions. Lifecycle & Methodology Mon, 19 May 2008 10:22:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/simplified-project-management-process.html To be a successful project manager you must be able to manage your time well. The best project managers ensure they are productive for most of their time and avoid time-wasters at all costs. Here are some tips that can help you manage your time more effectively. Miscellaneous Sat, 10 May 2008 17:03:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/six-time-management-tips-for-project-managers.html All projects are really about change. Let's take my favorite project of all time: the pyramids of Egypt. Imagine a sweltering desert with miles of sand, snakes, and other scenes from an Indiana Jones film. Add a few million workers, some great plans, some scary mummies, and you've got the pyramids. All right, so my history is a little skewed, but I think you see my point. First it was nothing; then, after some planning and execution, there were the pyramids. What approach to project management do you think the pharaohs used? Does it matter? PMBOK and PMP Thu, 08 May 2008 22:27:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-models-certifications-and-the-pyramids.html Six Sigma project charters are basically blueprints of the targeted Six Sigma quality improvement initiative. They are deemed important because it is only through them can the management hope to communicate the exact Six Sigma implementation roadmap to the implementation team. Six Sigma Fri, 02 May 2008 19:30:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-and-how-to-add-more-value-to-six-sigma-project-charters.html In project management, we tend to focus on the method. And there is no shortage of methods (Six Sigma, Scrum, Waterfall). The method is the what of project management and is often at the core of an effectively run project. But the method can only take your project so far. Role of the Project Manager Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:10:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-five-project-management-traits-to-master.html We all know that in the real world we, as project managers, are given the finish date of the project before we even have a chance to plan for it. This is a good enough reason why we need to get better at scheduling our projects and levelling our finite resources. Scheduling Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:33:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-scheduling-and-resource-levelling.html I was trying to get hold of the project manager. Or rather he was trying to get hold of me. However, I had tried 3 times already so I sent him an email knowing it would sink to the bottom of the pile. I got to thinking that it wasn't just this project manager who always seemed to be in meetings. Several people I have been trying to get hold of always seem to be in back to back meetings. Project Agency has been collecting statistics for several years. Some 1,120 people have completed our questionnaire and one of the questions is quite revealing. Best Practice Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:14:00 GMT http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/make-those-project-meetings-more-effective.html The activity network diagram is a method of displaying the timelines of all the various sub-tasks that are involved in any project. By doing this, the total task duration and the earliest and latest start and finish times for each task are also calculated and displayed. In addition to showing which sub-tasks are critical to on-time task completion, the activity network diagram can help determine where extra effort to speed a sub-task will have the greatest payoff to overall speed. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/critical-path-mapping.html As the director of the project management discipline for a leading Interactive Agency, I interview quite a few people. A standard question I ask during a typical first interview is "What do you feel is the secret to project management, in other words, what separates good project managers from great project managers?" It is a pretty open-ended question and there is no right answer, but it is a great question to gain greater insight into the depth of the candidate. The most common answer I get is "communication, making sure everyone knows what is going on." While this is not incorrect, I think there is a much deeper and truth-seeking answer beyond this stock response. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/what-is-the-secret-to-project-management.html Ironically, although resourcing production team members is a significant part of a project manager's role, very little focus is placed on resourcing the project managers themselves. Because of this, I've encountered many project managers that are overwhelmed, worn out, and in many ways, ineffective. Over time, I've developed some generic strategies to help directors allocate an appropriate amount of work to project managers. In this article, I'll discuss some simple ideas to help get started. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/resourcing-project-managers.html Nowadays, the bottom-up approach to management is becoming more and more popular. More and more, organisations are abandoning the top-down management style. Among them are the New York Times, Tribune Co., Ernst & Young and many others. Even the world biggest corporations, such as Toyota and IBM, are trying to implement bottom-up management style elements in some of their departments. However, managers are still arguing over which approach is more beneficial for organisations. To understand the reason for the ongoing changes in management processes, we need to compare the two management styles. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/get-maximum-benefits-of-merging-top-down-and-bottom-up-project-management.html So, you are organised, have identified the stakeholders as well as project risks (and you are actively managing both), you have planned the project and you are all ready to deliver. But, have you developed a monitoring and control process for your project - an essential part of project management and work generally? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/having-a-robust-governance-process.html Leaders of all industries know the importance of setting achievable and effective goals for themselves. These goals are termed SMART goals. Goals are one of the most underutilised yet important tools that businesses have. Once the main outline of your project has been set, your attention needs to be turned towards developing certain goals that can help make your project a success. The SMART goals checklist can be used to evaluate the set of goals to be used. This process can help the employees as well as the employers share a certain understanding of how the goals have been set and how they are to be achieved. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-goals-and-business-coaching.html Is it really true that on time, on budget, and fulfilling all requirements means project success? Whose requirements are we really trying to meet anyway? And who decides if the original due date can be changed when the scope grows? In this article we'll address the people swirling around your project, stakeholders. You'll find some useful tips and other resources for optimising stakeholder involvement in your project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-stakeholder-risk-management.html Good project management is a fundamental element of the successful implementation of any project, and the PRINCE2 project management method provides an excellent framework for delivering a project. PRINCE2 (PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is process-based, providing tailoring and scalable changes towards effective management of projects, and the project plans are focused on delivering results. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/prince2-and-the-project-management-board.html Running training events is often a dumping ground for people's frustrations. I guess we have all done it thinking this guru will help us solve all our problems. However, some of our problems are deeply ingrained and take a lot of shifting. One such problem is the role that senior managers play or should play in projects. The terminology does get in the way however, we believe that all projects need a sponsor, someone who gives executive support to the project manager and project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/senior-managers-need-to-play-their-project-roles-more-effectively.html Commercial buyers of information technology products and services are locked into a self-defeating pattern of behaviour when it comes to negotiating contract terms and conditions with technology vendors, and it is time to move on to a better approach. Better technology vendor negotiations produce better contracts for a technology project, and better contracts produce better project outcomes. So, break the mould and move on to a better way of negotiating contract terms and conditions for your next technology project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/technology-vendor-contracting-breaking-the-mould.html Most companies in the innovation game can proudly point to their winners, those new products/services that launched successfully and exceeded expectations for revenue/profit/market share. However, those same companies often express frustration or dissatisfaction with their overall return on innovation investment. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/successful-innovation-how-to-manage-product-misses-to-maximise-hits.html Earned Value (EV) is a management tool for tracking and communicating a project's status. Earned Value Management (EVM) will let you know the actual state of the project by comparing your current project performance against your plan. Knowing the project's performance will let you take actions needed to ensure that the project is completed on time and within budget. Like any tool, in order for EVM to be successful, it very important that it is used correctly. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-secrets-to-earned-value-management-success.html Let's assume for a moment that the great quest in The Lord of the Rings was a project. Now that's not as odd as it might sound. Just think of the criteria. They had a clear goal and purpose. They had a team of people with defined (if unspoken) roles. All of the team needed to work together to achieve the goal. There was a definite time constraint in terms of when the goal needed to be achieved. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/if-the-lord-of-the-rings-was-a-project.html There you are, project manager of a brand new project, you have done your project planning and have started implementation. Now you are thinking about what you can tell your PMI colleagues at the next chapter meeting, creating a wondrous spreadsheet to avoid project failure and revolutionise project control, and learning how to use a new whiz-bang software package you have just bought, when BAM - you are in trouble. A project wreck and you never saw it coming! http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-avoid-project-failure-through-project-planning-and-effective-project-recovery.html Project Management has developed in order to plan, co-ordinate and control the complex and diverse activities of modern industrial and commercial projects. All projects share one common characteristic - the projection of ideas and activities into new endeavours. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/purpose-of-project-management-and-setting-objectives.html As we all know, the project manager in organisations traditionally has the burden of compiling plans and information for the team's work. The information is then kept in disconnected files, no matter if it is a Microsoft Word file or a Microsoft Project file. The manager is struggling to bring the project plan to life as all the information on the project is concentrated only around a single person - himself. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/collective-intelligence-builds-new-approach-to-project-management.html A vast majority of professionals think they have a problem these days, project management. Problem is, that's not the problem. Well, it is, but not the way they usually think it is. Let me be a little more vague. I am often asked by line managers and training people if I have a good project management seminar for their people. My first response is, "What exactly do you mean by project management?" http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-project-management-problem.html The scientific tools and techniques no doubt contribute a lot towards the success of Six Sigma improvement projects, but they just cannot be taken as the sole factors responsible for Six Sigma's effectiveness because they only compliment the inherent logic underlining Six Sigma and as such are no more than a means to an end. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-is-six-sigma-so-effective.html Accurate time estimation is a skill essential for good project management. Often people underestimate the amount of time needed to implement projects. This is true particularly when the project manager is not familiar with the task to be carried out. This article covers the basics to think of when planning projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-time-estimates-and-planning.html Formalised project management frameworks such as those codified in PMBOK provide practitioners with a range of tools and techniques that can be applied in a variety of projects. However, such frameworks and methodologies typically do not offer advice on which tools and techniques are appropriate for particular situations or contexts. This begs the question: are project management practices generic? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/are-project-management-practices-generic.html It's said there are no new project management sins, just old ones repeated. It's also said that we don't learn the lessons from past projects and this must be true, otherwise why would we keep making the same old mistakes. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/avoid-the-same-old-mistakes-by-focussing-on-lessons-learned.html The goal of this article is to encourage project managers to participate in an academic survey to help determine if an organisation is ready to apply earned value management to its projects. If you are interested in providing input into an assessment tool to help determine if an organisation is ready to apply earned value, please read on! http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/earned-value-management-study.html During years of software development projects it's striking how different project managers are. This article looks and the differences between project leaders, project managers and project monitors. Here's the question: What type of project manager do you need to have for the best outcome on a software development project? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-leader-manager-or-monitor.html This article offers a simple, sanity-saving approach to handling projects that have not followed expectations, or have otherwise gone awry. It explains how to extricate one's team from "project overwhelm" by regrouping and swiftly charting a new course. It explores the pros and cons of attempting a last-minute, heroic manoeuvre versus proactively re-planning the tail end of the project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-get-out-of-project-overwhelm.html In an effort to be less than constructive as a manager, here are ten sure fire ways to alienate and demotivate your team on your change journey. Hit-or-miss approaches don't go far enough; this is your chance to use the best methods of corporate torture and humiliation developed by dictators, steamrollers and other "tough guy" bosses. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/ten-sure-fire-ways-to-fail-as-a-manager.html Outsourcing is the process of contracting a third party to do work on the behalf of a client that has neither the skills or resources to perform in-house. It is usually more cost effective to contract out work than to hire someone in to complete the project in question. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/minimising-risk-in-outsourced-projects.html Are you tired being an average project manager, working on average projects, being passed over for promotion, and getting an average performance review? You need to understand something right now. There are new challenges and expectations today that require every project manager to evolve to the next level. If you do not take action now, you will be left behind. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-next-generation-project-manager.html Communication is more than just talking. Communication is also listening. When it comes to project management, communication takes up 90% of a project manager's time. That's right, 90% of your time. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/real-world-project-management-communications.html As soloists, our work is often project-based. Have you ever wondered why some projects go smoothly and others seem plagued with problems? Here are five reasons why projects can fail and how with good project management these problems can be avoided. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-why-projects-fail.html Six Sigma projects are carried out to improve business performance and obtain measurable financial results. Selecting a project is a tedious job for almost all Six Sigma companies. Even though the organisations can spot a wide range of project opportunities, they often find it tough to pack and size the opportunities to create noteworthy projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/optimising-six-sigma-project-selections.html The problem with project management and IT is that all too often, project management is an afterthought on a project. It is often perceived as "project control" or an administrative function that tracks issues and schedule dates based on best guesses. We are lured to "just get it done" and leap into development without adequate planning. With this approach, project management is seen as providing little or no value, which is understandable because it is inherently reactive when applied this way. Inevitably, projects will exceed prescribed time and budget parameters. To be effective, an organisation needs to invest in project management at the very beginning of the project life cycle. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/when-do-i-turn-on-project-management.html Remember the old saying: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail?" The quality of the decisions people make in group settings determines the long-term benefits of those decisions. Unfortunately, potent tools and techniques for making complex decisions and solving tricky problems don't seem to be widely understood. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/3-decision-making-techniques.html How do we know what a project will cost? We really don't, until the project is complete. I sound more like a car mechanic than a project manager, but the truth is, and this may sting just a little, we can't know the final project cost until the project is complete because we can't accurately predict the future. What we can do is create an estimate. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/cost-management.html All projects start with one common theme: a vision of where the project will end. Whether you're building a skyscraper, designing a piece of software, or creating a new website you've got to identify the scope that the project will fulfill. The second thing that all projects have in common is their desire to accomplish one of two business fundamentals: increase revenue or reduce costs. Let's talk about increasing revenue through one of the most prevalent channels to your organisation: your website. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-an-seo-project.html In its simplest form, a Feasibility Study represents a definition of a problem or opportunity to be studied, an analysis of the current mode of operation, a definition of requirements, an evaluation of alternatives, and an agreed upon course of action. As such, the activities for preparing a Feasibility Study are generic in nature and can be applied to any type of project, be it for systems and software development, making an acquisition, or any other project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/elements-of-a-good-feasibility-study.html If you have ever had responsibility for managing a project, regardless of how little or how big, you will understand the many nuances and special considerations that have to be taken into account behind-the-scenes. Project management success stories rarely show the struggles, problems or weaknesses of the project or team to the public. One author, Herbert Lovelace, likened this to the kitchen, which "...tends to be cleaned up before it is shown to guests!" http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-basics.html Risk management is an ongoing process to identify potential problems that could arise when new projects occur within a business. There are various tasks that need to be completed so the overall goals of a project can be fulfilled. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/risk-management-options.html The principle of working together with your team should underpin how you operate. Managing people doesn't just mean acting as overseer, to see that they get their work done satisfactorily. It means involving people throughout the team in a creative role, to ensure that together you are all able to succeed. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-importance-of-working-together-with-your-team.html Consider a company that is about to embark upon a project for the first time. A competent project manager is available, but this firm has never had to handle a complex project before, and now has to set up the most suitable organisation. If asked to advise, the project manager might immediately be faced with the question that often causes much controversy, should the company take all the key people destined to work on the project and place them under his/her direct control. Or, at the other extreme would it be better to have a weak or balanced functional matrix? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-what-type-of-organisation-is-best.html Why do some projects proceed without a hitch, yet others flounder? One reason could be the type and quality of the questions people ask at the very start. This article suggests 17 insightful queries that can expose the uncertain aspects of your project, and thereby help you avoid expensive surprises later. You can thus achieve your project goals with much less guesswork and far fewer problems than you may have experienced in the past. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/17-must-ask-questions-for-planning-successful-projects.html Why is there resistance to change? Are people just naturally perverse, or are there concerns which if understood and correctly dealt with will create the buy-in required to turn resisters into supporters and generate the momentum needed to overcome the gravitational pull of the status quo? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-change-successfully-six-layers-of-resistance.html Inspire. Just the word itself causes us to pause and think. We may remember our own personal heroes like Martin Luther King or Mother Theresa or a teacher or mentor who brought out the best in us and showed us the power of one person. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/10-ways-to-inspire-your-team.html Examine ten projects at random, and you will see some of the worst written objectives. Project objectives are often hard to track, vague, and lacking in depth. In project objectives, people need details to help know where they are in the process, and data helps them make informed decisions. I like to recommend "DISCO" when forming objectives. "DISCO" can be spelled out to point us in the proper direction for creating project objectives and tracking their progress. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/setting-measurable-project-objectives.html When asked if the people, practices and techniques required to lead science research projects are different from those in the general population, the answer is not just YES, but a resounding DUH! The differences are vast, in part because we believe there's an Einstein Factor at work. In other words, in science organisations, academic brilliance is astounding. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/einstein-factor-in-leading-science-based-projects.html You've got a ton of projects. You can't do them all at once because you don't have the people to do them. You know better than to ask people to multi-task on more than one project, no one will get anything done. One tactic is to organise the projects into a portfolio and rank them by priority. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-often-should-you-review-the-project-portfolio.html Having been involved with the systems methodologies field for over 30 years I have been occasionally asked what percentage of time in a project should typically be devoted to a specific phase of work, for example a Phase 1 Feasibility Study, Phase 2 Systems Design, etc. Basically, the reason the person wants to know this is to use it as a means for estimating the remainder of the project. For example, if I were to say Phase 1 represents 10% of the overall project, they would simply multiply the amount of time spent in Phase 1 by ten. This is an unreliable approach for estimating which is why I usually balk at giving out such figures. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/estimating-by-percentages.html The next time you hear the words "bottom-line" when you're sitting in the audience at a company meeting, don't roll your eyes. Instead, think about all the ways that you as a project manager can help to boost that bottom-line. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/let-project-management-boost-the-bottom-line.html Project managers know, or should know, the iron triangle of project management sometimes called the triple constraints of project management because all projects are constrained by these three elements: time, cost, and scope. My nemesis is the angle on the left, time. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-the-project-time.html Studies on project failure are easy to find and make depressing reading. Gartner studies suggest that 75% of all US IT projects are considered to be failures by those responsible for initiating them. But what do they mean by failure? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/most-it-projects-fail-will-yours.html In project management, as with most things in life, quality is planned in, not inspected in. Quality, and the expectations for acceptance, must be defined up front. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/quality-projects-take-time-and-money.html For many firms implementing a new project is not an easy endeavour. This may come with a lot of risk, which is why it is always a good idea to use a new project scorecard. This way, managers have a more accurate idea of what needs to be achieved for a project to become a success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/developing-a-new-project-scorecard.html As a discipline project management developed from different fields of application including construction, engineering, and defence. The 1950s marked the beginning of the modern project management era. Prior to the 1950s, projects were managed on an ad-hoc basis using mostly Gantt charts, or with informal techniques and tools. This article looks at four periods in the development of modern project management. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/evolution-of-project-management-part-2.html Could the Crusades have been launched and the soldiers armed and fed without effective project management? Could the Great Wall have been built with ingenious natural materials and a team of millions over a span of a thousand years without project management? It is possible to say that the concept of project management has been around since the beginning of history. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-project-management-developed.html Pareto analysis is named after Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1897, he presented a formula that showed that income was distributed unevenly, with about 80% of the wealth in the hands of about 20% of the people. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/pareto-charts.html Communication is so important to project success that it has been referred to as the lifeblood of a project by more than one practitioner. Jack Vinson talks about the importance of communication across project interfaces - interfaces being boundaries between different groups within an extended project team. He views interfaces as constraints that limit project success. On reflection, I realised that many project communication issues I've encountered have, in fact, occurred at interfaces. In this post I explore the notion of an interface as an obstacle to project communication. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/obstacles-to-project-communication.html Oooh - project management. Everyone talks about project management but what is it? Isn't project management just organising your little work to get the big work done? Isn't project management really just a series of events to create some thing, by some point, way off in some hazy future? Not really. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-project-management.html Although many construction companies are still using spreadsheets and shoeboxes to manage their projects and track the volumes of details that go into a single job, the use of industry-specific project management software is becoming more prevalent. One reason for this is that more construction software providers are developing integrated project management modules to compete with the leading stand-alone project management systems. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/three-big-benefits-of-construction-project-management-software.html It is difficult if not impossible to solve complicated problems without considering many factors and the cause-and-effect relationships between those factors. Defining and displaying those relationships helps. The first such cause-and-effect diagram was used by Kaoru Ishikawa in 1943 to explain to a group of engineers at the Kawasaki Steel Works how various work factors could be sorted and related. In recognition of this, these diagrams sometimes are called Ishikawa diagrams. They are also called fishbone diagrams, because they look something like fish skeletons. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/cause-and-effect-diagrams.html If you are new to project management don't be bamboozled by all the jargon. Managing a project is just another branch of business management. There are well understood methodologies, tools, guidelines, and procedures to help you on your way to developing the important life-skill of project management. This article sets out the key skills needed to become a competent project manager. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-become-a-project-manager.html A company with poor requirements practices is just asking for over-budget costs and regular failure, according to a new report by IAG Consulting. The report, entitled Business Analysis Benchmark, examined 110 enterprise technology projects at 100 companies to determine just how important project requirements really are. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-requirement-needs-for-success.html Projects fall into one of three main types - industrial, manufacturing and management. This article discusses each type of project, their inherent difficulties and the best approach for tackling them. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-the-3-major-project-types.html Being the proud owner of my newly acquired PMP (Project Management Professional) title, I mentioned the qualification to an associate the other day and was met with an "oooooh, and...?." sort of look. I realised that until about a year ago, my reaction to the mention of PMP, as a professional title, was probably the same, simply because it had not been prominent in my profession. However, recently, and increasingly so, clients are beginning to require project managers to have formal project management qualifications of the caliber of PMP and PRINCE2. PMP is the certification for proficiency and competence in the discipline of Project Management, issued by the Project Management Institute based in the USA. PRINCE2 is the British counterpart. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-institutes-pmp-qualification.html Earned Value Management (EVM) helps project managers to measure project performance. It is a systematic project management process used to find variances in projects based on the comparison of worked performed and work planned. EVM is used on the cost and schedule control and can be very useful in project forecasting. The project baseline is an essential component of EVM and serves as a reference point for all EVM related activities. EVM provides quantitative data for project decision making. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/earned-value-management-explained.html We are all project managers. Some of us manage projects like vacations or reunions, while others run implementations of new software systems, consolidation divisions of companies, launch new products, or build buildings. While the scale changes for different kinds of projects, and complexity changes as more people are affected and involved; at the core there are questions you can answer to help get any project off to a better start. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-seven-questions-for-starting-projects-more-effectively.html Web collaboration technologies enable project management teams to meet virtually with full audio-visual interaction, irrespective of their multiple locations. These solutions work by allowing one team member to securely share their desktop and its content in ad-hoc or scheduled meetings with their colleagues, and allow anyone to access and contribute to the information in real time. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-goes-live-with-virtual-team-collaboration.html Must project managers be technically savvy? This topic always seems to cause quite a stir. While some believe that all you need to manage a project is a PMP certification, others are convinced that you can't successfully manage a software development project unless you truly understand the intricacies of the product. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/must-project-managers-be-technically-savvy.html Creating a comprehensive schedule is one of the more difficult activities that project managers face. Schedule creation is often considered more art than science, and results often support this. What is often more frustrating is that team members often find themselves on one team with a project manager that creates and manages schedules a particular way and on another team with a project manager with a different approach. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/6-steps-to-successful-schedules.html In looking at lessons learned, many times we find things like - should have had a better schedule, or better budgeting, or more communications, spent more time on requirements, etc. All of these things relate to how we do the work, not what we work on. Talking about how things get done or working on how things get done does not, in and of itself, get anything done. This is one of the reasons so many people hate planning - planning is not doing and we all like doing. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/lessons-learned.html The shortage of skilled IT workers is not like global warming. We are certain the worker shortage is real, and we are definitely feeling its effects now. Heavy users of technology tend to focus on how the worker shortage is affecting them most directly; that is, their present inability to fill open technical positions. Perhaps less obvious is the impact the IT worker shortage has on organisations' use of outside vendors and consultants for their projects. Vendors and consultants are also finding it difficult to hire the talent they need, which is limiting their engagement capacity and growth opportunities. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-it-worker-shortage.html Ok, you're about to kick-off a project you're managing. The scope and budget are set, the team knows what they're delivering, and everyone is ready to begin. You're confident that hours have been allocated appropriately, but you also know how easy it is for scope to slip away from you - you need to keep a good handle on this project to ensure the team doesn't squander their hours and push the project over budget. In this article, I'll review some solid tactics you can employ to progressively manage your project budget and maintain total visibility from beginning to end. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-project-scope.html Projects typically need stuff: servers, software, subject matter experts, pizza, etc. And to buy all this stuff, you need to go through procurement processes. That's just a fancy way of saying you need to follow some rules and procedures within your organisation to get the things you need to complete your project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/real-world-project-management-procurement-management.html The project management Scope Triangle or Quality Triangle shows the trade-offs inherent in any project. The triangle illustrates the relationship between three primary forces in a project. Time is the available time to deliver the project, cost represents the amount of money or resources available and quality represents the fit-to-purpose that the project must achieve to be a success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-scope-triangle.html To maximise the contribution of project teams, a number of essentials need to be recognised. The good news is that the essentials to team success aren't expensive, don't require the expenditure of large amounts of capital or expense money, and don't require new bricks and mortar. The further news and biggest challenge is that the only change needed to be made to implement the essentials to project team success is behaviour. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/5-essentials-to-project-team-success.html Any project manager will tell you that the triple constraint is the most important part of managing any kind of project. Namely: scope, time and budget. This week, I have been mulling over the third constraint, budget. Why is it that so many large corporations, take their eye off the budget? For many large companies, over spending is not welcome but it is not a serious misdemeanour either, especially if the over-spend has occurred in-house. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-overspend-do-not-worry-about-it.html A solid risk management process can help to make a project run smoothly. By identifying and addressing a list of project risks as part of a larger project management system, many surprises and roadblocks can be eliminated. Learn more about the definition of a risk as well as the steps that should be a part of your business's risk management process and how you can incorporate such a process into all projects going forward. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/your-risk-management-process-a-practical-and-effective-approach.html As healthcare executives work to increase efficiency and decrease costs in a dynamic healthcare environment, they often undertake projects such as technology implementation, operational and process improvements and facility planning. These projects typically require the formation of collaborative teams comprising hospital leadership and staff as well as project managers and support staff from vendors and outside consulting firms. Executives must be prepared to establish efficient project teams that focus on communication and collaboration to achieve success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/five-steps-to-a-winning-project-team.html Project manager and meditation seem to be two opposite sides of the world. The link between these two becomes quite noticeable when work stress breaks something; either a manager a project or sometimes both. This article first discusses areas of work stress, its affect, and finally, steps to prevent it. Though in the article a project manager is used as an example, work stress can affect any living individual because every person is prone to it without exception. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/mind-meditation-and-the-project-manager.html PRINCE2 is used to manage projects throughout the business world; but what is a project and what constitutes a successful project? This article defines a project, look at the characteristics of an unsuccessful and a successful project, and discuss briefly how PRINCE2 can benefit a business. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/prince2-for-a-successful-project.html Projects typically involve many dynamic aspects, yet they're often constrained by finite conditions. These contradictory forces make it very difficult to determine with pinpoint accuracy the time and effort required. By using a set of proactive estimating techniques to scope, plan, and constrain your project conditions, you can dramatically improve your estimating practices, reduce and mitigate risks, and increase your project success rate. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/12-tips-for-accurate-project-estimating.html Is it worth it for you to put in all of the work? Consider these 10 benefits of earning a certification, and if you see the benefits for your situation, go for it! http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-10-benefits-to-earning-a-certification.html For achieving organisational objectives, more and more businesses are now implementing quality improvement methodologies such as Total Quality Management, Total Quality Control and Six Sigma across all functional departments inside their organisations. All these methodologies do have their benefits, but the one that offers the most benefits is certainly Six Sigma. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/integrating-project-management-into-a-six-sigma-system.html This week, I have had a number of clients ask me if I have project managers available to manage urgent projects. Companies want to expand and move forward but the lack of project managers (PM's) is holding them back. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/good-project-managers-are-hard-to-find.html Managing change requires a leadership team with project management, communication and analytical skills with a high degree of results orientation. The latter is important as when a journey of change is embarked upon, the environment in which the change is being implemented immediately changes. A changing environment often calls for changed tactics to achieve the same result. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/making-change-happen.html Yes, there have always been projects. But never before has it been so important for every person to be able to lead, manage or participate in projects of all sizes. Here are five things you can do today to excel with small team or personal projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/five-ways-to-turn-small-projects-into-professional-success.html PRINCE2 project management methodology is a process-driven project management method, which contrasts with reactive/adaptive methods, developed by Office of Government Commerce (OGC). PRINCE2 defines 45 separate sub-processes and organises these into eight processes as follows... http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/prince2-project-management-explained.html Project recovery is the effort and activities related to addressing troubled projects. In other words, the activities that lead you to recognise that the project is troubled, then bring you to a decision point on whether or not to save that project, then those activities you might undertake to drive that project to completion. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-recovery-efforts-the-struggling-project.html Lately I attended a class on managing requirements with Use Cases. It was aimed at training business analysts and programmers to use Unified Modeling Language (UML) to understand and communicate business requirements. As a project manager I found it both enlightening and encouraging. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/use-case-diagrams-a-pm-view.html The world of work has changed. It used to be that most of us worked as a part of a process, whether on an assembly line, managing interactions with customers, or any one of a thousand other processes. Processes are ongoing, repeatable and never have an ending. If the nature of our work has changed, it is important to think about some of the skills that will help us succeed in this different world. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/nine-ways-to-contribute-to-project-team-success.html This article is dedicated to a better understanding of what a project manager is and what a project manager does. Just as important, we will also be talking about what a project manager isn't. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/legitimising-the-project-manager-role.html When it comes to any technology project, you cannot plan enough, or so we have been led to believe. The experts' advice over the years to plan more and better is what most of us needed to hear, but it may be time to reconsider our conditioned response to project planning. You truly can have too much of a good thing. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/technology-project-planning.html You have a concept, a plan and a team, and now you're about to start your project. But hold on a second: are your objectives coherent, or are you trying to change an organisation in two completely different ways. Are you about to start a Push-Me Pull-You Project? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/push-me-pull-you-projects.html Six Sigma has certainly helped organisations to improve efficiency and quality, but just like any other quality-improvement concept, it is not completely free from limiting factors. For example, the biggest concern with Six Sigma is long project cycle times, which can reduce the overall value of benefits derived from the project or even completely nullify the derived benefits. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/reducing-cycle-time-for-six-sigma-projects.html Suppose that you as a manager have been asked to form a team for the life of a particular project. How should you set about choosing your people and forming them into a well functioning group? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/building-your-project-team.html The principles of project management have been with us for a long time. There has also been a number of project management software packages introduced over the years, beginning with mainframe based commercial packages introduced back in the early 1970's. Some of it has been quite good, others are based on sheer quackery. Some people naively buy such packages in the hopes they will be some sort of panacea to cure all project woes; that projects will start to come in on time and on budget simply because a certain tool was purchased. Inevitably, they are puzzled when projects still go awry even with the latest software. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-requires-a-road-map.html Any good project manager knows the importance of having a good plan. So, if you are preparing for the PMP or CAPM exam, wouldn't it be a great idea to build a plan? As in life, many procrastinate, can't find the time, and myriad other excuses, and do not get where they want to go - to pass the exam. Be a planner, and practice good project management in the process. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/8-point-plan-for-passing-the-pmp-or-capm-exam.html I have observed that successful project leaders have made a paradigm shift in their thinking as compared to the more traditional school of thought I call "thinking in a silo." The silo thinking process waits and holds off the construction management team until the detailed design documents are about to start or, even worse, when the detailed design documents are completed. This is too late in the project's life cycle. At this stage, there is a preliminary estimate and schedule developed. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/controlling-project-costs-through-interactive-planning.html Over the past ten years, the US-based Project Management Institute has grown from around 25,000 members to almost 250,000. This ten-fold increase represents a marked departure from the steady but slow growth of the organisation since its creation in 1969 and is a significant indication of an increased interest in project management. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/interest-in-project-management-is-on-the-rise.html Although it is accepted that extraordinary levels of quality improvement are possible only by a radical change in management philosophy, leading to change in organisational culture, the fact remains that the exercise of undertaking process improvement projects cannot be overlooked for actual change to occur. Projects are the bridge between two parts, comprising of planning and doing. Although apparently similar, project and planning are different in scope. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/dmaic-and-project-planning.html The key to success with PRINCE2 is to remember it is adaptable and can be tailored for all project types regardless of industry and marketplace. Implementing PRINCE2 is more than providing staff with training - it is about establishing project management best practice into the working culture, and achieving organisational benefits through improved project governance. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/implementing-prince2-project-management-methodology.html What is the maximum number of projects a project manager should run concurrently before he/she is overloaded? In a recent edition of PM Network magazine, project managers are bemoaning the number of projects they're being asked to manage, with the average number of concurrent projects at eight. This seems high by anybody's standards, especially as many are large and high profile initiatives. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-multiple-projects-avoiding-project-overload.html Most companies in the innovation game can proudly point to their winners, those new products/services that launched successfully and exceeded expectations for revenue/profit/market share. However, those same companies often express frustration/dissatisfaction with their overall return on innovation investment. Frank Lynn & Associates has worked with many companies that are considered innovators in their industries. This article shares some lessons learned from the firm's experience with those leaders. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/successful-innovation-means-managing-the-losers.html From a textbook perspective, the role of a project manager is quite easy to describe. A project manager is one, who looks into the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to describe, organise, oversee and control the various project processes. Having said that, the roles and responsibilities of a project manager differ from company to company. It is important to understand what role a particular project manager will play in a certain company or organisation. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/role-of-project-managers.html Scott Berkun has some very interesting insights about the distinction between project managers, in the traditional sense and definition of the term, and project trackers, who may have the title of project manager, but essentially only gather actuals and create reports for sponsors and management without actually leading project teams during execution. Scott also provides a handy set of questions that can help one determine exactly what role a project manager is playing on projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-managers-trackers-and-hybrids.html For any organisation or individual that needs to manage and control related projects (portfolio of projects), Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) programme management is a management tool for bringing together people, activities and information to achieve the end goal. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/understanding-msp-programme-management.html Projects must; actively involve all the group members, have excellent communication and access to project information, have a shared desired outcome, have specific dates for completion of tasks, and have all the required tools (when needed) in order to finish. If there is no enthusiasm in the group, your project is dead or doomed to be incredibly dull and tedious. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/step-by-step-beginners-guide-to-project-management.html There are 3 basic types of Project Management Office (PMO) organisations, varying in the degree of control and influence they have on projects within the organisation. You will need to determine which type you need to establish in order to have an effective project office. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/3-different-types-of-project-management-offices.html Several tools exist for managing projects, and have been available for decades. Yet most projects fail and over 90 percent of them are delivered late. This article tells you why. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-over-90-percent-of-all-projects-finish-late.html The successful completion of a big project should bring big benefits for your company - otherwise, why bother? Here is a seven step procedure to manage projects from inception to success. It guarantees the best chance of achieving maximum project benefits. This checklist should also be useful to senior company executives, functional chiefs and project managers alike. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/7-steps-to-project-success.html What does it take to be a really great project manager as opposed to one who muddles through and delivers late and over budget? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-initiate-a-six-sigma-project.html Although one cannot have a project-specific vision right from the very beginning of a Six Sigma initiative, you can develop a comprehensive viewpoint. An all-encompassing viewpoint definitely helps to reach out beyond the scope of the project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-initiate-a-six-sigma-project.html What do you do when you have a great idea? You know how to save your company a ton of money or you've thought of a way to really improve a product. The problem is that you know that you have a great idea, but no-one else does. And you can't convert this idea into reality by yourself. You need resources. You need money. You feel that you need permission. What do you do? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-get-your-project-approved.html Recently I was asked to jump in and rescue a small infrastructure project that was headed for disaster. What did I do? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/rescuing-a-small-project.html It happens all too frequently. Everyone read the Creative Brief and gave their sign-off. The design team was selected because they had the most experience in your industry. The project schedule had plenty of padding built into it. But your web or graphic design project is nowhere close to final and you're a month past the deadline. How does this happen? Following are seven common causes for a design project to get held up, and suggestions to help you meet your deadline. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-keep-a-design-project-moving.html Proper project risk management entails more than simply identification and analysis at the beginning of a project. Risk management must be integrated into the project plan, consistently applied, and clearly communicated throughout the life cycle of the project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-risk-management.html If you're like many people, the holidays tend to bring much more than "Fa la la la la." There's more to do in a short period of time - both at work and at home, and as your to-do list grows, so does your stress level. There's good news! If you think about your skills as a project manager, you actually have a secret stress weapon in your own personal productivity holster. Project management has the power to transform chaos into calm. Here are 10 ways to make the holiday season more joyful and less stressful. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/deck-the-halls-without-climbing-the-walls.html Undertaking any project, whether in-house or in partnership with a professional services firm, entails risk. Project risk is defined as any area of concern that could prevent a project from achieving all of its benefits. Project risk requires careful management and involves identification, assessment, and mitigation. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-risky-business-of-project-management.html To find the answer, we also need to ask a different question, "Where is business going?" The environment in which businesses operate dictates the way in which projects are executed. As project managers, we need to focus on developing business practices that make a real and lasting difference in company performance. Understanding the issues that make up the social, cultural, and informational environment in which the company operates is essential to advancing project management practice. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/where-is-poject-management-going.html If you are new to project management, or want to improve your project management skills, PRINCE2 training courses is for you. PRINCE2 is a project management method that covers the organisation and management of projects. This article discusses the history of PRINCE2, what is involved in PRINCE2 training courses, and how it will benefit both you and your company. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/prince2-training-courses-for-structured-project-management.html Did you know that maintenance accounts for 50% to 80% of the overall product cost? Well, it does! And while most project managers are fairly good at sizing new product features, many are terrible at estimating the effort required to support a product once it becomes generally available. As a result, maintenance projects are inadequately staffed, companies can't respond to customer requests in a timely manner, and products never reach payback. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/forecasting-support-costs.html It's been a tough climb to your project management position. How do you establish your authority and inspire respect? What must be done to influence project results and growth and make your stay long and productive? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/establishing-your-project-management-authority.html As more and more people undertake PRINCE2 training so the myths and misconceptions around it seem to grow. This article looks at five aspects of PRINCE2 to give you the clear, concise information you need if you're considering investing in this valuable training. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/prince2-training-myths-and-misconceptions.html As project portfolio management continues to gain momentum in all sectors of the economy, one question that continues to plague my thoughts is whether PPM represents a significant departure from traditional management techniques, or does it reflect an evolutionary step, a natural addition to traditional project management techniques? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-revolution-or-evolution.html Scope creep is one of the most common reasons projects run over budget and deliver late. Although changes to scope during a project are often done with the best of intentions, scope creep is considered a negative occurrence to be avoided. Defining the boundaries of a project is difficult, but without a clear definition you're heading for problems. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/stop-scope-creep-running-away-with-your-project.html Since the initial introduction of Gantt charts, they have become an industry standard as a key project management tool for showing the phases, tasks and activities that are scheduled as part of a project over time. This video presentation shows a step by step guide to creating a Gantt chart using Microsoft Excel 2007. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/creating-a-gantt-chart-using-excel.html Six Sigma projects can be defined as the process through which companies are able to reduce defects and improve the quality of business processes. However, the success of any Six Sigma project depends on a number of factors such as clearly defined objectives, management support and approval, and proper training of Six Sigma teams associated with the project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/defining-six-sigma-projects.html Bringing projects in on time and on budget is always a challenge. With the competing demands for labour and capital, projects have many internal and external forces that can contribute to a derailment. It takes a strong sense of direction, efficiency and leadership to keep the project on track. The following guidelines are some helpful tips that every project manager can use at one time or another. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/tips-for-project-management-success.html Your project is in trouble. You know it. Your team knows it. But somehow you have been able to keep it from your management. You need a quick fix. But there aren't any. What can be done to get back on track? Since yesterday's ideas didn't help, here are some suggestions that might point you in the right direction. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-really-fix-a-failing-project.html A career in project management requires people skills, and the competence to handle projects efficiently. Many large corporations such as banks and insurance companies have started hiring project managers in order to accomplish their work more effectively. You could have a bright career in project management if you have the ability to initiate work on your own, or delegate it to others. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/careers-in-project-management.html In project management, we strive to find the best approach, the right plan and the right budget. But we are not in a position to make a choice between the "right" way and the "wrong" way. There is an optimal approach, and a million alternatives that are less optimal. Being pessimistic, for each right answer there are a million wrong answers. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/million-wrong-answers.html The successful implementation of any Six Sigma project depends on the ability of Six Sigma professionals such as black belts to break down a large project into smaller manageable sub-projects. This breaking down of mammoth projects into several smaller projects is technically referred to as work-breakdown structure (WBS). http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/creating-a-work-breakdown-structure.html With an increasing focus on the quality of project management within both public and private sector organisations, and an increasingly experienced and qualified pool of project managers to choose from, why do a significant proportion of technology based projects continue to fail? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/roadmap-for-project-success.html Every year, between forty and seventy percent of all corporations and public sector bodies attempt to make strategic change. Overwhelmingly, formal projects are the preferred structure used to organise such effort, regardless of whether the underlying goals are defined in terms of business process reengineering (BPR), technology upgrades, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence or similar concepts. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/persuasion-and-perception.html When the scope, or extent, of a project is improperly or insufficiently defined, confusion, delays, and/or cost overruns - scope creep - typically result. Preventing scope creep and managing scope creep is, therefore, built into successful project management. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-scope-creep.html In a perfect world every project would be "on time and within budget." But reality (especially the proven statistics) tells a very different story. It's not uncommon for projects to fail. Even if the budget and schedule are met, one must ask "did the project deliver the results and quality we expected?" True project success must be evaluated on all three components. Otherwise, a project could be considered a "failure." http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/reasons-why-projects-fail.html If you think project management is only for the big guys, think again. Project management is a powerful business tool for businesses of any size. And as any small business person will tell you, effectiveness and efficiency is never about size. It's about working smart. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/growing-your-small-business-with-project-management.html There are a number of problems with both traditional and RAD methods of controlling custom and or complex IT projects. Many projects would be improved if expert help and more time were spent restructuring the project at the start to help the IT supplier clarify the design choices and the IT client clarify the business requirements. Whilst this does involve an explicit acceptance that money will be spent "investigating" and "researching;" this is actually nothing more than bringing present good practice out into the open. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-waterfalls-and-rapids-of-it-projects.html Many people are frustrated by the mismatch between project management theory and its application on real-life projects. This is due largely to trying to employ approaches designed for predictable projects on today's stretch projects and seeing them come up short. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/right-brain-project-management.html Delays and changes are a part of every project we do. Do we like them? Of course not. Do we have to learn to deal with them? Absolutely. Setting deadlines and scheduling are great ways to keep your project on track. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/keep-your-project-from-creeping-away.html Lately, I've noticed that my projects are getting more complicated and status review meetings are focusing mostly on issues and complaints. In fact, all projects on the dashboard are struggling, which made me ask myself, "What is going wrong in an otherwise well-oiled project management machine?" After reviewing the projects and reflecting on our project management practices of late, I gained some valuable insight into what has changed; we lost focus on six basic, yet critical, practices that have made us successful in the past. This article provides an overview of the six basics that you should go back and focus on whenever you find your projects going off the track. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-are-my-projects-struggling.html In the world of interactive project management the promise of quality has become cliche. Quality is sometimes seen as an incidental to each client delivery, as opposed to an independent, critical phase of the delivery. Because quality control is commonly compressed at the tail end of a project, the overall commitment to the caliber of work produced is inherently compromised. There is, however, one person that can change this negative trend - the project manager. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/a-word-or-two-on-quality.html Human Resource Management is needed everywhere. At home, at the office, and especially when working on a project with a group of people. Using human resources during a project requires getting the most effective use of the people involved with the project. This includes everyone associated with the project: sponsors, customers, partners, and individual contributors. There are three major aspects of project human resource management: organisational planning, staff acquisition, and team development. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/choosing-the-best-team-for-your-project.html The fear of failure ranks with public speaking as one of our biggest fears. The causes of failure are widespread and usually specific to the project at hand, but there are some common threads that run through failing projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-succeed-when-projects-are-failing.html In a study by TBC (Tylee-Birdsall & Co) it was determined using the value mapping procedure that most technical design projects could theoretically be completed in half the time if they were managed perfectly and there was no rework required. If we therefore assume that most projects are 50% efficient we can easily bring this up to 80% or even higher if methods to reduce rework and delays were put in place. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/flexible-project-management.html Although you may be tempted to manage the e-commerce project yourself and to use the consulting firm's developers as extensions of your own staff, try to resist the urge. Your consultant's estimates and timelines are only valid if they are allowed to manage the Internet store project to your specifications. They should provide a project manager, who will likely be your main point of contact, to be responsible for managing resources and timelines on the project. Having someone on the consultant's team also may help to keep the scope of the project under control. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/effective-management-of-e-commerce-projects.html Why the "art" of project scheduling? If it were a science then every project would be delivered on time! This sadly does not seem to be the case. In fact, overruns have become so common that people have lost faith in project deadlines and view them with a great deal of cynicism. In truth, the art of scheduling is based on experience and the more experience you have, the more accurate your schedule will be. However, you can still produce an accurate schedule by following some simple rules. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/art-of-project-scheduling.html If you want your project to succeed, you need to spend a little time managing it. The trouble is, most people see project management as a big overhead. What is the number one thing you need to do to successfully manage your project that doesn't take up much time? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/essential-documents-to-manage-your-projects.html In this article we look at what many project managers and project management professionals refer to as the "foundation" of the project, or at least the foundation of project planning. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Creating a quality WBS will require a substantial amount of energy, time, and people, but in the end is not rocket science. Let's take a look at the purpose, process, and pitfalls of creating a work breakdown structure. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/work-breakdown-structure-purpose-process-pitfalls.html Many things influence project management today. When we look at projects today compared to fifteen or twenty years ago, we notice a big change. In the old traditional setting, the boss might not even ask for any input, but today team involvement is critical. In a team setting, people are encouraged to give ideas and make decisions. This change governs how projects today are run. Gone is the traditional way of running projects where the boss made the decisions, figured the timeframes, and set all objectives. Today, we need more and more team members who will take the necessary leadership and move the project forward. This becomes a struggle with expectations and culture. This becomes even more difficult with organisations that have strong governmental, military, or influential bureaucratic drivers which can complicate the projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/six-ways-to-give-proper-project-leadership.html Most of us are beyond the point where we believe that successful project management can be accomplished by following a formula or merely using the right system. It's not that the tools are unimportant, or that the systems don't work, because they do. However, the systems and the software only make the job easier; they aren't the elements of success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-as-it-ought-to-be.html Project management is a tough role. You often find yourself being pulled between keeping users, subordinates, team members and senior people happy. Given these demands, what do the best project managers do that makes them stand out from the crowd? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/7-habits-of-brilliant-project-managers.html Have you ever had a project that took longer than was expected, cost more, or ended up totally different than the original plan? You're not alone. Most projects sway from the initial idea, but they shouldn't and don't have to. By keeping the proper scope of your project, you will be able to finish on time, on budget, and with fewer headaches. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/getting-your-project-in-sight.html Project management is a necessary service to be provided for all but the smallest project. What is the service that is being provided though? Is it a customer services role or an exercise in paper production? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/minimise-your-project-management-documentation.html Project goals keep the focus on what is most important. However, on some teams these primary goals are lost in their meeting's activities. Make sure each meeting is structured so as to move the project forward. Even if the progress is only inches rather than by huge leaps, the team must be pushing the project forward as quickly, safely, and reasonably as possible. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/five-goals-of-every-project.html Project management is a very specialised and often complex task, and requires more training than the average programmer or executive might expect in very specific organisational tasks. To meet this demand, professional groups such as the Project Management Institute (PMI) were organised to set standards for the training of project managers. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-training.html With the increased attention given to "leadership" in today's business community, one could argue for the simple substitution of the expression project management with project leadership. Rightly so, since in some literature, the role of leader or manager is used interchangeably. Yukl (2006) uses the terms leader, manager and boss interchangeably to indicate people who are in positions in which they are expected to perform the role of leadership. Leadership in this context is used loosely to cover management as well. In order to answer this question adequately, we look at some definitions of leadership and management. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-leader-or-project-manager.html As a manager or leader, chances are that you will be given responsibility for a project at some time in your career. It could be a new computer system implementation, building a new facility, introducing a new piece of equipment or a new product or service. How can you excel in this area? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/6-key-tips-for-running-effective-project-meetings.html Gantt charts are useful tools for analysing, planning and controlling projects. When a complex or multi-task project is under way, Gantt charts assist in monitoring whether the project is on schedule, or not. If not, the Gantt chart allows you to easily identify what actions need to be taken in order to put the project back onto schedule. This article looks at how to create a Gantt chart step by step. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/plan-and-schedule-more-complex-projects.html I recently posted an entry on a risk assessment tool you can download and use. Risk management (or more precisely risk avoidance) is a critical topic, but one that is often dull to read about and therefore neglected. One of the few useful and entertaining books on the subject is "Waltzing with Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects" by Tom Demarco, Timothy Lister, authors of the ever popular "Peopleware". This post provides a useful summary of their top 5 software project risks. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-five-software-project-risks.html Great people, people with sufficient functional skills and domain expertise can trump process, good or bad. Good process, process appropriate for the context, will help those people. But great people can overcome bad process to deliver a good product. Read more from Johanna Rothman at http://www.jrothman.com/weblog/blogger.html http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/people-process-and-predicting-project-success.html Many a well conceived project ends up in the scrap heap because of inadequate expectation setting, or sponsors and key stakeholders that become disinterested or impatient with projects that don't produce deliverables quickly enough. These projects, after creating an initial buzz, appear to enter "a dark twisty tunnel" where the light from the tunnel entrance is no longer seen, the tunnel exit is nowhere in sight, and inadequate milestones exist to indicate forward progress. Avoiding this trap is no trivial matter, as it is more than just defining milestones for your project. Intense planning, extra care with estimating, and segmenting your product solutions into meaningful phases are critical to avoiding this "dreaded tunnel." Here are our recommendations for keeping your project in "the light of day;" avoiding cancellation or a drop in priority due to the "dark twisty turn-filled tunnel syndrome." http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/avoiding-the-dark-twisty-turn-filled-tunnel-syndrome.html One of the most critical aspects of project management leadership is the effective use of communication to facilitate the team process. Effective communication is one of the key enablers of building cohesive teams and is critical to the successful management of key stakeholders. The probability of communication breakdown is intensified in a virtual environment. Since virtual teams are fast becoming the rule rather than the exception, we will all be required to use these skills at some point in our project leadership careers. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/virtual-teaming-soft-skills-relevant-to-projects.html Project scope management is defined as the processes required to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully. If the scope is not managed correctly it may lead to an unsuccessful project. This article deals with problems with scope and tools and techniques useful in capturing the project scope. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/improve-project-success-with-better-scope-management.html On a regular basis we are constantly reminded that an overwhelming majority of projects are completed over budget, past the desired deadline and outside the original scope. Best practice project management reminds us that if we successfully initiate, plan, execute and close out our projects - our metrics will illustrate greater results. However, there's more to project management than just a simple methodology. With this in mind, here are five simple tips for completing this challenging process and improving your project outcomes. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/5-tips-for-successful-projects.html These ten ideas will help improve your projects. Are these ten rules the top ten? You decide. But don't take too long. Share these rules with your team. Your team members are sure to help you carry them out. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/ten-new-rules-for-project-managers.html The Portfolio, Programme and Project Management Maturity Model (P3M3) is a reference guide for structured best practice. It breaks down the broad disciplines of portfolio, programme and project management into a hierarchy of Key Process Areas (KPAs). The hierarchical approach enables organisations to assess their current capability and then plot a roadmap for improvement prioritised by those KPAs which will make the biggest impact on performance. Research demonstrates that ROI from process improvement using a maturity model approach ranges from 2:1 to 27:1. Most articles on portfolio, programme and project management maturity models focus on the 'accreditation' aspects of the model. This article focuses on how to use the model as a framework for process improvement by applying change management techniques from Six Sigma. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/portfolio-programme-and-project-management-maturity-model.html These are interesting times for managing systems development projects. In the old days (as late as the 1980's), whenever a development project was initiated, it was necessary to form a project team at a centralised geographical location in order to expedite communications between project members. But now we live in an age of electronic communications that provides greater flexibility in terms of allowing workers to work just about anywhere. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-virtual-project-teams.html Projects are usually split into phases often along the lines of initiation, control and closure. During each phase a number of documents are produced as part of the project control process. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/methodology.html The Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule is the idea that by doing 20 percent of the work you can generate 80 percent of the benefit of doing the whole job. Or in terms of quality improvement, a large majority of problems are produced by a few key causes. Pareto Analysis enables you to see what 20 percent of cases are causing 80 percent of the problems and where efforts should be focussed to achieve the greatest improvement. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/pareto-analysis-step-by-step.html If you have been doing project management for a while, your confidence has probably gotten an occasional shaking. And the resulting lack of confidence hurts you, but it also hurts your team members who need you to be confident and not self-conscious. You're their leader after all, and they want you to have a strong plan, vision, self-esteem and the confidence to lead. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-confidence.html The different types of project review each have their own characteristics and benefits. For any review however it is important to decide what the overall purpose is, and who should gain what from the output. This step is missed out in many cases and the design of the review is not given sufficient attention. A review should consider both the project management standards and the subject matter of the project. Mistakes in either or both of these can lead to disaster, and it can take considerable skill and knowledge to uncover the truth. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/discover-the-truth-about-your-projects.html We've all heard how outsourcing and augmenting staff with experts is an avenue for meeting business needs where the technology, skills, knowledge, staff or time is not internally available. In theory outsourcing provides the ability to develop products and services that are not easily achieved through the organisation's existing structure, by providing operational and strategic benefit. On the surface the idea seems viable; however, depending on the type of solution and service being outsourced, these relationships may actually increase the demands on the organisation that is outsourcing its work. This article highlights six key questions you should answer before outsourcing, and eight things you should keep in mind while writing the contract. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/empowered-outsourcing.html Over the last few years there has been much emphasis on project management methodologies such as PRINCE2. The introduction and roll out of these structured techniques helps set expectations amongst the wider community about what the project manager will do, and the manner in which communication will take place. However, practitioners should be wary of assuming that the adoption of a particular methodology will be a miracle cure for all project woes. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-methodologies-not-a-silver-bullet.html Much is written in Project Management journals about every conceivable facet of project teams. Topics about their organisation, culture, communication with clients, problem solving skills, etc. are virtually endless. There are lots of rules, tips, and suggestions about what they should do but not as much on how to do it. If you aren't sure how, this article will get you started in the right direction. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/developing-a-high-performance-project-team.html Formal chartering may be the step most frequently overlooked by organisations when beginning projects. Root cause analysis of project failures often identifies poor vision or lack of a charter as a key reason projects go awry or are cancelled. Knowing this, why is developing a good project charter apparently so difficult? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/chartering-projects.html The communication plan like the project plan is a necessary part of the project. However, when thinking of the project manager's role in communication planning, organisations and project teams too often think solely of the documents that establish the frequency, roles, responsibilities, recipients, and channel for which communication will be dispersed during a project. If you don't look beyond the written word and the outline prepared in the early phases of a project, you are setting yourself up for project losses. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/communication-the-lifeblood-of-a-project.html Earned value (EV) is one of the most sophisticated and accurate methods for measuring and controlling project schedules and budgets. Earned value has been used extensively in large projects, especially in government projects. PMI is a strong supporter of the earned value approach because of its ability to accurately monitor the schedule and cost variances for complex projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-implement-earned-value.html Setting goals is easy but achieving them isn't. That's why setting "SMART" goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely is the first step in making your goal a reality. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/8-strategies-for-achieving-smart-goals.html Six Sigma is not just another project management initiative or process improvement programme. Six Sigma is not just a new term for project management nor is it a mere repackaging of old concepts. It is more than that because it is a robust continuous improvement strategy and process that includes cultural and statistical methodologies. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-six-sigma-project-management.html You've engaged a reputable consulting firm to perform a large systems project. You've prepared an RFP, carefully reviewed the responses, scrutinised the consultancy's oral presentation, and ultimately negotiated and signed a well-written statement of work (SOW). Don't stop there. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/demand-a-strong-project-plan.html Follow these steps in any process you adopt or any project you manage and you should find it really will improve your chances at success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-adopt-a-process.html Project management excellence goes beyond producing project charters, detailed schedules and colourful status reports. Today's project managers must acquire the skills necessary to combat a myriad of modern challenges. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-excellence.html Be that much closer to a well managed project by understanding how to document milestones and important tasks, and keep up with your project status. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/developing-the-project-plan.html In many projects, risks are identified and analysed in a random, brainstorming, fashion. This is often fatal to the success of the project, as unexpected risks arise, which have not been assessed or planned for and have to be dealt with on an emergency basis, rather than be prepared for and defended against in a planned, measured, manner. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-risk-management.html The first step in the selection of a good training course for Project Managers is to clearly understand the role of the Project Manager as it is understood today. Project Management is essentially concerned with a one time operation as opposed to an ongoing operation. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-choose-project-management-training-courses.html IT systems are at the heart of modern business and the development of new software applications and maintenance of existing systems are critical to productivity and profitability . Advances in software technology over the last 20 years have allowed progressively more complex business solutions to be created enabling companies to offer their customers exciting new services and products. And yet, software development projects still suffer from similar problems and characteristics, regardless of the technologies being used, that they suffered from more than ten years ago. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/reducing-risk-increasing-probability-of-project-success.html Today, public and private organisations around the world are adopting project management approaches. In the developed countries organisations of all sizes see this as a new discipline that is replacing many traditional management tools and techniques, in order to effectively manage the increasingly complex and fast-changing activities that they operate. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-courses-project-team-members.html It's true to say that the public sector has hardly covered itself in glory with their ability to deliver projects on time and within budget. PROMPTII, PRINCE and subsequently PRINCE2 were all introduced to address the common causes of project failure. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/history-of-prince2.html Getting management's attention and focus on to a project is often a challenge. But they suddenly become experts after the event in what should have been done. This article captures a number of common, "We should have - " as lessons for all managers to learn before their project fails to meet expectations. Prevention is much cheaper than cure. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/lessons-from-the-perfect-science-hindsight.html Rescuing a project is sometimes like starting a new one, you have to assess the extent of the damage, review all aspects of the project, produce a new project plan and get it approved and then bring the project to completion using tight control and monitoring techniques. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/rescuing-projects-in-crisis.html System evaluation checklist for evaluating a project management package it its pristine form. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-system-evaluation-checklist.html Find out how outsourcing can effect your project management success. Learn when outsourcing is a necessity and when it should be avoided. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/outsourcing-for-project-management-professional.html It must be remembered that project management is first and foremost a philosophy of management, not an elaborate set of tools and techniques, nor is it an administrative function. Rather, it is concerned with managing human beings towards the accomplishment of work, it is a "people management" function. As such, project management will only be as effective as the people who use it. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-does-project-management-fail.html Every year thousands of projects are completed over budget, out of scope and past deadline. Still, with each passing year, project managers continue to rush into projects without due diligence in defining the project and creating a plan for project execution. By lightly addressing these critical components they are, in essence, failing their projects before any work has even commenced. So how can project managers efficiently execute a project plan while at the same time meeting the deadlines and expectations of senior management? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-planning-first-line-of-defence.html It is common for organisations to undertake projects, however most do not employ full time Project Managers and it is common to pull together a project team to address a specific need. While most people are not formally skilled in project methodology, taking a role in a project team can be an excellent learning opportunity and also enhance a person's career profile. To that end, this article aims to give an understanding of project management methodology and how it underpins most formally run projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/introduction-project-management.html On the lighter side, the top 10 signs you are a project manager; top 10 things a project manager should never say to a customer and top 10 things you'll never hear from a project manager. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/just-for-a-laugh.html Success of a project when developed by an offshore provider is largely dependant on the way the project is remotely managed from the client's side. Follow these simple tips and give your offshore software project the best chance of success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/offshore-software-project-management.html PRINCE2 is a best practice framework that helps managers deliver projects on time and within budget. It divides projects into clearly defined stages with a start, middle and end. It focuses on the delivery of products rather than carrying out activities. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/what-is-prince2.html People studying for their MBA and aspiring executives concentrate their learning on marketing, strategy, finance, e-commerce and organisational behaviour but rarely show an interest in project management. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-an-undervalued-skill.html The secret to getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/evolution-of-project-management.html What is the best approach for successfully managing IT projects, knowing the theory or applying your experience? This article aims to provide some answers and suggest the best way forward to ensure a successful outcome for your future projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-it-projects-theory-or-practice.html Managing your website development need not cause you sleepless nights providing you learn the secrets of successful project management. Perform the best practices in project management and give your project the best chance of success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-your-website-development.html Project management is at the heart of many areas in business, government and education. Although there are a wide range of recognised methods and qualifications available, there are also some core skills and common-sense techniques that apply to every project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/smart-project-manager.html Programme management is about managing groups of projects to achieve a desired outcome or benefit for an organisation. It is about the structuring and control of those projects so they deliver effectively as a group. http://www.projectsmart.com/introduction.html Government agencies continually strive to produce better results. Distressingly, recent surveys have found that half of all projects exceed budget, are completed past scheduled deadlines and do not meet original business objectives. One solution to this problem that has been slow to gain popularity in the public sector is the implementation of a Project Management Office (PMO). http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/implementing-a-pmo.html A step by step guide to recruiting an IT Project Manager with 70 sample interview questions. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/how-to-recruit-an-it-project-manager.html An introduction to some of the most important best practices which will enable you to plan and manage your projects on time and within budget. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/manage-your-project-on-time-every-time.html Between cost overruns, project delays, unfulfilled expectations and quality control issues, less 30% of IT projects are successful. This is unfortunate because, conducted and delivered well, projects are one of the most powerful ways IT contributes to a company's bottom-line. Use these six rules to get your project back on track today. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/six-rules-for-great-it-project-success.html IT project governance has emerged as one of the most vital corporate responsibilities. With technology at the heart of most businesses, the ability to maintain tight executive and board control over major IT projects throughout their lifecycle has become a deciding factor in determining which businesses thrive and which founder. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-governance-prince2-project-management.html Sadly most significant change fails to meet the expectations and targets of the proposers. The failure is given the catchall name resistance, yet resistance can be principled and creative as well as from vested interest. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/change-management-in-practice.html Often project planning is ignored in favour of getting on with the work. However, many people fail to realise the value of a project plan in saving time, money and many problems. This article looks at the steps for creating a simple plan at the beginning of a project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-planning-step-by-step.html Current performance is the best indicator of future performance and therefore using trend data it is possible to forecast cost or schedule overruns at quite an early stage in a project. The most comprehensive trend analysis technique is the Earned Value method. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/what-is-earned-value.html Project management best practices can easily be applied on small projects to enable you to plan and manage your project successfully. This article looks at how to apply these practices without creating too much paperwork or overhead. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-small-projects.html Whether planning your wedding, developing a new website or building your dream house by the sea you need to employ project management techniques to help you succeed. This article summarises 7 key project management best practices to help you achieve project success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-management-success.html Many of the problems encountered while establishing or maturing a records management programme can be prevented by using sound project management tools and techniques. Project management provides the structure and methodology to enable successful initiation and completion of a records management initiative. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/all-in-the-technique.html According to the Standish Group only about 16 percent of software projects are successful, 53 percent challenged and 31 percent cancelled. Failure has become the IT industry norm. So what can we do about it? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/why-software-projects-fail.html How can you make sure you invest your training money, time and effort wisely and get the long term results you want? Find out with this guide distilled from personal experience and best practice from The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organisations. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/improve-your-leadership-skills.html The thought of "team building" often creates very diverse reactions from project team members. Many people enjoy the potential for increased camaraderie and getting to know more about their peers; others have a very negative reaction. This article looks at an alternative "stealth" approach to team building. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/stealth-team-building.html Project management as a management discipline underpins much economic activity. In industries as diverse as pharmaceuticals, software and aerospace, projects drive business. So what exactly is the contribution of project management to a modern developed economy, like the UK's? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-importance-of-project-management.html Intelligent disobedience requires taking risks, creativity, flexibility and perseverance. Following this approach can have significant benefits in project management terms and can make the difference between good and great project managers. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/difference-between-good-and-great-project-managers.html Today many organisations have decided to move their operations offshore to reduce costs and increase competitiveness. The cost savings offshore are considerable but the headline saving is only a small part of equation. Having spoken to many project managers over the past year it has become clear that the same issues are arising time and time again. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/managing-projects-offshore.html The Project Management Maturity Matrix is a four level matrix designed to help organisations improve the maturity of their project management processes, in terms of an evolutionary path from ad-hoc, disorganised processes to mature, disciplined project management processes. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/four-levels-of-project-success.html Experience and research suggests that a large proportion of IT budgets is spent on unnecessary duplication. What if this money was put to better use elsewhere or used to improve the quality of what is being developed? http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/avoiding-the-duplicate-application-trap.html What qualities are most important for a project leader to be effective? Over the past few years, the people at ESI International, world leaders in Project Management Training, have looked in to what makes an effective project leader. With the unique opportunity to ask some of the most talented project leaders in the world on their Project Leadership courses ESI have managed to collect a running tally on their responses. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/top-10-qualities-project-manager.html A critical part of any software development project is the requirements gathering. If you are unclear about what is going to be delivered, how will you know when you get there? Good user requirements lead to better estimates, improved customer satisfaction, reduced cost and a shorter duration. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/benefits-of-good-user-requirements.html As the saying goes prevention is better than cure, so avoiding some of the biggest problems that projects encounter is a must for all managers. This article considers solutions for two of the main reasons projects fail; inadequate definition and poor planning. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/avoid-failed-projects.html Looking for a new way to get really famous, or infamous, at the office? Try these seven money-back guaranteed ways to really mess up your next project. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/seven-rules-to-guarantee-project-failure.html How often do we hear project managers complaining that they have been set-up to fail. If you're like me then quite often. I am sure that most organisations want their project managers to succeed. If this is true where does the "set-up to fail" idea come from. Could it be that the organisation doesn't have an environment that supports success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/helping-project-teams-succeed.html There is often a misconception that managing an IT project is difficult. Avoiding the common pitfalls of IT project management is not rocket science, it is simply a case of taking some sensible measures. This article identifies 5 killer mistakes of project management and their solutions. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/not-rocket-science.html How well equipped do you feel to carryout an IT development project. Do you always get the best from your team, engage your stakeholders and retain their interest to arrive at a successful conclusion? This article looks at some of the behaviours managers need to exhibit to run successful IT development projects. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/it-development-projects.html Since being re-launched in 1996 PRINCE2 has gone from strength to strength, becoming the UK de-facto standard for project management. This article looks at what's behind its success and where the methodology is heading. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/prince2-goes-from-strength-to-strength.html Project portfolio management organises a series of projects into a single portfolio consisting of reports that capture project goals, objectives, costs, duration, achievements, resources, risks and other critical factors. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/portfolio-management.html You've delivered the project on time, within budget, the customer has signed it off and you've completed your end project report. But are you sure it will deliver the expected benefits. This article looks at the benefits realisation approach. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/benefits-realisation.html It is true that every project is unique; however the underlying causes of project failure are usually restricted to a few specific areas. Once we know what these are we can take steps to increase the likelihood of success. http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/avoiding-project-failure.html