Search found 495 matches

by dhaughey
Thu 21 Oct 2010 1:18 pm
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: How to start a career in project management?
Replies: 11
Views: 60825

Re: How to start a career in project management?

Many of us have been there. From experience, I would recommend signing up with a recruitment agency, specialising in an industry sector that interests you. Enquire along the lines of working as a project team member to gain experience from the project managers you work with. If you demonstrate drive...
by dhaughey
Wed 20 Oct 2010 10:21 pm
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: PMP Certification Exam Questions
Replies: 1
Views: 7201

Re: PMP Certification Exam Questions

Three tips I would give for passing the PMP exam are: Learn the Earned Value formulas and how to calculate cost variance, schedule variance etc. Easy marks are available for knowing simple maths. http://bit.ly/4qOQGd Understand the PMI's stance on Ethics and Professional Conduct. Remember you're an...
by dhaughey
Fri 08 Oct 2010 6:17 pm
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: Three-Point Estimating - Useful or Not?
Replies: 10
Views: 29725

Re: Three-Point Estimating - Useful or Not?

With most developers I find I get three types of estimate: Padded: Where they give themselves extra time by increasing the estimated duration to ensure they can complete the task on time. Accurate: Where they give an honest opinion of how long they think the task will take. Squeezed: Where they are ...
by dhaughey
Mon 04 Oct 2010 7:47 pm
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: Three-Point Estimating - Useful or Not?
Replies: 10
Views: 29725

Three-Point Estimating - Useful or Not?

To date, I've relied on task decomposition and brainstorming for my project estimates. This has proved fairly reliable when done in a team meeting. Recently, a colleague suggested I use three-point estimating and gave me this formula: Best Estimate + 4 x Most Likely Estimate + Worst Case Estimate di...
by dhaughey
Fri 01 Oct 2010 8:24 pm
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: Are There Too Many Aliens in Your Project Portfolio?
Replies: 1
Views: 7341

Are There Too Many Aliens in Your Project Portfolio?

Balancing a project portfolio is a tricky business, and getting it wrong can lead to running a high-risk strategy. Here's a simple technique to help grade your projects and ensure a properly balanced portfolio. Classify projects based on the frequency with which your organisation carries out differe...
by dhaughey
Fri 01 Oct 2010 8:41 am
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Software Development
Replies: 0
Views: 9677

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Software Development

In his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," Stephen Covey identifies seven key principles that will lead to effective behaviour, whether at work or at home. In the context of software development projects these habits mean: Be Proactive: Identify and reduce risks. Actively i...
by dhaughey
Thu 23 Sep 2010 10:36 pm
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: 23 Questions to Ask When Recruiting a Project Manager
Replies: 5
Views: 17897

8 Questions That Examine Leadership Potential

Rather than the exam style questions, you could explore Leadership Potential with some questions like these: How do you handle non-productive team members? How do you motivate team members who are burned out, or bored? How do you handle team members who come to you with their personal problems? What...
by dhaughey
Fri 10 Sep 2010 4:10 pm
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: Project Management Success Ratios
Replies: 2
Views: 7758

Re: Project Management Success Ratios

The particular exam you are talking about can be seen as the first rung on the ladder. You cannot pass the exam after 5 days of study and declare yourself a fully fledged project manager. It’s a good first step and will give you a framework in which to work. From there you must gain experience and w...
by dhaughey
Sun 05 Sep 2010 3:43 pm
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: Running effective meetings, easy right? Maybe not!
Replies: 1
Views: 6103

Running effective meetings, easy right? Maybe not!

Here's a collection of articles packed with useful tips and advice for running effective meetings: Leading Meetings with Multicultural Audiences With the increase in virtual teams that span the globe, multicultural audiences are becoming more common. When the meeting includes participants from diffe...
by dhaughey
Mon 30 Aug 2010 9:14 am
Forum: General Project Management
Topic: The Five Stages of Innovation
Replies: 2
Views: 8680

Re: The Five Stages of Innovation Expanded

Denial You deny that the new innovation is worthwhile. You say things like ‘That will never scale’ or ‘That was done back in the 90s and no one used it.’ Whenever anyone mentions the new innovation, you present a laundry list of reasons why it won’t work. Anger You actively unsubscribe from blogs w...