How to Estimate Time On a Project

As you start to estimate time on a project ask yourself ‘Am I clear on what needs to be delivered’. The analogy here is ‘Start with the end in mind.’ What are you delivering and what tasks must be completed? Then develop a list of tasks, including linking the dependencies. From there it is time … Read moreHow to Estimate Time On a Project

Smarter ways to manage multiple tasks

productivity management

How’s your ability to manage multiple tasks? Here’s an infographic that might support you to manage your time differently when you wear multiple hats. You know the hats I’m talking about – father, partner, boyfriend, son, mate, team player, sports enthusiast.  Each of these ‘roles’ or ‘hats’ has expectations and time requirements attached to them. … Read moreSmarter ways to manage multiple tasks

How Clear is Your Communication?

Have you stopped to consider how clear your communication is? You may not even realise that your communication is not clear. Here are four ways things that you may be doing which are impacting on your message. Change them and you will be clearer. Being clearer leads to less conflict, less stress, and more productivity.

Ways to manage your Project Sponsor

Have you considered how you can strengthen your relationship with your Project Sponsor?  In this episode of Project Management Insights, I offer you ways to go about gaining a valuable understanding of your sponsor and what works for them. It’s all about setting up a win/win situation so that they get what they need, and … Read moreWays to manage your Project Sponsor

The importance of project scope

You might ask “What is the importance of project scope?” We all hear about successful projects being within scope, delivered on time and within the assigned budget and yet a large number of project fail to do these things. The reason?  Not treating project scope as important. The importance of project scope The project scope … Read moreThe importance of project scope

Productivity tools for your project team

Productivity tools should be something you consider using for your team, especially with remote workers. These days with the agility and stability of technology we often end up with Project Team members working across many sites. Having these workers on your team is a great benefit.  It can also feel like it makes your job … Read moreProductivity tools for your project team

Early stakeholder engagement is hard

early stakeholder engagement

Never underestimate the value of early stakeholder engagement to a project.
Not engaging the right stakeholders early enough in your project creates added headaches and problems with project delivery.

In previous posts I have discussed the value of good communication, and of creating what I call ‘the one team‘ mentality, this post ties in with those.

Read moreEarly stakeholder engagement is hard

Is your vendor overspending?

Tracking a project budget is one of the key responsibilities of a Project Manager. Vendor overspending can be one way that a project budget can very quickly end up looking like a train wreck.  Overspending can occur quickly, as work is being carried out on a daily basis. Do you have the monitoring and tracking … Read moreIs your vendor overspending?

Identify and manage issues on your project

The ability to identify and manage issues on a project is a key task for any Project Manager.

Think of issues as tasks or items to be analysed, resolved, or discussed in order to have decisions made about them. Issues are those things that come up during the life of your project, that stop it from running smoothly.

Project Managers often overlook issues, and that is when they find down the track, that their project has gone pear shaped and is way off track.

Read moreIdentify and manage issues on your project

You don’t need a project schedule

A Project schedule is a tracking tool. Project schedules also create a sense of security for your project sponsor and Project Control Board (PCB).  That is their purpose.

They are a simple tracking tool only and of no real value.  Therefore there is no real need to have one.  You can track how things are going making an estimate and report this to your PCB and sponsor.

Read moreYou don’t need a project schedule

How to run effective project meetings

run effective project meetings

When you manage a project you want to run effective project meetings. It is important because… -> wasting project resources time costs money, -> wasted time impacts on your delivery schedule, -> staff working on the project want information they can easily digest, -> effective meetings gain buy-in.   Six tips for running effective meetings #1. Consider … Read moreHow to run effective project meetings

Why byte size information sharing is valuable

byte size information sharing

There are many online tools available these days to support project team collaboration.  With social media such a part of everyone’s life, many people are used to byte size information sharing. People presented with a full load of information, become overwhelmed and don’t read it.  I see the future of team collaboration as providing these … Read moreWhy byte size information sharing is valuable

Why it is of value to pick up the phone

Pick up the phone to talk to your team members rather than send an email. How many times have you sent an email to another team member and not received a reply?  Many I am guessing. And as a Project Manager it is frustrating. Why? Because we have a schedule to adhere to. We need … Read moreWhy it is of value to pick up the phone

How to Rebuild Trust With Your Project Team

Would you know how to rebuild trust with your project team? Trust is a big thing, especially in the relationships that we have with our team.  It is essential to have the type of relationship where people will go the extra mile for you, no matter what.  They trust that you will deliver for them, … Read moreHow to Rebuild Trust With Your Project Team

Why undertake Project Health Checks?

project health checks

Use Prince2’s Project Health Check Question List to undertake a quality Health Check.  It doesn’t discuss the right time to undertake the check though.

In my opinion the right time to undertake a Project Health Check will depend on the size of your project. Another key factor will be the maturity level of your organisations project management processes.

Read moreWhy undertake Project Health Checks?

5 Killer Mistakes Project Managers Make

In his article 5 Killer Mistakes Project Managers Make’ I love the approach that the author Duncan Haughey has taken. In reading the article there were some key things that stood out for me and resonated with my approach to project management. Let me tell you what they are.

Read more5 Killer Mistakes Project Managers Make

Who should write business requirements?

write business requirements

You believe you need a system to solve all of your problems. Vendors should not write the business requirements. Why? They don’t know the business, like the business.

In a perfect world the business would first document their business requirements.  And, in a not so perfect world .. a software vendor will suggest that they develop them for you.  WRONG APPROACH.

Read moreWho should write business requirements?

Project headed for disaster?

project headed for disaster

I want to take a different perspective on one persons perspective of a project headed for disaster.

An article titled ‘7 signs your project is headed for disaster’ specifically discusses ICT project failure and I was interested in the way that it looked at each of the seven signs.

Read moreProject headed for disaster?

4 reasons PMO staff need project management backgrounds

pmo staff

PMO Staff need project management backgrounds. The role of a Project Management Office (PMO) is one of governance and standards.  They are the administrators of how projects are run within a program or portfolio, ensuring that processes and procedures for good project management are followed, and providing an assurance function to check that things are being reported correctly.

It is important that the staff working in the PMO have project management backgrounds. Here’s why…

Read more4 reasons PMO staff need project management backgrounds

What’s the value of business requirements?

value of business requirements

 Never underestimate the value of  documenting business requirements.
All too often I have seen projects which were clearly on the road to failure, even before they formally started.  Why?  Because they didn’t have fully defined and documented business requirements.

Read moreWhat’s the value of business requirements?

Ways to improve team cohesion

improve team cohesion

Have you considered ways to improve team cohesion? As a Project Manager it is all too easy to get caught up in the day to day of running your project.  There are a million and one things that need to be done, you’ve got pressure being put on you from your Senior Executive to deliver, and things may not always be going as well as you would like. Working on assisting the team to work better together is probably the furthest thing from your mind.

Read moreWays to improve team cohesion

Tips for managing political situations

managing political situations

How do you manage political situation that cause problems for your project? Here are my tips for managing political situations to get what you need. Political situations arise when there are people or groups that feel they have power over others.  Do you see people within your team or the broader context of the business … Read moreTips for managing political situations

How to write good Business Case content

Most people don’t understand how to write good business case content.  Over my working life I have seen some documents which really don’t contain any of the information needed in order to make a decision, which is ultimately what a business case is about.  The business has a business decision to make. Make that decision … Read moreHow to write good Business Case content

Ways to bridge generation gaps on your team

run effective project meetings

Do you have perceived generation gaps between workers on your project team?  You know what I mean, younger team members who don’t listen to older more experienced team members.  Older and more experienced team members who won’t listen to the younger and newer team members. Do these ‘differences’ mean that their are issues with the … Read moreWays to bridge generation gaps on your team

The value of exception reporting

In this week’s Project Management Insights episode I talk to you about the value of exception reporting. I explain what it is and why it is valuable. In order to use exception reporting on your project, you need to have the trust of your Executives, your Project Sponsor or Owner and the Project Control Board. When … Read moreThe value of exception reporting

5 ways to manage aggressive team meetings

fix resourcing problems

Here are 5 useful ways to manage aggressive team meetings.  Are there any that you use that aren’t on the list? Aggressive team meetings aren’t fun. Not for you, the PM, nor for the other team members. Here are five ways that you might find useful to change things up: 1. Be Silent An angry … Read more5 ways to manage aggressive team meetings

Why project change management is important

Let’s talk about why project change management is important for your project success.  If you don’t change the behaviour of the people impacted by your project, the ROI or Return On Investment that was laid down in your Business Case won’t be realised. Change management is a key part of successful project delivery.  You can … Read moreWhy project change management is important

Project Management Insights Podcast

The Project Management Insights Podcast is published weekly. It contains tips on different topic areas of interest to you as a Project Manager. In each podcast, I share my own insights and things that have worked well for me. This includes insights and information on improving your people management, and communication skills. I also share … Read moreProject Management Insights Podcast

What Project Manager competencies are you missing?

What Project Manager competencies do you need to be successful as a leader and manager of a project? PMBOK has a list of them that are across competencies related to the ‘soft skills’ of people management. Work with this list to assess any weaknesses you have. ————————————————— Download the FREE SWOT Template to undertake your … Read moreWhat Project Manager competencies are you missing?

Tips for collaborating with your project team

In this week’s Project Management Insights episode I provide you with useful tips for collaborating with your project team.  Do you understand the way that people take in information and how this might impact the way that they collaborate? I explain different learning styles and how you can understand the best way to interact with each individual team … Read moreTips for collaborating with your project team

How good are you at working with people?

working with people

Have you ever considered how good you are at working with people?  Is this something you have considered at all in your role as Project Manager, that it is an important skill that you need to have? ​One of the core skills of being a Project Manager is working with people. That may involve working … Read moreHow good are you at working with people?

Dealing with naysayers at work

Dealing with naysayers at work isn’t always easy.  We all come across them, those people either in our team, or in the broader business who do nothing but throw a wet blanket over everything we say or do.  They are the people who will always tell you why something can’t be done.  They may be Managers, or peers in the business who are not part of your project team.

Read moreDealing with naysayers at work

How to get rid of data issues on your project

If  you are like me you will have been involved in a large number of projects where data is involved and most times there have been issues on the project.  In most IT projects the reason for the project is a better way to manage customer data is needed.

In this article ‘22 tips for better data science‘ I found that I connected with some of the tips more than others.  Here are the ones that jumped out to me:

Read moreHow to get rid of data issues on your project

How to re establish trust the right way

Do you have any idea how to re-establish trust the right way?  Trust is something that you feel in a way that it’s hard to describe.  You know it exists, or you don’t.

You trust one person in your team and not trust a number of others.  This impacts on your ability, as the Project Manager, to get things done, and it costs your project both time and money.

Read moreHow to re establish trust the right way

Resources to help you be a better Project Manager

For this post I  bring you useful resources that I have found today.  Each article has great insights that may help you be a better Project Manager.  They may help you answer some questions or fill a knowledge gap that you have. They are an interesting mix of articles.  I have chosen them because each one provides some useful information that I would like to have had in my early days as a PM.

Read moreResources to help you be a better Project Manager

Project team roles and responsibilities

A project team is like a mini organisation where understanding of roles and responsibilities is important
If you look at a project as a mini organisation and consider that it is very important that the people working in your ‘mini organisation’ fully understand their roles and responsibilities, just as is the case in any organisation or business, then this might help alleviate some issues that you may have with teamwork and delivery output.

Read moreProject team roles and responsibilities

Caught in the BAU versus project trap

Meaning of BAU

When is a project not a project, when it’s a Business As Usual activity.

I was involved in a very interesting situation in the past month whilst working as the Project Manager and Change Manager on an initiative which I would call BAU.  It felt like being caught in the BAU versus project trap, an age old argument that occurs in most organisations.

Read moreCaught in the BAU versus project trap

Good ROI doesn’t mean project success

vendor overspending

I work near some really switched on project finance team members who know their stuff.  In the last couple of days we’ve been having a great on-going discussion about ROI (Return On Investment). Of course it has gone hand in hand with discussions around benefits realisation, but that content is for another blog post. What we’ve decided is that good ROI doesn’t mean project success.

Read moreGood ROI doesn’t mean project success

How to make EDRMS implementation easy

EDRMS

Who ever said an EDRMS implementation needs to be a difficult task?

Here are eight ways to make the task of implementation easier.

Elise Stephens from Fix My Project Chaos and I caught up to talk about ‘How to fall in love with your EDRMS implementation’, or in other words the key tips for a successful EDRMS implementation.

We had fun discussing the similarities between EDRMS implementations and relationships.

The podcast looks at key areas to focus on in your implementation, why you need to focus on them and the value of looking at these key areas.

Read moreHow to make EDRMS implementation easy

4 reasons for team meetings

Why would you hold a team meeting?  What reasons would you have to schedule a team meeting?  Too often I see team meetings held for the sake of holding a meeting when there are more simpler and efficient ways that collaboration and information sharing could occur. Here are 4 reasons for team meetings that I see are valid.

Read more4 reasons for team meetings

Key tips for building an EDRMS business case

edrms business case

There are some great reference sources out there which contain useful information on EDRMS Business Case building. Here are my EDRMS business case key tips.

My previous blog posts on business case writing generally have covered some of these areas. The key is to understand those things that are more important and relevant for your EDRMS/ECMs implementation.

Read moreKey tips for building an EDRMS business case

Change management is of no value

Change management is of no value – is that true? I know as a PM that you see change managers as a burden on your project.  I know that you see that they are additional cost and resourcing that you don’t really need on your project. You don’t really get what this ‘change management’ is really about which is why you don’t see the value in it.

Read moreChange management is of no value

5 people who shouldn’t write a business case

shouldn't write a business case

Ever been in a meeting and watched someone have a profound realisation? His realisation was that the reason his sectors projects fail is because the wrong people are writing the business cases.  I could easily identify from my own experience of five people who shouldn’t write a business case. This also got me thinking about this very issue of who is the best person to write the business case?

Read more5 people who shouldn’t write a business case

Project Management process maturity and contract negotiation – Part 4

This is Part 4 in a series of posts looking at how project maturity impacts on the contract negotiation process.
In this final of thet series we are going to look at Quadrant 4 in the diagram, where the project maturity process levels are high and it aids the contract negotiation process.

Read moreProject Management process maturity and contract negotiation – Part 4

How to present a business case

The final step in business case development is how to present a business case so that it gains maximum buy in. Once you have prepared your business case and are confident that it presents the full case for why a change needs to be made, then it’s time to consider how you are going to present it to your Business Owner or key stakeholders.

Read moreHow to present a business case

Project Management process maturity and contract negotiation – Part 3

In this third part of a four part series we are going to look at Quadrant 3  in the diagram, where the project management process maturity levels are low and it aids the contract negotiation process.

Read moreProject Management process maturity and contract negotiation – Part 3

What comes first business case or business requirements?

what comes first business case or business requirements

‘What comes first business case or business requirements?’ I’ve heard this question asked a number of times.  My personal view is that it is very important to develop business requirements before or as part of your business case development.

Read moreWhat comes first business case or business requirements?

Project management process maturity and contract negotiation – Part 2

In this second part of a four part series we are going to look at Quadrant 2  in the diagram, where the project maturity process level s are high and it detracts from the contract negotiation process.

Read moreProject management process maturity and contract negotiation – Part 2

How do you collaborate?

The ability to collaborate as a project team is the key to it’s success.  As the Project Manager you need to ensure that collaboration across the team is easy and working.

For the past four months I have been using a collaboration tool for my own projects.  There are a number of these tools available in the market, each with similar and different features.

I’m going to talk about my own personal experiences of using Xtrant so that you gain some idea of the value that I see in using this sort of tool.

Read moreHow do you collaborate?

Project failure is relative to PM skill level

I want to suggest that project failure is relative to PM skill level.  Of the research that I have looked at project failure can generally be categorised under a set of key areas.  If you identify with any of these triggers then I suggest to strongly consider your skill levels.

Read moreProject failure is relative to PM skill level

Project management process maturity and contract negotiation – Part 1

In this first part of a four part series I will investigate and discuss how project management process maturity within an organisation might impact on contract negotiations.

In each part I discuss one of the four quadrants in the diagram above including both perspectives from the procuring organisation as well as the supplier in the negotiation process, as there are different impacts depending on which perspective you are.

Read moreProject management process maturity and contract negotiation – Part 1

Project team culture is important

I’ve spoken before about what I see as the really strong value in creating what I call a ‘One Project Team culture‘  and a discussion that I had today reinforced my views on this principle.

Many projects fail, because there is too much tension around ‘who owns the system’ (business or IT); ‘they don’t deliver’ (and ‘they’ usually refers to the IT team/department; ‘you wanted too much’ (which is IT talking about the business); ‘you didn’t let us do our job’ (again IT talking about the business); ‘we know what’s best’ (IT talking TO the business).

Read moreProject team culture is important

5 tips for writing detailed business requirements

Detailed business requirements are as valuable as a well written business case. I say this because detailed business requirements provide clarity, just as a well written business case does.

What therefore does it take to create detailed business requirements?  Here are my top five tips:

Read more5 tips for writing detailed business requirements

Risk mitigation using ‘Lessons Learned’

Whilst, as a Project Manager I prefer to manage a project my own way there is value in visiting the ‘Lessons Learned’ logs of previous projects run within the organisation to see where common problems or risk areas lie.

In the context of IT projects there will be very valuable lessons that will have been learned from other IT projects that have already been carried out by the organisation in areas such as data migration or system configuration, or business engagement, for example..  If this is the case, then doesn’t it make logical sense to tap into that wealth of knowledge and use it to better set up and manage your project?

Read moreRisk mitigation using ‘Lessons Learned’

Negotiating from No to Yes

Here’s a different form of negotiating.. Don’t accept ‘No’ as an answer, when you need something for your project. Why do I say that?

As a Project Manager I am being paid to ensure that I deliver this project for my Business Owner, to the best of my ability, on time, on budget and within scope.  And yes, those are the standard project success factors.  We can talk about other just as important things to measure success by, but I will leave that for another post.

Read moreNegotiating from No to Yes

What does it take to manage a project?

In my opinion most people don’t really understand what ‘managing’ a project is actually about.

I have seen many project managers who do everything other than actually ‘manage’ what needs to be done in order to deliver the project.  And in seeing this occur I also see that the project is usually flailing, falling behind, and there are problems delivering.

So, what does it actually mean to ‘manage’ when we talk in terms of a project.

Read moreWhat does it take to manage a project?

Senior Management involvement is a must

Never underestimate the value of Senior Management involvement in your project!

Your ability to gain buy-in and support from across an organisation is really dependent on having one or more Senior Managers along for the ride.  Your project needs to be something that these managers talk about, whenever the opportunity arises.

Read moreSenior Management involvement is a must

Are you a Project Manager managing change?

Do you see yourself as a ‘Project Manager’ or a ‘Change Manager’ or a ‘Project Manager managing change’?

It is interesting considering the context of these titles.  Project Managers are seen as people who manage projects, whilst Change Managers are seen as people who manage change related to projects, or as the outcome of projects.  But on a number of projects there is only the Project Manager managing change.

Read moreAre you a Project Manager managing change?

Communicate your project plan

Project managers are taught that if they spend hours developing a good clear and structured project plan, then their project has a better chance of success. Whilst the plan might ‘contribute’ to the success of a project by ensuring that tasks are defined, or at least listed, and there is some method for how the project is going to be run, the plan is only as good as your communication of it.

Read moreCommunicate your project plan

Successful handover from SIT to UAT

When you are the Project Manager on a software development project it is important that you understand the importance of the different testing requirements that are needed.  I use the word needed, as I consider testing a very important part of any software development project, and something that doesn’t get enough time or effort allocated to it, in most instances.

This article will explore the difference between System Integration Testing (SIT) and User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and how you can best move from one testing phase to the other.

Read moreSuccessful handover from SIT to UAT

Project Managers dont get support

A Project Manager should be able to handle anything and everything that happens in line with their role of managing the delivery of a project. They shouldn’t need support or help, as they have the skills and resources to enable them to do the job.

What do you think of my statement?

Read moreProject Managers dont get support

8 key differences in an Agile project business case

agile project business case

There are eight key differences that I’ve picked up in writing a business case for an Agile project.  This post discusses those 8 differences and what you need to consider when creating your business case using this method.

Read more8 key differences in an Agile project business case

Project Managers are people too, aren’t they?

I noticed earlier this week in a team meeting that it is all too easy to place the role or hat of Project Manager (PM) on someone and that seemed to automatically change the way that they are seen in the broader context by the people around them.

Do PMs need negotiation skills?

Do you think Project Managers (PMs) need negotiation skills?

I do.  I have seen a lot of occasions where they would have come in handy.  Times when the PM is getting push back from streams  or stream leads about delivery items.  In this instance it would be valuable for the PM to have some more formal negotiation skills under his/her belt.

Read moreDo PMs need negotiation skills?

Agile vs Waterfall when to use

There is debate from both camps of the project delivery method space – Agile vs waterfall when to use.

In my earlier post ‘Agile vs Waterfall methods‘ I described my understanding of both the Agile and Waterfall methods and which one I preferred.

I’ve had an email from ‘Adam’ who works in mining with some great comments that I would like to discuss.

Read moreAgile vs Waterfall when to use

How to confuse people in the business

If you are doing all of the things that point to project chaos then you are likely to have a clear understanding of how to confuse people in the business.

In my recent post titled ‘No collaboration = Project chaos‘ I spoke about the sorts of things that I see that cause chaos in a project.  What I didn’t discuss in that post was the impact on the business stakeholders when this is occurring.

Read moreHow to confuse people in the business

How to run a Post Implementation Review (PIR)

Have you ever run a Post Implementation Review (PIR) or seen one run?
I like to run PIR’s in an informal way.  Why? Because I find that I get more out of people than when I have very formal processes and protocols about the way that they are run.

Read moreHow to run a Post Implementation Review (PIR)

Is your Executive Sponsor hiding?

Most projects will have an Executive Sponsor. In Prince 2 terms I am referring to the ‘Executive’ and in PMBOK language this is the ‘Sponsor’.  This is the person who (a) has the funds to pay for the project to go ahead and (b) is the person who will or should champion your project.

This person is very important to your project.  They are the person that should be providing the face of your project at a senior level, making key decisions along the way based on their business knowledge and be very supportive of the team in such a way as to help the team sustain momentum along the delivery journey.

Read moreIs your Executive Sponsor hiding?

Handover to BAU – what does that mean?

Do you know what it means to handover to BAU?  BAU equals ‘Business As Usual’ by the way.

I find that IT teams usually don’t, because they are to caught up in the doing associated with the project.  They have been so focused on delivery of all of the pieces for the system change, that they don’t think about what it means to handover or transition to BAU.

Read moreHandover to BAU – what does that mean?

Importance of upskilling staff providing support

The importance of upskilling staff providing support to the business cannot be under estimated.

It is all too easy to assume that the staff providing support for a product or system have all of the knowledge or expertise that they need to be able to do that. Often they don’t.

Read moreImportance of upskilling staff providing support

6 reasons to hold an all team meeting

Today I had the privilege of participating in an all team meeting.

This meeting is the first one that has been held for this project.  The project has been running for seven months now and at times there have been difficulties with it.  The project team operate in two sites, in different cities, so communication is not easy.   Whilst project team meetings are held over Video Conference (VC) there isn’t the same ‘one team’ feel as I have had in other project teams, understandably.

Read more6 reasons to hold an all team meeting

The 5 hidden values of collaboration

I see that people find it difficult to consider “collaboration” an important part of good project management, and yet for me it is one of the key elements of real team work.  And the best possible way to get the project outcome that you want.

I decided to look at the hidden value of collaboration to try and express why it is so important.

Read moreThe 5 hidden values of collaboration

6 tips to avoid burnout of IT project teams

One key task for a project manager is to manager their resources so as to avoid burnout.

Burnout on projects is quite common these days with so many of them running over time and budget.

This has it’s toll on your project team members in ways that you really don’t want.  Here are some tips on how to avoid this burnout (and it might just mean that your project is delivered on time too)

Read more6 tips to avoid burnout of IT project teams

4 hidden costs of poor project planning

project schedule

There are some basic things that people will see when they consider the cost of poor project planning.  I would like to suggest that there are more ‘hidden’ costs that aren’t always visible.  In this post I will talk about four hidden costs of poor project planning and once identified you might be able to stop them from occurring with better planning.

Read more4 hidden costs of poor project planning

Why a business case gets turned down

Today I want to look at some of the reasons why a business case gets turned down. Here are the top 5 reasons that I have seen over my time recently, reviewing business cases.  What can you learn from this when you next need to write a business case?

Read moreWhy a business case gets turned down

Trust among team members is important

Why would trust among team members be important in a project team even more so than in any normal circumstance?  Or perhaps I should say, why it is needed even more so than ever? Because in a project team each and every individual contributing to the outcome of the project is reliant on each and every other person for something to ensure successful delivery.  It is therefore very important that there is a strong level of trust among the team.

Read moreTrust among team members is important

Agile vs Waterfall methods

I’ve had an open mind about the Agile method of project delivery until recently. This post is going to compare my views on Agile vs Waterfall project delivery methods.

Previously I’ve been involved as a Project Manager working with both methods and my preferred method was Waterfall.

At that time though I really didn’t have enough experience with the use of Agile to make a really informed decision as to why I felt one was better than the other, but having recently worked on several more Agile projects I can now say that I feel I have a better understanding of which I prefer and why.  So, here are my thoughts.

Read moreAgile vs Waterfall methods

Rigour around project plan tracking – it’s a must

I cannot stress enough the importance of rigour around project plan tracking.

When you start a project you need to understand what it is that you are aiming to achieve at the end of your project.  This will of course take the form of detailed information in a Project Initiation Document or Business Case, sometimes both.

You should also have detailed business requirements (for IT based projects) which detail exactly what the system will/should do when you’re finished.  These will be used and validated during each of the project delivery phases, and especially in testing.

Read moreRigour around project plan tracking – it’s a must

Prince2 vs Lean Six Sigma, Kanban vs PMBOK – the difference in methodologies

When you first come across Project Management as a methodology it is not always easy to understand the difference between this (as a methodology) and the number of other methodologies out there.  People often confuse what are process improvement methods with project management frameworks.

Read morePrince2 vs Lean Six Sigma, Kanban vs PMBOK – the difference in methodologies

How to gather business requirements

Do you understand how to gather business requirements or the need to?

A Business Requirements Specification (BRS) or Business Requirements Document (BRD) is a key document that should form part of any project document suite.  It is actually one of the first documents that should be produced.  Possibly after the Business Case to get the project started, but certainly before any work actually starts on the project.

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Why to stop a project before it gets started?

Why would you stop a project before it even got started?  Because the business benefits don’t stack up.

There has to be a good reason why time, money and resources are spent on changing something.  That good reason is the business benefits that are going to be gained from making the change.

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What is change management?

What is change management?

Change management is one of those terms that most people know very little about.  Some people would tell you there is some framework, others would be able to tell you about the steps involved from the famous text by Kotter on managing change, but my instinct from working with project managers and the business alike is that they don’t really understand it.

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The value of capturing Lessons Learnt

Lessons Learnt tracking ..  sounds like more work right?

There is hidden value in creating a Lessons Learnt Log for you as a Project Manager, if you look at it from a different perspective.

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The value of using an Issues Register on a project

manage issues

It would be crazy to say that a project can run without any issues being identified.  It is just not possible!

Issues come in many forms and can be items that require a small amount of attention to fix, or erupt from when they are first identified into much larger problems and even create a risk for your project.  For this reason alone it is very important that an Issue or Issues Register is set up and used.

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The PCB is the decision making body on a project

If a Project Control Board (PCB) is set up with the right people on it, and by this I mean, those with the level of decision making authority to be able to make decisions at a level to directly influence a project, then the project will be in the best state for it to deliver successfully.

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Change management is a project responsibility

Change management is a project responsibility because every project involves some form of change.  I haven’t yet found a project that doesn’t.

Most projects are done to address something, be it a system or process, that isn’t working and needs to be changed. Projects either (a) look at the change from the system or process perspective and forget about the people aspect of it, or (b) they forget about the change aspect altogether and think that by making the change to the system or process and dropping it back into the business that it will work fine.

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The value of impromptu chats with your Project Board members

There is real value in having impromptu chats with your Project Board members and this post explores why. Consider your Project Control Board (PCB) members as valuable to your project success.  If you do that and engage with them in the best way you will gain strong support and be more likely to success with your delivery.

In today’s work space it seems that everyone is busy.  There always seems to be more to do and not enough time to do it in.  People will book meetings, usually for the standard hour, even though at times a much more productive meeting could be held in 15 minutes. This means that you can sometimes not be able to catch up with the key decision makers on your project when you need to.

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How to capture detailed business requirements

capture business requirements

For successful project delivery you need to capture detailed business requirements.  Here’s a How To guide for doing that.

Remember to start with high level requirements. You’ll find information on that process in the post on “How to capture business requirements“ . Capturing these requirements get you thinking about your business process and how it works, or doesn’t work.

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