Estimating Effort: Part 3
Preparing Three-Point Range Estimates
The mechanics of preparing three-point range estimates, particularly if you are working with team members who have never used the technique before, are important. And just a reminder: we are still dealing with effort estimates; duration estimates come later.
Working one-on-one. Let’s again start with a simple case where you need an effort [...] Read more »
Tying Performance Metrics to Business Strategy
In the previous article, “Close the Gap between Projects and Strategy”, Johnson discusses drawing the gap closer between projects and strategy. Now we explore an article by Breakthrough Performance Management, which is about tying performance metrics to business strategy.
Executive managers ask for reports that show performance measures. Technical or key performance indicators are often [...] Read more »
Obtaining my CAPM
It is a really tough economy out there today, but through these economic hardships I have seen that Project Managers are coming out on top, because now more than ever it is important to get projects done in a timely and cost effective manner.
I recently obtained my CAPM with the help of Cheetah Learning’s 3 [...] Read more »
Project Management Book Recommendations from Glen Alleman
Glen Alleman over at Herding Cats is someone who I respect, and also works in a similar project environment as I do. I asked Glen for his book recommendations on project management in general, and specific to government contracting and projects in the aerospace/defense arena. Glen responded with a post on his own blog with [...] Read more »
Book Review: Rita Mulcahy’s Hot Topics – Flashcards for passing the PMP and CAPM exams
I am currently studying to pass my PMP exam after the holidays. Since I spend a lot of time on public transportation, I was looking to a way to utilize this time for studying. I was looking for a book format that was conveniently small, while at the same time packed quality information for study.
Rita [...] Read more »
Close the Gap between Projects and Strategy
In the previous article, “A Theoretical Framework for Aligning Project Management with Business Strategy”, Milosevic and Srivannaboon implicate a framework for alignment to achieve a competitive advantage. The next review by Breakthrough Performance Management is an article about tying performance metrics to business strategy. Now we explore the gap between the organizational components and the [...] Read more »
Estimating Effort: Part 2
This is the second in a series of articles on estimating effort. In the first, I focused on definitions since I find that many people use terms such as estimate and budget as synonyms when, in fact, they are very different. Here is a brief recap of the key definitions that I will use:
Estimate. An [...] Read more »
Common Language is the Key to Project Management
Imagine being asked to work on a project, only you don’t speak the language in the country in which it will be conducted. You wouldn’t get very far, and you’d most likely experience a lot of raised eyebrows because all you could do is point and smile. Sharing a common language is not the same [...] Read more »
A Theoretical Framework for Aligning Project Management with Business Strategy
In the previous article, “Moving from Corporate Strategy to Project Strategy”, Morris and Jamison expand on the idea of moving strategy from the corporate level to the project level. The next review analyzes an article authored by Milosevic and Srivannaboon who support this movement of strategy through their framework for alignment between these levels. Read more »
Moving from Corporate Strategy to Project Strategy
As mentioned previously in the introductions of “Linking Corporate Strategy to Project Strategy”, the compilations of articles critiqued and analyzed were selected to invoke a cognitive exploration of the events, conditions, or interrelationships between corporate strategy and project strategy. The first of five literature reviews in this contextual analysis begins with a discussion of the work by Morris and Jamison who expand on the idea of moving strategy from the corporate level to the project level. Comments to the post are greatly appreciated. Read more »
Time Management in Today’s World
So, I think of writing here everyday and remember promising myself that I will write 2 articles a month.
I haven’t. I come back to the site and see articles everywhere and I am lost. Amidst so much information am not sure what I can write about. I am far from being an expert on [...] Read more »
Project management processes: a PMI study helper
I’ve been studying to get my PMP certification this fall. There is a LOT of theory and terminology to learn! I’ve made myself an Excel workbook with all the processes inputs and outputs. I thought I would share it here, it may be helpful to you too. Read more »
Linking Business Strategy to Project Strategy
Business strategy is determined at the corporate level in a “deliberate” (i.e. planned) or “emergent” (i.e. reactive) response to the external business environment. The success of strategy is purely determined on how well it is executed. Projects serve as the vehicle to implement and execute the corporate strategy. Read more »
The Ultimate Question
What SEEMS impossible, but if it WERE possible, would transform your job, your team, your company, heck . . . YOUR LIFE . . . for the better? That is the paradigm-shifting question that I learned many years ago from Joel Barker, a Futurist who made a movie called “The Business of Paradigms” a way back in the last century. This question has the power to unlock possibilities that otherwise would never make it through the cloak of consciousness. Read more »
Crashing
Crashing is a process of expediting project schedule by compressing the total project duration. It is helpful when managers want to avoid incoming bad weather season. However, the downside is that more resources are needed to speed-up a part of a project, even if resources may be withdrawn from one facet of the project and [...] Read more »
