There you are, about to lead another project kick off meeting. You know what you and your team are supposed to accomplish, but do you know why? If you are not certain do not feel badly, because you are not alone. Too often we are assigned projects to lead without being given any background as […]
As a new project manager it was glaringly obvious to me that my success was largely dependent upon customer satisfaction. I knew that I needed strong collaborative relationships with my customers. I needed them to respect me and trust me to get the job done. I needed them to help keep the project priority high […]
This article by Jennifer Morris is a great reminder on some excellent project management communications basics. Be sure to watch this pmStudent mini-lesson for Quick Communication Tips too! There is always room for improvement in project management and new ways to get ahead in the game. Whether you are new to the world of project […]
Do you know what the biggest pain in project management is? I’ll tell you what it is. Building something nobody wants. I’ve learned the hard way over the years that it’s easy to forget the basics when you start getting immersed in all the flashy concepts, funky language, and fancy tools out there for planning […]
Hello Josh, I have been following your site and information for some time now and have always found it to be helpful and insightful. I have a question that to be honest I never really thought about until yesterday. The topic is on the project management best practice of time buffering. It is common and […]
A discussion on management plans started by my friend on Govloop recently about management plans got me going. My thinking on the topic of documentation in general has matured over the last few years. I don’t think I know everything though, far from it. What Makes Project Documentation Suck? There are several common problems people […]
Recently my team and I tried out a modified hybrid method of doing project estimation. I’d like to share it with you today. This method is essentially a combination with the Delphi method of estimation that I have used before, and a agile method of estimation. Check out my friend Travis’ post on Cost Estimation […]
Have you ever had a great idea, a way to improve a product, service, or process? How receptive was your project environment to taking it seriously? Of course not every idea is equally feasible or even productive. Sometimes there are very good reasons to resist innovation. More often in my opinion, new ideas get squashed […]
Guest post by Mike Clayton Why Every Project Manager needs to Understand Risk Project management is a discipline born from necessity.? If projects were not so challenging, we wouldn?t need a separate toolkit and processes.? But we do need them, because when we try to create change under constraints like schedule, performance and budget, we […]
Hi Josh, I am reviewing the PM PrepCast for the second time. I am scheduled to take the exam [soon]. Right now I have an issue discerning the difference between Rolling Wave Planning and Progressive Elaboration. Not that this issue by itself is pass/fail but every question answered correctly helps. Can you provide a some […]