What is a Risk?

By Frank Mangini

Project management and risk management are two sides of the same coin. Projects cannot exist without risk. Project managers must understand risks and how to describe risk before they can hope to manage risks. We should all agree what a risk is, how to state a risk and how a risk statement is different from a problem statement.

For projects, a risk is an uncertain event or condition that could have a negative effect (threat) or a positive effect (opportunity) on the project objectives.

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The rise (and fall?) of the PMO

Michael Hammer, in his initial article on re-engineering, evaluated the historic patterns of organizing work. His assertion was that in the postwar period, entry-level people with basic skills were easy to come by, but experienced professionals were not. As a result, businesses pulled apart work into small, repeatable tasks, and focused information at the top of the organization, where people knew what to do with it. (more…)

Whiteboarding for Virtual Teams

One of the most useful things I have learned leading teams is that pictures are a very effective way to help people understand complex ideas. I am sure you have all heard that there are auditory learners and visual learners, but in my experience, a good visual is much better than audio for most people. I have been in countless meetings where a discussion goes on and on with no apparent conclusion or convergence toward an answer until someone goes up to the board and draws a picture of the ‘situation’. The dynamics in the meeting immediately transform. Understanding increases, more people are engaged to help draw the picture, and things get moving again. People need a way to form a mental image of complex problems, to connect abstract ideas with things they already understand. This is why drawing even a simple flow or relationship diagram can help people understand the most difficult concepts. (more…)

Do You Align People or Let Them Align?

By Andrew Meyer

People are inherently self organizing. Who did you make friends with when you were a kid on the block? When you went to school, there were many kids in school, but there were a couple who became your friends. Why?

Are you organizing your teams so the become more efficient and effective, like the swimmer on the US relay team? Or are you hampering the very creativity needed for great advancement? Not sure? Think about how insurance or stock exchanges came about. (more…)

4. The Credit Crisis: For Project Managers - What should you Expect?

Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks. - Warren Buffett

There is no point in denying that change is in the air.  You can prepare yourself so that you’re in the best position where you are, but that is a short term outlook.  You also want to think about the business where you are and the environment it operates in.  How will that business and environment be effected by a recession?  Those are the long term questions to ask.

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3. The Credit Crisis: For Project Managers - What Does It Mean?

By Andrew Meyer

“Times change, we change with them.” - Latin Proverb

In 1983, US companies spent $32 billion on IT, which accounted for 9.8% of their total investment in fixed assets that year.  By 2006, spending had risen almost tenfold, to $294 billion, and IT accounted for 21.1% of new fixed assets purchased that year in the US, according to Harvard’s Andrew McAfee.

Much of this growth has come from projects and been led by project managers.  The credit crisis marks a change.  If you want to lead and benefit, think about some of the changes likely to come and how to position yourself to take advantage of them.
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2. The Credit Crisis: Why is it Important? A Little History

By Andrew Meyer
History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. History is who we are and why we are the way we are. - David C. McCullough
This is the part 2 of 4 looking at the credit crisis: (more…)