A Century of Scientific Management
Did you know Project Management is having a birthday? Well, sort of a birthday. It was 100 years ago, in 1911, that Frederick W. Taylor published Principles of Scientific Management. Early pioneers of project management, such as Henry Gantt, were followers of Dr. Taylor. Now, for historical accuracy, it should be noted that Dartmouth College [...]
What are some of the main causes behind estimating errors?
What are some of the main causes behind estimating errors? And what specific steps can project managers can take to increase the accuracy of estimations?
It’s Never Been Easier To Stay Close To Your Customers
If you are managing a project to deliver a new product or service, you’ll be making lots of decisions. If you are doing a good job of keeping your stakeholders involved, there will undoubtedly be scrutiny about those decisions. Most companies are filled with smart, highly-trained managers who make it their job to be critical [...]
Contingency Plan – Focusing on Business Value
Last time, I talked about status reporting, which is commonly required but whose power as a multitool is often overlooked. Today I am going to talk about a tool that is frequently overlooked altogether – the contingency management plan. Projects are initiated for a reason – in a business setting, to create something of business [...]
Learn a foreign language in between projects and on the go
Project managers work on various projects, sometimes traveling to various clients’ sites. You juggle many emails, calls, faxes and meetings during the week. When do you find time and how to prepare yourself mentally to learn something new like a foreign language? You’re on the road and you think you can’t learn a foreign language [...]
When are ultimatums appropriate?
Whether we are in the office or in a relationship, there are times when we hit a roadblock or impasse. So, when are ultimatums appropriate?
Energizing Agile
We’ve all heard about Agile, the good and the bad. While to some Agile is relatively new, I started being Agile when I led the Intel Inside(R) Program System in the 1990s, before the Agile Manifesto, XP, Scrum, and the various other approaches were developed. The project taught me the value of minimizing non-value-added deliverables; [...]
Finding time to stay ahead
Today’s busy lifestyle and every-changing technology makes it difficult to stay on top (never mind ahead). If we’re too busy taking care of today’s’ business, how can we find time to prepare for tomorrow? Granted, this opens a can of worms. There are many avenues to this discussion. Today, we’ll try to focus on “how to stay knowledgeable and continue to be considered an expert in my field.”
What’s Retail got to do with Project Management?
While you are shopping the holiday sales, and fighting the crowds, do you ever wonder what it takes to get that merchandise out there? Do you ever wonder how it all happens? The Holiday Season is a Project Is the Retail Holiday Season really a project? Think about it. It has a start and stop [...]
Should I Propose a PMO to Leadership?
Author: Shuna Wu Would I propose a PMO to my company? The answer is Yes! As a program manager, I have been thinking whether to propose a PMO for my company. After I attended the UCSC Extension of Silicon Valley Fall 2010 PMO course instructed by Rosemary Hossenlopp, this thought became clearer and stronger. So [...]
PMO vs Extreme Project Management the “Smackdown”
Strong PMOs enhance the project management process not by saddling it with unnecessary processes and procedures – thinking EPM here – but choosing the right projects, allowing the project manager to effectively execute. The PMO provides assistance and guidance – to achieve one-time success that translates into repeatability, scalability and compliance.
