So what are the lessons learned that project managers can take for a project like this? When I asked Andy this question, he had a list of lessons right at hand, learned through hard, cold, exhausting experience. I had expected …
Project Management at 30 Below — the AGO project cycle, Part 3 Read More »
Once the planning and preparation are complete, getting to an Automatic Geophysical Observatory (AGO) site can seem like a project in itself. Every year Andy, Bob and the rest of the team are required to pass a complete physical, update …
Project Management at 30 Below — the AGO project cycle, Part 2 Read More »
Early December. Andy woke to bright sunshine and a light snowfall… inside his tent. The sun had been up already for about 1,680 hours (that’s 70 days) and it was so dry and cold out (-30 F) that moisture would …
Project Management at 30 Below — the AGO project cycle, Part 1 Read More »
There are two types of project managers in the profession — those who expect tools and methodology to automate their work for them, and those who leverage tools and methodology to help them do their work. Those in the first …
Are you a goal-driver or a crank-turner? Read More »
One of our most basic tools for regaining control of a project that is at risk is the deliverables list or deliverables-based work breakdown structure. Not a task list, but the most basic list of what the project is chartered …
Manage deliverables, not tasks Read More »
I was mountain biking recently along a lovely canyon path when I rounded a curve and suddenly found myself on a tricky bit of trail. I realized (or so my brain told me) that if I didn’t keep moving I …
Focus on the path to the goal, not on the hazards Read More »
Nope. There’s just no way around it. You are going to have to work with people. Even if you are a “technical project manager” buried in the bowels of a data center or focused on software projects or on enterprise …
Stakeholder Management Tools Read More »
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 …
Contingency Plan – Focusing on Business Value Read More »
Status reports (or whatever your particular methodological school calls them) are frequently maligned – c.f. “TPS Reports” in the movie Office Space – and misused. They are the weekly report that you just have to grind out for your project …
The Project Manager’s Multitool: The Status Report Read More »
When you first start out as a professional project manager, you typically have had some informal project management experience as part of your other professional responsibilities. Then you take a serious PM course or two, maybe get a PMP and …
Simple Tools, Advanced Users Read More »
