Popular Mechanics regularly publishes brain-teasers. One of those captured my fancy the other day, a classic about a fox, a hen and a bag of corn. I experienced a Eureka moment while figuring it out. This riddle provides a vital lesson on one of the most important aspects of organizing project work: a lesson in…
It’s time again to update the boss on that project. Here’s how to stand out as a star! First, include three main sections: A Look Back, a Look Forward and Action Needed. The look back should be brief and tie to the look forward section of the last report. Spend most of your energy on…
The Problem By far, the most common project management “methodology” I come across is the “pick a date and we’ll figure it out” approach. Practitioners of this approach create lists of tasks and pin those tasks to dates. This is a project “worst practice.” This is a dartboard approach. When relatively simple practices can dramatically…
Ever hear the adage “you get what you measure?” If that’s the case, what SHOULD you measure when it comes to your projects? Seize control of your project by using these two project metrics: Days (or %) of project completed, since the last update. Days (or %) lost (or gained) due to uncertainty (surprises). Here’s…
Try out this adage: “A project worth doing is worth doing faster.” Not sure what it takes to make something an “adage” but given the wisdom of years, I fully buy in to those words. I have yet to be part of a project where anyone said “let’s slow this down.” IT projects are always…
A poorly run meeting sucks the energy from the room. Too many meetings are unfocused, meandering and inefficient. With the following tips, meetings can move work forward instead of wasting time. Here’s how to plan your meetings for success: Follow the PAL principle. Every meeting should have a clear Purpose, Agenda and Limits. Provide the…
If you ever want to feel totally overwhelmed, have them Google “What are the best Project Management Tools?” Three hundred twenty-nine million results later (in 0.85 seconds), you’ll find the top twenty entries, half of which are ads. Google will also feature an article, “Seven of the Best Project Management Tools For Your Business.” And…
Halloween is near. Time to plan your New Year’s Resolutions. For many companies October is when leaders make decisions regarding next year’s business plan. If you’re in this mode, here’s a simple question: Are you planning your 2019 projects for success? NOW is the time to plan for project success. What does that mean? If…
Gail, the Project Manager was apoplectic. “How could this happen? This project has gone right into the loo.” (This was a European-based project.) She showed me the project status chart. Even a novice could readily see the project had tanked, suddenly and severely. “Do you have a sponsoring steering committee?” I asked. “Of course!” She…
Brace yourself. What follows is sound logic behind using low-side estimates for project plan task scheduling — assuming you also adopt a breakthrough method to deal with project plan uncertainty. Conventional wisdom tells us to protect a project from uncertainty by “adding” EXTRA TIME into each task estimate. That’s often called “safety.” While seeming perfectly…