Project managers are often optimistic and confident in their abilities to deliver successful projects. Armed with our methods and tools, boundless optimism, and can-do attitude, it sometimes feels like we can do anything. However, we must also acknowledge and address the potential limitations and challenges because there are quite a few. Just keep in mind these observations are mine, and there are many other examples out there. 1. Stakeholders decide if your Project is successful or if your Project failed No matter how well you manage your Project, ultimately, success is not down to you. It will be your stakeholders who decide whether to: Of all the project management processes and disciplines, stakeholder engagement is paramount. Tim Lister and Tom DeMarco said, "Risk management is how adults manage projects." The effective management of risks is all about being proactive; you need to identify and tackle potential concerns before they become problems. Continue Reading
Bad management habits, are they any good?
Being a (project) manager requires you to be a master of all trades. You need to have a handle on accountancy while being an expert strategist, motivating a team, and managing the time of many people. No one says it is easy, and managers often fall into bad habits. Self-knowledge is critical to taking control. Find out how to set yourself apart from the (project) managers your boss considers the worst performer on the team: don't let that be you! I found a great video from Jennifer Bridges PMP, CHPC, founder of PDUs2Go.com and director of ProjectManager.com. You can have a look at the video right here. Nobody's perfect. But imperfection is not the same as perpetuating bad habits or behaviors. Here is a list of eleven bad habits Jennifer identified which make a "worst" (project) manager: Many people find themselves running projects and leading teams without formal training. There are also plenty of people who are highly certified and experienced project managers who perfectly Continue Reading
Deadly Sins of Project Management. Well at least my favorites!
We all make mistakes. Project managers are certainly no exception - though, as a profession, we tend to be placed under much scrutiny at times. Therefore those mistakes may become big news and can be, depending on the mistake, quite damaging and costly to the projects we are running. In the world of project management, so many things need to be done; when they aren't done, they can damage our project engagements. Or things that we do or actions that we actually do take, that can really mess things up, too. Sometimes we dip into our past or into our professional past, where we witnessed someone else's project go south to gain this type of insight. Either way, it makes an impression, likely because of the chaos and destruction it caused on our projects. I have worked with, for, and hired many project managers throughout my career. Along the way, I have noticed that many challenges PMs face are shared across the industry, vertical, professional services, and in-house PMO Continue Reading
The Daily Stand-up: it’s time to ditch it
The daily stand-up has been the talk of the town in recent years. Seeing the buzz around it, you might have the fomo (fear of missing out) feeling if you haven't heard about it before. Words of wisdom: Daily stand-up meetings might be the quickest way to waste your time as a leader. Here's why this meeting doesn't work and what to do instead. Why a daily stand-up meeting doesn't work The original intention behind a daily stand-up meeting is exceptionally sound. Popularized by the Agile methodology of project management, daily stand-up meetings are meant to share progress and identify any blockers the team is facing. For the few teams who strictly adhere to only sharing status updates and blockers, a daily stand-up can serve them well. However, it's a different story for most of us in practice. We get overly excited and cram other intentions into our daily stand-ups: We want them to be an energizing morale booster for the team, a time to reflect on what went Continue Reading
Project Management and Flying: learnings from the flight deck
Some 50 years since the inception of project management, more than 50% of IT projects still fail because they run out of time, resources, funds, etcetera. If pilots flew aircraft like we run projects, no one would ever fly. However, every day millions of people fly for work or pleasure and flights arrive on time almost 90 percent of the time, delayed mainly by weather. Airline travel is also the safest form of long-distance travel with a fatal accident rate of .022 per 100,000 hours flown. We have been flying for just over 100 years, but project management has been around since the building of the pyramids and the Great Wall. Are there any learnings we can take from flying? I think we can. Aviation has always fascinated me. I’m on a plane almost every week and there isn’t a take-off or landing that bores me. When wheels go up, a slight panic ensues as any morsel of control vanishes completely. I am always thankful for the days when the only major task Continue Reading
Hello 2023, what to expect!
Just think of what the project management industry looked like ten years ago. Fewer methodologies, lesser tools, smaller teams, and simpler projects. Cut to 2023, and things have changed tremendously as the teams are no longer smaller, and the projects are no longer simpler. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, said," Change is the only constant in life." The project management landscape is changing rapidly with evolving technologies, tools, and the latest trends. And the change doesn't seem to slow down. Let's cut to the chase and take a look at 2023. Becoming data-oriented with BI and BA As technology advances, project managers are increasing their use of data insights to make informed decisions to handle projects better and escalate business growth. In 2023, data has a high chance of becoming a significant protagonist in guiding project management measures and activities. We predict project professionals will rely even more on relevant insights using Business Intelligence (BI) Continue Reading
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