Category: Project Management Advice
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Project Scope and Its Importance
You know how you sometimes overhear a snippet of conversation – on a train, in a shop or restaurant – and it gets you thinking about a subject close to your heart. You want to join in the discussion – you can feel a heated debate arising – but the people in conversation have moved…
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Formal or Informal Project Management
I was shown to a group of project managers this week discussing the pros and cons of formal project management. One member of the group was convinced the best approach was no formal approach. Basically carry all information in some simple spreadsheets of tasks and then plan the rest the project by email and Excel.…
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The Use of RAG Reporting
WHAT IS RAG RAG stands for Red, Amber and Green reporting. There are lots of programs that use these reports. Can we ultimately trust bosses that use the RAG results? Yes and no. It all depends on the situation. Let’s explore this a bit further.THE PROGRAM OF RAG Bosses use this program to indicate how…
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Is There Ever An End To a Project?
The role of a project manager in many large organisations involves an enormous range of responsibilities. They are expected to be involved in the business requirements analysis and documentation, and in many cases to drive those tasks forward, right through to the implementation and beyond. And during the course of the project their role involves…
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How to Create a Project Plan in Microsoft Project
As you might know, Microsoft Project has a professional edition and a standard edition. Both the editions allow you to create a project plan but the professional edition has some extra features like tasks, automated timelines, scenario analysis et al. However, in order to understand Microsoft Project, you need to know how to create a…
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Typical Project Risks
Risks exist in every area of a project but the likelihood of a particular risk occurring, and the consequences to the success of the project if it does occur, are the main factors to consider in risk management within a project. It is important that the project manager does not expend too much time and…
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Improving Your Chances of Project Success
What are the key aspects to focus on for a project manager to ensure consistently successful projects? Perhaps the most important area is that of Risk Management. Of course, selecting a competent team is also important, as are the right sort of skills, experience and training – even the most junior members of the…
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10 Reasons Why Quality is not Achieved in a Project
It’s easy to find excuses for not implementing quality processes within a project environment and 10 of the most common ones are listed below. But next time you are about to make one of these excuses (and, let’s face it, we all have from time-to-time) why not, instead, try to change whatever it is that…
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Is Agile Project Management Right For You?
The rapid growth in the understanding and popularity of the agile style of project management means more and more companies are investigating how the agile approach will work for their business. The debate over the benefits and constrictions of agile are ongoing, and despite many managers having the notion that agile is a fix all…
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The Project Managers Wish List
If you’re a parent, you’ve no doubt wondered at your child’s extensive (or did I mean expensive?) Christmas list each year. Whether it’s a new action figure, the latest video game or something large and plastic, they seem to have such focussed ideas of what they want from life it’s almost enough to make us…
