Project Management Works

Category: Project Management Advice

  • What Makes a Great Project Manager?

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      I’ve mentioned often in the past (to anyone who will listen) that one of the key factors in the success or failure of any type of project is the personality of the project manager.     You can train an individual to do a very good job at managing a project but the exceptional…

  • Back to Basics: Project Management You’ll Never Want to Forget

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      Ahhh…projects. We can’t operate a business without them. Some people might dread starting a new project. Others might show great enthusiasm that then wanes as the project meanders along. Avoid project dread or lost enthusiasm by properly planning for and executing your projects. These tips apply to larger projects—things that have multiple tasks and…

  • Mistakes in Projects – are they always trivial?

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      I have often had to manage risks in a project and have also written about managing risks in projects but reading a project management newsletter recently made me think that for all the information, methodologies, tips and techniques we can read about, talk about and discuss concerning risks in projects, we rarely discuss the…

  • What Value Does Project Management Add?

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    When asked how does professional project management add value to a business I always struggle to answer in meaningful terms – terms that equate to the bottom line of a business. It’s relatively easy to describe the benefits and advantages of managing projects properly but to actually quantify or measure those benefits is much harder.…

  • Can You Really Manage A Project Using Spreadsheets?

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    In small, relatively simple projects it is not uncommon to find the project manager using a set of spreadsheets to manage the project schedule, the budget and the scope of the project. If the project involves just one internal department and a small project team using spreadsheets often avoids the necessity for stakeholders to get…

  • Development Projects – A Confusion of Terminology

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    I was recently reading some project management articles for inspiration when I came across one about project management in a development environment. Naturally, having an IT and a project management background I just assumed the article would be about software development. After all what other type of development is there? Well it didn’t take me…

  • Questions, Questions and More Questions

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    I have previously written an article about the importance of a project manager asking in-depth questions at the outset of a project and how knowing which questions to ask and, more importantly, how to elicit clear, detailed answers is critical to the success of a project. The article lists 20 questions all project manager should…

  • The Awkward Client

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      I have recently been considering some of the traits and behaviours that successful project managers exhibit. For a project to be successful it obviously needs a project manager with the experience and skills to guide the project and the team from the initiation phase right through to a successful completion all within the time…

  • My Project is Agile

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      I recently came across a few of definitions of the Agile methodology which I thought worth sharing. Of course, many people would provide different definitions and the definitive description can be found in the Agile Manifesto but if you haven’t got time to read that right now here goes:   “An iterative and incremental…

  • Project Management Glossary

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      Accountability – The obligation to report on one’s actions. Activity – Any work performed on a project. May be synonymous with task but in some cases it may be a specific level in the WBS (e.g., a phase is broken down into a set of activities, activities into a set of tasks). An activity…