Comments for Project Management Guide

Comment on Book Review: Networking for People Who Hate Networking by Andy Kaufman, PMP

Andy Kaufman, PMP — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:16:20 +0000

That’s a great summary of Devora’s book. I found the book very helpful as well. I had the opportunity to interview Devora on our People and Projects Podcast. The interview can be found at http://bit.ly/DevoraZackCast.

As always, thank you for the great book reviews!

Comment on PRINCE2 Professional by Professional Project Managers | Project Management Guide

Professional Project Managers | Project Management Guide — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:29:22 +0000

[...] the company that looks after PRINCE2 for the UK Government, the APM Group, has announced it will launch a new PRINCE2 qualification on 30th January (next Monday). This new qualification will be called PRINCE2 [...]

Comment on Trust your team by Trevor Roberts

Trevor Roberts — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:02:23 +0000

Hi Elizabeth,

You’re right about credibility – I suppose that was what I was trying to say when I talk about showing my team their trust in me is valid. Without that credibility, it’s hard for them to trust, or have confidence in, what you are doing.

Thanks for the comment, and for writing such good, thought-provoking articles!

Comment on Trust your team by Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:14:36 +0000

Thanks for talking about my articles: I'm glad they provided food for thought. The point about trust is well made. I've written briefly about trust before and it is a really important topic when it comes to making a successful team environment. I'd also add credibility to the mix: trust is part of that, but also being seen as credible can make a huge difference in your position as project manager and the willingness of people to contribute to your project.

Comment on Project Managed Resolutions by Matthew

Matthew — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:24:05 +0000

I would add in a step right at the start and that is a vision. You allude to it in step one when you state that the aim is to vague, but I don’t think that you can have an aim without a vision. The vision might be that you want to run a half-marathon and then a series of aims would flow out of that.

In my experience not having a vision to underpin your aim can lead to project creep by misinterpretation of the aim.

For example, the first aim of the “run a half-marathon” programme might be to lose 20 pounds. I could meet that aim by cutting my leg off, but that would actually be a set-back on the overall vision.

An extreme example, perhaps, but one which exemplifies the importance of viewing a project as not just an individual event but something that will form a fundamental part of a much larger jigsaw.

Comment on Are you an expert? by Trevor Roberts

Trevor Roberts — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:14:39 +0000

Hi Elizabeth,

I do think an awareness of project management can be useful in many roles. I worry that some financial concerns are leading organisations to try to load too much onto people who don’t do it full-time, so to speak.

As an analogy, while it’s reasonable to expect everyone to be able to write to some extent, sometimes it makes more sense to bring in an expert for a sales pitch, or a large technical report. It’s the same way for project management, but I imagine it will take a few costly project failures before organisations re-learn that.

As for the hair, well, that photo was from a long while ago. Less said about it right now, the better!

Comment on Are you an expert? by Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 19:25:20 +0000

I like the idea that everyone is a project manager; after all, if you have organised a large event, got married or moved house you have managed a project. So seeing ‘project management’ tacked on to job ads for other roles is going to become more prevalent.

I was writing more from a perspective of an in-house project manager, as I don’t have much experience of the contracting market, so your experience is interesting.

I think there is still a role for a specialist PM, someone who understands risks, change control, critical paths and EVM. I think recruiters may have to switch on to this as projects get increasingly more complex.

By the way, I saw your photo on G+ and your hair isn’t that bad!

Comment on Are you an expert? by Are you an expert? | Project Management Guide | effort.ly

Are you an expert? | Project Management Guide | effort.ly — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:58:23 +0000

[...] more here: Are you an expert? | Project Management Guide /* */ /* */ window.fbAsyncInit = function() { [...]

Comment on Project Management Link Round-up (2011-09-26) by Project Management Link Round-up (2011-09-26) | Project … | effort.ly

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 17:48:21 +0000

[...] link: Project Management Link Round-up (2011-09-26) | Project … /* */ /* */ window.fbAsyncInit = function() { [...]

Comment on Wasteful Savings by Steve Wilheir

Steve Wilheir — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 21:07:22 +0000

You’re absolutely right. It’s amazing how penny wise and pound foolish decision-makers can be. I’ve seen plenty of companies shoot themselves in the foot with bad decisions like cutting back on their project management because they “can’t afford the overhead.” Then, the scant few projects they have remaining go miserably, and the hole gets drilled deeper.

- Steve
http://Twitter.com/GanttGuru