Ah, the Lessons Learned Register, that most noble of project management artefacts. It selflessly exists not to make your project better (though it may) but to help those who come after strengthen their projects, avoid the pitfalls you discovered the hard way, and keep your successors on the righteous path of clear scope, cost, quality, … Read more
Ask most project managers what they think of governance and you’ll get a weary answer. Governance means meetings that go on too long. Governance means reports that nobody reads. Governance means a steering group that last met six months ago and can’t remember what the project is trying to do. That cynicism is understandable, because … Read more
Crunch times are a sign of failure of project management, not a way of catching up. I was bleary-eyed as I finished the last of the typing. I did a quick spell-check, and pressed print, trusting that the chugging of the printer working away would be enough to keep me focused as I prepared the … Read more
I read an interesting blog post the other day, called How Consensus Decision-Making Creates Shared Direction in a Team. The gist of the article is that for a team to be highly energised and committed to their work, they need to share a sense of direction. Now, I have to say that I broadly agree … Read more
Times are tough for everyone out there at the moment. The economies of Europe and the US are slowing down again, and there are real fears that they could dip back down into recession. So it’s only natural that businesses are looking to cut their costs – but sometimes they are making the wasteful saving … Read more
We all want to have successful projects. But what do we mean by successful? It’s not just a matter of hitting our milestones, on time and on budget. It’s also about making sure that the project goals are of value to the organisation we are working for. At the start of every project, you will … Read more
You don’t need to be involved in project management for long to come across “scope creep”, which can end up being a major problem. Each extra little suggestion seems like a good idea at the time, and only a tiny bit more work. Soon, though, the extra little things begin to take over the project, … Read more
Project management with scarce resources, and in troubled organisations, brings new challenges. Be mindful of the needs of the people around you, but remember your job is to make the project a success. One of the most difficult times for a project manager is when resources are scarce. You have to scrabble around, trying to … Read more
Information needs to flow freely in project management, whether that be to the project manager or from them. One flow of information must be from the project manager to the Executive, and other senior interested parties. These updates are highlight reports. A highlight report is exactly what it sounds like – a report that only … Read more
We all want to deliver successful projects. That’s why we became project managers, after all. But sometimes the right thing to do is to stop a project. When is this the right choice? 1. Too expensive Maybe the costs weren’t estimated correctly at the beginning. Maybe a supplier has hiked their prices dramatically. Maybe it … Read more
