Critical path analysis is a game-changer in project management, helping you pinpoint the exact tasks that dictate your project’s timeline. Picture this: you’ve got yoga class in two hours and groceries to buy—logic says shop first, right? That’s the essence of the critical path: a sequence of must-do tasks whereby a delay in one pushes the whole project back. Slip a … [Read more...]
How would you feel if your boss gave you a 23% raise? That's how much the Project Management Institute reports that certified project managers earn over and above non-certified ones. Job security also increased substantially over the 33,000 professionals surveyed in 37 countries. So how do you become a part of this club? I've been part of it for 14 years, and in … [Read more...]
Projects are a high-wire act, with a million threads that could unravel at any moment. By their very nature—temporary and goal-driven—budgets and schedules loom large, often dominating a project manager’s radar as the hallmarks of success. Yet, too often, a team celebrates hitting deadlines and staying under budget, only to discover a silent storm brewing, an unhappy … [Read more...]
In the realm of financial decision-making, where every dollar counts and the future is a gamble, net present value (NPV) emerges as a beacon of clarity. Whether you’re sizing up a new project, weighing an investment, or steering a business venture, NPV offers a powerful lens to evaluate worth—not just in today’s terms, but by peering into the time value of money. It’s … [Read more...]
Some projects are considered successes even though they did some things I'd probably lose my career over. And others are considered horrible failures even though I could probably find a way to navigate through their issues. It's almost like there's a certain element of human interaction that all of the project methodologies in the world can't put into neat boxes and … [Read more...]
Behind every successful project stands a pivotal figure: the project sponsor. Far more than a name on an organizational chart, the sponsor is the linchpin connecting vision to execution, present in every project regardless of scale or scope. Positioned just one rung above the project manager, they don’t dive into the daily grind but instead wield a broader … [Read more...]
Like many things in life, project management is an art form as well as a science. It's a delicate dance, a blend where intuition meets precision. While some may possess a natural flair for orchestrating chaos into order, the true mastery of this craft lies in understanding its scientific backbone. Fortunately, you don’t need to be a born artist to excel; a solid grasp … [Read more...]
Like termites slowly gnawing through a sturdy foundation, scope creep is a menace that invisibly eats projects from the inside out, a stealthy parasite that burrows into projects, expanding their boundaries with unauthorized tasks until the damage surfaces in a cascade of delays, budget overruns, and frustration. Left unchecked, it doesn’t just nibble at the edges, it … [Read more...]
In an ideal world, a project’s scope would remain a fixed star—unchanging, predictable, and perfectly aligned with the original plan. Yet, reality paints a messier picture: with countless moving parts, shifting priorities, and human variables at play, scope change is a near-inevitable force. Whether it’s the slow drip of unauthorized "scope creep" or the sanctioned … [Read more...]
On January 28, 1986, the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger erupted in a fiery spectacle just 73 seconds after launch, unraveling before one of the largest live television audiences ever recorded at the time. The investigation that followed pinned the catastrophe on a seemingly minor detail: the failure of several O-rings—rubber seals, roughly a foot in diameter—meant to … [Read more...]
