Everybody has stories of quality problems and the anxiety they cause. The assembly line is down, or a customer complained about the product, or the report missed an important element, in that moment the only thing that matters is that someone didn't achieve the quality expectations. Believe it or not, the presence of defective products is not always a bad … [Read more...]
A Project Deliverable is a product or service that a project produces for its customer, client, or project sponsor. It is the product or service that the project "delivers" to its stakeholders. It can be tangible or intangible, for example, a contractor who is hired to provide a training course provides the course itself back to their client as the project's … [Read more...]
Breaking a project into manageable parts is one of the most foundational parts of project management. Megaprojects like highrise buildings and airports get managed in phases and tasks, so the same level of expertise would probably add value to most small projects. Virtually every other aspect of project management is built upon this foundation, so it should not be … [Read more...]
With little exception, missing deadlines reflects poorly on the project manager and sometimes has financial consequences too. Because projects are by definition temporary, someone has authorized the project and expects its deliverables in a timely fashion. To meet the deadlines, a schedule management plan is produced which is a subset of the project management … [Read more...]
Above all else a project manager is a leader, therefore developing leadership skills is one of the best ways for a project manager to further their career. To that end, one of the most important traits of a leader is the ability to react swiftly and decisively when unexpected events occur. Project risk management is the division of Project … [Read more...]
Projects don't manage themselves. Professional project management requires the development of a plan that outlines how it will be managed. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (section 4.2), the project management plan fulfills this purpose. Although it includes any and all items that define the management of the project, there are certain … [Read more...]
According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), the foundation of project management rests upon the five phases that every project goes through: Project Initiation Project Planning Project Execution Monitoring & Controlling Project Closure Project Initiation This process group includes the basic groundwork necessary to create … [Read more...]
In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) the process groups are the chronological phases that the project goes through, and the knowledge areas occur throughout any time during the process groups. The process groups are horizontal, and the knowledge areas are vertical. They are the core technical subject matter of the project management profession, … [Read more...]
Project Management is a unique field in that people generally don't choose it as an initial career path. They enter via the back door through a technical field, or they want to learn project management theory with the goal of advancing into the role. For this reason, many people who practice project management are generally not well equipped with project management … [Read more...]
Earned value analysis is a project management method used to calculate the project status from two perspectives: Schedule. Is the project ahead of or behind schedule? Cost. Is the project over or under budget? Let's say you are the project manager for the renovation of 3 hotel rooms. The tasks are as follows: Preparation. Jan. 1 - Jan. 10, … [Read more...]
