You've probably been there. A project manager gets a weekly report that shows the project's time and expenses, and it's a little too high. The project hasn't advanced as far as its expenses have. Someone, somewhere has introduced inefficiencies that now need to be addressed. This is scope creep, the unauthorized inclusion of unplanned work into a project. Scope … [Read more...]
In project management, like most things in life, there is no free lunch. If you want to finish sooner, you will have to cut the project scope. If you want lower costs, you have to cut expenses. If you want higher quality, you have to pay more. This constant tug of war is called the Triple Constraint, also known as the Project Management Triangle, or the Iron … [Read more...]
All projects have stakeholders. If they didn't, the project wouldn't exist. As a minimum, the project sponsor is a stakeholder who is expecting to receive the project's deliverables. Usually there are expectations to receive them at a certain time, cost, quality level, or other criteria as well. The project manager must know who the stakeholders are and actively … [Read more...]
Sometimes the easiest way to create a Gantt chart is by starting from a template and customizing it to your project. To that end, we present the following 10 templates, which have been designed to be easily customized to your project. Using only basic Excel skills, you should be able to complete your own Gantt chart in 10 minutes or less. Template 1: Build a … [Read more...]
Recently, I was left in awe at how some of the world's best athletes dedicate years of their lives to honing their skills, sacrificing immense amounts of time that could be spent on other, potentially more enjoyable, things. It goes without saying, that an immense amount of meticulous planning and management goes into preparing for a chance to stand at the top of the … [Read more...]
A Gantt Chart is to a project manager like a hammer is to a carpenter. It is the project manager's most used tool. It is used to convey the most critical information. And it plays an outsized role in project success. Since a project is by definition temporary, the completion date is a critical item in virtually every project. The gantt chart is used during project … [Read more...]
Few projects out there are as big and complex as the Olympic games. They're truly in a category of their own due to their massive visibility and the world scale construction projects leading up to it. It gets awarded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the host city more than 10 years in advance of the two-week long event, and the entire decade is spent in a … [Read more...]
Your project team is the single biggest factor in the successful completion of your project. When everything is stripped away, a project is nothing more than teams of people doing some work, and the quality of the final products will only be as good as the people producing them. So how do determine who to pick for your project, and what can you do to ensure the people … [Read more...]
Sun Tzu’s "The Art of War" is a timeless masterpiece, offering strategic insights that have influenced military leaders, business executives, and strategists for centuries. Although it was written over two millennia ago, the principles laid out in this ancient text are remarkably applicable to modern project management. A project is not necessarily a "battle to be won," … [Read more...]
Project estimating requires predicting the future. Like ancient prophets and soothsayers, today's project managers are experts in telling people what is going to happen. The key to success, then, is to ensure that what actually happens is the same as the estimate. This might seem like magic sometimes, but it requires strong project cost estimation techniques. Project … [Read more...]
