A Gantt chart is a graphical depiction of a project schedule in which project task durations are shown as horizontal bars. Gantt charts are the easiest and most intuitive way to communicate a project schedule. They are created as part of the Project Management Plan, and give stakeholders an instant picture of what the project is set to accomplish, and when. But they … [Read more...]
In the scrum development framework (part of the Agile project management methodology) the scrum master is the servant leader for the scrum team. They are not the boss nor the project manager. Rather, they promote scrum practices and facilitate scrum meetings. They are the resident scrum expert within the team and attempt to maximize the productivity of the … [Read more...]
In project management, efficiency is everything. Projects that run like well oiled machines create high quality products and delighted stakeholders, especially the product owner. Fortunately, the Agile roles and responsibilities make it easy to create just such a project. But let's get some semantics out of the way first. Agile does not have roles as such. It is … [Read more...]
Many projects require a presentation, whether at the beginning, end, or somewhere in the middle. Sometimes it is given to the managers or executives, sometimes to the project team, and sometimes to stakeholders who have a specific interest in the project. Project presentations can be very nerve racking and difficult for many people, but that doesn't mean they have to … [Read more...]
The 12 Agile Principles, which were developed at the same time as the Agile Manifesto, provide a little bit more detail from the Agile founders relating to vision and implementation of the Agile project management methodology. In the 12 Principles, the founders expand on the four points in the Manifesto and provide a more detailed working explanation. The Agile … [Read more...]
The agile project management revolution has transformed project management. Instead of the fully planned and predictive methods of the past, the world now recognizes that an iterative, cyclical process is significantly faster and cheaper, even if you can't promise everything up front. The origins of this revolution trace back to the creation of the Agile … [Read more...]
Gantt charts are amazing tools for project managers, but there is one inherent weakness that project managers must be aware of or it can (does!) delay projects, and that is they make no consideration for the resources necessary to perform a task. The graphical gantt display has tremendous value, and the optimization of tasks relative to one another is priceless, but if … [Read more...]
Staying within budget and schedule is one of the project manager's most important jobs. It is not an understatement to say that if you master this one thing, most other things will fall into place. The secret to doing this well is called earned value management. It is one of the foundational processes of project management, as well as a central component of the … [Read more...]
In project management, the network diagram is a graphical depiction of a project schedule which uses boxes to represent each task. It is used to determine the critical path, as well as the float of each task. These two terms are defined as: Critical Path: The tasks which define the completion date of the project. They cannot finish late, or be moved, or the overall … [Read more...]
Projects are like trains rolling down the tracks - Once they are put in motion and they are hard to stop. Stakeholder communication is one of the project manager's most important jobs because the stakeholders define the success of a project. The stakeholders must be identified, actively managed, and communicated with to ensure their buy-in to the final product, or else … [Read more...]
