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...]
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...]
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...]
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...]
Three point estimating is a technique which utilizes an optimistic and pessimistic estimate to determine the ideal estimate value for a project task. It is a shoe-in for PMP exam questions, which is not likely to change anytime soon. It allows known risks to be quantified and built in to the project budget. Formula There are two generally accepted formulas for three … [Read more...]
It's a surprisingly common occurrence that a project manager specifies a task as complete only to see more time, materials, and expenses charged to it the next week. Naturally, this is a frustrating situation. Of course, we want the task to be complete and we thus are motivated to check it off a soon as possible. There are often administrative and closing tasks that … [Read more...]
Parametric estimating is a guaranteed inclusion on the PMP Exam. This article is assured to give you at least one point (but more likely four or five). Parametric estimating is a project estimation technique whereby a unit rate is used and multiplied by the number of units. For example: A house building project is estimated at $120 per square foot A contractor … [Read more...]
There is no universal definition of project success. Since the very definition of a project is temporary (Project Management Body of Knowledge, 6th Edition), virtually all projects must meet a deadline and budget. But some projects must satisfy certain stakeholders. Others must meet regulatory criteria. Still others must achieve a certain return on … [Read more...]
