The earned value method is the project management standard for cost control during a project. Whether you are a practicing project manager or studying for the PMP exam, you need to know how to calculate earned value. Fortunately, it involves nothing more than basic high school math. The more difficult part is knowing what each of the variables means and how … [Read more...]
Studies show that over 85% of projects have a value below $100,000. These are projects where the bulk of the work happens within only a few weeks to a month. Because of their short duration, these types of projects have their own unique set of circumstances that warrant a slight adaptation of project management methodologies. Googling project management … [Read more...]
Bottom up estimating is the project management technique of estimating individual tasks and then combining them into an overall project estimate. Often the individual project team members who will be performing the task provide the estimates, because they are in a better position to estimate a task that they will be working on. Types of Estimates Any of the three main … [Read more...]
Scope management, or rather the lack of it, is one of the biggest reasons for project failure. Correctly defining what is and is not included in the project is absolutely foundational to good project management. I've seen many projects go south even though they had the right expertise, schedule, high quality deliverables, and even satisfied clients. But if the dreaded … [Read more...]
A project manager that fails to allocate project resources is like a carpenter without a hammer. That's why estimating task resources is an integral step in project planning. It also happens to be one of the most fundamental aspects of project management, one of the steps that the project manager utilizes on a day to day basis. Types of Resources Each task on … [Read more...]
A project manager is answerable for all the success of the project. He is the one who initiates, plans, designs and executes the project. Also, maintaining, monitoring, controlling and winding up the project after completions all are included in the responsibilities of project manager. Project Managers organize Tasks, Time and Budget. The main responsibility is to keeping … [Read more...]
Have you thought about taking the PMP exam? Want to get your project management certification? What’s holding you back? Is it time? Is it money? Don’t know where to start? PMP Exam Prep: PMI Registered Education Provider The PMP designation is awarded to qualified individuals by the PMI (Project Management Institute). In order to become a certified project … [Read more...]
Before a project even begins, a project charter is a document that incorporates the project and appoints the project manager. Many projects operate without a project charter, even multimillion dollar projects. But the formal authorization of the project by the performing organization can be important to ensure the lines of authority are clear and identify what the … [Read more...]
Many documents are created in the profession of project management. Some of these are critical to the successful completion of the project, and others are merely intended for organizing the work flow. But the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) outlines many documents that have an integral place within the structure of project management, and the following list … [Read more...]
In yesterday's post we outlined the critical path method which is one of the professional project manager's techniques to ensuring project deadlines are met. Today we will walk through an example with a complete solution using MS Excel. Our example project is to build a new driveway. We will be hiring our friend, Jon, who is a concrete worker, and we will … [Read more...]
