Since I've become the manager of an engineering company, I've learned many things, but I will divide them into the following three categories. Business Management Client Management Project Management Business Management As a manager, you're responsible for making the business grow (or not grow!). This means you need to track work progress and make sure time is … [Read more...]
In the engineering business, project quality is important. I've seen many projects that did everything right, but derailed based on one single issue the project team overlooked. Don't let that happen to you. The Project Management Institute (PMI) identifies project quality planning as the first of three steps to effective project quality management. In this post, I … [Read more...]
For engineering projects, document control is a big deal. Nobody has time to rework a design or report because a reviewer received the wrong copy, or document versioning wasn't kept up to date. At Roseke Engineering, besides using ProjectEngineer to manage our projects, we have a physical document control system in place. It resides in the project management binder … [Read more...]
The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, also called the Deming Cycle, is an important project management tool. How can this tool be used in a typical engineering project? Plan This step involves identifying and analyzing the problem. Planning is consistently underrated in most engineering projects. I've been involved with multi-billion dollar oil sands projects as well as … [Read more...]
For us engineers, quality is a big deal. Industry standard quality control dictates that most documents and designs require a "second stamp" i.e. a reviewer who takes as much responsibility as the designer. But what does a true project quality management plan look like? In this article, I will talk about project quality from the perspective of the project management … [Read more...]
Many engineers wish to give back to their profession, and one of the most noble ways is to volunteer your time overseas. I have done this multiple times, and I intend to do it again. Here I will give you some options for how to do it and what it looks like. First, let me list a few organizations: Engineers Without Borders ASCE Disaster Assistance … [Read more...]
According to the Project Management Institute, less than two thirds of projects meet their intended goals. The other one third are projects that end up with a drastically different scope than they began with, sometimes with different deliverables, or even get canceled outright. The project managers of these projects are not doing any favors for their careers. I … [Read more...]
Big companies and small companies each have their own pros and cons. In the end, it comes down to personal choice. Read through the following pros and cons and see where you fit. Small Company Pros: Better experience at multiple projects and more diversity in your experience. Small companies tend towards true empowerment because they don't normally have the … [Read more...]
In today's ultra-competitive landscape, it doesn't take much for projects to turn around and chart a direction for failure. Even some of the best project managers I know have had their share of troubled projects. So take a litmus test right now. If your project exhibits any of these 5 behaviors, you might need to take action before things get really … [Read more...]
In order to ensure a successful project, roles must be clear and well defined. The following project leadership roles are essential to any project: Project Manager Functional Manager Executive Project Manager Clearly the success of the project depends on the project manager. The project manager's job is simply to ensure the success of the project, and their … [Read more...]
