Making sure a project finishes on time is a core competency for all project managers. Although it is partly an art form, the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), the PMP exam, and project management curricula all outline the science aspect. If you know the science part well, you can practice the art form and deliver project after project without a sweat. The … [Read more...]
In project management, getting an early indication of problems is the silver bullet that allows the project manager to correct the problems before they start. Schedule Variance, usually abbreviated as SV, is one of the fundamental outputs of the Earned Value Management System. It tells the project manager how far ahead or behind the project is at the point of analysis, … [Read more...]
Although projects span a huge spectrum from big to small, innovative to routine, and technical to repetitive, there is in fact a standard project organization chart within which all projects fall. With the exception of a few variable parts all project fit into a standard mold. According to project management theory, each member of a project is, in fact, very well … [Read more...]
In a proper project risk analysis, once the risks to the project have been identified (step 1), their probability and impact given a value and an overall priority (step 2), risk responses are drawn up (step 3). For each response plan, trigger conditions should be identified. These are the conditions that warrant the implementation of the response plan. For example, an … [Read more...]
Risk analysis is an often omitted area of project management, probably because you can't see its results in a direct way. On top of that, small projects just don't seem like they have the time and budget to justify the time spent. But I would argue that analyzing risk is one of the easiest ways to prevent major headaches later on, and it pays for itself in costs that … [Read more...]
The first step in a good risk management plan is the identification of risks. The other phases of project risk management are built on this foundation. It involves developing a list of the potential risks to a project. This list is called a Risk Register. A good risk register might have the following six columns: Name/Description of … [Read more...]
The foundation for project management theory is called process groups. But although it sounds complicated, process groups are simply phases that each project goes through. The five process groups are: Project Initiation Project Planning Project Execution Monitoring & Controlling Project Closing They all occur in chronological order except one. … [Read more...]
In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) the process groups are the chronological phases that the project goes through, and the knowledge areas occur throughout any time during the process groups. The process groups are horizontal, and the knowledge areas are vertical. They are the core technical subject matter of the project management profession, … [Read more...]
When a ship is out on the open sea, the driver, called a Helmsman, is responsible for turning the wheel which in turn moves a rudder back and forth to change directions. When the wind or sea conditions are rough, experienced helmsman use their keen sense of how the ship will react to keep it moving in the right direction. Because the ship doesn't react right away, the … [Read more...]
To external parties, a project is defined by its deliverables. They are not just some relatively important part of the project, they are the project. They are also the measuring stick by which the success of the project, and by extension the competence of the project manager, are measured. For a word so important to the project management profession, you would expect … [Read more...]
