Lately there’s been alot of talk about the cloud. Apple has the iCloud, Microsoft has a cloud, and everybody seems to be going to the cloud. But what does that mean? And how is it useful to an engineer? I’ll start with the explanations. Before the widespread use of the internet, I.T. textbooks generally dealt with the local network, and … [Read more...]
The thing that amazes me about project management in the engineering business is how little it gets used. We engineers are in control of the largest projects in the world, but most engineers have little more than a passing knowledge of project management processes. In this article, I will talk about the following items as they relate to engineering project … [Read more...]
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...]
Scheduling is generally one of the critical variables to project success for engineers. In spite of this, most engineers don't understand the basics of project scheduling, except for remembering it from their college days. In this article I will document the two primary scheduling techniques available to the engineering project manager. Gantt Chart Gantt charts do an … [Read more...]
Engineering proposals are the industry standard document for which engineering consultant selection decisions are made. For engineering consulting firms, they are the primary method of securing new work. For the owners they are indispensible as a means to differentiate between consultants. But what are the major parts of an engineering proposal? Project … [Read more...]
Kevin Payravi, Wikimedia Commons The Project Management Institute (PMI) reports that only 64% of projects meet their intended goals. The difference between a successful project and an unsuccessful one can usually be narrowed down to one word: Planning. Even small projects can benefit from a Project Management Plan. The following Project Management Plan checklist is … [Read more...]
Engineers are not normally taught the principles of project management, although it is a critical function in their careers. Most engineers see themselves as technical experts, not project managers, but business is business and every engineer I know of seems to find themselves face to face with the realities of timelines, budgets, and people management on a regular … [Read more...]
