The foundation for project management theory is called process groups. Although relegated to one of many project 'models' in the PMBOK version 7, it is a well established sequence of events which guides the project life cycle as a whole, as well as each iteration within the project. They are not project phases, although phases often result in the full cycle of … [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...]
The Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is a very structured, analytical outline of a somewhat abstract topic. Using it to manage projects is like trying to enjoy a play by reading the script. Although the relevant information is there, it is difficult to put into practice without external training. To that end, I … [Read more...]
Tacit knowledge is that which is not codified and transferable through written or oral language, for example personal experience. It is the opposite of explicit knowledge which is learned and can be repeated. Tacit knowledge is held by human beings; It is more difficult to obtain than explicit knowledge but has more value. Tacit knowledge is business … [Read more...]
Human beings are naturally predisposed to resist change because of the risks it entails. Maybe the change will fail. Maybe it will reduce business or personal income. And maybe it will result in a loss of job security. We'd rather the devil we know, than the devil we don't. But process improvement is often an exciting step forward that makes an … [Read more...]
Lean Project Management is the application of lean concepts to project management methodologies. Lean is a method used in the manufacturing industry which results in significant increases in product quality and production efficiency. Project management, on the other hand, seeks to produce one single product or service (or just a few) while satisfying stakeholders … [Read more...]
Project managers have one of the most important jobs around. Projects make a one-time improvement to a business process, therefore the end products or services almost always represent an important focal point to the organization. In addition, projects are by definition unique and have little repetition to draw from, hence project managers have little choice … [Read more...]
Project team management is the process of tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and managing project resources to optimize project performance. It is one of the central cogs in the wheel of project management, and also one of the most difficult. No wonder why many books have been written about it from many perspectives. But … [Read more...]
In project management, the project team is the component of the project organizational chart that carries out the project's technical work. The project team reports to the project manager. For small projects, the project team and the project manager can be the same person. But this does not invalidate the presence of the separate roles. The main project … [Read more...]
Like a carpenter without a hammer. Like programmer without a computer. Like a speaker without a microphone. Resource planning is an indispensable component of project management. In fact, it's so important that the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) dedicates a full knowledge area to resource management. In order to effectively manage … [Read more...]
