A SWOT Analysis is a tool that achieves competitive advantage by comparing your strengths to your competitor's weaknesses, and analyzing the opportunities and threats that are present. Whether in corporate strategy, project management, or your personal life, making the decisions between various options that each have their own pros and cons is essential to becoming a … [Read more...]
Although it isn't in the dictionary, the project management industry uses the term deliverables almost daily. I, for one am tired of MS Word underlining it as a spelling mistake. Deliverables are the products, services, and results that a project produces. Thus, they are the cornerstone to project success. Every project has to produce something. If you don't have any … [Read more...]
Controlling the quality of a project’s deliverables can be the silver bullet that makes everything else feel easy. Unfortunately, it’s often easier said than done but there are tried and true techniques that help you get there. On the flip side, a single poor quality deliverable can create a cycle of low performance, whereby an environment is created where quality … [Read more...]
A Project Deliverable is a product or service that a project produces for its customer, client, or project sponsor. It is the product or service that the project "delivers" to its stakeholders. It can be tangible or intangible, for example, a contractor who is hired to provide a training course provides the course itself back to their client as the project's … [Read more...]
Projects don't manage themselves. Professional project management requires the development of a plan that outlines how it will be managed. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (section 4.2), the project management plan fulfills this purpose. Although it includes any and all items that define the management of the project, there are certain standard … [Read more...]
I was once part of a project which went behind schedule and over budget. In response the project manager asked the project team to come up with reasons why the project was late. Naturally the team produced several reasons, and a change in schedule and budget was approved. Everything sounded like it was back on track. This dance happens countless … [Read more...]
In August 1805, Emperor Napoleon fought what was arguably the most important battle of his military career. In a brilliant display of strategy, he devised a system of matching his strongest soldiers with the enemy's weakest, in a move that students in military colleges still study today as the Ulm Manoeuvre. What business lessons can you learn from one of 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...]
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...]
