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...]
Project Management is a unique field in that people generally don't choose it as an initial career path. They enter via the back door through a technical field, or they want to learn project management theory with the goal of advancing into the role. For this reason, many people who practice project management are generally not well equipped with project management … [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...]
You have a malfunction. Or your project ran into problems. Or your plant's production has fallen. There could be one main reason, or several reasons for the negative event. There could be a chain of events which was initiated by a root cause. How do you decipher the complex web of events which culminated in the negative outcome? You need a … [Read more...]
A business case is the justification an organization uses for making a decision or undertaking an initiative. Its format can range anywhere from a formal report to an informal presentation or memo. Business cases are the foundation upon which all business is built. New capital projects, process improvement initiatives, growth strategies, and the like are all … [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...]
Every project has distinct roles that must be fulfilled in order to function properly and provide the products or services it was intended to provide. As a minimum, it needs a project manager and a project team who does the work, although those roles could be fulfilled by the same person. It also needs a connection to the larger corporate body who ensures funding … [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...]
