The project plan is like the flight plan filed by a pilot prior to embarking on a journey. It communicates how the project will attempt to reach its destination. The project plan is the strategy that will be used to produce the project's products, services, or results. It is written in sufficient detail to communicate to executives and stakeholders how the project … [Read more...]
The art of making a decision is a daily occurrence for most people, both at home and at work. We've all experienced projects where the best path forward is unclear, or there is no option without a major negative side effect. What does the science say about decision making that could help us? Decision making is the process of choosing a course of action from among … [Read more...]
Carpenters have hammers, plumbers have wrenches, and programmers have computers. But does a project manager have any tools which help them perform their work better, quicker, or cheaper? Absolutely! In fact, if you don't use these tools you will be at a serious disadvantage to other project managers. And if you do, your career will see an order of magnitude return … [Read more...]
A project feasibility study is a report that investigates the viability of a project. It seeks to provide its stakeholders with an analysis that results in a go/no-go decision. Feasibility studies are performed in a variety of industries. They are prominent in the oil & gas, mining, or renewable energy industries, or in the manufacturing industry for new plant … [Read more...]
A procurement management plan documents how a project will conduct its procurement (purchasing). In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), it is the component of the overall Project Management Plan that deals with external purchasing for the project. It is separate from the statement of work (SOW), also known as the terms of reference (TOR) which … [Read more...]
A Gantt chart is a graphical depiction of a project schedule in which project task durations are shown as horizontal bars. Gantt charts are the easiest and most intuitive way to communicate a project schedule. They are created as part of the Project Management Plan, and give stakeholders an instant picture of what the project is set to accomplish, and when. But they … [Read more...]
Gantt charts are amazing tools for project managers, but there is one inherent weakness that project managers must be aware of or it can (does!) delay projects, and that is they make no consideration for the resources necessary to perform a task. The graphical gantt display has tremendous value, and the optimization of tasks relative to one another is priceless, but if … [Read more...]
Staying within budget and schedule is one of the project manager's most important jobs. It is not an understatement to say that if you master this one thing, most other things will fall into place. The secret to doing this well is called earned value management. It is one of the foundational processes of project management, as well as a central component of the … [Read more...]
A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart showing the start and end dates of each task within a project. It shows the tasks on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. The tasks are shown sequentially. It can have many other pieces but these are the basic building blocks. Gantt Chart Example 1 Here is a Gantt chart that was created with Microsoft … [Read more...]
Believe it or not, gantt charts can be created relatively painlessly in Microsoft Excel. A simple one will take about 10 minutes with only a basic knowledge of Excel, and I'm going to show you how. Step 1: Enter the Task data The first step is to enter your tasks in table form in Excel. The following four pieces of data are the minimum requirement for a gantt chart, so … [Read more...]
