With little exception, missing deadlines reflects poorly on the project manager and sometimes has financial consequences too. Because projects are by definition temporary, someone has authorized the project and expects its deliverables in a timely fashion. To meet the deadlines, a schedule management plan is produced which is a subset of the project management plan. … [Read more...]
Earned value analysis is used to calculate the project status on two fronts: Schedule. Is the project ahead of or behind schedule? Cost. Is the project over or under budget? Let's say you are the project manager for the renovation of 3 hotel rooms. The tasks are as follows: Preparation. Jan. 1 - Jan. 10, $5,000. Room #1: Jan. 10 - 20, $15,000. Room … [Read more...]
It's amazing how many projects do not know their true status until near the end, when there is little that can be done to ensure they finish on time or budget. The proper time to rigorously track project status is at the beginning, not at the end. This is when project risk can be managed and changes made to get it back on track. Earned value analysis is the current … [Read more...]
Putting out fires is rarely a good project management strategy. Project controls are where the project manager earns their wages. Assigning work to someone is relatively easy, but how do you ensure the quality of the work is acceptable, or that the deadlines will be met? Fortunately, project management theory contains techniques which are used to track and … [Read more...]
Your project team is the single biggest factor in the successful completion of your project. When everything is stripped away, a project is nothing more than teams of people doing some work, and the quality of the final products will only be as good as the people producing them. So how do determine who to pick for your project, and what can you do to ensure the people … [Read more...]
A project manager's roadmap and guiding document is called a project management plan. It puts all the pieces of project management together into one coherent place. Rather than holding all the pieces of the project in your head (like alot of project managers I know) it's incredibly helpful to organize them on paper and to have a plan. To be a rock star project manager, … [Read more...]
In my industry, timelines are rarely met. I would guess that 20% of all projects meet their original completion dates. And yet, it is one of the most, if not the most, important criteria specified by the various levels of government when measuring project performance. (If anyone in the highways industry reads this, please leave your comments below - I'd like to know … [Read more...]
Imagine the following scenarios: A phone call or meeting with the client smooths over late delivery of a report. A subcontractor completes his task late and offers a financial discount that improves the project's economics. These are not uncommon scenarios, and they appear to render the current schedule meaningless. Does this mean it was a waste of time to make a … [Read more...]
In order to meet the completion dates on your projects, it is wise to develop a project schedule. Whether you're managing the construction of the new Oakland Bay bridge or building a new shed in your back yard, adequate planning can ensure any project is completed on time, on budget, and meets all of its intended goals. In this article I will give you a 5 step crash … [Read more...]
Managing the project schedule can be one of the most formidable parts of project management. I've seen more damaged client relationships through this area of project management than any other. Time management is essential to attaining successful projects. The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) developed by the Project Management Institute (PMI) contains … [Read more...]
