The most common method to shorten project duration is to “crash” the activity or network by assigning additional resources. Other than crashing activities, however, there are quite a few options to reduce project duration. Although these options may not be as effective or simple as increasing resources, they can be useful for projects that don’t… [Read more…]
June 15, 2011
Project management may be a very defined set of methodologies and tools, but it takes more than knowledge of these processes to manage change and implement solutions. A successful project manager will be able to do more than track earned value and performance indexes. It takes a holistic sense of business and operations to work… [Read more…]
March 2, 2011
>Conventional project management methodologies, such as the critical-path method and the traditional “waterfall” method, are suitable for projects with limited uncertainties, variables, and timeframes. The focus on predictive planning, and corrective actions as a project progressed, was a generally well-understood and intuitive approach: use proven processes and tools, define all requirements early-on, develop a step-by-step… [Read more…]
August 23, 2010
>Nothing ever goes completely according to plan, so no matter the size or scope of your project, having some type of informal or formal contingency fund/plan in place is going to be a necessity (and will help protect your relationship with the client). At one company I worked for, we had some advantages when it… [Read more…]
April 19, 2010
>The project baseline represents both the schedule and budget for all project tasks. As such, it is the benchmark against which all actual schedules and costs are measured, and it shows the relationship between the three primary project constraints – cost, performance and schedule. Schedule variance or cost variance can be determined by comparing earned… [Read more…]
March 25, 2010
>I’ve heard and read a lot about leadership and management. When it comes to projects, I can’t help but feel leadership is an overrated concept; something that is really only required by employees at low-level positions; people who need something to believe in because their jobs don’t provide fulfillment. I also think that a project… [Read more…]
February 6, 2010
>I’ve recently heard some very compelling points with regards to the systemic nature of projects. Perhaps the most poignant concept is the realization that the sum of project overruns is often greater than its parts. I know that, in hindsight, it is difficult to explain how any one change, or the uncertainty in a single… [Read more…]
October 19, 2009
> For this post, I analyzed a regional consulting firm that has been having some growing pains. This analysis allowed me to see that the structure of the organization was significantly contributing to their problems, and would have to be changed if they hoped to improve their PM processes and operational efficiency. The graphic allows… [Read more…]
July 30, 2009
>Generally speaking, a theory is a set of related ideas, principles and techniques that apply to a particular subject. Theories are typically used to explain a set of observations, and can provide us with an expectation of what should happen, barring unforeseen circumstances. However, the underlying theory of project management is somewhat implicit in nature.… [Read more…]
April 24, 2009
>Selecting and beginning a project is always complicated – no matter how well you plan, something will (probably) go wrong. Sometimes, and I’m guilty of this myself, it’s easy to get caught up in how great things will be at the end of the project, or once things get up and running. Managing expectations, especially… [Read more…]
September 25, 2011
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