Leadership is an important quality in a good project manager – it is the driving force behind a successful team. This article from projecttimes.com, written by Peter de Jager, looks at what it means to “think outside the box” and how many of our “boxes” are actually self-imposed limitations.
Successful project management hinges on good time management. Effective project managers avoid time-wasting exercises at all times and ensure that both their own time and the time of their resources is used productively.
Here are five useful tips to help you best utilise your time.
The technology industry is particularly fast-paced and constantly evolving, and project managers can learn many valuable lessons from the successes and mistakes that have been made by the leaders in the field.
Smallbiztrends.com looks at some of the giants in the technology business and the insights they provide into what it takes to thrive as a project manager.
In developing countries like South Africa, socioeconomic development projects have the potential to significantly improve the quality of people’s lives. In practice, however, the impact is often limited due to inefficiency, inequity, and insufficient accountability. Barend Cronjé, CEO of CoLAB, a leading project implementation consultancy, looks at improving the outcomes through integrating accountability into SED projects.
Utilising a stable project management standard such as the PMBOK® Guide can simplify the task of defining a practical and effective project management process. However, many new project managers find the application of these principals in the real world difficult.
Risks and Issues in project management are often confused and the two terms are frequently used interchangeably. However, risks and issues are not the same thing and should be clearly identified and differentiated so they can be addressed correctly when they arise.
A fundamental part of a project is the efficient and effective management of resources. Often managers see adding more resources as a quick solution to an issue, but managing existing resources more efficiently frequently yields a better outcome.
By Chanel van der Westhuizen
All projects reach a stage where the Project Manager will be required to exit the project. A project can exit during Closure Stage, when the Project Manager can ensure that the project has achieved its planned deliverables and objectives & ownership has been handed over to the business.
One of a project manager’s biggest tasks is keeping a project on track in the face of constant requests for changes and additions. It is for this reason that managing the expectations of project stakeholders from the outset of the project and having a strategy in place to deal with scope creep are both crucially important.
More and more the project management community is becoming aware of the value of soft skills. A good project manager is not only experienced and skilled but also has the capabilities to manage the people on the project and bring their team together toward a common goal.
How we do Project management has changed a lot in the past decade with new technologies emerging all the time. These tools and technologies are designed to simplify things and make project management more efficient, but it can be difficult to know what to use.
There are many factors that influence the success of a project, among them the right combination of planning, monitoring and controlling. Getting the balance of the elements right to complete a project on time and within budget can be tricky, so we are looking at some best practice tips that will help you get there.
Robert Wysocki has written an interesting series of articles on Projecttimes.com looking at both the ECPM and PRINCE2 Frameworks.
In this series of articles, he looks at integrating the two in order to improve PRINCE2 project management performance.
Projects sometimes run into problems. It is up to the project manager to identify where the issues are before it becomes a project in crisis, but often companies are turn to changing project tools and processes to failing projects without identifying that the problem is actually in poor communication.
There is often blurring of the lines between product management and project management. The responsibilities frequently overlap and in some cases the role actually falls to the same person. But what is the real difference between a project manager and a product manager?
An article by Richard Banfield on freshtilledsoil.com looks to clear up the confusion around the different roles.
Project managers are faced with a multitude of complications and challenges that come with each and every project. Failure to overcome these can easily set a project onto a downward path that ultimately leads to project failure, so identifying and tackling the issues is essential. No two projects are alike and roadblocks vary, but we have identified some common challenges and ideas on how to overcome them.
Constructive feedback can help to improve productivity and boost your team’s morale, but do annual performance reviews do the same?
An article by Elizabeth Harrin on Projectmanager.com thinks the answer is no.
Poor team dynamics can be as detrimental to a project as poor management. Good team dynamics mean a productive successful team. You may think your team doesn’t need an intervention, but consistently working on team dynamics is important for any team to keep it running smoothly and effectively.
Here are some common signs that your team dynamics need to be reviewed:
Project management methodologies are an integral part of the project management process, but with so many to choose from, how do you know where to begin?
This article from Moira Alexander looks at some of the different methodologies, including Agile, Waterfall, Critical Path Method (CPM), Six Sigma and others, and how to determine which is best suited to your needs.
Technology has gone a long way to improving how we manage projects and simplifying communication in the project team. But with so many systems out there it’s hard to know which way to turn.
