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Dave Nielsen - EzineArticles.com Expert Author
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- Using MS Project For "What If" Scenarios
[Business:Management] Project Managers are often challenged to determine what the result of changes to scope or schedule. Determining the impact of the change, particularly on a complex project, can be tricky. Fortunately, there is a tool most project managers have on their computers that makes this chore relatively easy: MS Project. Find out how to use MS Project to simplify this task.
- Controlling Change Requests
[Business:Change-Management] Project Managers can accept the fact that all projects need to change in some way during their life cycle, but sometimes changes can get out of hand and end up derailing the project! In this article we provide you with tips on controlling the requested changes so that you can prevent them from taking up excessive time and still implement the ones that add value to the project.
- Sponsoring a Project
[Business:Management] There is a lot of information and advice available in print form and on the internet about project management, but relatively little about project sponsorship. Project sponsorship requires more than simply signing the checks and taking delivery of the successful project. You need to to give your project manager the tools they require to succeed and use your influence to remove the obstacles they face. This article explores some of the do's and dont's of successful sponsorship.
- The Project Scorecard
[Business:Management] Want to have your communications to your project sponsor and project stakeholders read every time out? Try using the "scorecard" approach. This article gives you pointers and advice on putting together a scorecard for your project that will be an attention grabber.
- Remarkable Project Managers - Frank Crowe
[Business:Management] Looking for inspiration for your project? How about the project manager who had to divert the course of the Colorado River and pour volumes of concrete never attempted before to build the Hoover Dam. Frank Crowe did all that and more. Read on to find out how he managed to deliver such a large complex project and how you can duplicate his success.
- Remarkable Project Managers - The Roeblings
[Business:Management] This is the 2nd in a series of articles about remarkable project managers. The subject of this article is actually a father and son team, the Roeblings, who together lead the project that built the Brooklyn Bridge, another outstanding project.
- Remarkable Project Managers - Gen Leslie Groves
[Business:Management] Leadership is probably the most important "soft" skill in the project managers tool kit. This is the first of several articles about project managers who had that skill in spades and used it to accomplish some fairly remarkable objectives. The first of these is General Leslie Groves, project manager of the Manhattan project.
- Writing the Project Statement of Work
[Business:Management] Your project's statement of work outlines all the work to be done on the project. Any PMP Course will explain how this document is to be used, but how do you go about creating one for your project? Read on.
- The Top 6 Reasons For PMP Certification
[Business:Career-Advice] Every project manager will have their own reasons for becoming PMP certified, but these 6 reasons will apply to every project manager. How will certification bring about an improvement in your organization's bottom line? It's simple, your organization invests money in projects that will increase revenue or decrease expenses.
- PMP Exam Tips
[Reference-and-Education] Passing the PMP Exam is a pressure packed experience. This article contains some tips and tricks that will help de-pressurize that experience for you.
- Taming MS Project
[Business:Management] Have you ever felt like you were working for MS Project instead of the other way around? MS Project can become a huge overhead, even for seasoned project managers. This article contains some tips and tricks that will help you tame the tool.
- Green Projects
[Business:Management] More and more emphasis is being placed on projects that help our environment, or are at least compatible with the environment. These projects are commonly referred to as "green" projects. Whether "greening" is an adjunct to the project, or a project objective more and more projects are initiated that can be called "green". Green projects place new demands on the project manager. This article describes one such project and some of these new demands.
- Change Management Tips
[Business:Change-Management] No project worth delivering will complete exactly as originally planned; there are always some changes that must be made to guarantee the project delivers to its full potential. Successful project management is not a matter of avoiding change, it is a matter of managing it. Read this article to find out how to manage changes to your project and avoid having them manage you.
- Identifying Risks to Software Projects
[Business:Management] The first step in managing the risks to your project is to identify those risks. This article provides you with "how to" advice on identifying risks to software development projects. It also contains tips and tricks on the best way to identify risks and maintain your risk list, and what risks to look for in each different software development methodology.
- Managing Project Risk
[Business:Management] Every project experiences surprises, some of them are nasty and some pleasant. One attribute that distinguishes good project managers from mediocre ones is their ability to deal with the surprises that come their way, make the most of the pleasant ones and avoid or mitigate the nasty ones. This article is full of practical tips on how to avoid, mitigate, or encourage these surprises.
- Customer Management
[Business:Customer-Service] It is fair to say that good communications is essential to the task of managing the customers of a project, but good communication is tool that will enable you to improve on your management style. Managing your customer requires you to understand who your customer is, what they need from the project you're managing, how to set reasonable expectations around what you can deliver, and demonstrating to them that you've delivered.
- Performance Issues - Conflicts Outside the Team
[Business:Management] This is a companion piece to the "Dealing With Performance Issues" Article. Having problems with members of your team caught up in running battles with stakeholders? This article will provide insight into potential causes and how to deal with them effectively so that your project isn't derailed.
- Performance Issues - Conflicts Within the Team
[Business:Management] This is a companion piece to the "Dealing with Performance Issues" article. Conflicts are common occurrences in any team endeavor, in fact they may indicate a healthy degree of engagement. When they don't, you had better be ready to recognize the signs and resolve the issue. This article explains how.
- Performance Issues - The Needy Team Member
[Business:Management] What do you do with the team member who is constantly at their neighbor's side, pleading for help and distracting an otherwise productive team member? You can't ignore the situation or production and morale will suffer but you must handle the situation with sensitivity. This article gives you some tips and tricks on how to correct the situation without the negative side effects you're worried about.
- Performance Issues - Missed Deadlines
[Business:Management] This article is a companion piece to Performance Issues. If your project is continually missing deadlines you may have a performance problem with one of the members of your team. This article tells you how to determine if you have this problem and how to address it if you do.
- Performance Issues - Absenteeism
[Business:Management] This is a companion article to "Dealing with Performance Issues". It offers advice and tips on how to address the problem of excessive absenteeism on a project.
- Choosing the Right SDLC For Your Project
[Business:Management] There are a multitude of Software Development Methodologies (SDLC) out there. How does a PM go about choosing the right one for their project? This article gives you insight into which project each method is best suited to.
- Dealing With Performance Issues
[Business:Management] Are you struggling to deal with a performance issue on your team? Projects frequently fail to deliver because one or more team members aren't performing and negatively affect productivity and team morale. This is the first in a series of articles that contain tips on dealing with these issues. Monitor this web site for the next article in the series.
- Requirements Gathering - Traceability
[Business:Management] OK, you've engaged the right stakeholders and taken care to gather clear requirements but how do you prove you've delivered? This article shows you how to ensure requirements aren't missed and demonstrate your success to your stakeholders.
- Requirements Gathering - Scheduling Activities
[Business:Management] This article is a companion piece for the Requirements Gathering for Software Projects article. Your stakeholders will drag their feet when it comes time to sign off on requirements, after all they want to get the system design right the first time! This article will provide you with some helpful tips on getting your requirements activities to complete on time.
- Tips For Managing Projects in a Recession
[Business:Management] In tight economic times, only those projects that deliver ROI are likely to survive. This article contains some Do's and Dont's that should help your organization's projects succeed.
- Requirements Gathering - Define Requirements Accurately
[Business] This is a follow-up article to the one entitled: Requirements Gathering for Software Projects. It's important to capture the right requirements accurately. This article explains how.
- Gathering Software Requirements - Identify the Right Approvers
[Business:Management] This is a follow up article to the Gathering Software Requirements article. The client or customer organization must approve the requirements but identifying the right people in that organization to approve the requirements can be the difference between project success and failure. This article provides some helpful tips on identifying the right approvers.
- Requirements Gathering - Choosing the Right Tools
[Business] There are a multitude of tools, techniques, and methodologies to help you gather requirements. Choosing the ones best suited to your project is the trick. This article provides some valuable insight on how to choose the tools that are best suited to your project.
- Identifying the Right Stakeholders to Contribute to Requirements
[Business:Management] This is a companion article to Requirements Gathering for Software Projects. Start the process of gathering requirements by identifying the stakeholders who should contribute their requirements. This article gives you tips on how to identify these stakeholders.
- Requirements Gathering For Software Projects
[Business:Management] This is the first in a series of articles on gathering requirements for software projects. The remaining articles will be published in this space. These articles contain helpful tips and tricks that will help you avoid the pitfalls that often result in building the wrong software solution.
- Job Huddles Can Improve Project Performance
[Business:Productivity] Want to keep your project on track, or bring it back on track? Try job huddles. Job huddles will help you meet minor deadlines that contribute to meeting the big ones.
- Conducting Successful Gate Meetings
[Business:Management] Gate Meetings, variously referred to as Phase Exit Reviews, Kill Points, and Business Decision Points, are essential decision points and must be held at strategic milestones in your project. This article will provide some insights into when to hold the meetings, who to invite, and how to run them so you get the results you need.
- Project Communications - How to Keep Your Team Engaged and Informed
[Business:Management] Good communication is vital to the success of your project. This article explores the methods used by successful project managers to tailor their communications to suit their audiences. The article offers advice and tips on how to implement the best practices taught by the PMBOK and many PMP Exam Preparation courses.
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