“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” ~Peter Druker As a member of a project team, what is the leadership style of your team leader? Over the years, I’ve seen many different styles of team leadership. Sometimes it was fascinating watching leaders attempt to get the project complete – often with little success. In other cases, it was seeing pure poetry […]
Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work. ~ Peter Drucker The contents of a project plan document is not a mystery to a project manager. In the past, I’ve focused on the problem statement, scope statement, and deliverables related to projects. You can find that article here. Here, I’m going to answer the question – what else do I put […]
Here’s the latest in my series How Did I Get Here. These are interviews of current project management professionals intended to help folks see how others made project management a career. Welcome, Michael Bovilsky! When did you first decide to become a project manager? Michael decided to switch to Project Management in 2001 after 6 years in IT Consulting for State and Local governments. He […]
Today we have a guest post from a friend of mine. Gianna Lucarelli is in 8th grade at Sierra Middle School in Parker, Colorado. She’s getting organized – the first step in Project Management. Here are her views on time management and getting organized. Some people have trouble staying neat and organized. Making goals and plans, organizing possessions, school life, and personal factors are all […]
So, you’ve got content and you’ve got vision – but you’re not seeing results. What to do? Over the past year, I’ve been helping a few small businesses with their content needs as a content project manager. My background is project management, training, technical writing and communication for much larger companies. Even though these companies are small, they have some of the same problems I’ve […]
In Monday morning’s team meeting, project manager A is asking the team for status. The Quality Manager notes that they are 75% done with testing. PM A nods and makes a note. Perhaps she asks if testing will meet their dates. The Quality Manager says Yes. PM A moves on. But does she really know if testing will meet their dates? How many meetings like […]
Another phone call. Another change on your thorniest project. You roll your eyes, thinking, “How did I get stuck with this mess?” The never-ending project. The never-ending project sneaks up on you. Over time, you’ve made so many changes that it seems normal that in your team meeting, you’re changing direction yet again. The sponsor is excited to get their new vision created. You’re just […]
Cynthia Smith lives in the Denver area and enjoys running, hiking, and singing. She has worked in IT for 15+ years and most recently worked as a Senior Project Manager at Oildex, which provides cloud-based accounting software for the oil and gas industry. When did you first decide to become a project manager? I was working as a programmer and developer for quite a few […]
Now that winter is nearly over, folks are starting to think about those home improvement projects that they want to do over the summer. So, while staring at the blizzard outside, here’s a quick primer on using project management techniques for your home projects. Know your outcome Before you get started, know what you want to accomplish. If it’s painting the house, imagine what the […]
If you’re a project manager for a small company, you have a unique set of job-related issues. You’re probably the only person managing projects and may have responsibilities for several different types of projects – marketing, internal processes, or customer product development. Here are a few tips to make your job a bit easier. Get systems in place One of the biggest challenges small companies […]
