As project managers, our management likes insight into what the team is doing. There are many different ways to accomplish this including your project plan and all its specific plans, meetings with the managers to status the project, and schedules. One method that is very popular is the use of Gantt charts. A visual depiction A Gantt chart is a visual depiction of your schedule. […]
If you’re not a project manager, you are probably unaware of scope management. I was wrapping up phase one of a complicated infrastructure project. We were installing a large Storage Area Network (SAN) to handle all the U.S. and Canadian Training Centers – 10 locations if I remember correctly – with around 75 training rooms. I was feeling good that we were almost done, and I was […]
Project management is all about solving problems and delivering results. When your manager comes to you with a project proposal, it’s because there’s a business issue that needs resolution. Part of the job of a project manager is to define that problem so that it is solvable, then develop the plan, the schedules, and handle the deliverables. It all starts with the problem statement. As […]
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, David Lewis! When did you first decide to become a project manager? I was managing a Manufacturing Engineering department at Boeing and had just finished my MBA at Cal Poly, Pomona. I was […]
I spent years as a corporate project manager, managing all types of projects from software documentation and training development to data warehouse infrastructure construction and server tech refresh. Lately, as a freelance writer, I find that the principles of project management are still relevant. All writing projects require some degree of task management. Let’s talk about the most popular content development projects: whitepapers, case studies, […]
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 […]
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 […]
Team execution is vital Whether you’re a small business with a small group of employees, or a manager in a large organization there are always a few initiatives that need a team to complete. How do you help the team be successful? Here are a few tips to improve team execution. Define the deliverable For many teams, the main barrier to execution is the lack […]
We all have trouble getting started on what we need to do. For some, social media is the excuse for procrastination. For others, it’s surfing the Internet and reading about people and places that won’t get you any nearer to your goals. Personally, I’m a news junkie. I can locate and read news from nearly any source and even read about the same incident several […]
