PM Blog: Project Practitioners

Don't Fumble That Handoff

2010-08-31T19:41:15-07:00

In honor of the impending (and long overdue) start of the college football season, I wanted to talk a little bit about project handoffs, specifically changing project managers in the midst of a project. Hopefully project handoffs of this sort do not happen as frequently as the handoff between a quarterback and running back occurs in football, but in the past six months I have experienced more project handoffs than expected. Through these experiences, I have discovered a couple of techniques that decrease the chances of dropping the project, just like grabbing the ball with both hands is very crucial...

What Will Help You Sleep Better?

2010-08-30T20:27:20-07:00

If you find you're lying awake nights worrying about vague, barely identifiable stuff, it's possible that you need some time awaynot to relax, but to clear the decks and get some closure.

On Being Uniform

2010-08-29T20:59:06-07:00

Why Be Uniform As a consulting engineer we recently did a project for a refinery where the pipe specification called out asbestos gaskets. Knowing that asbestos has not been used for years in North America and the fact that on the last refinery project, the project engineer did not want to use them, we assumed that this project engineer would do the same. We spent some time researching what was used in the past to replace the asbestos gasket, made up a specification deviation and sent it to the refinery project engineer. To our surprise he refused the specification deviation...

Applying Marketing Wisdom to Project Management

2010-08-22T20:32:40-07:00

Project Coach, Your Clear Next Step I had the chance to listen to marketing guru Drew McClellan speak at a BIZ event in Des Moines this past week, and although his message was targeted towards marketing for businesses, one of the comments he shared applies to project managers in a fundamental way. He made a statement that was something like "the time is now". His point, as I understood it, was that when something happens - and he was specifically talking about something bad...a crisis even...in today's world, there is really no time to delay before reacting. Businesses need to...

The Schedule & The Project Plan

2010-08-16T06:05:00-07:00

A project schedule is not the same as the project plan. Repeat after me, the schedule is not the project plan. As the name suggests, the project plan is a collection of documents used to manage the execution of a project. The schedule includes dates for tasks and milestones in the project plan and is an element of the plan, but is not comprehensive enough to be considered a plan. The project plan goes much deeper than a timeline and is the overall blueprint for the project. According to the PMBOK, the project plan may include the following: Project charter...

A Mile in Their Shoes

2010-08-13T15:32:06-07:00

I have recently been working as a consultant with a team that endeavored to improve their project performance. As the engagement has been extended over several months, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on the relationship of consultant to team. This has led to an epiphany that I’d like to share. Why is a consultant hired? Presumably, because the team needs to gain skills and the consultant has them. With such an arrangement, it can be tempting for a consultant to approach the project with a mental model to the effect, parachute into the group, enlighten them, and then close...

A Lesson from a Pill

2010-08-12T10:08:30-07:00

For me it has finally hit, an onslaught of physical things that make you realize that you are aging. Reading glasses, wrinkles, and a load of other things that make you truly understand that there is no going back to being 20. So, in response to some of these discomforts, I have added medications to my daily regimen, to try to assuage the inevitable, and make the transition into "old age" more comfortable. I don’t know if any of you have had the same experience, but finding just the “right drug fit” for some of these conditions can be a...

Every project manager is born happy

2010-08-12T07:44:46-07:00

After managing many projects in my professional life and observing other professionals doing the same, I believe that every project manager is born happy; but it takes years to figure that out. Positive attitude happens when you think it will happen. I found many negative project managers being focused on the negative all the time, I mean focused on problems and issues and all time complaining, instead of being focused on solutions and looking for alternative paths. Positive attitude happens when you make it happen. You, as a project manager, must think in a positive way every day in your...

Clearing The Distractions

2010-08-10T09:40:24-07:00

I am not sure about you but it is pretty easy for me to get caught up in being busy without really getting anything done. What I call choosing activity over accomplishment. My days can be almost entirely consumed with distractions. Meetings of all flavors, vendor events, getting caught up in staff disputes, sorting through hundreds of email and answering the few that require attention, and the general smoke jumping that comes with working in IT. Over the years, I have tried various ways to clear my life of distractions. For many years, I used a Franklin Planner to keep...

Negotiating with My Sponsor

2010-08-08T23:03:03-07:00

Upper management support is crucial for project success. Their support in sponsoring projects, however, often falls short of what is necessary to ensure project success. Why? Is it ignorance, lack of knowledge about what's required, distaste for the role, too busy, unwilling...? Well, maybe so, but a key ingredient is the ability of project managers to manage upwards and effectively negotiate with their sponsors. Pretend you are eavesdropping with a coach on a conversation between a sponsor and project manager. Observe the good, the bad, and the ugly about what happens - or should happen - during negotiations. Appreciate how...