PM Blog: Project Practitioners

Risk Management, in the REAL World

2010-03-16T14:46:57-07:00

One of the things I’ve observed in life, in attending PMP prep classes and teaching those classes since, is that most project managers don’t spend much time or effort in performing and updating risk management activities. I also consult with companies both small and large in improving project management execution, and again I find a lack of effort in risk management areas, except in highly-regulated areas, or in highly-evolved companies. There are two kinds of risk management, PROJECT risk and PRODUCT risk. Both are well-covered in the ProjectConnection.com content. My point is that, although the methods and processes are known,...

Is There Such a Thing as an IT Project?

2010-03-14T19:50:09-07:00

I asked that question during a conversation with a few other project managers a few weeks ago. I already knew what my answer was, but I was curious about the view point of the others. I work in an organization where software is not our final product, so my perspective is that all projects done in the organization are business projects that have a varying amount of IT involvement. In other words, every project should deliver business value - increase or protect revenue or reduce cost in alignment with the organizational strategy. After I explained my viewpoint, one of my...

A Reusable Checklist for Leading Volunteer Efforts

2010-03-07T12:58:00-08:00

As a career project professional and an active member of a number of professional, community, and faith-based organizations, I'm often asked to help manage, drive, direct, coordinate, rally, herd, coerce, (or any number of other epithets for "leading") a group of volunteers in accomplishing a task of some sort. Key principles of project management still apply to "projects" outside of work, but I've assembled this list of considerations that are somewhat unique to volunteer efforts, in hope that I can help someone else's efforts as a volunteer project manager a little easier. Regardless of the nature of a project, and...

Troubled Projects Troubling You - Some White Papers to help you make it Right!

2010-03-06T12:56:17-08:00

Standish reports continue to indicate that the number of troubled projects rises each year. On these troubled projects, private companies and government agencies lose millions. Over time, I've been called in to help fix some of these projects. I never like getting that phone call, hearing a worried voice on the other end of the line, knowing that they're in dire need of some help. What I can say is that I love to make it right - taking a troubled project and fixing it, getting that terrible creep away from the scope or ensuring that a project is back...

A Winning Team

2010-03-04T16:41:51-08:00

Do you remember standing toe-to-the-line in gym class, waiting to be picked as teams were called? If you weren't born with natural athletic ability, your best chance for being selected early in the process was when your friend was Captain for the Day. Does member selection for your project teams often feel eerily similar to school days? Follow these easy steps to select a winning team: Identify what you need, not who you need. Clearly identify the skills, experience and qualifications for each required team member; you are more likely to find what you need when you recruit team members...

Olympic Lessons

2010-03-01T05:00:00-08:00

The Olympics inspire me. Ever since I was a little girl I remember watching the games, pretending one day I could be an Olympic figure skater as I glided up and down the ice covered driveway. This year I've been particularly mesmerized with the Olympics, watching as many specials and stories of the athletes as possible. I love hearing the tales of someone overcoming obstacles to live their dream and excel. And I’m not shy to admit the chills I get when a US athlete stands at the top of the podium, winning gold and hearing our national anthem. The...

PPM, The Final Frontier

2010-02-27T08:45:00-08:00

I will admit that I am not the smartest person on the face of the earth. Almost everything I have learned about IT governance and project portfolio management (PPM) I learned by doing it wrong. For example, in my first CIO role, I recognized the need to have some type of IT decision-making process that extended beyond IT. I convinced the CEO to convene an IT steering committee composed of a subset of the executive team. The CEO acceded to my request and I spent six months slogging through agony of trying to get eight people that had never collaborated...

The Yin and Yang of Attitude

2010-02-26T14:12:19-08:00

Do you have a good attitude all the time? Go ahead, be honest. If you said yes, you're lying. If you said no, you're being honest with yourself. Have you ever heard self-help or motivational gurus speak about the importance of a good attitude? I actually heard one motivational speaker state that, "As long as you have a good attitude good things will happen to you." Now, I'd really like to believe that. But the plain fact is that I'm a realist. Having a good attitude does NOT prevent bad things from happening to you. What a good attitude can...

So you're thinking of transitioning to a PM role in the Medical & Life Sciences industry?

2010-02-25T11:56:13-08:00

I recently participated in Silicon Valley chapter PMI Life Sciences roundtable discussion about transitioning project management skills into the medical industry and came away with some interesting insights. The meeting was attended by project management professionals from within the medical device, pharmaceutical and biotech industry, consultants and job seekers from around the San Francisco bay area. The discussion touched on the medical device, biomedical / pharmaceutical and IT segments of the medical industry. I've heard many colleagues from the semiconductor and other non-life science industry PMs say that the barrier to entry is insurmountable; that only those with industry experience...

The Project Manager Teachability

2010-02-24T04:12:27-08:00

To keep leading a project, keep learning. Value your listening, and reading time at roughly ten times your talking time. This will assure you that you are on a course of continuous learning and self-improvement. I love the sentence "You could be my teacher". Being ready to learn is not a normal attitude found in some project managers. However every project is a continuous learning process during the whole project life cycle. The only thing you need is to be focused on the project facts, analyze them and try to learn to improve your performance. Sometime ago I learned the...