Should planning the project be tasks that are included in the project? I think most of us would say yes. I know I think so and that's how I create the schedule. The problem many of us encounter – at least it has often been my experience – is the process of Sales closing the deal with the customer without project management input and then handing it off to project management to execute...
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This may seem like a simple question, but the answer is bigger than we think it is. We’ve all grown somewhat immune to the mocking of those in charge – you see the President of the United States and other world leaders mocked on TV and other media all the time. But really, what about the leadership of your company? Do you have confidence in them? Do you think they have your back? Do you feel like they’re leading you, your co-workers … even your customers in the right direction?
I think the answer for many of us is often ‘no.’ And that’s sad. Why is that … why do we feel this way?... Resource Management is all about getting the right people, equipment, and materials in the right place at the right time. This is a top challenge for project managers everywhere! Lack of proper resource planning can lead to resource shortages during project execution, which can quickly derail or halt a project. The following resources will help you to identify, allocate, track, and optimize resources on your project...
As a project manager, I am sure you have spent countless hours sifting through project data to prepare various reports for senior executives and stakeholders. Project reports are only useful if they provide easy access to actionable information. Project dashboards – a high-level summary of a project – can really help managers, teams, and executives review, monitor and manage a project on an ongoing basis, reducing the need for constant manual reporting...
In case you haven’t heard that one before, “I’m big in Japan” is a way of boosting yourself in some unverifiable fashion. Specifically, it means, “To say/pretend you are someone of stature somewhere else, meaningless and not verifiable where you currently are.”
Many are guilty, at times, of overestimating reach, ability, impact, etc. in order to make gains and win clients. We’ve seen some fall in this fashion like the new college basketball coach a few years ago who had to let go of a great job and salary because he really didn’t have the degree that he said he did. Bottom line, if you say you’re big in Japan, then Japan better have at least heard of you... Everything started with Gantt Charts, right? Your first project management experiences involved Gantt Charts with hours on tasks, and interdependencies between tasks and critical paths and all those fun things that make up wonderful, colorful Gantt Charts. And then you showed those Gantt Charts to the customer and the senior execs with all the progress lines and percents of completion showing right down to all those 62% and 47% numbers and your team and everybody was wowed by them...
Project management is not easy. Don’t let anyone ever tell you it is…if they say it is, then they likely don’t really know too much about it. Managing teams and customers is never…ever…easy. And to make it even more mysterious, most people don’t know what you really do if you tell them you’re a project manager. Think of the show “Friends”. No one really knew what Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) did for a job on the show most of the time. That was the running joke. And most people don’t really understand what project managers do for a job...
Closeout isn't any easy time for project managers. You'd think they would be feeling relief. Rather, it's closer to anxiety. You know the scenario …. you and your team have faced your fair share of issues on the project – no project is without issues and rough spots. But for the most part, things have progressed rather well. Even user acceptance testing went off without too much of a hitch...
 In my next installment of “5 Reasons Why” I'd like to refer you to Triskell-PPM Factory project portfolio management solution. Do you need a PPM or EPM? That may depend on your organization's size, client base, types of projects you undertake and sizes of projects you are engaged on. But if you think you may need such a tool – and most organizations of any size will benefit greatly from this – or if you already have a PPM tool, you owe it to yourself to check out Triskell's offering.
Why? Here are five reasons why... Triskell-PPM Factory is the only company-wide Saas solution on the Project Portfolio Management market today that offers you all the flexibility and capabilities to:
And keep in mind...these highlights are on top of what those familiar with PPM solutions would consider more standard PPM functionalities and highlights. Triskell-PPM Factory has all of those and more offering a clear strategic advantage. Are you ready to try it out? Convinced yet? Don't let me stop you from moving forward or seeking more info on your own. The people behind the product are top-notch and very quick responders for information, help and support. Request a live demo and check it out for your self with the experts at Triskell. Remember, unlike other tools Triskell is an enterprise solution that is configured to meet the specific needs of your company, which makes it very easy to use and fit each user in many critical areas including project portfolio management and planning / resource optimization. Go to Triskell to learn much more about what they have to offer. |
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Brad Egeland
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December 2022
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