I don’t need to tell you yet again how valuable your time is. ‘Time is precious’, ‘time is money’― you have heard a thousand variations already. We get it, time is important…so what do I do about it? This article gives you just one perspective on how to manage your time and overcome the myth of multitasking...
 Quality assurance – that necessary evil that we all must pay attention to on our project deliveries to some degree.
Don't get me wrong, it should be part of every project, but incorporating it well into an ongoing project engagement is painful and often beyond the scope and control of the project manager and business analyst depending on a few factors, of course. The definition of quality assurance is... “the maintenance of a desired level of quality in a service or product, especially by means of attention to every stage of the process of delivery or production.” What is going to be more successful - a project with two or three project documents or a project with hundreds of project documents? Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” answer to that question; a well-run project may need either and all of the in-between. Projects can vary in size, deliverables, life cycle, scope and that is just the tip of the variable iceberg. What is certain is that project documentation should be clear, relevant and up to date...
I’ve written a lot about project success factors and thoughts on why projects fail. I've done surveys and received lots of feedback from readers and colleagues. So far, it has all pretty much supported my own thoughts and perceptions on project success determiners.
Depending on your organization or your customer or even your own perception, the definition of project success or failure can be very different. Usually it’s one of three possible options:
You consider yourself a pretty good, experienced and dedicated project manager. Your projects are more likely to succeed than your fellow PM colleagues. You seem to complete them on time and on budget more often than not, and many of the more complex projects get handed to you by your senior leadership because of your history of PM successes. Great! Now how do you get better?...
Projects succeed and projects fail. According to some survey statistics that have been presented in the past couple of years projects fail to some degree and based on some criteria or another between 56% and 74% of the time. Stats like those ensure us of two things:
Coaching and mentoring drive results, increase commitment to a project, and improve employee performance. Learn when and how to use these approaches...
I’ve always been a classic rock n’ roll kind of guy. But about two or three years ago my wife started forcing country music on me. Like anything else except some of today’s “pop” music – when listened to incessantly it ends up becoming familiar and likable. In fact, the last three live concerts I’ve attended have been three of the biggest stars in country music history (George Strait, Garth Brooks and Carrie Underwood) so I guess I’ve become something of a “fan” of the genre. Now there is a song by Jamey Johnson called “You Should’ve Seen it in Color.” It’s basically about a grandson looking at black & white pictures with his grandfather and he’s hearing the story behind each photo from the Depression and the war, etc. with his grandfather saying, “If it looks like we were scared to death… you should’ve seen it in color.”
Fast forward to today and the world of project management. Is it calming? Does the daily black and white grind make it look monotonous when we all know it really isn’t. Does it all goes as planned? If everyone could “see it in color” would they see a much more challenging PM picture underneath? Does every project go off without a hitch? Or if everyone could “see it in color” would they see a much more challenging PM picture underneath? It’s not rocket science, I realize that. And for the most part overloaded project managers aren’t going to get so stressed out that they jump out of the 72nd story of an office building…at least I’ve never heard of one doing that. But it can be a fearful world to be in. Why? For many reasons… As you start a new month and a new quarter, it’s a good time to think about your goals and any changes you would like to make, both professional and personal. Is there a new skill you would like to learn, or a habit you wish to form? Is there an element of your collaborative project management approach that needs some attention? Perhaps you already know what you need to work on but don't know where to start? Quite often, people struggle to make long-lasting, meaningful change. At BrightWork, we have crafted the “REP” approach to personal change management. REP stands for Research, Execute and Post-Mortem. REP is a play on the word ‘repetition’ and is a very simple but effective personal change management process. Effective project management involves more than developing and following a plan; you must invest in your leadership skills and personal development. REP is the key to this challenge...
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Brad Egeland
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December 2022
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