Project management

Agile and Lean are two popular methods in the project management world that help teams deliver faster, more sustainable results. However, the differences and similarities between these two methodologies are often not clear. Even the terms themselves are often used in the wrong manner, as synonyms to describe a particular set of practices. For a … Continue reading "Lean and Agile: differences and similarities"

For sure, you are asking yourself: “Gaming and Project Management? Did I read well? “Yes, you read very well! “But how does it work?”. The idea is quite simple: use a game model to create rewards in terms of productivity and goals. It is simply applying the techniques used in games in non-gaming contexts, in … Continue reading "Project Management & Gamification: using games for project management"

What are the skills of the Project Manager today? That’s a good question! Project management is not an easy job. In reality, this is composed by a series of difficult tasks, including the start-up, planning, execution, control, closure of a project and, last but not least, the management of the team. And the project manager … Continue reading "Project manager skills: 9 (+1) key skills"

Visual Project Management is an interesting approach to project management. A project management strategy designed to increase success by visualizing project components like data and activities. It is a proven fact that people receive more than 80% of information through the sense of sight. From the most tender age, we write and draw in order … Continue reading "Visual project management"

Project requirements are a key aspect in order to complete the project on time and without exceeding budget limits. This is one of the essential skills of a project manager, often underestimated, which consists in the collection and analysis of these aspects of the plan. Understanding clearly the requirements of any project you are about … Continue reading "Project requirements: how to collect and analyze them"

Business coaching for a project manager is becoming a key aspect of the business. John Whitmore, recognized by everyone as the founding father of Coaching, defined it as the ability to “Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximize their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”   CONTENT INDEX Business … Continue reading "Business Coaching. How to prepare for the best by strengthening 4 key skills. (Article for Project Managers)."

A Work Breakdown Structure, abbreviated with WBS, is a visual tool for the definition and tracking of a project deliverable and all the small components necessary to create it. With a Work Breakdown Structure, the project manager can concentrate on what he has to accomplish as he approaches the project deadline. This is a fundamental … Continue reading "Work Breakdown Structure: some suggestions for using it to the best"

Total Quality Management is an extended and structured organizational management approach. It focuses on continuous improvement of the products and services quality using continuous feedback. The exact origin of the term Total Quality Management is not certain. What is certain is that it was certainly inspired by the works of Armand V. Feigenbaum and Kaoru … Continue reading "Total quality management: plan the quality management of a project"

Brainstorming, a technique apparently so far, but so useful for a Project Manager. In the life of a project manager, in fact, creative thinking is required every day to solve problems. Steve Jobs himself underlined it with the phrase: “Creativity is nothing more than connecting things” In fact, many job descriptions for project managers specify … Continue reading "Brainstorming and Project management: creativity at the service of a project’s success"

Program managers and project managers, two roles with similar titles will not be so different, right? Wrong! It is easy to get confused for the assonance, but above all because in some companies the Project Manager carries out tasks and activities that are very similar to those of the Program Manager. In reality, the Program … Continue reading "Differences between Program manager and Project manager: the two roles compared"

Today, the resistance to change in the company is a very important, and the same time delicate, subject. In fact, in business, it is assumed that – big or small – organizations must change to remain competitive and survive in an ever-changing market. However, facing this (big) change leads to face resistance barriers. There are … Continue reading "Corporate change: the 8 reasons that cause difficulties and resistance"

A clear and detailed project documentation is essential for the success of the project itself. Every good project manager knows it well! In fact, it is necessary to be constantly updated to stay on track with the project. However, project documentation drafting can be a difficult and unloved task. For some organizations and projects there … Continue reading "Project documents: best practices to manage them better"

Being able to organize the work time of your team is essential for the success of each project. This is also because a project manager does not always have all the necessary resources to complete the project. And even in the case when the resources are sufficient, during the execution of the project there are … Continue reading "Organize team work time: leveling or smoothing resources?"

In project management, the Earned Value method is one of the most appreciated and well-known project management tools. It is a project management technique that allows to measure performance and progress. It combines the measures of the project management triangle: scope, time and costs. CONTENT INDEX What is the Earned Value Method? The requirement for … Continue reading "The Earned Value Method: What is it and how to use it"

The idea of  how to manage remote working team until just 20 years ago was pure madness. Internet has changed the history, and companies are adapting to it. In the ever-changing and rapidly developing modern world, it is almost impossible to imagine something stable and stationary. CONTENT INDEX Choose the right members for the team Communication … Continue reading "How to manage remote working teams"