Project activities: role and characteristics

In this article we will examine the project activities, their role and characteristics. CONTENT What defines a project? 1. Clarify project goals and scope 2. Develop a work breakdown structure 3. Deliver a realistic schedule 4. Create a project risk plan 5. Manage change requests Project activities: planning and development 1. Setting up project activities … Continue reading “Project activities: role and characteristics”

Engaging the Project Team

Knowing how to engage your project team is certainly one of the key drivers for running a successful business. CONTENT What is project team engagement? How do you measure Team members’ engagement? How to engage the project team Engaging the Project Team: Bottom Line A project manager wants their employees to feel proud of what … Continue reading “Engaging the Project Team”

Product life cycle and its relevance in business strategies

A product’s life cycle (which should not be mistaken with a project’s life cycle) bears a strategic relevance for the company that produces it. CONTENT What is product life cycle management? The four phases of a product’s life cycle and related business strategies 1. Introduction 2. Growth 3. Maturity 4. Decline Product life cycle: bottom … Continue reading “Product life cycle and its relevance in business strategies”

Project quality control: which parameters should be monitored

Project quality is a major factor in achieving client satisfaction, which in turn is a key component in project success. Therefore, nothing about quality should be taken lightly, but more importantly, quality control should not be something improvised or done afterwards. CONTENT Planning and identification of parameters to be monitored for quality Parameters to monitor … Continue reading “Project quality control: which parameters should be monitored”

Corporate governance vs management

CONTENT Corporate governance role Corporate governance: 7 questions to understand it Governance duties and responsibilities Management’s role Corporate governance vs management: Conclusions Corporate governance and management are not the same thing, although some people might think so. Actually, they are two very different things. Let’s make it clear in this article where we will look … Continue reading “Corporate governance vs management”

Action Plan: what is and when to implement it (in Project Management and beyond)

How can you transform a vision into reality while preventing challenges and problems? By having a sound action plan. CONTENT What is an action plan Why you need an action plan How to develop an action plan Yeah, a sound action plan is a nice catch phrase, but what is it really? What is it … Continue reading “Action Plan: what is and when to implement it (in Project Management and beyond)”

Top-down and bottom-up projects

Top-down and bottom-up management are two of the most popular approaches in the Project Management world. What you need to know is that before beginning to work on a project, it is very important to have a management approach in place and to be consistent with it. CONTENT What is top-down management? Pros and cons … Continue reading “Top-down and bottom-up projects”

Negative Feedback: 7 things to do when…

Receiving a negative feedback is never a pleasant experience. You work hard to create a quality product and seeing your actions judged negatively can lead to anger and frustration. These are negative reactions that later can also compromise our performance. CONTENT How to face a negative feedback Facing negative feedback: Better safe than sorry Facing … Continue reading “Negative Feedback: 7 things to do when…”

The iterative method within projects: it is not an alternative, it is an opportunity

The choice of an iterative project management methodology is mandatory for keeping pace with the ever-changing market demand. CONTENT What does “iterative method” mean within projects? Iterative method process Iterative model advantages Intrinsic version check Quick trend inversion Great for agile organizations Early risk identification and response Experimentation Iterative Model Drawbacks Expensive problems in advanced … Continue reading “The iterative method within projects: it is not an alternative, it is an opportunity”

Scrum Master, an ever more important role

The Scrum Master might sound like some role-playing game character, but it is actually a leadership figure that is becoming more and more important. Many organizations today work using an Agile methodology, mainly Scrum. CONTENT What is a Scrum Master? 5 Scrum master responsibilities 1. Team members coach 2. Moderate daily meetings 3. Assist the … Continue reading “Scrum Master, an ever more important role”

Master plan & master planning

A master plan is a long-term dynamic planning document that provides a conceptual framework to drive project development and growth. Successful project managers are masters at creating comprehensive project plans that define project scope, cost, planning, activities and resources. A Master Plan reflects a vision set in the early stages of a project and aims … Continue reading “Master plan & master planning”

Flowchart: what is it and why it is important in a project

Flowchart is very important in project management – perhaps fundamental – because it improves work flow efficiency and makes the project transparent. CONTENT What is a flowchart? Why use a project management process flowchart? How to draw a flowchart How to benefit by using software Lack of transparency is one of the main causes of … Continue reading “Flowchart: what is it and why it is important in a project”

Product Manager: role importance

The Product Manager is a core figure for a business. He ensures the company’s position in the market, drives the product roadmap to meet deadlines and focuses on long-term success. How does a product manager perform this important task? We will discuss the subject in this article. CONTENT What does a product manager do? Why … Continue reading “Product Manager: role importance”

Project standard deviation

Standard deviation is an abstract construct based on observation rather than computation or experimentation. The standard deviation, also represented by the Greek letter sigma σ, is a metric used to express the amount of variation or dispersion in a group of data. In other words, it defines how much the members of a data group … Continue reading “Project standard deviation”

Risk Register: how to compile it

The Risk Register is a valuable working tool, often underestimated. Projects sometimes involve huge work demands and significant amounts of money to be completed successfully. Ensuring that they are completed is an extremely delicate yet complex task.  How can you achieve this? Simple: with a risk assessment and, thus, the compilation of a risk register, … Continue reading “Risk Register: how to compile it”

Project budget: 7 main tips to prepare them

Planning a project budget is a crucial component, it is the very essence of a project. The concept is straightforward: if you do not have funds, you cannot successfully complete a project. CONTENT What is a project budget? How to create a project budget? 1. Make use of history and data from previous projects 2. … Continue reading “Project budget: 7 main tips to prepare them”

Strategic analysis in project management

Planning a project and conducting a strategic analysis should be a key activity for a project manager no matter what industry they work in. Although digital technologies and the online environment have changed in virtually every industry, the skills, tools and techniques for project planning continue to be relevant. CONTENT What does SWOT mean? When … Continue reading “Strategic analysis in project management”

Repeatable and sustainable project management processes (part 2/2)

In the first part of the article we outlined what process repeatability is and also discussed the advantages of process repeatability and sustainability. CONTENT Concerns about process repeatability and sustainability 1. Does process repeatability and sustainability mean monotony and boredom? 2. Does process repeatability and sustainability destroy creativity? How can you build a repeatable, sustainable and … Continue reading “Repeatable and sustainable project management processes (part 2/2)”

Repeatable and sustainable project management processes (part 1/2)

Having replicable and sustainable project management processes is the foundation for any respectable organization or project team. Imagine if a project manager and a project team did not have set guidelines for project management, what would happen? You know what, it would be like taking a random group of random people off the street, having … Continue reading “Repeatable and sustainable project management processes (part 1/2)”

7 tips for gaining competitive advantages as project manager

The competitive advantage that a Project Manager can achieve is strongly associated with project management. This is rarely easy and, consequently, the role of project manager is not a simple task. CONTENT 1. Avoid micromanagement 2. Assess priorities 3. Manage time effectively 4. Manage effective communication 5. Know the ultimate technologies in the industry 6. … Continue reading “7 tips for gaining competitive advantages as project manager”