project management

Disaster Your Project Might Be in Trouble If...

 As I start my fifth decade working on projects, primarily in the IT and software development space, I wanted to share some patterns I have observed that suggest a project is in trouble, Jeff Foxworthy style.

Learning Contracted IT Projects: A Primer for Client Project Managers

If you’ve never managed an IT project for your organization that had significant work outsourced to a vendor, what’s learned on the job can be VERY painful and VERY expensive. Here are some things to watch out for.

 

poison A Tale of Toxic Sponsorship

It is difficult to succeed without effective sponsorship—and almost impossible if your sponsor is toxic, as this true tale explains.

Risk Project Management Schedule Risk Analysis

Building schedules for complex projects is challenging. While the results are never perfect, credible schedules are a useful communication and coordination device. Incredible schedules are a dangerous waste of time and energy that damage a project manager’s credibility and cost an enterprise a fortune.

Agile team coming up with three-point estimate for a project 3 Questions for Easier, Less Stressful Project EstimatesIn agile development, the idea of precise estimates is unrealistic. But estimates are needed to inform decision-makers about whether it's worth solving a problem as it is currently understood. It sounds counterintuitive, but instead of asking for one estimate of cost and schedule, ask for three. Here's why it's more useful.
Project manager analyzing a project and typing Exploring the Benefits of PMaaSProject management as a service, or PMaaS, is similar to software as a service (SaaS) and IT as a service (ITaaS). In the same way a company might outsource cloud computing or IT work, a company can also outsource its project management process. Here’s a brief look at what PMaaS is and why it’s a worthwhile investment.
Encrypted code on a computer screen Cybersecurity Tips for Project ManagersA project manager must be aware of the dangers the software faces if they are to be effective in its defense while managing their project. A lot of the data they're dealing with can be extremely sensitive. Let’s look at some tips that every project manager should pay attention to in order to protect their project.
Mouse trap with cheese An Evolutionary Approach to Risk ManagementRisk management is identifying, analyzing, mitigating, and monitoring risks to a project. Humans do this all the time with life experiences, so there are parts of risk management that come naturally to us. What needs to be learned is recognizing our biases and limits to our visualization. Ask these questions to help.