The Daily PM Blog
How to Identify Project Stakeholders
May 17, 2013
Project management is about getting things done through other people. As the project manager, you will end up doing some of the ‘doing’ work yourself but a lot of what you do is actually organizing the work of others. Those others are your project stakeholders.
When you are asked to work on a project, you may already have an idea of who needs to be involved. Your project sponsor (the person who is championing the project and who is generally the one who benefits from whatever it is that you are delivering) may also have had some thoughts about who would be the best people to work on it. Ho...
How to do a Project Review
May 16, 2013
So you’ve been asked to do a project review for a colleague? Congratulations! You’ve made it in the eyes of your colleagues, as another project manager considers you a great choice to comment on their project in an objective and constructive way.
However, far from being considered an honor, many project managers find it daunting to be asked to review someone else’s project. A project review is like a mini audit, but more informal. What if you miss something and get blamed for it later? What if they don’t like what you have to say and it’s difficult to work with them in the future? Ye...
Would You Like to Make a Statement?
May 15, 2013
Our actions speak volumes whether we know it or not. Team members, management, and clients are watching us all the time and making judgments based upon our actions and speech. What kind of statements do your speech and actions make about you as a project manager? A colleague of mine made a statement that almost backfired on him; from his experience, we can learn what to do as project managers to make the right statement.
I had lunch a few weeks ago with a former coworker. We’ll call him John. John and I haven’t worked together for over 10 years, but have kept in touch through email, the ...
Tips on People Management
May 14, 2013
Watch this project management training video to learn people management skills. Advice from a PM expert to help you be a better leader and project manager.
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The Necessity of Early Adopters
May 13, 2013
The cutting edge of technology is usually a pretty dangerous place to spend your time. It’s sharp, uncertain, and many times results in some blood-letting. But, it’s also a very important place for certain members of your project team to spend their time. Find out why early adopters are important and how your next technology project can benefit from their involvement.
Brett was a cool guy. His office was a treasure trove of electronic knick-knacks. Partially assembled hard drives were stacked on top of each other in the corner. Countless smooth metal objects identifiable only to the techn...
Breaking a Control Addiction
May 10, 2013
I had a terrible addiction to control. It became more insidious and obvious to me as each year passed, but I didn’t know what to do about it. The following article sheds some light on how far I went and what I did to break free from the clutches of what was a debilitating habit.
I have a confession to make. I’m a recovering control-aholic. There, I finally said it. Now everybody knows! For years I hid this terrible addiction to control and I was pretty good at it too. I would blend in with everyone else in the office and smile and laugh right along with them. But, deep down inside I wanted...
The Anatomy of a Great Client Presentation
May 9, 2013
Project managers are called on to do presentations all the time. Some are routine and don’t require a great deal of preparation. Others are vitally important to the success of your project and need a lot of extra attention to make them wildly successful. The following are some ideas on how you can spend that extra time making sure your next important presentation hits the mark.
Does your audience just hear blah, blah, blah when you are standing in front of them and delivering your presentation? Hopefully, that’s not the case. You’re audience should be engaged, intrigued, and walk away wi...
Need a Pat on the Back?
May 8, 2013
Now that you’re a project manager, you don’t get grades like you did when you were in school. Back then, your report card let you know immediately if you did a good job or not. You’re working harder now than ever before.
What are some ways you can tell if you’re doing a good job as a project manager? A company’s large network of independent operators came together annually for a national convention, where they learned new ways of drumming up more business, sat through vendor presentations, and were able hang out and unwind a bit.
The highlight of the convention, however, was an award...
The Project Management Charter
May 7, 2013
One of the first critical steps in project management is writing the project management charter. Watch this video to learn how to use this document to scope out your project fully.
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Using Dashboards on Projects
May 6, 2013
Being a project manager means being involved in a lot of detail. There are detailed scope documents full of detailed requirements. Your project schedule is packed with tasks at a detailed level. Then there are resource allocations to do, sometimes in so much detail that you are scheduling resources on an hourly basis.
However, you also need the ability to pull yourself up out of the detail and take an overall view of what is going on. It can be difficult to switch between the detailed view and the big picture view, and this is where dashboards can be a huge help. A dashboard is a graphical way...
