The Daily PM Blog
The Pros and Cons of Software for Project Management
September 3, 2012
The following is some sage advice I received a number of years ago when it came to wanting to implement a software solution quickly. “Get to know your data first…” What did this mean? Get to know your data first? In my relentless pursuit for improving processes, simplifying procedures, creating meaningful reports, and automating as much as possible I would immediately jump to the fact that we needed to either build or buy a software solution for that particular problem. This could be considered the precursor to “there’s an app for that” because I needed an “app for that”. I was...
What is a Timesheet?
August 31, 2012
Do you remember the Flintstone’s cartoon? Fred and Barney would start and end their day at the rock quarry by using a Time Clock. Sure, this Time Clock was a Dodo Bird that used its beak to carve out the time that our prehistoric friends spent at the quarry. But, it served the same purpose as modern day time clocks and timesheets…it tracked their activity.
Timesheets have come a long way since the days of the Dodo Bird. However, they still fill an extremely important need within companies that utilize this technology when it comes to tracking activity. There are different purposes a timesh...
An Introduction to Project Management Processes
August 30, 2012
An introduction to a song prepares the listener for what is to come. It’s usually a handful of measures at the beginning of the song that are played before the singer starts singing and helps prepare the listener for the song that is to follow. An introduction to a book serves a very similar process. It provides an overview of what the book will be about without divulging all the details and intricacies that will unfold on the pages to follow.
This introductory article to project management processes is designed in a similar fashion. It focuses on the 5 main process areas that are in place t...
Finding Project Management Jobs
August 29, 2012
We’re all familiar with the expression about the needle in the haystack. Something that is extraordinarily hard, if not impossible, to find is always likened to finding a needle in the haystack.
Many have felt that project management jobs unfortunately fall into the category of being that needle in the haystack. Application after application is submitted, interview after interview is conducted, and rejection after rejection is received. It takes a toll not on just the person who is looking for the project management jobs but the entire family. Not having work impacts people financially, emot...
How to Monitor and Control Projects
August 28, 2012
Learning how to monitor and control your projects is a vital for your long-term success as a competent project manager. Watch the following video and learn how it's done...
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An Example of Project Management Gone Bad
August 27, 2012
The names have been changed to protect the (not so) innocent. You’ll see why as you start reading this article. There are a lot of great project managers in the workforce today. They are team players, focused, motivated, clear the path for their resources to get their jobs done, and deliver successful projects time and time again.
And then there’s Steve (not his real name). Steve is an example of project management gone bad! The following are some highlights (in this case, dim lights) of his not so illustrious career. Why would we showcase such a train wreck? If you see any of these traits...
Why Project Management Training is Hard (and Important)
August 24, 2012
It has been said that the day you stop learning is the day you start dying. Whether that’s true or not remains to be seen. But, one thing you can be sure of is the day you stop learning as a project manager is the day your project management career begins to feel a little sick. A little time passes and the days of not learning turn into weeks, and those weeks then turn into years. Your project management career no longer has just a low grade fever but is now grasping for its last breath. Your project management career is near death.
Why? Because you stopped learning new things that would kee...
10 Tips for Better Project Management in IT
August 23, 2012
Nobody ever said that project management in IT was a simple job. There’s always too much to do and never enough time. It just takes one small “miss” to bring the entire project to its knees. Plus, the constant dependency upon networks, hardware, software and a host of other complicated systems mean that problems that could occur on your project are just one power failure away from showing their ugly face.
If you have the privilege of working in project management in IT, are there certain things you can do to make the most of this exciting and highly uncertain environment? The following 1...
IT Project Plan Completion
August 22, 2012
Congratulations! You made it! You have successfully closed out a project that has taken nearly 9 months to complete. It seems like only yesterday when you started out on this new endeavor with a team of bright-eyed, cheery team members. Everyone was filled with hope and optimism that this project was going to be the game changer that the company needed to move into a new line of business…and it was!
It certainly didn’t come without its share of trials and tribulations.
You reflect on putting the first IT Project Plan together and everyone laughing at you because they thought the project ...
How To Manage A High Risk Project
August 21, 2012
Watch the following video and learn some really cool tips and techniques for successfully managing a high risk project...
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