there was a debate for years around whether Project Management is an art or a science. The truth is that neither are correct on their own – it is both. Successful project managers (with a track record of more than one project) typically employ the science stuff (core PM concepts), sometimes religiously. They also harbor …
Project Management/
Operations
The Ultimate Guide to People Operations
People operations empower your employees to become productive and fulfilled in the workplace. It’s essential for you to invest time and effort in people ops because your workforce is the backbone of your business. Although the term “people operations” is relatively new, it’s a traditional concept that is closely related to human resources (HR). What …
I wrote recently about the role of field knowledge in project management or the difference between senior and junior project managers in terms of decision-making. More specifically, I argued that while senior managers focused on potential project difficulties, junior managers were more easily swayed by their project’s plan and its deficiencies. Spotting problems with your …
Since best practices are implemented to reduce process induced risks, I should audit practices to ensure the process will impact positively on my project results.
Well here’s my view. If project management (or delivering projects successfully, on a more often than not basis) were purely common sense, then the evidence to do with project delivery performance would tell a completely different story. For example, a UK report by the Royal Society of Engineering a few years ago quoted some frightening …
From time to time in my business life, someone will ask, or sometimes say that project management is ‘common sense’, meaning it is just common sense. Often they are making a statement along the lines of ‘what’s all the fuss about this PM stuff, it’s all just common sense isn’t it’? Well, my question is, …
Benefits of Consulting and/or Project Teams Occasionally, a client will specify that they want a team of consultants on the project because the project requires substantial expertise and resources. While there can be many frustrations for consultants working in effective project teams, there are also major benefits. The team can provide a wide variety of …
The following is definitely not at the “best” end and the best and worst practices for procurement and projects I recently had to respond to a bid for a major customer – in the customer ITT the usual procurement rules were laid down. The ITT had been written in English; by someone whose native tongue was …