According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), projects are divided into five phases. These phases are: Initiating. The project is authorized, funded and defined. This phase occurs on the organizational level (i.e. above the project). The organization defines a business need the project is meant to satisfy. Planning. The project manager develops … [Read more...]
It amazes me that project closure is one of the most visible aspects of a project to senior managers and executives, yet it is also the phase that is most often skipped or shortened. I realize that project budgets are often used up (or seriously stretched) in the final phases and skipping closing activities is an easy to way to cut the losses. But closing the project … [Read more...]
Putting out fires is practically part of the job description for some project managers. Every project has changes throughout its life span, sure, but how do you control them, or better yet, how do you stop them from popping up? Project controls are where the project manager earns their wages. Assigning work is relatively easy, but how do you ensure the quality of the … [Read more...]
Some projects are like boats without a paddle, drifting aimlessly at sea with little knowledge of what their final destination will be. Most of these projects do not end up at the destination that was planned. Project scheduling is the key to ensuring the original project plan and final project outcome are at least close enough to call the project a success. It's … [Read more...]
Project Management is a unique field in that people generally don't choose it as an initial career path. They enter via the back door through a technical field, or they want to learn project management theory with the goal of advancing into the role. For this reason, many people who practice project management are not well equipped with project management … [Read more...]
The Critical Chain Method is a relatively new concept in project management. It was developed and popularized by Dr. Elihayu M. Goldratt in his book Critical Chain (1997), which is written as a novel but outlines the methods used to ensure that projects complete on time. The Critical Chain method is similar to the Critical Path Method which is in widespread use today … [Read more...]
In project management, getting an early indication of problems is the silver bullet that allows the project manager to correct the problems before they start. The Schedule Performance Index, usually abbreviated as SPI, is one of the fundamental outputs of the Earned Value Management System. It tells the project manager how far ahead or behind the project is at the … [Read more...]
Estimating task durations is one of the fundamental parts of project management. It involves the estimation of the amount of time required by a certain project activity given the available resources. This happen directly after cost estimating. In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), the main output of the Estimate Activity Duration process are Activity … [Read more...]
Developing a functional schedule requires that tasks have dependencies. That means they have relationships to one another, they are not orphans adrift at sea. All Tasks Should have a Dependency The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) states that all tasks should have a dependency. This is because by definition, if a task is part of a project it must be related … [Read more...]
If there is only one foundational part of project management, it would have to be breaking down the project into manageable parts. Those parts are called phases and tasks. Everything else is built upon that foundation, so it should not be taken lightly. Although it seems trivial, it is one of the most important parts of a project manager's job. Example Task List In … [Read more...]
