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...]
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PRINCE2 Professional
Please note: The PRINCE2 Professional designation has been retired by Axelos at the end of 2017. Click here to go back to our Project Manager Certification page. This designation is issued by Axelos in the UK. It is the highest level of three in the PRINCE2 system. PRINCE2 Foundation PRINCE2 Practitioner PRINCE2 Professional Axelos does … [Read more...]
The Critical Path Method
Making sure a project finishes on time is a core competency for all project managers. Although it is partly an art form, the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), the PMP exam, and project management curricula all outline the science aspect. If you know the science part well, you can practice the art form and deliver project after project without a sweat. The … [Read more...]
The Generic Project Organization Chart
Although projects span a huge spectrum from big to small, innovative to routine, and technical to repetitive, there is in fact a standard project organization chart within which all projects fall. With the exception of a few variable parts all project fit into a standard mold. According to project management theory, each member of a project is, in fact, very well … [Read more...]
Estimating Task Durations
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...]
Dividing a Project into Tasks
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...]
Planning a Project
Project planning is immensely underrated. Everyone has a story of how they could have planned better to avoid a disaster, even if they didn’t look back and realise it. The Project Management Institute suggests that planning should ideally consist of about 20 – 30% of the time required to perform the project work. This is substantially more than most project managers … [Read more...]
The PMBOK Process Groups
The foundation for project management theory is called process groups. But although it sounds complicated, process groups are simply phases that each project goes through. The five process groups are: Project Initiation Project Planning Project Execution Monitoring & Controlling Project Closing They all occur in chronological order except one. … [Read more...]
The PMBOK Knowledge Areas
In the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) the process groups are the chronological phases that the project goes through, and the knowledge areas occur throughout any time during the process groups. The process groups are horizontal, and the knowledge areas are vertical. They are the core technical subject matter of the project management profession, … [Read more...]
Project Management 101
When a ship is out on the open sea, the driver, called a Helmsman, is responsible for turning the wheel which in turn moves a rudder back and forth to change directions. When the wind or sea conditions are rough, experienced helmsman use their keen sense of how the ship will react to keep it moving in the right direction. Because the ship doesn't react right away, the … [Read more...]