Few projects out there are as big and complex as the Olympic games. They're truly in a category of their own due to their massive visibility and the world scale construction projects leading up to it. It gets awarded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to the host city more than 10 years in advance of the two-week long event, and the entire decade is spent in a … [Read more...]
Buy Low and Sell High
If projects had a share price, they would trade low at the beginning. Instead of completed work that has intrinsic value, the project's stock price would be derived from future hopes and dreams. And there would be many things that could happen between now and then to derail the most ambitious of plans. Near the end, however, most of the project work has been completed … [Read more...]
How to Build an Agile Roadmap
In agile project management, the roadmap is the guiding document that provides the overall project plan. It is not equivalent to a traditional project schedule (gantt chart) because it is not a carved-in-stone plan whose exact execution is directly linked to project success. Because priorities change, the product roadmap is updated throughout the project, and this … [Read more...]
The 4 Main Agile Roles
In project management, efficiency is everything. Projects that run like well oiled machines create high quality products and delighted stakeholders, especially the product owner. Fortunately, the Agile roles and responsibilities make it easy to create just such a project. But let's get some semantics out of the way first. Agile does not have roles as such. It is … [Read more...]
10 Parts of a Communications Management Plan
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) specifies the creation of a Communications Management Plan. The PRINCE2 project management methodology specifies an equivalent Communications Management Approach. This plan describes how project communications will be managed, planned, structured, implemented and monitored for effectiveness. A communications … [Read more...]
34 Items in a Cost Management Plan
Keeping project costs under control can feel like swimming against the current sometimes. To prevent you from going up the creek without a paddle, a Cost Management Plan is the guiding document which allows you to take fast, decisive action when issues arise and the sharks are circling. The Project Cost Management Plan is the component of the overall Project … [Read more...]
Project Cost Management
Mismanaging project costs is the single fastest way to cause project failure. The project costs represent the many multi-faceted experiences that occur on a project, however stakeholders see only the bottom line and draw rapid conclusions from it. For this reason, the planning of the management of project costs is the focus of the Project Management Body of … [Read more...]
9 Parts of a Scope Management Plan
Scope issues are the #1 reason for project failure. Today more than ever, it's imperative that all projects need a scope management plan. Scope management refers to the process of identifying and controlling the total resources that are involved in a project. It is important that scope be defined exactly. Too little, and you will have to answer to the stakeholders. But … [Read more...]