For many projects, basic scheduling techniques are fine. You can’t go too far wrong with a task list and start and finish dates. Throw in some start-to-finish dependencies, make a Gantt chart, and that’s a pretty good plan. There’s no point in making your schedule more complicated than it needs to be, especially if your project is straightforward with secured resources and a degree of flexibility. However, some projects do need more than that, and when you have to lead one that needs more than a simple Gantt chart or a straightforward work breakdown structure, it’s good to have some advanced ..read more

As a program manager, PMO or project team leader, you probably think about how to plan upcoming work. And that includes the requirements for developing the project management capability in the organisation to deliver the upcoming projects. It’s easy to think that certification is the answer to developing capability in your project managers, but it’s better to take a step back from that. While sending project managers on courses is definitely an option, you need to pick the right courses – the ones that will address the gaps in your capability and help your project managers build their skills ..read more

As project managers, most of us know how important it is to make sure that what we deliver is actually useful and used by the people we deliver it for. That’s where change management comes in. Have you ever wished someone could give you the secret to dealing with resistance to change? Me too! I’m sorry to say there isn’t a secret exactly. It’s more a collection of best practices, real-world advice and tried-and-tested strategies for speedy and stress-free change management. And I’ve gathered them altogether for you. Want to learn more about change management? Join my new workshop. Dates: 8, 9 ..read more

Project managers need to be good at facilitation because we run a lot of meetings and take part in a lot of discussions. A lot of facilitation happens during project initiation. But you also want to be able to draw on your facilitation skills throughout the life of your project. I’ve run literally hundreds of project meetings during my career, probably thousands. Running a meeting is different to facilitating it. I’ve led workshops, facilitated brainstorming sessions and team building events, and chaired plenty of ‘normal’ meetings too. Below, you’ll see my simple guide to how to be a great m ..read more

Project managers want to make the best decisions for themselves, the project, and the project team. In order to do so, project managers must be aware of biases. Based on experiences, people can come to different conclusions when presented with the same scenario and that’s where biases come into play. Project managers make decisions all the time, by the hour, minute, or even second. They get paid to make decisions. Understanding why those decisions are made can help them become more effective. Understanding one’s psychology is of utmost importance. Biases factor into psychology. Three biases t ..read more

The nature of the modern business environment is constantly evolving. Project management has wrought much change. From plotting Gantt charts by hand to the modern day explosion of project management software solutions, everything is different – including the nature of work itself. To illustrate, Roger L. Martin, former dean at Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, gives an example of how work is a series of projects in an article in the Harvard Business Review: Think of a freshly hired assistant brand manager for Olay at P&G. She may initially view her role as pretty ..read more

Projects always have certain constraints – there may be an urgency to complete a project because of external market factors, for example; or there may have to be tightly controlled costs because of a fixed or limited budget. The project will also be expected to deliver on certain expectations including quality levels. What is the Triple Constraint? The most commonly used planning constraint method in project management was historically the “triple constraint” – time, cost and scope – sometimes known as the project management triangle or the “iron triangle” because it’s often shown as a triangl ..read more

Do you need to write a budget proposal report? I’ll show you how. We start with the 5 easy steps to plan and write your budget proposal. Then I’ll show you a worked example (from a fictional proposal but you will be able to see how to apply this to your project). A proposal budget is similar to a project budget, but with a very different goal. A project budget is meant to guide you step-by-step throughout the project phases, and is meant to be changed and adapted (within limits, of course) to what happens during the project itself. Why is a budget proposal important? A proposal budget aims to ..read more

Executing Excellence: Actionable Insights from 10 Savvy Project Managers is a collection of essays from experienced project managers – names you might know from their presence on LinkedIn and around the web. The book, edited by John Connolly, has been put together as part of an effort to share and retain knowledge in the sector. It’s part lessons learned, part tips. I confess I picked it up because I was keen to read Adrian Dooley’s chapter. His is the first in the book, and I have a lot of time for his pragmatic, experienced take on project delivery. In particular, I agree with his views that ..read more

If you’re searching for a project management job, you’ve no doubt come across a range of different job titles. Which one should you go for? The ‘project manager’ job descriptions have a wide variety of roles and duties, which can make it hard to know what’s right for you. And therein lies the challenge. What ‘project manager’ means to one business will be slightly different to how another company uses the term. There are some industry-recognized job titles — the ones you’ll most commonly see. In this article, we’ll go through what they mean and what you can expect to do in one of those roles ..read more