By Alicia Trelles-Duckett on March 2, 2015
A few weeks ago we held a course on Project Management Fundamentals. Every student introduced themselves; they were all seasoned professionals with 7 years of experience or more in their field. Justine worked for a manufacturing company. Kumar was a software developer. Ann deployed projects for a Cable TV provider. Carlos was a construction manager. […]
By Alicia Trelles-Duckett on June 29, 2014
Quite a few customers are jumping on the ‘Agile’ bandwagon these days, choosing an Agile methodology for specific projects, or for repetitive releases of their product. A challenge they are facing is how to manage and report Agile projects when the processes and templates provided by their PMO have been developed for Waterfall projects. And […]
By Alicia Trelles-Duckett on October 9, 2013
A few days ago, before the start of a meeting, a couple of developers where discussing ‘Agile’ project management versus the more traditional ‘Waterfall’ project planning. A ‘Waterfall’ approach, you may recall, is the type of project that flows sequentially from stage to stage, much like a waterfall. It came from, and was heavily influenced […]
By Alicia Trelles-Duckett on July 10, 2013
One of our recent projects involved work to be done on a short, 3-month deadline. According to the project leadership, everything which denoted good project management practices had been performed. The work was scoped, fine-tuned, and broken down into work packages. The work packages were then assigned resources and budget. Budgets and timeframes were confirmed […]
By Alicia Trelles-Duckett on November 18, 2012
When an organization has the function of deploying multiple initiatives, the question arises: should these be managed as projects? Or should program management enter the picture? If there is an obvious way in which the projects are related, we may opt for program management straightaway. For example: if our organization deploys a few projects per […]
By Kevin Lonergan on October 11, 2010
There are many elements in the environment of a project, and ‘organisation’ is one of the most important. Organisational decisions can encompass wide-ranging aspects, such as partnerships, key supplier and sub-contracting relationships and responsibilities within a project – and that’s the key word: “responsibilities”. Making responsibilities clear at the practical working level, perhaps phase by […]
By Marc Share on June 20, 2010
Precision and clarity in communication are critical in establishing the foundation for a solid team collaborative environment thus helping avoid common pitfalls and failures.
By Kevin Lonergan on June 14, 2010
Whenever we plan, there are unlimited opportunities for us to make assumptions (consciously or otherwise). Highly successful project managers (that rare breed?) recognise this acutely and most importantly, the potential impact that even the simplest looking assumption can have on a project. Recognising and capturing assumptions, thereby enabling us to test selected assumptions, can be […]
By Marc Share on June 1, 2010
KEEPING THE WOLVES AT BAY — The Ever-Present Conundrum The recent events in the financial sector, while perhaps skirting the edges of legality, certainly highlighted the issue of the ethical dilemma often faced when increasing pressure to perform, deliver and maximize profitability butts up against moral and ethical (as well as legal) compliance. Certainly in the […]
