What is Project Management? | Video
Let’s get to the heart of Project Management and answer the most fundamental questions of all…
So, What is a Project, and what is Project Management?
Dr Mike Clayton is founder of OnlinePMCourses.com.
Here, he answers this question, in under 5 minutes.
Rogue Project Sponsor: What to Do when Sponsorship goes Bad
One of the things that can make your life most difficult is a rogue Project Sponsor. It’s like they have turned to the dark side. And it feels as if they no longer have your project’s best interests at heart.
Let me start by re-assuring you…
A truly rogue Project Sponsor is not common.
So, why should you read this?
For two reasons:- Because, if it does happen to you, you need to be prepared
- Also, because these kind of behaviors do happen, at a low level, all too often. And, when they do, it pays to tackle them quickly, before they escalate.
Agile Certification: Your Guide to the Large Array of Agile Qualifications
You want to embrace Agile as part (or maybe all) of your Project Management practice. And you know that a good qualification will help you get the jobs you want, to put it to use. But there is such a wide range of choice. Which Agile Certification program should you follow?
First, let me say that I am not going to tell you which one is best. What I hope to do is give you the information to start researching which is best for you.
Project Manager or Project Leader? What’s the Difference?
Are you a Project Manager or a Project Leader? And how would you be able to tell the difference?
This is an important question that can easily get bogged down in academic niceties and philosophic distinctions. But the fact is that we all kind of recognize the difference when we experience it.
One way I like to think of the difference between Project Management and Project Leadership is that:
- Project Management gets things done
- Project Leadership makes changes happen
And then there’s the PMI Talent Triangle
If you’re a PMI member, you need to hoe your craft in three dimensions:- Technical: the core skills of Project Management
- Strategic and Business Management: business-oriented skill
- Leadership: guiding and motivating the people around you
Project Cost Management – The Essential Things to Know and Do
Project Cost Management often puts people off. It feels complicated and has the mystical air of mathematical magic and wizardry. But there’s little your project sponsor, your client, or their Finance Director care about more than your budget and how closely you can stick to it.
Project cost over-runs are common. But this is not a cause for a defeatist attitude.
No. Instead, you must act with determination to understand project cost management and implement all the tools at your disposal to control costs and bring in your expenditure on budget.
The Definitive Guide to Why a Good Online Project Management Course Beats Live Training
I love doing a live Project Management course.
The interaction with participants and the chance to take the course in whatever direction they choose isn’t just challenging; it’s fun.
And, for the last 14 years, I’ve done more Project Management training than anything else. I’ve given over 500 project management courses and seminars, for over 6,000 new and experienced project managers.
But now, I have reluctantly come to a conclusion.
An online Project management course is even better.
10 Revealing Questions to find the Best Project Management Course
Do you want to Find the Best Project Management Course for You?
Of course you do. It is an important decision, because:
- you will be investing a considerable amount of time in your learning
- the outcome matter to you… or you wouldn’t be bothering
- you will be spending a moderate to large chunk of money
So let’s get the money question out of the way first.
You do need to know how much the course will cost. But money should not drive your decision.
Instead, what you are looking for is a course that best meets the criteria in the ten questions I will set out. You need a course that makes you feel comfortable with the purchase you are potentially about to make, and for which the cost is consistent with what you will get.
The Value of Project Management Skills… Transferability
Project Management is a valuable skill-set. Project Management skills enable you to deliver big, complex, important changes. And organizations are prepared to pay for that. This is what makes Project Management a career option.
But not everyone wants to build a
Project Management career.
You may have got the skills of Project Management for a specific Project. Maybe you got them as a part of your overall professional or managerial skill-set.
Or maybe you set of on building a Project Management career, and then discover that this is not the career for you. At this point, you may wonder:
‘How useful will these Project Management skills be, in other areas of my work?’
‘Are my Project Management skills transferable to other domains?’
Why Projects Fail – Five more reasons
In last week’s article, we started to look at the reasons why projects fail. We set out the first five of ten Points of Project Failure.
In this week’s article, we’ll look at the second set of causes. Five more reasons why projects fail.
If you did not read last week’s article, I recommend you do so first.Continue reading…
Project Failure – Why it Happens
No one wants their project to fail. Despite this, project failure is all too common.
So is it Possible to Prevent Project Failure?
It certainly is, and all you need to do is follow all the principles of good Project Management, including foreseeing and acting on all threats.
‘Easier said than done’ you say.
Indeed.
That’s why we have prepared our two-part guide to Project Failure.
This is an updated version of Part 1 of our guide. We’ll publish Part 2 next week. These have been among our most popular and heavily-read articles, so I hope you’ll enjoy them.Continue reading…
