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Category Archives for Project Governance
What is a Business Blueprint? | Video
In the world of business transformation, what is the master plan that guides the definition and planning of your project? It’s a Business Blueprint.
So, what is a Business Blueprint?
Dr Mike Clayton is founder of OnlinePMCourses.com.
Here, he answers this question, in under 5 minutes.
What is a Business Case? | Video
Before you get funding and approval for your project, you will first need to produce a Business Case.
So, what is a Business Case?
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.
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…
What is Strategic Project Definition? | Video
If a project definition defines your project, what is a Strategic Project Definition?
Dr Mike Clayton is founder of OnlinePMCourses.com.
Here, he answers this question, in under 5 minutes.
How to Build a Robust Project Risk Culture [8 Steps]
A robust risk culture goes beyond having a strong basic risk management process. But the rewards for the extra work you’ll put in to build that culture are huge. Particularly for large, complex, or strategically important projects.
Some of my readers may hope to influence the risk culture of their whole organization. But, for many, I suspect this may be too great an ambition. For you, the right aspiration is to build a positive risk culture within your project. As a Project Manager, that’s entirely within your scope.
So, some readers will draw information related to this badge…
But explicitly, we’re going to focus on how your project that can create and impose risk management discipline on a blank project canvas.
But these ideas scale. And the process for creating a robust risk management culture within your project can apply equally if you get a chance to influence your wider organization.
What is Project Governance? | Video
Project Governance is central to the success and accountability of your projects. So, what is Project Governance?
So, what is Project Governance?
Dr Mike Clayton is founder of OnlinePMCourses.com.
Here, he answers this question, in under 5 minutes.
Why the Stage Gate Process will Make You a Better Project Manager
The Stage Gate Process gets too little love from Project Managers. Yet it has the potential to transform your project management, deliver more successful projects, and make you a better project manager.
A Stage Gate is also known by many other names:
- Phase Gate (PMBOK 6th Edition)
- Gateway (PRINCE2)
- Boundary Gate (most pleasing expression of the metaphor)
- Gate, or Toll-gate
- Go / No-go Review (literal name)
- Kill Point (severely deprecated by OnlinePMCourses)
In a Stage Gate process, you break your project into stages, or phases. Each stage ends with a gate. And the metaphor is simple: you don’t complete the stage and cross to the next one, until you pass through the gate. So, at each stage gate, the project’s decision-makers review your project against a set of criteria.
Using the information you make available, they decide whether to:
- Continue the project to its next stage
- Repeat work (stay in the stage), for resubmission for Stage Gate Review
- Stop the project
- Require changes before it proceeds
- Place the project on hold (very rarely)
In this article, we look at why a stage gate process will enhance your project management, and how to make it work.
Do You Know What your Project Sponsor Wants?
Call them your sponsor, your boss, or your client if you like. But one thing we all know as a Project Manager is this. Our job is to do what our Project Sponsor wants.
But here’s the question… Do you know what your Project Sponsor wants? If you don’t, you’d better find out quickly.
And that’s what this article is all about.
By the way, is your job to do what your Project Sponsor wants?
Some will argue that it isn’t. It is to do what your employer needs, to serve your stakeholders, or to meet the expectations of the organization that’s paying the bills. These are all true.
But this article is going to make one giant assumption: that your sponsor’s job is to represent these faithfully. In another article, we’ll examine the vexed question of what to do if your sponsor goes rogue. For now, we’ll assume that serving our sponsor, and delivering what they want, is at the heart of your role.
OnlinePMCourses Guide to Project Change Control
There’s one distinctive sign that your project is going well. A stakeholder approaches you in the corridor. ‘We’re very pleased with how your project is going…’ they say. ‘The only thing is… we’ve changed out minds.’ Oh no. This is a job for Project Change Control.
Even on the most traditional of projects, you will need to adapt to changes. They may be driven by technology, commercial opportunities, regulatory changes or a dozen more reasons. Whatever it is, you need to be flexible. And the longer your project, the bigger the need. So it pays to set up a change control process as part of your project set up. This usually happens during the planning stage, and it will serve you well, during your delivery stage.
In this giant guide, we give you everything you need to know to start setting up a robust change control process for your project.
