Project Management Knowledge

Simply explained by a PMI-certified Project Manager

Archives for September 2008

Creating and Celebrating Project Milestones

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As a project manager you know that some projects take a long time to reach completion. Because of this, it pays to have milestones along the way to help keep team members focused and motivated. A short break to showcase the efforts being made can help everyone on the team to see the bigger picture and grasp where the team stands in the overall scope of the project.

Team members should have a voice in determining milestones and in targeting completion dates. They may even have a better feel than the project manager of just how long each milestone will take to accomplish. In addition, if the team members help set the deadlines they are likely to be more committed to meeting them.

Once the milestones have been agreed upon, the project manager and team should create a comprehensive plan for achieving those goals. Clear guidelines should be set for the various work phases so that each person knows his or her responsibilities.

Having met the milestone, it is then time to relax and celebrate. Doing so can help refuel and energize the team for work yet to be done. It is probably best to avoid celebrating specific accomplishments of one group, but instead to celebrate team successes.

Plan your celebrations early and let the team know what is to come. Whether it’s happy hour at a local restaurant or a catered lunch in the office, the cost is minimal when weighed against the potential benefits. The most important thing is to sincerely acknowledge and convey gratitude for what has been accomplished.

Green Project Management

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Going green has become a topic that is becoming difficult to ignore. You see it every day in the news, in commercials and just about anywhere else you look. So as a manager, maybe it’s time to think about Green Project Management (GreenPM).

While it may not be necessary to make every decision based on whether or not it is environmentally friendly, we should take the environment into account during a project rather than simply ignoring it. There are a few steps that can easily be taken to get your project on the way to becoming a “green” one.

  1. Make the switch to recycled paper. When creating your project paper-based deliverables, ensure that you are using recycled paper. Doing this could have a large impact over hundreds or thousands of projects.
  2. Dump the dumpster. Instead of sending your waste to a landfill, try finding a recycling company. The minimal cost of paying to have old equipment recycled can, over time, have a huge impact on the environment.
  3. Use eco-friendly packaging in products produced. Face it, the packaging ends up in the trash anyway.
  4. Decide if those late-night work sessions are really worth it. Extra heating/air conditioning, lighting, water, etc. use dollars and negatively impact the environment. It might seem small, but if millions of others are making that same decision it could add up to substantial environmental savings.

These ideas are just a first step in the process of moving to GreenPM. In the future, it will become even more important to structure your organization’s environmental policies and goals to meet the needs of an ever-changing world.

Murphy’s Law and Project Management

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Almost everyone knows Murphy’s Law, “If anything can go wrong, it will.” In project management it is no different, but as manager you must decide who is in control, you or Murphy. The tips below could help you stop blaming Murphy and actually, with a little patience and planning, make Murphy your friend.

A good project manager knows that some events are not within your control. It is the way you respond to those events that can make all the difference. When unexpected events occur, it’s natural to feel stressed and the stress is magnified when something happens at an inopportune time. The only way to reduce this stress is to take action and maintain control of the situation. Deal with the problem and laugh in the face of Murphy. Letting problems continue will only cause them to snowball which could mean your project is doomed.

Anticipate the likelihood that things will go wrong during the life of the project and they will probably go wrong at the worst possible time. The best thing you can do as project manager is to plan thoroughly, control internal processes and proactively manage the project.

So the next time you hear yourself blaming Murphy for things that are going wrong think about whether it’s really Murphy at work or just a result of poor planning. It it’s the latter, maybe it’s time to step up your game and if Murphy is the culprit, take action immediately, solve the problem and move on with the project.

Making the Most of Your Project Team Meetings

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Anyone who has sat through a long and boring project management team meeting has probably thought, at least once, “Why am I here?” Team meetings don’t have to be aimless, dull and never-ending. Here are a few helpful tools to help make your next teem meeting more effective, shorter and maybe even add a little fun into the mix.

The meeting should be as short as you can make it. However, it must be long enough to accomplish the task(s) at hand. Try dividing the number of minutes allotted for the meeting by the number of people attending. If this number is 4 or less you’ve either invited too many people or not allowed enough time to get things done.

Distribute the agenda beforehand. This accomplishes two things. First of all, people won’t be surprised and will have time to think about what will be discussed before the meeting begins. Second, circulating a handout during a meeting wastes time and those attending the meeting spend time reading and trying to digest the material, rather than getting right to work.

The best way to spice up a dull meeting is through the use of humor. It reduces stress, increases creativity and lightens the overall mood of the meeting. Add a little lively music before the meeting or tell a joke or two to start things out. If joke-telling isn’t your forte find a person on the team who is good at it.

What works for one project management team may not work for another, but trying something new could be the key to turning a boring, ineffective meeting into one that actually moves the team forward.