IBN Project Management & Help Desk Community

PM Colors – Greening project management

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:47:09 GMT

When I read the title of a recent article on PM Forum called “Green Project Management” I had a flashback. At the risk of showing my “feminine” side, I remember talking with one of my female colleagues, and although I do not recall the details, this colleague mentioned to me that she was “having her [...] Read More......(read more)

Conference Calls – I think I heard this one before

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:30:53 GMT

Teleconferencing, either audio or video, has become a mainstream activity for keeping connected with geographically dispersed project teams. As technology has matured, conferencing over phone lines or the internet (VOIP) has replaced many cross-continent flights. And, as frequent air travelers know, that is a good thing because commercial flying is not fun anymore. My [...] Read More......(read more)

Vacations for Project Managers

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:40:24 GMT

Project managers – myself included – find it difficult to break away from the office, if not physically then mentally. So many times at events, out to dinners, driving or walking around I see folks who look like they might be Project Managers on the phone, texting, checking their PDS (iPhone, Droid, Blackberries). Even in [...] Read More......(read more)

Project Management PMBOK – Monitoring and Change Control

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:10:17 GMT

From time to time on this blog forum, I have talked about PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge) as an industry standard on areas of PM responsibility and best practices. If you are a new PM, this book paints the entire project management field with a broad brush of process and organizational recommendations. (What is [...] Read More......(read more)

Is the sustained recession effecting project resource management?

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:48:41 GMT

Software development organizations are not immune to the effect of our country’s sustained recession. There is pressure from all sides – senior management, customers and other stakeholders — to cut costs and comply with budgets. The largest component of project costs and schedule variance fall under the purview of resource management. In my experience, ineffective [...] Read More......(read more)

How cloud computing affects projects

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 14:50:02 GMT

“Human knowledge has been changing from the word go and people in certain respects behave more rationally than they did when they didn’t have it. They spend less time doing rain dances and more time seeding clouds.” Herbert Simon Cloud computing – that server in the sky – has gotten a lot of press recently. [...] Read More......(read more)

Project Manager Tips for Successful Negotiating

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:17:31 GMT

What do you do when you cannot get what you need or want by simply asking (or using brute force — as appealing as that might be)? Negotiation is one way to get most of what you want when you run into this situation. Negotiation may involve a simple two-person dialogue (I want Joe Smith [...] Read More......(read more)

Project Management Collaboration and Communication Tools

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:23:27 GMT

It seems I cannot go anywhere these days without seeing people talking on cell phones, texting, taking phone pictures and sharing them – sometimes many of these at once. People want to use every free minute to communicate with someone. And, before you ask; yes, this is the pot calling the kettle black. I am [...] Read More......(read more)

The Art of Verbal Communication

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 18:16:31 GMT

“I took myself down to the Tally Ho Tavern, To buy me a bottle of beer. I sat me down by a tender young maiden, Who’s eyes were as dark as her hair. And as I was searching from bottle to bottle, For something un-foolish to say. That silver tongued devil just slipped from the [...] Read More......(read more)

Can you facilitate your way to project success?

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 22:19:30 GMT

“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.” The “godfather” facilitated that way according to Mario Puzo. Even though it is extreme when practiced by the Corleone family, facilitation is a tool used by effective project managers to gain resources, helping team members achieve goals, and solve disputes. I am not suggesting a parking lot [...] Read More......(read more)

Project Managers – No time for learning?

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 23:42:01 GMT

The benefit of learning from expert’s and peers appears frequently in this blog because I believe it is important for project managers to continue building their knowledge and skills. Our project-based world not only changes frequently with the addition of new tools, techniques and processes, but many of the challenges we encounter in our own [...] Read More......(read more)

Impact of Organizational Culture on Project Life Cycle – PMBOK Chapter 2

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 19:19:43 GMT

PMBOK tells us that projects and project management take place within a broader context than the project itself – projects operate within an organizational culture that influences how decisions are made, outcomes evaluated and project steps follow one another to a – hopefully – successful conclusion. While all projects have a beginning and ending date, [...] Read More......(read more)

How NOT to do training

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:54:37 GMT

At Cognitive Technologies, we place a high value on effective training and we routinely present to organizations on various aspects of project management fundamentals. Our goal is always to help build employee skills and knowledge. We understand that training is a benefit that should help project teams do a better job on assigned tasks, advance [...] Read More......(read more)

Project Management – Working with the Government Model

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:07:12 GMT

I had the opportunity this week to speak at the International Association of Commercial Administrators (IACA) about the aspects of managing projects within the government model — aspects that can be both exciting and frustrating. Preparing for the speech gave me the opportunity (and excuse) to really think about the unique features of the government [...] Read More......(read more)

Trust, but Verify – Dealing with Vendors and Subcontractors

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 28 May 2010 20:10:15 GMT

“Trust, but verify” – a phrase made popular by President Ronald Reagan in describing his strategy for dealing with the Soviet Union during the cold war, should also advise project managers in their relationships with vendors and subcontractors. As a project manager, you may not have been involved in the decision to use a vendor [...] Read More......(read more)

Project Management – Sometimes Seeing the Funny Side is Necessary

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:53:08 GMT

I talked last week about the risky business of project management. Stress seems to be the mother’s milk of managers. In the middle of dealing with a new set of bugs, overdue outsourced code, or the list of additional requirements recently faxed from marketing, a little bit of humor helps you to cope. What makes [...] Read More......(read more)

Is Project Management a Risky Business?

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:56:35 GMT

If being a project manager is your career goal, reflect a bit on Tom Cruise’s experiences in the movie “Risky Business”—not the wild and crazy partying—but his failure to think through the consequences of his actions and the problems that caused him. Managing a project can be risky because there are many variables over which [...] Read More......(read more)

Advice to Project Managers – When the Client Comes to Visit

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:48:08 GMT

An email just hit your inbox – The Grand Pooh-Paw from XYZ Corporation (or Organization) is visiting. Not only must you present your project, you are responsible for his entire day of activities. I hope that you have time to prepare because there are several things you need to know, plan and do to ensure [...] Read More......(read more)

“A Fool with a Tool is Still a Fool”

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:38:51 GMT

Credit the quote in the title to Grady Booch, developer of the Unified Modeling Language in conjunction with Ivar Jacobson and James Rumbaugh, and Chief Scientist in software engineering at IBM Research. Like all memorable quotes, its value is the pithy, clever way it communicates a basic truth. Human beings believe in the power of [...] Read More......(read more)

Project Management – When the Government is Your Customer

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 20:23:06 GMT

According to USA Spending, our federal government spent $523,849,632,233 on contracts for materials and services in 2009. That tells me there are thousands of project managers out there whose customer is the government. Reflecting on what is unique in managing a contract with a government client, I believe there are some key differences that directly [...] Read More......(read more)

The Ethical Project Manager

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 13:10:49 GMT

The Free Dictionary defines ethics as “The branch of philosophy that defines what is good for the individual and for society and establishes the nature of obligations, or duties, that people owe themselves and one another. In modern society, ethics define how individuals, professionals, and corporations choose to interact with [...] Read More......(read more)

Manage your career like a project—Finding a Project Manager mentor

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 21:32:42 GMT

Wow- thanks for the response to my post on “the accidental PM”! I have received several inquiries about other job titles and how they should handle their career—I will definitely address this interesting topic again, soon. I know many lead developers, code jockeys, business analysts and other members of development teams [...] Read More......(read more)

Project Management and the Agility Factor

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:29:38 GMT

Agility is such a positive sounding word. In common usage, agility is synonymous with quickness, lightness, ease of movement, nimbleness—beautiful gymnasts are agile, great basketball players are agile—I feel buoyant just talking about it (Wish my march madness team picks had showed more agility!) Agility in terms of software development is [...] Read More......(read more)

What is PMBOK All About?

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:29:23 GMT

Do you know what PMBOK stands for? Project Management Body of Knowledge—WOW, that much knowledge could send someone running for the door. However, the book that PMI sells is called “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fourth Edition”. The operative word in the title is [...] Read More......(read more)

Helping the Business Analyst Helps Your Project

Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 12:35:03 GMT

Back in May 2009, I talked about value of the Business Analysts (BA) to a company and a project in facilitating communication among stakeholders, making certain that users are effectively represented in requirements definition and testing of software products, and bringing a broader context to the project. (Business Analysts – [...] Read More......(read more)