Why you need a decision log
Posted by Elizabeth
On a long project, project managers, sponsors and teams make a lot of decisions. How do you keep track of everything you have agreed? A decision log can help.
A decision log is simply a list of all the key decisions made on the project. It includes:
- A reference for the decision
- Date decision made
- What was agreed and why
- Who agreed to it
- Where you can find more information or supporting documentation (optional)
Overcoming Common Project Issues – Part 2
Posted by Brad Egeland
No matter how well you plan and no matter how organized you are, there are still some common problems that can rear their ugly heads and try to derail your projects. Sometimes, no amount of lessons learned sessions will get you past these issues, so we need to examine them further and discuss ways to eliminate them or at least minimize their affects.
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we discussed the first five of ten problems commonly experienced on projects. In Part 2 we’ll dive further into these issues as we examine problems six through ten.
#6 – Communication with top management while the project is underway is not effective
How do you handle the problem of poor communication with top management? Even when you make the effort to keep the lines of communication open, management may simply fail to keep you up-to-date on priorities.
Your solution: You cannot force top management to improve their communication skills, but you can do your best to present status reports, ask for continuing definition, and convey information to the top—even if your only avenue is the interoffice memo. If you can’t even get an executive to take time for a brief meeting, chances are your communication link will suffer. You may find that management does not respond to your requests or suggestions, fails to confirm project goals, and offers little support; but when the project is completed, you are told that “this is not what we wanted.”
In most cases, management wants to support you, and will try to maintain morale. So even though the problems seem formidable, if you make an effort to communicate, they can usually be resolved – even if you have to train top management in the development of communication skills!
#7 – The schedule is difficult to control
Coordinating the many ongoing efforts of your team members and successfully completing many different phases within the same limited time period may be a struggle. If so, examine the method you are using to develop and control your schedule. You may have to invest more time in developing a detailed network diagram and showing team members how to use it as a control document. Most instances of scheduling control problems are created by a lack of preparation in creating the schedule itself.
Your solution: Revise your methods.
#8 – Deadlines are not being met, and projects are completed late
You may have an excellent process for schedule control, and team members are working well together. But in spite of that, you simply don’t meet phase deadlines, and projects aren’t completed on time.
Your solution: Allow more time, or increase the size of your team. Your schedule is not realistic, and phases cannot be executed at the pace built into it. You may have been forced to accelerate your schedule because management imposed an early deadline. When you first organize your schedule, the realistic completion time will be dictated by the scope of the job. If the final deadline is unrealistic, convey this fact to management, explain why there is a problem, and ask for a later deadline or a larger project team.
#500 – What I’ve Learned So Far
Posted by Brad Egeland
Since this is my 500th post for PM Tips, I thought it might be a good time to look back and think about what I’ve learned and the experiences I’ve had writing in the project management and business technology communities.
It has certainly been a nice creative outlet for me and I’ve enjoyed the writing far more than I thought I would. 500 posts have added up to nearly 400,000 words and more than 750 comments that contain yet another 75,000 words. That’s a lot of reading for all of us. The 400,000 words in the articles alone is the equivalent of more than five books. Considering the fact that I’m writing a book (more on that later) and haven’t finished it yet but I’ve written more than five books worth in the articles says I’m not project managing my book writing process very well. Oh well.
So, what have I learned so far by expressing my thoughts and experiences online to strangers, peers, and colleagues?
I’ve learned that, as I indicated above, I enjoy writing much more than I thought I would.
I’ve learned that it’s easier to express your opinions, experiences, trials, and tribulations than I thought it would be. I’ve only experienced writer’s block a couple of times. And I’ve gained much inspiration for articles just from the reader comments that come in. Project managers are a very thought-provoking group.
Though I’ve made it sound enjoyable, I have learned that it’s not always easy to squeak out at least 500-1000 words on a topic and sound fresh. Sometimes I’ve come up short. Likewise, when I have lots of thoughts on a topic and write a long article, it can be hard to keep the writing flowing and orderly so that the reader can make sense of it. In other words, sometimes I ramble on. Like right now.
I’ve learned that there are just about as many ways to manage projects as there are projects to be managed. And it often depends on the project size, budget and ultimately the customer. The one common factor is success. If you don’t manage to project success than you may have chosen the wrong way to manage that particular project.
I’ve learned that it’s just as fun sharing project failure experiences as it is project success experiences. PM Tips’ mission is to share experiences with project managers as well as mentor new project managers. Sharing failures, successes, templates, and documents is all part of the game and it’s been great to see how much we’ve all helped each other out.
Carnival of Project Management #33
Posted by Elizabeth
Welcome to the August/September 2010 edition of the Carnival of Project Management, our 33rd Carnival.
To start, Rich Maltzman, PMP presents Zero is the new Infinity posted at Earth PM, saying, “Green is the new black, and zero is the new infinity…” He also writes his own blog and posted We just ain’t that good at risk from Scope crêpe, saying, “Really – we aren’t.”
Valery Zelixon presents Supplier selection process part 1 – - how to select global supplier for your business posted at Supply Chain Notebook.
Stuart Corrigan presents How To Map A Process posted at Vanguard Scotland, which also includes some links to free tools for process mapping.
Guru presents 25 things that you need to know to host successful events posted at Eventzilla Blog. This is on the boundaries of project management, but if you are hosting lunch-and-learn sessions for teams of project managers, courses or simply workshops for your projects, review this list.
Wise Bread presents How to Get Your Boss to Let You Work From Home posted at Wisebread.
Bruce Loflland presents Hidden reasons why things don’t get done posted at PM Technix.
And here’s another from Rich Maltzman, PMP presents Green Project Management and the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill posted at Earth PM. “Pertinent!” he says.
Chris Solomon presents Project Management Tools Part – 1 Critical Path Method(CPM) posted at Jazz Presentation, saying, “Critical Path Method is A very effective Method used in Project Management to Segregate the most important parts of the projects for the rest.” This is a basic article on critical path method.
And finally, here is a new project management blog: IT Project Blog. Not very adventurously named, but it looks like it could build into a good resource.
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of project management using our carnival submission form. The next edition of the Carnival will be hosted at A Girl’s Guide to Project Management.
Overcoming Common Project Issues – Part 1
Posted by Brad Egeland
Even when you organize and lead your projects well, there are still some common problems in the project management world that you may continue to run into on your engagements. Learning how to effectively deal with these recurring issues will both improve yourself as an effective project manager and also increase your chances for project success.
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we’ll examine the first five of ten problems commonly experienced on projects.
#1 – The team doesn’t work well together
When you struggle to create a team but don’t succeed, first examine your own management style. Do you truly offer team members an opportunity to participate? Or do you discourage them from speaking out, offering ideas, or suggesting changes? Teams work only when you encourage participation and then follow up on it.
The problem may also be caused by excessive diversity in the team. If you have the chance to pick your own team, try to limit as much as you can the involvement of a large number of other departments. Projects often demand help from people other than those you supervise directly, but it is not always necessary to strive for participation beyond those resources you absolutely need.
#2 – Other managers resist having their employees recruited to your team
You face a formidable task just in getting cooperation from other department managers – no matter how diplomatically you approach them or how well you define and explain the project. To solve this problem, you will need to convince the other managers that their priorities will be respected.
#3 – Management skills that work in the department don’t seem to work on the project
Be aware of the important differences between departmental and project management. They often require different levels of supervision and leadership. In fact, skills that work for you as a department manager may interfere with team participation, so you will probably need to develop a completely different approach to supervising the project team.
