Category Archive
All articles in Other Project Management Topics category
What Are the Limitations of Project Management?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, April 18, 2010, 1:57 pmProject Management has several limitations. These limitations include the inability to commit to the project scope as originally written and agreed on, the inability to constantly align the project with the strategic requirements of the organization (and thus requiring the presence of Program Management), the necessity of specifying a project budget and a deadline (compromising the quality of the resulting product/service), the dependence on functional management, and the exclusive use of a Project Management methodology (while other may be better for certain projects).
What Are the Disadvantages of Project Management?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, April 13, 2010, 7:37 pmA lot has been said about the advantages of Project Management but little has been said about its disadvantages. Project Management has disadvantages, that can be group into overhead, obsession, and non-creativity. Overhead comprises cost-overhead (paying for the Project Management department), communication overhead (adding an extra layer of communication), and time overhead (mainly caused by padding estimates). Obsession consists of methodology obsession (waterfall vs. agile), process obsession (signing forms just to get a small request/change processed), and stakeholder obsession (pampering the stakeholders for personal reasons). Non-creativity can be technical (resources cannot be creative in developing solutions, as they’re restricted by deadlines) or managerial (managers are enslaved by the process).
What Is the Difference Between Project Audit and Project Review?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, April 9, 2010, 11:18 amThere are several differences between project audits and project reviews. First the project review is about checking that the project is meeting the budget, the schedule, and the scope requirements. The project audit checks if the project management standards, guidelines, and processes are being adhered to, and if the project plan is being followed. A project review is performed by program managers or other interested stakeholders, the project audit is performed by the PMO or internal/external project auditors. The project review outputs a document with key situations affecting the project, the project audit outputs the project audit report, a document capturing all the project management issues found, their severity, and the the corrective action to be taken.
What Is the Demand for Project Coordinators?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, March 18, 2010, 10:21 amThe demand of Project Coordinators is proportional to that of the Project Managers, since Project Coordinators cannot exist without Project Managers. Currently that demand is about 10% of that of the Project Managers’, and it is growing, both in percentage (because more Project Managers are realizing the need for Project Coordinators to finish their jobs in a timely manner), and in number (because of the increased demand for Project Managers in general).
Is It Easy for a Project Manager to Manage a Project Overseas?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, March 16, 2010, 4:11 amTechnically, it is easy to manage a project overseas as Project Management is more or less a standard practice. However, there are a few factors that come into play when it comes to managing projects overseas, such as cultural differences, language difference, and procurement. The smart Project Manager understands that the key to successfully managing projects overseas is properly handling the project team and the stakeholders while making sure to address all the cultural and language differences. Additionally, the Project Manager should realize that efficient procurement overseas is done by importing the goods directly (or, in case of a small company, to contract a vendor to import the goods on the company’s behalf).
How to Negotiate a Project Management Package Overseas?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, March 15, 2010, 4:34 amHigh salaried Project Management jobs are abundant overseas. In order to get these jobs, Project Managers must submit their CVs online, and if selected for an interview, they’ll be either interviewed on-site or close to their home. When a Project Manager is negotiating for a job overseas, then he should take into consideration 3 factors: the country he’s moving to, his nationality, as well as his future position and the industry he’ll be working in. Project Managers should make sure that some perks such as free housing and schooling are included in the contract, and are handled directly by the company.
What Is Gold-Plating in Project Management?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, March 5, 2010, 7:40 amGold plating in Project Management is giving the customer more than what he bargained for (which may or may not be something the customer actually wants). Gold plating is often done by autonomous team members and in good intentions. There are many negative consequences to gold plating such as scope inflation, increasing the overall cost of the project, increasing risks, upping the customer’s expectations. Avoiding gold plating can easily be done by enforcing a strict policy of not implementing anything outside the original scope of the project without a change request.
What Is the Difference Between Construction Project Management and Software Project Management?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, March 4, 2010, 7:38 pmThere are several differences between Construction Project Management and Software Project Management. Construction Project Management is predictable, formal, usually adopts the waterfall methodology, and thrives in traditional organizational structure. Software Project Management is unpredictable, informal, is a perfect use of the agile methodology, and thrives in a projectized environment. Communication in Construction Project Management is simple, risks and politics are high-level, and team conflicts are rare but dangerous. Communication in Software Project Management is complex, risks and political are at the project-level, and team conflicts are abundant but are rarely physical. Software Project Management is susceptible to scope inflation due to an abundance of change requests, which leads to a cost overrun and late schedule. Costs in Construction Project Management are largely affected by raw materials, which may go up in a dramatic way, leading to a huge cost overrun.
What Is the Difference Between Good Project Managers and Bad Project Managers?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, February 15, 2010, 9:13 pmGood Project Managers are good communicators, proactive, not attached to a methodology, punctual. They know how to say “No”, and they have a healthy work-life balance. Bad Project Managers are bad communicators, reactive, fanatically attached to a methodology, bad at managing stakeholders, procrastinators, and always late to meetings. Bad Project Managers always say “Yes” to requests they can’t fulfill, and they have no problem with stressing their team trying to fulfill these requests.
What Is a Hidden Agenda in Project Management?
Filed in Other Project Management Topics, February 8, 2010, 5:54 pmA hidden agenda in Project Management is a secret plan or thought adopted by stakeholders that usually conflicts with the project’s interests. A hidden agenda is the result of selfishness, is easily detected, but is very hard to deal with. The smart Project Manager acknowledges hidden agendas and carefully navigates through them to make sure that his project succeeds.
