Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

While the role or job title might be project manager, project managers also need to act as leaders. They need to help set the vision for the project and motivate the team to work by influence. Here are six tips to improve your leadership skills to lead project teams better.

Be self-aware—Self-awareness is a crucial leadership attribute. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and use the knowledg...

Mainly during project execution, the project manager must track the work accomplished.  Tracking may be essential if a project is large and complex, has many tasks that span more than a week, or is time-critical. 

As with all project management tools and solutions, the method employed should be scaled to the project.  For example, there is no need for a $20k software solution for a small, six-mon...

As you probably know from the Risk Assessment Framework, we firmly believe that having categories and prompt lists can help with brainstorming. While some budget estimates can be computed, a big part of the job is to ensure all costs are included. Therefore, it is critical to consider all the charges, including taxes, fees, and economic conditions. In addition, one or more of these categories may ...

Over the years since the first PMBOK® Guide appeared, the project management body of knowledge has grown exponentially.  More than a thousand pages are currently in two PMBOK editions needed to understand project management.  In addition, these editions are supplemented by online information, textbooks, and more.  This amount of information can be daunting to an aspiring, new, or accidental projec...

A statement of work (SoW) is an important document that usually accompanies a contract.  It provides some high-level detail about the work to be performed and the associated roles and responsibilities.  Having a good SoW is always essential to get the best outcomes, and it is crucial for fixed contracts.  Here are five tips to improve your SoWs.

Define success.  After a general introduction to th...

Mind maps are visual diagrams that arrange information, documents, images, and other digital artifacts around more central ideas.  Creating mind maps help people think through problems and issues by allowing them to generate ideas by association. 

Mind maps are easy to create.  Here are some basic steps:

• Decide on the central idea and place it in the middle of the map.  This can include things
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Project management can be stressful at times.  Meeting the competing demands of sponsors, stakeholders, and teams can be challenging.  Many mistakes are caused by spending too little time on a task, being distracted, or lacking full attention.

Many project management mistakes are caused by one or more of these issues, which are very common.  So let's make 2022 the year that we all try to eliminat...

Project managers need the most flexibility when dealing with project cost management.  Some may never have budget responsibilities, while others may have full responsibility.  Those with some duties will also need to navigate many organizational practices about preparing and presenting budgets.

Here are six best practices that will help and apply over a wide range of cost management practices.

C...

Hi Everyone!  Ray here.  During this holiday season, I reflect on the past year and those who have helped shape our business. But, of course, it's people like you, our readers, learners, clients, and partners that have made it quite a year for us all! We hope that this year has been just as memorable for you, your colleagues, and your loved ones, and we look forward to working with you in the year...

What are the differences between waterfall and agile projects? We can use both methods to manage projects, but both follow different processes.

With waterfall, a project is initiated, then planned.  Requirements are developed in full before proceeding with the project work.  Finally, project execution begins, and the project manager monitors and controls project progress. Once complete, the proje...