Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

What makes one project manager successful while another struggles? It isn't the project management software they use, their certification, or their ability to create a beautiful project schedule. In fact, some of the best project managers I have worked with have managed projects that were anything but easy. They dealt with changing requirements, difficult stakeholders, limited resources, unrealist...

Ask ten people what a project manager does, and you might get ten different answers. Some will say project managers create schedules. Others will say they run meetings, prepare status reports, assign tasks, or make sure projects stay on budget. I had a recruiter at a job fair suggest that I join their customer service team because I would be talking to IT managers on the phone all day. All of thos...

Have you or someone you know had their PMP certification quietly lapse because they ran out of time to earn PDUs? It happens more often than you think. Personally, I’ve come close a few times.

For PMP certification holders, the renewal clock starts ticking the day they pass the exam or their renewal is processed. It seems like there is plenty of time. After all, 60 hours is the equivalent of less...

Every manager eventually reaches the same conclusion: "We need another person." The workload is growing, deadlines are getting tighter, and everyone appears to be working as hard as they can. The obvious solution seems to be hiring another employee. More people should mean more work gets done.

Sometimes that's the right answer. However, after more than three decades of managing projects and leadi...

If you have spent any time in project management, you've probably heard these statistics. Depending on the study, a significant percentage of projects fail to meet their original objectives. They finish late and over budget or do not deliver on all expectations. The surprising part is that we've known why they fail for decades.

Research from industry organizations, academic institutions, and prof...

One question I am often asked is, "What is the time frame for total project completion?" Most people assume it is the date documented in the project charter or shown on the project schedule. The answer is more nuanced. Project completion involves more than reaching a calendar date. It means delivering a product, service, or result that satisfies the project's objectives, fulfills requirements, is ...

One of the most common questions I encounter is whether project management best practices designed for large projects apply to smaller initiatives. The question is understandable. When people think of project management, they picture bureaucratic processes and documentation. For a small project involving only a handful of people and a modest budget, that type of overhead is unnecessary.

As a resu...

Earning a PMP certification is a significant achievement. It demonstrates commitment to the profession and validates an understanding of project management principles, processes, and best practices. It is also one of the most respected credentials in the field and often serves as a gateway to new opportunities.

However, many project managers are surprised to find that, after passing the exam and ...

Project management is often associated with schedules, software tools, status reports, and methodologies. While those things certainly have value, they are rarely the primary reason projects succeed or fail. In practice, successful projects are driven by the project leader’s qualities, mindset, and leadership abilities- traits like decisiveness, empathy, and adaptability- that directly impact team...

One of the challenges of leadership is motivation. Managers and project leaders spend a great deal of time trying to understand why one employee embraces a difficult assignment while another avoids it. Understanding these differences helps leaders stay focused on effective strategies and maintain high team engagement. Why does one team enthusiastically adopt a new process while another resists it?...