Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

You have accrued far more than the required three years of experience, have taken some classes in project management, and just learned about the PMP® certification. This is the same roadmap I followed in 2001 and passed on the first attempt. It's inexpensive and you can "opt-out" at any step to pursue more learning if necessary, before investing too much time.

1. Check eligibility. Download the Ce...

Seeking a leadership career? Embarking on a career in Project Management and earning a PMP® is a good path PMs typically earn more than "experts," and PMPs typically earn more than non-PMPs. The skills you learn will benefit any future management positions. You can wait to become an "accidental" PM or be proactive and follow this high-level roadmap:

1. Gain minimal knowledge. Learn the vocabulary
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The execution phase of a project, while not immune to issues, can be as effortless as possible if you follow these principles:

1. Do the right amount of planning: too little and things "fall through the cracks", too much planning risks "analysis paralysis".
2. Get the right team: people that want to do the work, have the skills and have a supportive network.
3. Exercise key soft skills: delegation, fo
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Always do the right thing. It demonstrates integrity and ethics. You want to be known for this type of behavior - it builds trust, makes it easier for you to lead and negotiate, and creates project success.

What is the "right thing"? Here are some examples:

• When requesting an initial project budget, don't guess. Use your best estimating skills to get it right so the organization doesn't suffer
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Does the team put together the perfect plan with your facilitation? Even so, project execution is more than just checking progress and writing status reports. Here is where your leadership is most needed. These are some items for a project execution checklist to ensure you are leading:

• Manage team conflict. Stop negative conflict quickly and encourage collaboration for positive conflict (i.e. d
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Improving your leadership skills will help you, as well as the team, grow and advance in your careers.

1. Coach and mentor, rather than direct. Give trust to the team to get the job done, remove obstacles for them, and empower them to solve problems.
2. Create a culture of learning and continuous improvement. Eliminate silos, share knowledge, and collaborate.
3. Identify growth paths for all on your t
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Improving your project management skills will help your professional and personal growth, and increase your value to your organization. Here are 5 tips for improving your project management skills:

1. Adopt a mindset of continuous improvement. Learn from past successes and mistakes and make changes for the next project.
2. Improve your communication skills. Communication, including effective listeni
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Here are five common mistakes project managers make, and tips on how to avoid them:

1. React to variance: One week of variation, unless huge, is not going to make or break a project. Better: Look for trends, and don't forget that being under budget and time has consequences as well.
2. Insufficient planning: Top PMs spend more time planning than less effective PMs. Better: Allow some work to start i
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As we've learned from projects like healthcare.gov, Agile isn't always the best method to follow for software development. If we look at its strengths and weaknesses, Agile is not especially well-suited in its pure form for projects with fixed deadlines and fixed scope. It also exhibits limitations in complex projects which require strong integration testing.  So there are other methodologies and ...

If project management feels like it's herding cats, you are probably doing something wrong. Here are 5 steps to avoid the cats:

1. Be sure you develop a definition of success and a clear vision with the project sponsor.
2. Be sure there are clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
3. Do enough planning, so there is a clear plan for the team to follow.
4. Follow the appropriate project and decision-ma
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