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5 Tips for Improving Risk Management Planning risk management Sep 15, 2019
From Risk Assessment Framework: Successfully Navigating Uncertainty.

How much risk management and risk management planning is enough? There is no immediate answer to this question; however, a good starting point is to consider the following objectives and constraints:
  1. Costs and time of implementing risk management are proportionate to the costs and time of the projects -less than 10% is a...
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Managing Risks of Fixed Schedules risk management schedule management Sep 15, 2019
As Project Managers, we often have to perform with a fixed schedule. This type of situation can occur for almost any project or industry, but it is a special issue in the software industry when we want to meet monthly, quarterly, or other periodic release schedules. Here are my top 5 tips for successfully managing the risk and meeting the deadline:
 

 1) Be sure there is a project...

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5 Tips for PMs to Work Smarter, Not Harder project integration management Sep 08, 2019

"Work smarter, not harder" sometimes seems unachievable for the project manager. Here are 5 tips toward achieving it:

  1. You do not need to do all the project work too. Delegate effectively, then trust the team member to get it done.
  2. Define clear roles and responsibilities. This will avoid questions and issues later in the project and help contain team-generated scope creep.
  3. Focus on the most...
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The Power of Checklists and Sign Offs quality management Sep 08, 2019

I usually have to visit a copy shop at least 2-3 times a year to fulfill various needs for PMI meetings and events. This past weekend I had a critical business need to have a small number of copies made and spiral bound for a customer meeting. With FedEx Kinko's being the closest, I dashed off last night to have the copies done. Since I don't frequently visit, this was like a "first visit" all...

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A 5-Step Process for Risk Response Planning risk management Sep 01, 2019

Developing a process for risk response planning is critical. In addition to reducing thinking bias, a process reduces the risk of poor responses and ensures any responses creating new risks receive treatment as all others.

  1. Start with the highest priority risk - review the identification and analysis of the risk.
  2. Identify at least one risk trigger. In the process, you may uncover additional...
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5 Tips to Encourage and Support Project Innovation project integration management Aug 25, 2019

Innovation is often a direct result of good project management - teams find novel solutions and produce superior results (creativity), which can be implemented (innovation). Here are 5 tips for encouraging and supporting innovation in projects:

  1. Provide clear objectives, roles, responsibilities, and an overall plan to focus on creativity.
  2. Demonstrate value for new ideas: let them be heard and...
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Less Inspection, More Prevention quality management Aug 25, 2019

If we look at the five levels of effective quality management, it's easy to see that proactive (taking preventative measures) is the least expensive way to go.  If clients find problems, or we find the problems just before the project goes to the customer, there is a cost to repair issues, as well as the possibility of other losses, such as loss of reputation or the client.  A solid...

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Take Your Meetings From Good to GREAT communications management Aug 18, 2019

They say that 90% of project work is about communications in some form. Others have estimated that meetings can take up around 50% of project communications time. So, make a commitment to follow these five steps to take your meetings from good to GREAT:

Goals: Pre-plan the meeting and determine what goals must be met to achieve meeting success.

Right people: Determine the right set of people to...

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Time to Ask Another Why? project integration management Aug 11, 2019

Why do our projects not succeed?

Toward the end of last week, I completed a corporate training for UCSD Extension at a major San Diego/US defense contractor. They were taking the final exam, so I covered some short topics to generate discussion rather than cover new material.  I showed them the results of industry studies by organizations such as Standish Group and Meta Group. I showed...

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5 Tips for Handling Difficult to Estimate Tasks cost management schedule management Aug 04, 2019

Getting good estimates is often challenging for projects.  Here are 5 tips for getting better estimates for difficult-to-estimate tasks:

  1. Decompose the work further to understand it more fully. Document all assumptions and constraints.
  2. Look for similar estimates provided for past projects—network with other projects or organizations willing to share their experience and expertise.
  3. Do...
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