What is the difference between a project manager and a product manager? As far as jobs go, in some small organizations they may be fulfilled by one person.  In reality, however, they are two distinct roles.

A product manager is responsible for a product life cycle.  The product life...

While the global pandemic meant many started working remotely as early as 2019, the idea of remote teams is not new.  In fact, I've been working with remote teams since the 1970s and found these next 5 tips to be helpful:

Respect differences. The diversity of teams becomes more apparent in...

Last month was Global Diversity Month, so let's take a look at how accessibility and project management are related.  Accessibility is concerned about whether all users will have an equal experience with an product or service - in other words, the output of a project. Anything that makes it...

Stop throwing away lessons learned or putting them in obscure IT folders no one will ever visit again!  Lessons learned have tremendous value for projects - don't waste it.  Let's look at four reasons why lessons learned are important:

Don't make the same mistake twice:  Spanish...

I noticed that my most recent project management classes have had an unexpected number of women.  In fact, one class is 2/3 women and 1/3 men, which is exactly the opposite of what recent surveys have shown exists in most workplaces. It is good to see this diversity gap may be closing.

Last...

What is the project management risk process?  The Risk Assessment Framework is a flexible, easily scaled and tailored framework that is aligned with the Project Management Institute's PMBOK® Guide.

The benefit of the framework is that it easy enough for an aspiring, new, and accidental...

Are you an aspiring, new, or accidental project manager?  The tips in this blog are generally focused on you, however some are more important than others for those just starting out. These 5 tips are things that I learned early as a new project manager and hope they will benefit your careers...

As project managers, we have a great responsibility to organize and manage the work of projects for our project sponsors and clients. The effort we put into this sometimes makes it difficult or impossible for us to be as personally organized as we might want or need. Unfortunately this might...

I recently volunteered to coach and mentor adult learners in an organization which is putting some of their staff through a project management training program.  When wrapping up a session a couple of weeks ago, I got a surprising question.  "Should I get my PMP certificate?  What...

To be successful, project managers need many different and diverse skills, ranging from expertise in their industry to business, and of course, project management technical skills.  Someone recently asked my what major skills project managers need.

To respond to this question, I grouped the...

According to the PMBOK® Guide, communications is 75-90% of the work of a project manager.  However, it's important to note that it is not just about talking. The work of a project manager includes writing reports, giving presentations, engaging with stakeholders, conducting meetings,...

Short answer?  Absolutely! Being a professional project manager can provide a great deal of job satisfaction, great compensation, and be a stepping stone to something more.  Take it from someone who has been managing a variety of projects in a variety of roles for over 30 years.

Here...