Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

Project management plays a crucial role in the successful execution of any initiative, be it small or large. However, project managers often need help with the overall outcome. Today let’s explore common project management challenges and provide strategies and techniques to overcome them, ensuring project success. In addition, each challenge includes a link to additional tips and...

Microsoft (MS) Project is a powerful project management tool used by project managers worldwide to plan, track, manage, and communicate the status of their projects. Its various features have become an essential tool for project management professionals. However, with so many features, it can take time to determine which ones are the most important.  I was recently asked what I considered...

As someone that has used MS Project for over 20 years, I've learned a thing or two about how to make MS Project work better. Here are five tips I hope will ensure more project success.

Establish a baseline. A baseline is a copy of your initial schedule, and you don't want to lose track of it. Once project execution begins, set your baseline. MS Project has a lot of fancy capabilities built into...

Various types of meetings can be essential tools for managing projects and solving problems. They allow you to bring together the right people at the right time to share ideas, build consensus, and make decisions. But if you're not careful about how your meetings are designed, they can waste everyone's time.

You can’t just wing it when running effective project meetings. It’s vital...

There's nothing more daunting than a long list of urgent tasks.  When everything is urgent, it's hard to know where to start.  So here are four tips for taming your to-do list when everything is or at least seems to be urgent.

Eliminate or postpone those you can.  It's easy to feel overwhelmed by competing demands.  This is especially true if you are in a role where you have...

Despite many internet articles to the contrary, PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) and FPA (Function Point Analysis) estimates can be valuable for many projects outside of software-related industries and not just for scheduling.

PERT estimates are a part of a more extensive system and was designed to focus on schedules.  Its benefit is that it mathematically provides everything an...

Most project scheduling tools, such as MS Project, Primavera, and Project Libre, do not encourage essential project management best practices. Their outputs are also tricky to print and read, even with a large format printer, unless care is taken in formatting. As a result, you may find you have plans with unintended consequences.

While these products were not designed entirely by professional...

The definition of a project includes having a start and an end date, making a project a temporary endeavor.  Even though more flexibility is required for agile projects, senior management may still have an expectation of some form of high level schedule so other projects in the organization can be planned.

This means that in addition to getting the best possible requirements up front, you...

Effective sprint planning is essential for the success of any agile project.  The agile project manager should ensure every iteration delivers the highest possible value to customers to stay true to agile values.  Without effective planning, the team will not start the sprint with a shared understanding of the work.  As a result, the team may defer user stories' implementation...

I was recently asked, "What is the time frame for total project completion?" The time frame for total project completion is when all project work is done and all project resources, including the project manager, can be released.  Total project completion should include the tested product, service, or other results that meet all client needs and expectations.  This time frame is a...