Bringing Together Team Members of Different Generations In the project management workforce, we are starting to see a focus on helping senior people in the workplace connect with and manage the newest generation in the workforce: Millennials. This new generation is now moving from entry-level to management positions within an evolving environment and culture. With…

1. Planning and Reporting Go Together Project planning is often perceived as painful and time consuming. How often have you heard, “What’s the point in developing a plan when I’ve got in all in my head?” or “What’s the value of planning if I can’t draw out any conclusions from looking at it?” Planning is…

With the release of Microsoft Project Server 2010, users were introduced to the Delegate feature. This feature allows one user to act as another and provides them with all of the same privileges and permissions in Project Web App (PWA). For example, a Project Manager is going on vacation for the next two weeks. His…

Is it possible that in an organization with weak or limited project sponsor capability, the project management office (PMO) could act as a sponsor for smaller projects? It is surely better to do this rather than not use sponsors at all. If a particular project is in direct support of the organization’s project practices (e.g.,…

Just as politicians pay close attention and respond to the opinions of constituents, so must project managers when leading a project. For a project to be successfully delivered, it’s critical to get collective action from a group of people who may have very different interests. Easier said than done. Because team member opinions vary regarding…

Eric Verzuh has become an expert at taking a project team’s “mojo,” as he calls it, and dissecting its components to understand how to repeat the practices that work and how to eliminate the ones that are getting in the way of gaining top performance among team members. Verzuh, who has gained a reputation for…

For small projects, communication can be quite simple. Communication for the project of heading home after the holidays might be no more than “Call us when you get there.” But good communication grows complex as the scope of the project increases, more people are involved, and teams are scattered around the world. For example, a…

As a project manager, you’ve likely already been in a position to demonstrate a new project to stakeholders. How good are your presentation skills? Here’s a collection of poor tactics, bad errors, and faulty steps you can take to increase the likelihood that your demo will be a failure or — worse — a stunningly…

There’s one feature in Project 2010 that I can’t stop getting excited about — THE PROJECT TIMELINE! This is something I’ve been shouting about since the very early beta and I am so glad to see it has made it to the final version of the products. The ability to gain a high level visibility…

In this continuation of my previous article, I offer five additional best practices that project managers should keep in mind when using their current version of Microsoft Project. Know the Limitations of Critical Path Methodology Critical Path Methodology (CPM) was developed by DuPont over 50 years ago as an effective method to identify activities with…