Andy Makar, Author at LiquidPlanner

Is Joining a PMO the Right Career Move for You?

July 30, 2019 | Andy Makar

In your project management career, you’ll have multiple opportunities to perform different project management roles ranging from a project analyst to a program manager. A typical project manager career path takes this progression: Project Coordinator Project Manager Senior Project Manager Program Manager Portfolio Manager One job role missing from the PM career path is a...

How to Fix a Troubled Project by Falling Back on the Fundamentals

June 25, 2019 | Andy Makar

According to the Standish Group’s 2015 Chaos Report, I have a 64-percent chance of guessing you’ve been on a challenged or failed software project. According to the Chaos Report, only 36 percent of all projects have been successful while others were challenged or failed to meet the business objectives. I’ve seen a lot of projects...

Three Must-Reads to Build Better Teams

May 14, 2019 | Andy Makar

Building high-performing teams isn’t easy, even though teamwork and project management go hand in hand. As teams form, they all go through Bruce Tuckman’s four stages of team development, which is characterized by formal introductions and pleasantries, recognizing conflicting opinions, establishing common ground, and eventually working better as a team. Tuckman formally defines these stages...

Mentoring My Younger Self (with a Little Help from Back to the Future)

January 17, 2019 | Andy Makar

If you knew then what you know now, I’m sure you’d make all the right decisions. If I had a time-traveling DeLorean, I could advise my younger self and avoid all those project management mishaps. Assuming Marty McFly pulled up in my driveway with a fully charged flux capacitor, here are a few key lessons...

Stop Setting New Year’s Resolutions—Set Sprints Instead!

December 18, 2018 | Andy Makar

Does anyone else struggle with setting and achieving New Year’s resolutions? I’m sure you’ve experienced the futility of setting New Year’s resolutions only to continue the same pattern of human behavior from the previous year. Another year goes by and you wonder why you haven’t accomplished the goal you set the last time the ball...

Five Ways to Thank Your Team without Breaking the Bank

November 20, 2018 | Andy Makar

With Thanksgiving in a couple of days and the December holidays approaching, I’m reminded of the importance of taking the time to recognize the team. As managers, we should recognize teams frequently, but the end of the year usually provides us with formal opportunity. Project teams work long hours to deliver seemingly never-ending projects, and...

Michael Myers—Performance Review

October 18, 2018 | Andy Makar

In the workforce, everyone receives an annual performance review—even horror icons like Michael Myers. Since 1978, Michael Myers has demonstrated his perseverance in pursuing his sister, Laurie Strode, nearly a dozen times! The Horror Icons of America Guild (HIAG) recently completed Michael’s latest performance review, and this lucky reporter was able to secure a copy...

Three Real Agile Team Challenges and How to Solve Them

September 20, 2018 | Andy Makar

Agile means a lot of different things to different project teams. Fortunately, there are 3 approaches to overcome some very real-world challenges....

Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Project Management Strategies

August 23, 2018 | Andy Makar

Learn how to use the top-down and bottom-up project management approaches to managing your projects....

Import Your Work Breakdown Structure Into LP with Zapier

August 2, 2018 | Andy Makar

Leveraging technology to automate administrative tasks is an excellent way to reduce a project manager’s administrative burden. Learn how project managers can import work breakdown structures into LiquidPlanner using Zapier....

Zapier Integration: How to Go from Requirements to Project Schedule in a Zap

June 19, 2018 | Andy Makar

Learn how to use the Zapier and LiquidPlanner integration to quickly organize projects, synthesize your to-do lists, and format your project schedule in a zap....

Using Agile Practices to Improve Business Customer Relationships

May 15, 2018 | Andy Makar

The relationship between IT and business teams is easily strained. Adding Agile practices introduces a new way to work together as a team. Andy Makar walks through two examples from past projects....

Andy Makar