Being put in charge of the money end of a project is a big responsibility. Done well, you could help to find major success for your team and to save everyone a lot of heartache, headache and, well, money. Done badly, you can single-handedly derail the whole thing. It’s pretty evident then that it’s an...
Tech teams are comprised of creative individuals, each with their own ideas on how things should work. A good project manager should allow team members to express their creativity, but also keep them focused on the main goal at the same time. The PM is the team member who brings all the creative forces together....
“Dear Elizabeth: I ran a kick-off meeting for my project, and it was a disaster. I tried to do the detailed planning, but the group wouldn’t focus, and no one seemed to share the same view about what the project was going to deliver. The experience has put me off running kick-off meetings in the...
In the New Year, businesses are eager to dive into new tasks and goals. Project managers are the first in line to have a full understanding of the intentions of the company going forward. It’s their job to take the companies’ new challenges and get them accomplished in the best way to achieve the desired...
With the increase in cloud-based platforms and web-enabled devices such as smartphones and laptops, remote collaboration has become more than just an option. Both freelancers and corporate teams collaborate on a plethora of projects and daily work-related activities constantly. According to Business 2 Community, 93% of organizations report using standardized, traditional project management practices, while...
The start of a new year is just that — a new start! It’s a chance to try something new, re-tailor and rework all your previous goals, plans, and activities. I hope your celebrations were filled with family, festivities, and food but now it’s time to get back to work. Think about how your last...
“Dear Elizabeth: I have a new hire starting on the team, a junior project manager. How can I make our new relationship work? I want to give her meaningful tasks, but I’m personally drowning in work, and I need someone to take some of the burden.” First: Congratulations! It sounds as if you’ve had a...
While modern technology allows us to amplify our abilities and do more than we ever could before, the sheer amount of inputs and information has led us to somewhat of a tipping point. Today, business communication is so ubiquitous that most employees spend the majority of their time responding to emails, answering phones, and participating...
With the popularity of Agile, Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), and Scrum, organizations are asked to justify the project manager’s role on a project. Scrum purists reject the idea of adding a project manager to the team as the team should be able to solve all the problems with the help of the product owner and...
We all know how it goes. A new client is on-boarded with the project manager, and discussions start around the completion and delivery of said project. Unfortunately, a lot of the key players that’ll do the work are possibly absent, and a small, select group holds a short and inefficient project scope management meeting to...
One of the qualities that every project manager should have is organization skills. While being well-organized is a necessity, there is still much you need to invest in and do for your project to be successful. There are so many suggested methods and strategies for project managers, but I have found that the following ten...
Whether you’re looking for a career change or you’ve been tasked with hiring a competent PM, project managers are an integral part of the modern-day office. Indeed, having the right one (or several) in place can mean the difference between completing projects on time, under budget, and with purpose as opposed to aimlessly playing whack-a-mole...