Function more Efficiently & Effectively.
Here is a sample charter template for a small to medium business project. The first five sections can typically be developed after a meeting with the project sponsor. The remaining sections often require help of the core team to bring subject matter expertise to bear.
This article, from December 2006 Better Software, talks about the tactic of redefining a problem to facilitate a solution. It has a software example inside, but a background in software isn’t necessary to understand it.
Positive thinking has its limits… in fact, it can work against open communication and risk management on a project when taken to extremes.
This is the first part of a 2-part article on risk management that appeared in Software Testing & Quality Engineering in 2003. This article talks about overcoming organization’s natural resistance to risk management.
This is the second part of a 2-part article on risk management that appeared in Software Testing & Quality Engineering in 2003. This article offers a practical approach to identifying, analyzing and mitigating project risks that can be accomplished in an afternoon for many projects.
Many of the problems faced by projects can be avoided, or at least contained, by effective project management practices. Using a “Top Ten” list as a framework, this article highlights 10 of the most frequent reasons for project failure, and examines some alternatives and remedies for each.
Why is senior management so often suprised by large scale project disasters? What can be done to change cultural attitudes to encourage timely and accurate status reporting? This article, originally appearing in STQE Magazine in September of 2001, tries to address these questions and provide communication tools to avoid Zombie Projects – Project that have died but refuse to lay down.
Despite promises of the past, C-level executives (CEO, CIO, CFO) are still waiting for better project information to support their decision-making. This sponsorship prescription for CIOs originally appeared in a Cutter IT Journal issue focused on “The New CIO Agenda” (August of 2003). It describes a basic approach to assessing and improving project sponsorship that requires no enterprise tools or consultants.
Explores organizational and structural issues with large public sector IT projects. Why are they so likely to fail & so difficult to cancel? This article appeared in the Cutter IT Journal in 2003.
Naomi Karten is a wonderful author, speaker and consultant for organizations trying to improve their customer service. Among her specialties are creation of effective service level agreements.
Roger von Oech has written a variety of books about problem solving and creative thinking.
Edward de Bono is one of the few authors to explore tactics for problem solving.
Home page for the Sacramento Valley Chapter of PMI. Great resource for project managers looking for networking & professional development opportunities.
The Project Management Institute is a professional organization for Project Managers. If you manage projects for a living, a good source of networking might be the PMI chapter near you.
www.pmi.org
Dorset House is a niche publishing house that focuses on software engineering, commercial software development, and project management topics.
This is a short template of a task description that includes a worked out example. It is useful as the work breakdown structure dictionary entry for a given task. Think of it as a mini-work order. It is a vehicle to help task owners clearly describe the work and capture estimate information.
This is a list of questions sponsors should ask themselves, and their project managers when reviewing schedule and resource plans. If you have ideas for new questions at this same level, please post them for consideration below.
This generic risk management plan is a starting place for your efforts. It does not assume availability of any tools to assist you. Feel free to download and customize. If you find something that should be included or have other comments or suggestions, post them below.