In this article we look at how project teams can be built and maintained for optimal performance. This is an essential trait of effective project leadership. Creating the right environment in which the team can thrive is key to success. Choose a good balance of knowledge, energy and experience. I put these three headings together […]
In this article, we look at how projects can be managed remotely and effectively by making just a few tweaks to the way you work. Can I trust my team to work remotely? I’ve been managing projects remotely for several years now. The hardest part is starting. A question that I often get asked is […]
In this article, we look at the failure of large software projects and outline the main reasons for failure and what we can do to reduce these issues. Nobody wants to talk about the boring stuff How many articles, news reports and stories have you read about how a large software project was supposed to […]
Project managers don’t have a crystal ball, but they do have experience……. As with any body of work, project managers need to learn from every experience, good or bad. When issues occur on projects people are often puzzled at how they happened in the first place. There are a few occupational hazards that come with […]
Project management is about getting the job done, not pleasing the PMO Lately I’m hearing more and more complaints from experienced project managers because they are being used as expensive typists and spreadsheet crunchers to keep the PMO happy. Some companies are not seeing the difference between effective project management and administrative project management. PMOs […]
PMs need to keep themselves updated on new trends, methodology, tools to use, Agile or Waterfall terminology to learn. Project Management Methodology The modern world of software projects appears to be flooded with agile terminology. Whether it is companies that claim to be at the cutting edge of agile or companies trying to catch up […]
Dark Matter One of the biggest risks that software project managers face is “Dark Matter”. On a software project it is defined as “The entity that we know exists but cannot see”. It is most prevalent on projects where you require an intimate knowledge of business processes. At the beginning of a project, the Subject […]
Projects From working on many projects over the years one can become accustomed to the culture of a project in terms of delivery, habits and work ethic. We can take a lot for granted in terms of what has become the norm for us. On a recent assignment with a client we had found it […]
Teams While working recently with a client, they asked for some specific advice for managing small project teams when delivering software projects. Previously their project teams were quite large, but the nature of their work now needs small project teams completing software modules in less time. This is to enable them to support ever-changing market […]
Definition With so many different variations of MES (Manufacturing Execution Systems) in use today, it can be difficult to define exactly what MES is and how it is used. The use of the system will vary from company to company. Manufacturing Execution Systems can be defined as systems that record and control the execution of […]
