12/23/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project deadline, project deliverables, project delivery, project manager
The timeframes on our projects – both projected and real – seem to almost define us as project managers. They define what we are doing today, how successful we are to date, and what our customer likely thinks of our performance. As project managers, it seems that everything we do is measured by time or […]
12/15/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project management activities, project manager activities, project resources, project schedule
We never love everything about our jobs, right? And, while I would call myself a pretty good consultant and project manager – there are key aspects of the project management world – very critical activities that have to happen – that I’m not always that good at unless I try very hard or that I […]
12/08/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: business analyst, project management, project manager, project schedule
There is always a chance – depending on the organization structure and project load on the project managers available – that this could be happening in any organization. I have personally led a couple of projects where, due to my schedule with other projects, I’ve had to rely heavily on BA participation and part-time leadership […]
12/01/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project issues, project manager, project problems, troubled project
Sometimes we attack problems because they are the latest problem and someone is demanding a fix. We can also end up spending too much valuable time on issues and project problems that may likely be solved through simpler means when given the proper amount of research and analysis.
11/17/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project management software, project risk planning, project schedule, risk management, risk planning
Risk planning…most tell you they hate to spend time on it and often just do a cursory amount of real risk planning. We often find that it’s easier to act now and ask for forgiveness later. Risk planning is like life insurance…great if you need it, but most of us don’t need it before it […]
11/10/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project completion, project management, project manager, save the project
Some projects experience some disastrous situations and you wonder, “Can this project be saved?” Maybe not out loud in front of the project client, but you do wonder it. Some can be fixed, some can’t and some take some alternate routes to get back on the road to success. The act of actually throwing in […]
11/04/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: IT projects, project budget, project management career, project manager
As project managers there will always be those things that we wish we had known or things we thought we could do but we were too confident to see that we were actually failing. You’ve heard the term “fake it till you make it” right? You’ve probably even read that phrase from me in a […]
10/27/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project management, project manager, project plan, project planning, project schedule
Does your day usually go exactly how you planned it would go when you hit the shower in the morning? Does it ever? Why should we expect something different from the projects that we manage? The teams that we manage? T/he customers that we engage? So many variables. So many things that can go wrong […]
10/20/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: business analyst, business requirements, IT project manager, project manager
You can be the most talented and organized project manager there ever was, but never underestimate how much a talented business analyst brings to the table on your technical projects. They are essential for success, in my opinion. With a great BA in place you get better requirements documented, have better oversight of the technical […]
10/13/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project plan, project planning, project planning best practices, upfront project planning
Planning is a chore. I get that. And believe me, I struggle with chores daily – but it’s a way of life if you want to live an organized productive life. The same is true with the projects that we run. If we want to have productive, organized and successful projects, then we can’t run […]