06/16/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project budget, project costs, project customer, project manager
No question, the project budget is critical. Customer funding is based on it, project success is derived from how closely you manage to it, and without it you can’t perform any work on the engagement. Properly pricing the project – properly estimating the costs that go into the project – is critical for any size […]
06/09/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project management issues, project management software, project manager, project schedule
Issues come up, bumps in the road occur, many things work against the project manager and his team throughout the engagement as they try to deliver on the project. That said, there are a few negative things or statements from the project team, the customer, and even the PM’s senior management that can basically ruin […]
05/26/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project critical issues, project management, project schedule, project trouble
We all hit the wall at some point. Projects go awry, issues mount and we need to take action. The pressure mounts and tests our ability to make good sound decisions for our projects and for our project customers. What’s your point? At what point do you feel like you might be ready to pull […]
05/12/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project checklist, project closeout, project lessons learned, project manager, project schedule
Working on the end of the project at the beginning is not the first thing on our minds. At least not mine – I have to make a deliberate effort because all euphoria and excitement is focused on getting the project going well for the customer and getting out of the gate on a positive […]
04/29/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: new project strategies, project manager, taking over a project
You are a busy PM – your project plate full of challenging projects. Yet someone in charge thinks you need to be the one to take over a project – be it troubled, or just in need of a replacement leader. It’s hard to look “weak” and say, “No”, so you smile and nod. Rarely […]
04/24/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: managing project risk, project risk, risk management, risk management process
Managing risk is one of those afterthoughts for many of us. We should plan early for it, think of ways to mitigate it, avoid it in certain areas, and help ensure our project’s success by dedicating a chunk of that early project budget to it. In reality, how much time – and on how many […]
04/16/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project communication, project decision making, project decisions, project management decisions
Project managers make decisions all the time. It’s part of the job. In fact, it is much of the job. Decision-making is an ongoing task on every project engagement. Key decisions have to be made throughout by everyone including the project manager, the project team members, the customer, executive management, and usually other stakeholders. They […]
04/09/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project management, project management best practices, project manager
Project management is built around structured methodology – usually – and best practices. There are processes to follow, procedures to implement and documentation to create and deliver. It’s actually pretty structured when you think about it. Or at least it can be. But if we just follow a rigid process, will we really be successful? […]
03/31/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: project flexibility, project management, project management principles, project managers
Structured, rigidly adhered to project management principles and practices have their place. No question about it. Be stubborn, stick to your guns, be unwavering. You know the drill. But, from most of our experiences, we know that adhering to that train of thought will only get you so far when you’re dealing with clients who […]
03/24/2015 by Brad Egeland Tags: pm career, project goals, project management, project manager
It’s OK. Project management isn’t for everyone. It’s interesting, challenging, and somewhat rewarding. I’ll be honest and say it’s more internally rewarding than outwardly so. Success is expected but hard to come by. The target is definitely on the PM’s head if things go awry, but accolades do not come easy to the PM when […]