Archive for December, 2009

The WBS: Making the first mistake

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Many Project Managers begin a project by writing up a ‘to do’ list of activities for each team member.  Within weeks the list is out of date, the project has evolved and more time is spent keeping the list up to date rather than doing the work. The Work Breakdown Structure starts by writing a NOT ‘to do’ list. Forget about activities and look at key deliverables.  Each person is responsible to achieving different aspects of the task - how they get their is often irrelevant.  It is reaching the desired outcome in the assigned time frame that propels a project forward.

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Is Project Management Art or Science?

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Project management is the combination of art and science working in unison for an ultimate goal. Science is the bringing together all the theory and experience acquired over the years, while art is the way you use and adapt these ideas to suits your situational needs. Many people have all the skills and experience of science, but without the adaptability of art a project manager will not succeed.

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- Mara Pederson

December 2009

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Improving Project Management Performance – Job Huddles

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Perhaps one of the best tools to bring a project back on track is just job huddle. The job huddles are an opportunity for the team to have an informal gathering to discuss progress during the last period and identify any issues. With all this information gathered the team can then discuss how to get on track by identifying the teams weaknesses or changes to the working environment. Huddles are a great way to identify changing conditions and keeping a team focused and on track.

- Kari Marrs

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