This is a core objective and it’s where your work begins in earnest.
Use Colored Tabs to Manage Project Folders
It’s a challenge to keep track of everything you must discuss with co-workers involved in a project. Project folders are a good start, but each folder contains issues involving various people. You may have 4 issues, in 4 different project folders, to discuss with Sue. How can you remember them all when Sue phones?
Build In Added Idea Value By Developing Robust Project Objectives
Objectives should clearly state what you could expect to experience as a result of implementing the idea. What value will you gain? All of the project work should then be planned to deliver the expected results. It is helpful to keep the project statement visible for the team as objectives are developed. Keep a tight focus.Think at a higher level when developing objectives and you will deliver unexpected added value to the organization.
Protect Your Project Plan Upfront to Boost Idea Success Rates
With all of the best developed project plans, problems will still occur. Often they are problems that could have been prevented, if only time were taken upfront to work at eliminating them. But, people will say, “We don’t have time to do this kind of thinking.” So, the problems happen, and then people say, “I can’t believe we didn’t think to prevent this from happening!” Miraculously, time is found to fix the problem! Where does the time come from?
Avoid Project Pitfalls that Kill Idea Development Work
The following list of project pitfalls will sabotage the hard work of idea development. Identify the pitfalls that are relevant to your project and develop strategies to eliminate or minimize them. Think your way to success. The fun part is developing a workable idea. The hard part is the project work that implements the idea.
Keep the Idea Focused: Develop a Very Clear Project Statement
The purpose of a project statement is to keep everyone focused on the specific viable idea that is being implemented. It is your guiding light for the entire project.
Outsourcing a Project Overseas
You decided to outsource your project, you sent out Requests for Proposal, you evaluated the proposals that you received, and you finally found out that the outsource service provider (OSP) whose proposal best fits your requirements is an overseas company… Is it a disappointment to you?
First Time Project Managers Need Failures
Nothing succeeds like success, except in project management where nothing succeeds like failure.
Appreciative Inquiry: A Powerful Project Leadership Tool
I was recently introduced to a concept called appreciative inquiry (AI) at a conference in Phoenix, Arizona, called Amplifying Your Effectiveness. I was so excited about the possibility of using AI with project teams that I searched the internet to find more information. I discovered that Dr. David L. Cooperrider of Case Western Reserve University is one of AI’s primary originators. AI originally grew out of the organization development (OD) field as far back as the 1970s.
What To Do When Your IT Project Is Late, Over Budget, and Looks Like Its Never Going To Work
Here’s a scary statistic. According to four prominent research firms, only around 20% of all IT projects are finished in a timely manner. By “timely” the researchers mean without loss of quality or being over budget. They go on to say the average project runs approximately 200 percent late, roughly 200 percent over budget, and contains only 2/3 of the original functionality.