Practical Project Management – Page 4

Don’t Get To The Point, Start With It

Start your communications with the Bottom Line Up Front. There is a lot of communication in a project. It is only one part of the communications going on in today’s workplace. Put yourself in the place of the reader. They have hundreds of emails, with or without attachments, to read. They have reports to review andContinue reading “Don’t Get To The Point, Start With It”

Sell The Methodology When Selling Your Internal Project

When the consultants come in to do a project, they always present their methodology, roles, communication methods, change management, the deliverables, and the criteria for sign-off. They include this in their contracts and it guarantees they get paid. When the internal project management team present a project, many of them treat it as an another executiveContinue reading “Sell The Methodology When Selling Your Internal Project”

Tell Me More – 4 Ways To Keep Them Talking

A project manager needs to get all the information and make sure they have understood it correctly. This applies to gathering requirements, documenting issues and other project conversations. You will get more when you can keep people talking. 1. Mirror Repeat what was said in different words. Do not add anything and do not interpret.Continue reading “Tell Me More – 4 Ways To Keep Them Talking”

Time For A Change

Projects bring change. Recognize that the result of the project is change and include change management in your project plan. Find out who is affected by the project’s results and what is changing for them. People will see losses in the change. Acknowledge the losses openly. Don’t be surprised at overreactions. Accept the importance toContinue reading “Time For A Change”

Why, why, why, why, why do you need this?

Projects are about delivering solutions to problems and to find the solution to a problem you need to understand the problem. To understand a problem you first have to make sure you have identified the true problem. Most people will tell you about the symptoms or start with a possible solution when asked “What isContinue reading “Why, why, why, why, why do you need this?”