Posts Tagged ‘project management’

Welcome to Part 2 of my blog about preparing for the PMP exam! In case you missed it, here is a link to Part 1, focused on preparation. Part 2 is focused on the days leading up to the exam and the exam itself.  Test Center or At Home? I chose to take the exam […]

Create Template: Click the Solution Center icon (plus sign) in the left navigation. Then, on the top left of the screen, you’ll see the different options. ex. Create and Import options. Click on Create option, and there you’ll see the eight options that are Grid, Project, Cards, Task List, Form, Report, and Dashboard/Portal. Select the […]

I’ve been using the Eisenhower Quadrants of Productivity with my teams for many years now. You may also hear it called the “Eisenhower Decision Matrix” or the “Eisenhower Box”. It is a method that helps people understand the differences between “urgent” and “important” tasks. You can use it to create principles on how to best […]

Retrospectives, when run effectively, are an invaluable tool for an agile team. However, these meetings can get stale and tiring if you have one every ten days or if you’re on the same project for multiple years. Keeping your team engaged is key for gathering feedback that you can use to improve moving forward. Here […]

It’s always exciting to open a pack of Starburst and see a few pinks and reds in a row. Pinks and reds are so renowned they can be purchased in stand-alone bags! But what about the yellows? There have been statistical studies done to prove yellow ranks last among the classic flavors, which may cause […]

More and more with tech Project Managers, we’re seeing a multi-discipline approach to the role, ditching the “old ways” of project management in favor of agility and adding extra value to the team. One of these approaches is to be an analytical Project Manager, incorporating tactics from the typical Business Analyst role into day-to-day facilitation […]

The Road to Managing Corporate Innovation I started out at an ad agency in southern Indiana in 2002. Our clients were interested in technology and our agency helped them find their way. At the same time, I was building the web development and digital strategy team within the agency. We began doing things intentionally with […]

I like to look at projects as if they are puzzles. All the pieces are established, but as a project manager, you must figure out the most appropriate and logical sequence to complete the bigger picture. An Iteration Plan is a helpful tool that can help to organize and visualize the sequence of work. In […]

 Time management is a crucial part of success as a project manager. When your role requires you to wear many hats, as project management does, it’s important to be deliberate with you how spend your time. Often it can take months (or years) of experimentation to develop the perfect time management system for your work […]

Most are familiar with the Five Ws for information gathering: Who, What, When, Where, and Why – adding in How for good measure (making it the Six Ws). Fewer are aware of the Five Whys which is a simplistic method of root cause analysis (RCA). This article explains the Five Whys, also known as a […]

Software delivery projects are most often organized into “Sprints” of work where the team is executing in what can feel like a never-ending loop of plan, execute, demo, repeat. This non-stop, fast-paced cycle leaves little breathing room for reflecting on or implementing unplanned improvements or technical debt which the team is bound to accumulate through […]

Goal Setting Options Abound There are many ways that businesses set goals, choose priorities, and ensure that their teams are rowing in the same direction. You’ve probably created SMART goals, been asked to use OKRs, watched KPIs, laid out Vision Boards, or updated Kanban Boards. These are all great tools to help keep team alignment. […]