Project management articles, practical advise on how to apply the best practices with videos of PMs doing it the right way. See techniques based on our best practices from our Achievement-driven Project Methodology (AdPM) http://www.4pm.com project management The Hampton Group, Inc. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en-us Tue, 7 Sep 2010 16:54:58 -0700 dick.billows@4pm.com Tue, 7 Sep 2010 16:40:21 -0700 FeedForAll v2.0 (2.0.2.9) http://www.feedforall.com http://www.4pm.com/images/4pmrss.gif http://www.4pm.com Project Management Training & Certification 105 77 Do your status reports leave executives with less decision making data than they had before you started to talk? See a bad status report and then learn the best practices. http://www.4pm.com/articles/Project_status-stupefy.pdf project management 559B9B65-0A22-4C02-8440-1D5C79524942 Tue, 7 Sep 2010 16:40:21 -0700 Managing programs or portfolios with multiple projects in them requires a different set of skills than for a single project. View this overview of multiple project techniques from one of our program manager certification courses. http://4pm.com/classes/videoplayer201.htm program management A910FC02-33A6-4161-85ED-23BE96B69B0E Tue, 31 Aug 2010 20:59:46 -0700 What if they assign you to a critical project that will really affect your career and you don't want anything to "fall between the cracks"? Watching every little detail is the way to go, right? http://4pm.com/articles/microgr.pdf project management FE7ECBB5-6774-46AC-9324-C90AF1D678F6 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:05:06 -0700 Body Language Lecture - watch the body language of 5 project managers making presentations to executives. Hear the expert commentary on what they did badly and what they did well. Sample lecture from our #203 Professional Communications Skills course. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayer-bodylanguage.htm Project management 294A3E86-9EC1-4064-ADC8-E812C1CB99D7 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:54:25 -0600 Executives always ask these questions and too often PMs have no answer. So the execs make cuts in the budget and duration with no compensating adjustments. The project fails because the PM did not know how to model options and tradeoffs. Learn how to do that. http://4pm.com/articles/trade-off_twinkie.pdf Project management 60F8E461-D3E9-41FD-B486-2860DC087C60 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 08:54:25 -0600 Learn what kind questions you’ll have to answer and what foundation knowledge you need to pass the exam. http://4pm.com/classes/videoplayer104.htm Project management 59DB3D43-4662-4189-AB23-38779FA82C74 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:39:01 -0600 Too many project managers start a project by taking orders from the boss like they were at the drive through window of a fast food joint. Its almost impossible to recover from this first misstep and it leads to devastating scope creep. http://www.4pm.com/articles/fast_food_projects.pdf Project management 4BE8360C-B7B7-414D-82F0-44A449587517 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 05:40:34 -0600 Learn the techniques, contract types, and incentives to use in dealing with contractors and consultants. Then watch the video about how to handle and what to say to a greedy contractor who is trying to fleece you with change orders and extras. http://www.4pm.com/articles/contractor.pdf DD1A06BA-3ED4-403F-9858-B885CDEC85CF Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:08:49 -0600 How you gather requirements affects the amount of scope creep on the project and the odds of finishing on time and within budget. It also determines if you have happy stakeholders. http://4pm.com/articles/requirements.pdf Project management DE1162B5-91F7-40C1-AC64-FFA50FF2F935 Wed, 4 Aug 2010 08:43:10 -0600 : Dick Billows, PMP gives you an overview of a scalable risk management process that represents the best practices in risk management. The lecture is from our prep course for the PMP certification exam. http://4pm.com/classes/videoplayer104.htm project management A53ED516-93C1-431F-8CF6-708A8B5A28D6 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:33:12 -0600 Project failure rates over 70% are not uncommon but executives and team members can cause failure as easily as the project manager. Read about what everyone’s role should be and how a PM can (subtly) coach execs and (directly) coach team members to fulfill their roles. http://4pm.com/articles/project_failures.pdf Project management F8BE3BB2-B4AD-4663-AD29-81D7E9D17AD7 Tue, 27 Jul 2010 08:33:13 -0600 Don't be surprised by big problems when it is too late to recover. Learn how to get good status information from your team and solve small problems early. http://4pm.com/classes/videoplayerstatus.htm project management FB8367C5-C75C-42DC-B9D6-B706A4972A5F Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:23:57 -0600 A few minutes of risk management on even the smallest project gets a good return for the effort. We just need to scale risk management so the payback is proportional to the cost. Here's our 3-tiered approach for projects of different scales and significance. http://www.4pm.com/articles/risk.pdf project management F05E733D-D82C-479C-82F7-186475644CC0 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:31:56 -0600 Watch a project manager use best practice techniques with her team as they develop work and duration estimates. Then see how she handles the sponsor who wants to "tighten" up the estimates. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerTale-1-good.htm Project Management BA3065A2-3A06-4473-A0BB-5F91352BBFC9 Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:47:00 -0600 A bad WBS can doom a project before is starts and a good WBS can make estimating and scheduling easy and give the whole team a clear picture what is expected. Read about how to make a good WBS. http://www.4pm.com/articles/wbs.pdf project management 70A448A2-7EF4-4109-A9AF-9239C7B21136 Sat, 10 Jul 2010 14:47:24 -0600 Watch a project manager make all the classic mistakes in estimating with the project team. Then listen to the team members tell you what they think and how they’re going to do their tasks. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerTale-1-bad.htm Project management 21123F81-6253-44DD-8935-93715F1ED81B Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:42:26 -0600 Sometimes executives will only talk to you about due dates; even before you know what the scope is. Here’s what t say to avoid making a commitment before you know it’s a good one. http://www.4pm.com/articles/Due_Dates.pdf Project Management 2191A3FF-51DE-4616-BD48-62DFF8DA7E38 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 07:42:26 -0600 Article: Getting to Commitment: Negotiating with Your Team. Few project team members have any real commitment to their project assignment or due date. Learn the best practices techniques for making assignments and gaining commitment. http://www.4pm.com/articles/TeamCommirtment.pdf Project Management E2B2B344-CADF-4759-B879-3EEDC98CAD12 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:16:47 -0600 Watch as a project manager works with the project team using best practice techniques and handling the sponsor’s change request. Then listen to the team members’ reactions to the session as we interview them in private. Last, hear an expert’s analysis of the PM’s work. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerTale-2-good.htm Project Management 24AA56D6-1624-4CC4-9BB8-7B109EDE63F1 Tue, 22 Jun 2010 11:16:47 -0600 Project managers and executives play lots of games during the project approval process. They also have fantasies about how the process works. Let’s explore these fantasies for insight into how both sides think. http://www.4pm.com/articles/3fantasies.pdf Project management 6AEAFA82-85DD-4693-BCEE-6A3B4B61802A Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:40:02 -0600 Watch as a project manager works with the team on planning their project using the techniques that are the common practice. See the PM’s techniques and then listen to the team members’ reaction to the session as we interview them in private. Last, hear an expert’s analysis of the PM’s work. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerTale-2-bad.htm Project management A65D323C-AFA4-4183-9389-A1939507061C Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:40:01 -0600 Learn save time and shorten project duration with predecessors in your schedule. Too many project managers use start and finish dates to control the sequence of the tasks in their projects, wasting time. Learn how to use predecessors and save hours of time with automatic updates plus see how to design the predecessors to shorten the project duration. http://www.4pm.com/articles/predecessors.pdf Project management 3782102A-6A1A-458B-8C7A-FE275147EEBC Wed, 9 Jun 2010 15:16:14 -0600 The critical path offers us an opportunity to easily analyze our project for opportunities to cut the duration, identify problems we don't need to solve and easily model corrective action plans. http://www.4pm.com/articles/critical_path.pdf 3F2EF093-87E8-4F88-811F-14013C6C0C48 Thu, 27 May 2010 17:22:42 -0600 Cut Duration video: Watch as a project manager unsuccessfully tries to block duration reductions on her project. Then see how she applies best practices techniques and wins the day. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerReduceDuration.htm E1A411E8-6281-4074-8039-8E17548CC8E1 Thu, 27 May 2010 17:22:41 -0600 When you report project status to your sponsor you have a significant opportunity to build your credibility in the executive's eyes. But too often project managers take the wrong approach in status reports and undermine their credibility instead. http://www.4pm.com/articles/status-sponsor.pdf Project management CCC23A99-6ADD-4B4F-9B1C-930B36A9B41E Mon, 17 May 2010 13:59:48 -0400 You've inherited a failing project and need to address a raging conflict between the IT developers and user management. Learn how to handle this situation. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerDougHallie.htm Project Management B180078C-D6AE-44FD-9F09-B6A7BE260025 Mon, 17 May 2010 13:59:47 -0400 Learn about techniques for modeling trade-offs as a way to handle changes executives want to make to your project. http://www.4pm.com/articles/4-corners_projects.pdf Project management 6351F961-9123-40BC-8754-C5FDF24A8854 Mon, 10 May 2010 19:20:31 -0400 http://www.4pm.com/articles/4-corners_projects.pdf A PM walks into a raging team conflict and in three minutes calms things down and gets people back to work. Watch how he does it. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerteaminaction.htm Project management 17FCEB50-201D-4D02-8196-7EA216F455E4 Tue, 4 May 2010 17:53:06 -0600 Project team members respond to what the PM counts when measuring their performance. We get some strange and harmful behavior when we count the wrong things, so learn how to count the right things. http://www.4pm.com/articles/activity.pdf Project Management C1D18A7F-12AC-40EB-9CC4-48BD8DB1BC01 Tue, 4 May 2010 17:44:27 -0600 The project charter is an opportunity to address potential problems early. If left to fester, they can cause significant damage in the middle of project execution, when the consequences are much more severe. http://www.4pm.com/articles/charter.pdf project management F6192527-7357-4DE1-8531-463F24635D38 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:44:26 -0600 After you make your project presentation, executives always have questions that you must know how to answer. See some of the questions that typically get asked and learn how to handle them. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerexecQ&A.htm Project management 003BD860-2E6F-43FE-8821-13DEE93DF318 Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:44:24 -0600 See a project manager mishandle a change request from two stakeholders; then see how it should be done. http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerCuttheBudget.htm Project management http://www.4pm.com/classes/videoplayerCuttheBudget.htm Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:22:25 -0600 Learn an estimating technique that helps solve padding of estimates by your team and also gives you data to use with the sponsor. http://www.4pm.com/articles/PERT_program_evaluation_&_review_technique.pdf Project management 2FBEE0D1-7D13-4E68-BB1D-C96703EF6597 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 10:22:24 -0600 Look at a three-tier scalable methodology with just enough project management to ensure success without making a paperwork jungle. http://www.4pm.com/articles/Puppy-porcupine-clydesdale.pdf Project management D1391B6B-59F8-40E4-B7D5-28C8EE8B17FE Tue, 13 Apr 2010 08:25:11 -0600