When you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail. As a project manager, you of all people know the truth of this old adage. Poor planning is at the root of most project failures. But while it’s easy to plan for positive outcomes (like milestones...
What’s the number one factor that influences whether your project is a success or a dud? While we’d love to say it’s the project management tool you use the truth is it’s something else: Communication. That’s why having an effective communication...
In 1962, NASA launched the Mariner 1 as their first attempt to send a spacecraft to Venus. However, shortly after it launched, the rocket veered off course and was forced to self destruct. The cost? $135 million (in today’s dollars). The issue...
Collaboration overload and why to avoid it? It’s become a bit of a running joke in modern office environments that “work” gets in the way of actually doing any work. There are plenty of scapegoats when it comes to busywork, but there’s no denying...
Not every project goes as planned. And while it’s great to celebrate your wins, the best teams (and project managers!) know it’s just as important to dig into your failures and capture lessons learned. Unfortunately, when a project fails, the...
What’s the difference between a project manager and a project leader? If you’ve ever gone hunting for a definitive answer to this question, you probably ended up disappointed. Depending on your company’s size, policies, and management, these...
“You know what would be cool?” Every project manager has heard these words and felt a chill run down their spine. With just a few words, a simple, easy-to-execute project plan can be suddenly transformed into the project management equivalent...
What makes a truly great project manager? Is it being organized? Driven and motivated? A great communicator? All of the above and more. There’s no single project management skill that’s more important than the others because, at its core, project...
Feedback rules everything around us. Whether it’s talking to your customers about what features they want or getting feedback from your boss on a website redesign, we all benefit when we step out of our own heads and hear what others think. But...
There are lots of things in life that are better with a little spontaneity—relationships, weekend plans, tattoos. But software development isn’t one of them. Instead, as Benjamin Franklin so famously put it: “If you fail to plan, you are planning...