In my opinion, preventing change fatigue while maintaining a strong change control process in medical device development can be done by teams implementing a prioritization system that categorizes changes by the risk and impact. In my experience in medical device…   Read more»

As much as learning from mistakes is important for future projects, it should also be important to use the lessons learned in real-time for decision makings during the project, not just as something to review afterward. If certain patterns emerge…   Read more»

You raise an interesting point, others have mentioned already that EV, PV, and AC only show the symptoms of a project failing and do not explain why. Another shortcoming of earned value management is that it assumes that everyone shares…   Read more»

To determine the ideal number of project update meetings, it’s important to consider the project’s scope and the team’s communication needs. A practical approach might be to use a flexible scheduling system that adjusts based on the project’s phase. For…   Read more»

When a customer requests changes after project execution has begun, a proactive and collaborative approach can effectively manage these changes while minimizing disruption. Firstly, I would suggest implementing a rapid prototyping session with the customer to explore the requested changes…   Read more»

Monitoring and controlling are important in running a project towards success, making sure it adheres to planned objectives related to scope, timeline, budget, and quality. While tools like earned value management (EVM) provide quantitative data on project health, focusing solely…   Read more»

At the end of a project, having a “reflection session” can be very useful. In this session, the team can sit together in a relaxed setting and share what they think went well and what didn’t. For instance, if a…   Read more»

Keeping track of the lessons learned throughout a project is a perfect way to work on similiar projects in the future or on how to better navigate similar issues found in later projects. It also helps to identify who on…   Read more»

There should be valid reasons for requesting a change, which would then need to be approved by the project manager and stakeholders. This can be a tedious process, so it is important to have a solid plan or approach to…   Read more»

An organization can follow below methodologies to strike the right balance between maintaining control and allowing flexibility for creative problem-solving and adaptation. 1.Define Clear Guidelines, and define scope for Creativity: Establishing a clear goal helps to understand the problem at…   Read more»

Using the information about EV, PV, and AC, I think could pose a risk if it is not paired with any other form of analysis. EV, PV, and AC are surface level ways of telling you that the project is…   Read more»

Organizations can strike the right balance between maintaining control and allowing flexibility for creative problem-solving and adaptation by incorporating quick responses from the CCBs. Agile review on these potential changes helps expedite the process during project development. It would prove…   Read more»

A great way to capture lessons learned is by surveying the people working on and observing the project. One benefit of a mid project survey is that you can identify and correct issues before they become a real problem A…   Read more»

I agree that this is a very important topic for project managers to consider. On one hand, you should want to design the best product possible. On the other hand, as you discussed, you have to avoid scope creep, cost…   Read more»

This is an interesting question. While conventionally quantitative outcomes are important to consider, there are lots of other key considerations as well (such as team morale and stakeholder expectations, as you mentioned). In any project, there will have to be prioritization….   Read more»

One of the key strategies to ensure “lessons learned” are actually learned is effective collaboration and communication. As you touched on in your post, the first step to this is adequate documentation throughout the project. This way, no key details…   Read more»