Consulting can be a very rewarding career field, allowing for problem solving to achieve a desired result. According to Harvard Business School, there are eight fundamental principles of consulting; providing information to a client, solving a client’s problems, making a…   Read more»

There should be systems in place to mediate the risk of having a valuable employee leave during the middle of the project. There should be other personnel who are also equipped to do the job. During their last two weeks…   Read more»

Human resources should play a significant role at all companies. The purpose of HR is to recruit, hire, and train employees but I think within well established companies there purpose goes well beyond just those three initiatives. HR should also…   Read more»

Although both aspects of quality management, quality assurance and quality control are two discrete concepts. Quality assurance is process oriented and focuses on preventing quality issues while quality control is product oriented and focuses on identifying quality issues in manufactured…   Read more»

As a project manager, it is important to know how to deal with interruptions in project schedules which could very well be caused by employee vacation times or other obligations that need tending to. Therefore, developing systems to seamlessly transition…   Read more»

When an employee leaves a company, there is always some sort of disruption, minimizing this disruption is key to keeping the project on tack. Ideally, the project manager will put in notice of their departure early enough so that there…   Read more»

Some reasons that could increase the cost of a project are poor budget estimates, scope creep, and even inflation could be a factor. Before executing a project, the budget should be carefully planned out with an accompanying risk management plan…   Read more»

Although a crucial skill in project management, calculating task duration can be difficult for new project managers or new projects in general. Time duration can serve as a metric of whether a project has succeeded or failed depending on whether…   Read more»

I have learned so much in this project management course. Before this course, project management was such a broad undefined term in my vocabulary. Now, I am clear on the definition of project management and how to apply these principles….   Read more»

As a project manager there will always be team problems and issues. Having effective management skills will keep problems and issues to a minimum. Developing systems to seamlessly transition job duties when employees are on vacation, quit, or take a…   Read more»

There are many factors that contribute to the success of a project. The five factors mentioned above consisting of agreeing on project goals, effective communication, developing clearly defined plans with assigned responsibilities, managing project scope, and making sure of management…   Read more»

Keeping detailed accounts of work completed and how it is completed is important for the continuity of projects, in addition to holding extreme value in the monitoring, controlling, and closure phases of a project. Detailed record keeping should be done…   Read more»

There can be many reasons as to why a project can fail ranging from unclear goals, shifting goals, lack of communication, poorly defined project scope, lack of risk management, lack of follow up, and poor timing.  All of the aforementioned…   Read more»

Validation and verification are two independent procedures used in conjunction to check that a product, service, or system meets the requirements and specifications for its intended purpose and assures that it meets the needs of the customer and other identified…   Read more»

Great question. I think the best project managers have a mix of both higher education and valuable work experience. There are some qualities of a good project manager, including creativity and growth, that can only be learned on the job…   Read more»

Keen organizational skills are necessary on any level of the career ladder. This allows for increased multitasking enabling individuals to efficiently perform essential job tasks while eliminating ineffective management systems. A well-organized project manager displays a sense of reliability and…   Read more»

Although it is important for project managers to possess many competencies, the three core competencies I think are most important for a project manager to possess are effective team building skills, delegation skills, and problem solving skills. Through team building,…   Read more»

There are many advantages of grouping projects under a program. First, it will allow for those projects to share the same resources like employees and budgets to ensure that they are used in the most effective way saving time and…   Read more»

I find that I prefer the supportive project management style. A leader should be approachable and show value and respect to their subordinates while inadvertently projecting a more directive managing style. With this combination, it allows for a more collaborative…   Read more»

One of the most important undertakings of a project manager is securing the right team members. This could be a difficult task because a candidate with the most experience and the preferred educational background may not possess the emotional intelligence…   Read more»