In today’s challenging economic times (acknowledging that the economies of the US, South America, Europe, Australia and Africa are all experiencing different situations), you can’t take anything for granted, including your employment.

How to deal with the difficult situations on projects.

One of our goals when writing articles is to create awareness about the thinking within the global project management community. One subject in particular that we have been considering for a while (since July 2010) is the case and discussion in the community for being ‘professionally licensed’ as a project manager. In this article, we present our research and perspectives on the subject.

We always appreciate a good presentation! There is a good deal of excellent material and advice on presentation skills available, and we are not trying to cover every aspect in this article.

When we began our collaboration on this article, we wanted to ensure that our readers didn’t see it as another article on how to manage and/or define the benefits of a PMO (program and/or project management office).

Much has been written about how best to establish a PMO. There are many elements to take into account, and this article seeks only to provide what we believe are a few “pointers” to consider.

Whether you are a current practitioner in program or project management or you are considering a career in this profession, you may have thought about the value of obtaining one or more project management credentials.

We have all been told that communication with all stakeholders, particularly the core project team, is one of the central responsibilities of the Project Manager.

If you spend a reasonable amount of time working on projects, you are likely to hear team members use sports metaphors. This is a positive trait. Sports metaphors can be great motivators and examples of “how to do things.” Beyond the metaphors, can methodologies in team sports suggest core practices for project management? We think the answer to this question is yes. There are many similarities between project management and team sports. For the purpose of this article, we focus on eight areas that we feel are particularly relevant.

If you are an experienced project practitioner you may be asked at some point, ”What are the key things that a project manager should do in order to be successful?” There is no one-line, simple answer to this question. Success depends on many factors, including the organisation for which you work, the power granted or bestowed on the project manager, the responsibilities they are given on their project, and other influencing criteria. Having said that, we have found over the years that there do exist certain factors which, when done well, usually influence success. Let us elaborate.

In mid-2010, we wrote an article about project communications which focused on the challenges and techniques of communicating in a virtual team. We gave some examples of when to use different communications mediums to suit the task at hand. In this follow-up communications piece, we talk about some of the nuances of working in an international project team, and in particular, some things to bear in mind when you communicate with, and present to people from cultures different from your own.

Here’s a question for you to quickly consider: Effective risk management underpins a successful project – true or false? Was "true" your first reaction? We believe that you’re right.

If you walk into the offices of many small businesses, you are likely to see notes sticking either on or in close proximity to the desks of the people employed there. Such “reminder notes” are usually serving as prompts and/or notifications for projects or other operational work on which they are working. In the case of small businesses, the project plan may be held in a file; sometimes, it may only exist in the mind of management. With the low-cost tools available today for small-scale project management, and the value of project management being increasingly recognised by many in the government and in corporate sectors, why do some small businesses choose not to take advantage of formal project management techniques and tools?

Close your eyes and picture this. You have been set a challenge to trek through one of the great deserts of the globe, perhaps the Great Sandy Desert of Australia, the Mohave of North America, or the Sahara of Africa. As you prepare for your challenge, you calculate the distance, temperatures, walking speed, amounts of water to take and other critical factors that will undoubtedly influence and determine the success or failure of your challenge. You also begin to assess the skills required; survival skills, endurance, how to identify poisonous creatures, and the like. In your planning for this feat of endurance, you must prudently consider every detail and balance the risks and rewards associated with the items you pack for the trip. Due to the limits on the tools and rations you can select, only essential, value-added items will be taken. Several items are sure to make it into your pack: A knife, a map, a GPS, a compass and water to name a few. We’re not really going to trek through the desert. But what if we apply the same approach to project management? If we are planning to embark on the journey of the project and create successful outcomes for all involved, what essential skills or tools should we ensure are in our proverbial survival toolkit?

There are many aspects involved in successful project and program management: Hard work, experience, good teamwork, solid processes and work practices, having good tools with which to work, adopting and displaying the right behaviours… the list could go on. This article focuses on two aspects of project/program management – the processes and the tools we use as program and project managers –- and asks: What comes first –- the process or the tool?