Quang Regan

What is Project Management?   There are two types of projects - cynical ones and genuine ones!   The cynic in me has seen projects that are nothing more than ways of deploying surplus staff - creating cult De sac 'projects' where they can do no damage - a direct result of cowardly performance management. I have also seen projects created for the glory of their creator - business as usual events that are magnified to create an impression of dynamism and as a way of empire building. Watch out for these and run a mile!   Cynicism aside, generally project management is used for managing a specific change which is outside the normal day to day activities with a fixed timetable. This is the approach defined in most methodologies. There is usually a specific budget to manage and a specific objective to deliver.   What It Is Not:   Despite all the sophisticated tools and techniques available, it is definitely not a black art. It is common sense and uses all good man

A failed project can lead to loss of revenue and opportunity; failure to achieve business goals; diversion of resources from other activities; sapping of staff morale and, perhaps, even business failure. So, as projects become more complex and critical to business performance, how do you improve your chances of success?   Follow these eight simple steps to achieve great results in your projects.   1. Get management and stakeholder commitment   In the first instance, you need to have the real commitment of management and stakeholders -- the people who will benefit from the project. Be sure that your project has a sustainable business case and that it can deliver real business benefits, so understand both its business and technical objectives. You must maintain business focus to avoid the common pitfall of projects that deliver a technically correct solution but one that does not meet business requirements.   You must also have a strong sponsor-- someone who is sufficient

In this article we will discuss organizational influences on project management   Every organization has its own culture, style, leadership approaches, and employee personalities that make it unique. These organizational characteristics greatly influence how projects are performed and managed.   This module will focus on different organizational cultures and styles and their impact on projects. In addition, we will discuss communication within the organization and how different styles can impact how projects are conducted, next we will review the impact that organizational structure has on how projects are performed and finally, we will examine organizational process assets and enterprise environmental factors.   Organizational Cultures and Styles   Organizations are unique and create their own cultural norms and styles for performing their operations. The norms and styles also impact project management, especially influencing the initiating and planning phases of the p

It is true that the structure of an organization can have a major impact on project management.   Think about your own experience. Is it difficult to get traction on your projects? Are there numerous layers of authority that you have to navigate to get approvals for basic tasks? Does your budget get cut because of competition for limited funding? Do your projects lose out in favor of day-to-day routine operations? And you thought it was something you were doing, or failing to do! Well it may have been, but it's more likely that you are feeling the effects of the organizational structure within which you work. Understanding your working environment better will help you to rise above organizational issues and smooth the way to successful project management.   By looking at three different organizational structures - functional, matrix and projectised - we will discover how each distinct organizational style affects project management.   Functional Organizational Structure

"The nice thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise rather than being preceded by a period of worry and depression." -- author unknown   If you get in a car in Chicago with the intent of driving to Los Angeles, the GPS rarely plots the California portion of the map while you are in your driveway. Rather, the GPS methodically and sequentially plots each road to take in order to reach the desired location. Project Management follows the same logic of a series of key tasks or steps that have to be completed in a systematic process in order to meet the desired outcome. Traveling to Los Angeles from Chicago can only happen if the tasks of traveling through the Midwest and the Rockies are met first.   This type of thinking seems elusive when it comes to business project management. Ask someone to "map" out the many steps required to achieve a desired result of managing a project and many times you get resistance as in "overkill&quo

Private companies and government organisations involved in running large projects, or many smaller projects at the same time, already recognise the benefits of formal project management but as the amount of experience and knowledge gleaned from such tasks has increased so project management has become more complex. And as it has become more complex so the tools and methodologies have had to evolve to keep pace.   Formal methodologies are commonly used for software development, manufacturing, engineering, and construction projects to plan, schedule and control all of the tasks and activities required. More and more they are also being used by services and solutions companies in order to add discipline and control to their projects.   Consequently, managing projects is now a fundamental part of many businesses and the role of project manager is now a professionally recognised one, which involves not only planning, scheduling and controlling activities but also expertise in the ma