Quang Regan

To get the desired result from a business project, you need to know exactly what you want to achieve. It often helps to break down larger projects into smaller manageable stages to ensure effective project management. A Project Manager must see to it that the sponsor's aspirations are fulfilled while ensuring the customer satisfaction within the prescribed time limits and budgetary allocation. Outcome of a project is no doubt important but so is the journey towards it. Effective utilization of the resources on hand and balancing the risks involved all contribute to the end-result. There are the important factors for the effectiveness of project management.   Communication... project staff do not know what their tasks are, or how to accomplish them, then the entire project will grind to a halt. If you do not know what the project staff are (not) doing then you will be unable to monitor project progress. And if you are uncertain of what the customer expects of you, then the proje

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