5 Ways to Control Project Scope
Generally speaking, the scope of a project should not change. However, in the real world scope change is difficult to eliminate altogether. Inevitably the presence of many interrelated moving parts means that the initial project estimate and the final project cost (or deadline) are rarely the same. Scope change can....
The PMBOK’s Project Scope Management Knowledge Area
Scope management, or rather the lack of it, is one of the biggest reasons for project failure. Correctly defining what is and is not included in the project is absolutely foundational to good project management. I've seen many projects go south even though they had the right expertise, schedule, high....
Estimating the Project
In 1986, the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger exploded spectacularly upon take-off in front of one of the largest live TV audiences in history (to that time). The investigation concluded that several tiny O-rings that sealed the rocket booster to the fuel supply failed. These O-rings were about 1 foot in....
30 Example Project Resources
I once experienced a project horror story whereby a pile driver was snowed in at a previous project, delaying the project by several weeks until a transport vehicle could get to the stranded machine. Since there are relatively few of these around, the project either had to wait or additional costs....
Types of Project Resources
A project manager that fails to allocate project resources is like a carpenter without a hammer. That's why estimating task resources is an integral step in project planning. It also happens to be one of the most fundamental aspects of project management, one of the steps that the project manager....
Planning a Project Schedule
If there's one part of project management that's bigger than all the rest, it's project scheduling. Since a project is defined as a temporary endeavor with a distinct beginning and end, defining when that end takes place and making sure it finishes on time are extremely important to any project,....
Cost Performance Index – Earned Value Management
In the operating room, Doctors monitor the vital signs of their patients using a device called an electrocardiogram. This device is familiar to most people - It's the monitor that displays the electrical pulses of the heart. In project management, project health is measured by the Cost Performance Index, usually abbreviated....
Cost Variance – Earned Value Management
In project management, getting an early indication of problems is the silver bullet that allows the project manager to correct the problems before they start. Cost Variance, usually abbreviated as CV, is one of the fundamental outputs of Earned Value Management. It tells the project manager how far ahead or....
Steps in Project Scheduling
Project scheduling is to a project manager like landing an airplane is to a pilot. It is often the largest and most visible aspect of project management. In this article, I will develop a professional, resource levelled project schedule that provides tremendous confidence in the ability to meet the project....
Project Risk Management Resources
A project manager is answerable for all the success of the project. He is the one who initiates, plans, designs and executes the project. Also, maintaining, monitoring, controlling and winding up the project after completions all are included in the responsibilities of project manager. Project Managers organize Tasks, Time and....
