Project Management
Project Manager Job Description
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP People frequently ask, “What does a project manager do?” The answer may surprise you and it depends on the structure of the organization where the project manager is functioning. First, let’s see what the Project Management Institute (PMI) has to say about what a project manager does. According to the 4th... »
Changes to PMBOK 4th Edition
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP The Project Management Institute released the 4th Edition of the PMBOK in December 2009. The PMP certification exam was updated in July 2009 to reflect the changes in the new edition. This article gives an overview of the changes introduced in the 4th Edition of PMBOK. The 4th Edition does not... »
Free Project Management Software
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP Commercial project management software is expensive. So expensive in fact, that it is out of the reach of many freelance project managers and small businesses on limited budgets. Fortunately, there are many low cost or free alternatives to Microsoft Project that are readily available on the Internet if you know... »
Fixed Price vs. T&M
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP There are many ways to price a contract, the most common being Firm Fixed Price and T&M. Selecting the right contract type for your project shouldn’t be a big deal; each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. The Project Manager should have a firm understanding and working knowledge of... »
Project Constraints Redefined
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP Traditionally, project managers have managed projects using the triple constraints of scope, time, or cost, where scope refers to what must be done to produce the project deliverables, time refers to the time available to complete the project, and cost refers to budget allocated to complete the project. These constraints... »
Assure Project Success
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. –Author unknown. Project failure usually results from lack of planning. Stated another way, projects fail before they begin. An old axiom clearly illustrates the problem, “Ready, Fire, Aim.” Unfortunately, that’s the way many organizations do business today, they are in a... »
The Pareto Principle (Pareto’s Law)
Known by various names, including The Pareto Principle, The Pareto Law, Pareto’s Law, The 80/20 Rule, The 80:20 Rule, Pareto Theory, The Principle of Least Effort (a term coined by George Zipf in 1949 based on Pareto’s theory), The Principle of Imbalance, The 80-20 Principle, The Rule of the Vital Few (an interpretation developed... »
PMI Training and Qualifications from the Project Management Institute
by john mce The Project Management Institute is a worldwide professional association for project, programme or portfolio managers. The purpose of the PMI is to develop the practise and profession of project management all over the world. They hope that organisations worldwide will embrace their project management principles and attribute their success to it. By joining... »
What Is Project Management?
By: Ray Myers, Jr., PMP What is a Project? According to Project Management Institute (PMI), the definition of a project is a temporary endeavor with a specified beginning and end undertaken to create a unique product or service. Temporary A project has a beginning and end; it is not an ongoing effort. The project ceases when the objective... »
6 Common Reasons IT Projects Fail
Many outsourcing companies have created beneficial outsourcing relationships with vendors. Unfortunately, there are the occasional projects that fail to meet deadlines or criteria set forth by the outsourcers. When a project does fail, there are usually numerous reasons and not just one underlying cause. Lack of outsourcing strategy The outsourcing company must take the time to... »
