If you are considering to adopt an Agile Project Management approach, to manage projects more efficiently, you would want to be clear on the trends, the benefits and the challenges that you can expect.
When starting out, I would recommend that you read my article:
It will help you to understand what Agile Project Management is, to discover the 12 Agile Principles, the 7 Stages of an Agile project, the roles, the Organisations and Certifications available, as well as Products to use to become Agile certified.
You should think about developing your organisation’s capability to use an Agile approach as a long term strategy. It is not a quick fix. Plan for your migration to a more Agile approach.
Also have a look at the Agile Report from Software Advice with research on agile project management software features that most drive efficiency, identifying features that are most beneficial for companies, their employees, and overall project success. It provides the trends found among software users implementing Agile project management solutions in 2015.
Key Findings
Some key findings from the Agile Report include:
90% of respondents cited both workflow tracking and story mapping as the most efficient functionalities
89% of respondents cited activity streams as the most used agile features
49% of project managers cite difficulty training as the top challenge of agile software
Agile – Lessons from real Software Users
Find below the summary of the Agile Report based on a survey of project managers on what functionality and features of agile project management software have the greatest impact on a team’s efficiency. Before you make an investment in this software, learn more about how your peers are using these tools so that you can make a more informed purchase decision.
Most experienced project managers know the importance of Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence can be defined as:
“Awareness of one’s own emotions and moods and those of others, especially in managing people.” Source: Collins English Dictionary
Emotional intelligence is often what differentiates great leaders from the people they lead.
Four Pillars
There are generally four pillars associated with Emotional Intelligence, namely:
Self awareness – ability to recognize and monitor our thoughts and feelings.
Self management – ability to think before acting.
Social awareness – being aware of the emotional condition of others.
Social skill – ability to manage groups of people (project teams), building social networks, finding common ground with stakeholders, building rapport.
Don’t get me wrong – I also firmly believe Project Managers, as all people in life, should always be brutally honest!
But do we practice what we preach? Is it still possible and wise to act with integrity in today’s world?
Can you honestly say as a project manager that you always and under all circumstances conduct yourself with honesty and integrity? To me it seems that taking responsibility, respecting others, fairness, and honesty have become virtues that we only subscribe to when it suits us.
None is righteous, no, not one
Sometimes one wonders if even the people that are seen as beacons of honesty and integrity are always that honest. It is so easy to tell a white lie, of course only to save somebody else’s feelings – and most of the time that “somebody else” being ourselves.
Big sins and little sins
It is also so easy to state a half-truth or “forget” to mention the bad news while bluffing ourselves that it is for the best in the greater scheme of things. And what about our duty to understand the truth – when we realise that we acted honestly and in good faith, but that we were mistaken? Does the old saying: ”When an honest man discovers he is mistaken, he will either cease being mistaken, or cease being honest” then also apply to us?
No good deed goes unpunished
Then we also need to consider the practicality of being honest. What will happen to me if I do act with honesty and integrity? Will I be praised and possibly be rewarded by the powers to be in my company? Or will nothing be said publicly while my future prospects dwindle away? As Napoleon Bonaparte once said: “The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.”
PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
How are we supposed to conduct ourselves as Project Management Professionals? Of course we all know that we should abide by our code of ethics. But do we really take it serious? Do we live by it every day or do we only take it out and brush it off when we need to prove to others how just and honest we are?
Let’s take a short quiz to see how earnest we are about integrity:
No.
Have you (or will you) ALWAYS and under ALL circumstances:
Yes
No
1
When you discovered errors or omissions caused by others, communicate them to the appropriate body as soon they were discovered?
1
0
2
Confront others who engage in gossip and make negative remarks to undermine another person’s reputation?
1
0
3
Respect the property rights of others, including not making a photocopy (or any other means of reproduction) of any part of the PMBOK® Guide or any other copyrighted work (including songs and movies) without prior written permission of the publisher?
1
0
Score:
3 Marks – You are extremely honest and display high levels of integrity / You were not honest with yourself when you completed this quiz*
* delete whichever is not applicable
Less than 3 Marks – At least you were honest when taking this quiz, and that’s a good start!
How do you feel about this? Should we follow the world or let the world follow us?
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About the Author: Dave Fourie is a dedicated, innovative and people oriented project management trainer with 25 years plus project management experience. For more information about his services, visit his blog, Project Management Training Africa.
This is a reminder of a wonderful free resource for project managers from any industry. The PMXPO 2015, hosted by Project Management.com that took place on 30 April was the biggest event in its eight-year history.
There were several interesting sessions covering various topics from “Redefining the PMO” to “PPM Process Management” and “Agile Leadership practices”. The virtual event sessions are still available on-demand until July 31, 2015. Existing PMP’s can earn up to 6.25 PDU’s for attending.
Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Visit PMXPO 2015 today and enjoy the content.
The PMP certification is one of the most recognized certifications for project managers globally. Many job advertisements list a PMP certification as a mandatory requirement for certain positions. Therefore, if you are serious about your career path as a project manager, nothing should stop you from getting the PMP certification. Fortunately I passed the PMP examination on my very first try, but I became aware of myths about the PMP exam that I would like to address here.
#1: Pick the correct answer
Beware of choosing the correct answer. The PMP exam is a multiple choice question type of exam and out of the 4 answers, you need to choose the BEST (not correct) out of it. This means that you could have four correct answers.
What I did for most of my questions where I really have difficulty answering them is to eliminate the weakest answer and work towards the best one.
#2: You need to be the Jack of All Trades
This is for exam takers who had read too much about PMP tips. You will come to realize that the PMP exam does not have a fixed passing rate and it pretty much covers every process group and knowledge area. Does this mean that you will not pass if you are weak at certain areas? The answer is: “No.”
When I received my PMP exam result, I noticed that I had two areas which are below proficient. This means that even if you are not proficient in a certain area, you can still make it through, but it’s surely not worth to risk, because if you are planning to pass this examination, you should be well prepared.
#3: Four hours is long
The examination lasts for four hours, but for a professional certification like PMP, it is never too much. In fact, I had to miss my last 10 questions, even though I timed myself very well that I must finish at least 50 questions in every hour. The reason for this is that you become tired towards the end of the exam. Therefore, having a good rest the night before is very important.
#4: Finishing the PMBOK is a MUST
Honestly, I had never flipped through more than 50 pages of the PMBOK. The PMBOK is an important piece of document for your reference, but it is not your only source for the PMP exam because the book contains hundreds of pages taking a long time to finish. As a result, I trusted the educational materials from my PMP exam preparation course instead.
This is not a shortcut to success because the materials basically tell me what I need to focus on the 10 knowledge areas of project management and I should refer to the PMBOK on the key areas that I need to focus. Therefore, I still used the PMBOK but most of the time as a reference only.
#5: Practice makes perfect
I can see that many PMP exam takers look around for sample questions for PMP exam and I have to say that it is important but not necessary. Personally, I had never bought or attempt any sample questions of the PMP exam apart from the ones that provided by my PMP exam preparation education. Therefore, you don’t have to buy thousands of questions from the internet just to give you more practice.
It is more important for you to know the project management concepts and framework introduced by PMI. In fact, you only need few sample questions just to familiarize yourself.
#6: Experience matters
Regardless of how many years of experience you have in project management, if you don’t answer the question according to the PMI project management framework, you will fail.
Your experience is not what matters most. Instead, it is your knowledge that determines whether you will pass or not. However, having project management experience does give you an advantage if you put the PMI knowledge first before yours.
#7: Exam tips
Don’t believe all the tips on the internet about PMP exam. Focus on reading the materials that will help you pass your PMP exam.
There is no shortcut to success because:
“Success is a journey, not a destination”
– Arthur Ashe
Can’t agree with me? Drop your feedback in the comment area below. Don’t forget to check out the FAQ of PMP exam.
About the author: Alan Tay is a project manager who runs IT security projects and the owner of Project Detective, a project management blog, where he often publish tips on project management and PMP exam preparation tips. Visit his blog for more information.
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When starting out, I would recommend that you read my article:
