Over the years a number of articles on Agile Project Management have been published. You will find:
Today I would like to share a good graphical representation of the 12 Agile Principles.
A credit to Knowledge Train, the designer of this 12 Agile principles infographic.
Find an Infographic of the Agile Manifesto here.
By Linky van der Merwe
In a profession that is ever evolving, companies are continuously looking to understand the latest trends in project management. The business environment is shifting towards project based work as a result of globalization, the information Age and the speed of change.
The skills required to fill project management positions are changing, therefore the role of the project manager is evolving. This can be seen in the Project Management Institute’s new Talent Triangle that reinforces the need for a balance of skills in leadership, strategic management as well as the traditional technical expertise.
A trend I’m particularly excited about, is the move to Digital Project Management. The Infographic below, supplied by Visualistan, explains why Digital Project Management is the new project management.
You can also find more infographics at Visualistan
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By Linky van der Merwe
Most existing project managers would know that Gantt Charts are popular tools to use for a visual presentation of a project schedule. Although numerous software tools make provision for Gantt Charts, the most widely used tool remains Microsoft Project.
For new or aspiring project managers, it’s important to understand that Gantt Charts come about as a result of the Time Management activities in the Planning process on a project.
When creating a project schedule, the order of the planning activities is important as explained below:
Wrike has created an interesting Infographic to display the origins or timeline of the Gantt Chart, the anatomy and how it’s used, as well as the benefits of using Gantt Charts on projects.
As project managers, we are all inundated with emails daily. Therefore, I want to share the 6 Time Management tips to manage your email from BrightWork to help us become more productive as professional project managers.
Set special time aside for emails and turn off all email notifications.
Clear your Inbox once a day or at least weekly. This one I struggle with, but I do manage to read and action all my emails daily.
Eliminate multiple folders for different type of emails. Create one ARCHIVE folder for emails you want to keep and use the Search function to find them. With my ‘blue’ analytical personality, I still prefer folders, hence, it takes longer to clear my Inbox.
If you get the same questions again and again or you need to share the same information weekly, create an email in drafts answering the common questions.
Don’t reply to an email when you are angry. I believe anyway that it’s better to deal with conflict in person and keep emails for information sharing that is unemotional; that is more professional.
Have a systematic, simple email management process in place.
Click here for the Infographic: 6 Time Management Tips to manage your email
Let us know in the comments sections what other email tips you have!
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When considering the true meaning of Talent, it is understood to be flair, aptitude, a gift, knack for doing something well, ability to excel at something, expertise, capacity to do well. We also speak of people’s strengths and why it’s important to know your own strengths and that of your employees or team members.
In their book: “Strengths based leadership”, the authors Tom Rath and Barry Conchie, shared interesting findings from their own research, namely that the most effective leaders are always investing in the strengths of its employees. This will increase the odds of each person being engaged at work eightfold.
Secondly, the most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and maximise their team. A top performing team has strengths in four specific domains, namely executing, influencing, relationship building and strategic thinking. According to them, a team having strengths in all four domains would make a well-rounded team.
For more information about the StrengthsFinder Program, visit the Gallup Strengths Center.
In the Infographic below, you’ll see that teams that focus on employee strengths every day report 13% greater productivity. As leaders, you need to take the time to understand the vital role personal strengths and talents play in the employee hiring process.
The Infographic also provides tips for finding applicants’ talents.
Ohio University Online
When comparing the qualities needed to be a successful manager (as shown in the Infographic below) with the characteristics of a successful project leader, and research analysis, there is much overlap.
Good managers tend to be natural leaders with a genuine interest in helping others. Not all project managers are natural leaders, but fortunately that is a skill that can be honed, especially when coupled with the desire to serve others.
Effective leadership is built on respect and trust. Leadership is critical during the beginning phases of a project when emphasis is on communicating the vision and motivating and inspiring the project team to achieve high performance. In a project context leadership is about focusing the efforts of a group of people toward a common goal and enabling them to work as a team. It’s also the ability to get things done through others.
Guidance to the project team is given in the form of influencing, mentoring and monitoring, as well as evaluating the performance of the team and the project. Open communication is essential together with listening to your team’s needs.
It’s always in the best interest of project leaders to keep investing in their own development and growth. For professionals who are new to project management, check out the Growth Program for new Project Managers that will put you on a fast-track for learning how to become a successful project leader.
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In today’s workplace many people find themselves in the position of having to manage projects. If they are not properly equipped or don’t have relevant tools to use, it may cause much stress and frustration.
Wrike conducted a survey on Work Management and put their findings in this interesting Infographic.
It covers roadblocks to productivity, how people manage information, what types of tools people use and more. You will also find the link below to download the full Report.
Infographic brought to you by Wrike
There are many strategies one can implement to improve your project management skills as long as you remember to keep a balance between hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are easier to learn and refer to tangible technical skills like scope management, planning and scheduling and assessing and responding to risks. On the other hand, soft skills are more difficult to teach, because they are less tangible and harder to quantify and measure. They refer to skills such as empathy, influence and emotional intelligence.
Below you will find an Infographic from Brandeis University explaining these concepts really well.
By Linky van der Merwe
As a Project Manager it’s important to differentiate between project management methodologies and standards. Here are 7 questions to help define what a methodology and a standard is, based on a summary of the best information I could find and what I know from experience.
A methodology is a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out to deliver projects. It tells you what you have to do, to manage your projects from start to finish. It describes every step in the project life cycle in depth, so you know exactly which tasks to complete, when and how.
The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.
A standard is “a collection of knowledge areas that are generally accepted as best practice in the industry”.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) developed the Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3) – now a globally recognized standard – to enable organizations to identify, measure and improve PM capabilities, standardize processes, help solidify successful project outcomes and ultimately determine best practices and strengthen the connection between strategic planning and execution. OPM3 focuses on overall organizational strategic effectiveness and incorporates project, program and portfolio management. This standard was updated in 2008 and again in 2013 and is recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standard.
Standards give you industry guidance, whereas methodologies give you practical processes for managing projects. Standards are not methodologies, and vice versa. The two most popular standards are PMBOK and Prince2.
A project methodology should help you by giving you a clear process for managing projects. After you have customised it to perfectly fit your environment, your methodology should tell your team what has to be completed to deliver your project, how it should be done, in which order and by when.
When you buy a project methodology, it should give you:
A Methodology is not a silver bullet. It will not fix projects by itself or guarantee success and an efficient, effective, experienced project manager is still required to deliver projects successfully. No methodology will be 100% applicable to every type of project. So you will need to customise any methodology you purchase to ensure that it perfectly fits your project management environment.
By using a methodology you can:
Of course, you will need to use the methodology that is most suitable to each project you undertake. For smaller projects, you will only want to apply lightweight processes and when managing large projects, you should apply the heavyweight processes to monitor and control every element of your project in depth.
But if you can manage every project you undertake in the same way, then you will gain efficiencies with your approach, work smarter and reduce your stress. You will also give your team a clear understanding of what you expect from them and boost your chances of success.
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Under PM Resources you will find some recommended Project Management Methodologies like:
In order to give you good descriptions of Project Management Methodologies, I have found an Infographic from Wrike, covering the 16 top project management approaches.
In the comments please share the project management methodologies that you have used and tell us more about them.
From the historic use of project management to build the Pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China, to present day domain knowledge, to the future outlook of project management, this Infographic provides an interesting overview from a UK and International perspective.
Discover more about the PM industry like Professional Bodies and membership, Accreditations, the top sectors requiring specialised domain expertise and the most used PM Methodologies. Lastly a look at the future of Project Management and the importance of developing the entrepreneurial Project Manager.
Project Management Timeline – An infographic by the team at Telegraph Courses
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By Linky van der Merwe
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.
There are generally four pillars associated with Emotional Intelligence, namely:
For more information about increasing your emotional intelligence, developing social awareness and improving social skills, read “Why Emotional Intelligence is important for Project Managers, from IIL.
For a good explanation of the value Employers place on Emotional Intelligence and how you can improve your Emotional IQ, see the Infographic below.
Created by the University of Maryland: onlinemba.umd.edu
Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics
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PMI has announced changes in the Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) Program from 1 Dec 2015. This is to answer the demands of the Profession based on the latest research findings in Pulse of the Profession and Project Management Talent Gap.
Employers need project practitioners with leadership and business intelligence skills to support strategic objectives that contribute to the bottom line.
The ideal skill set — the PMI Talent Triangle — is a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise. Aligning with this will ensure that you can develop your career in a more consistent, actionable and meaningful way.
Effective 1 December 2015 the CCR program will be aligned with the employer-identified skills depicted in the PMI Talent Triangle to ensure Project Management Professionals (PMP’s) are equipped to remain relevant in a continually changing business environment and to keep certification holders focused on the needs of the profession.
Please have a look at the Infographic below for a complete break-down of how Professional Development Units (PDU’s) will be maintained as per the update.
Also visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for an explanation of the reasons the CCR program is being updated, what the updates are, when the updates will go into effect, for which activities you can claim PDU’s and how you are impacted.
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