How to go about with change in a project?

Like you might have learned in PMP and Scrum Master Certification training, you've mapped out a strategy, the state of all your projects, and your reasons for having to do this; you've talked to your team about the issues with the project and you still believe this is the appropriate step; and you've gone to your PMO director and presented your case. It is now time to implement the update. This is how.

·        Meet with your team again

You've presented your case to the PMO director, and you've gained consent and clearance to unload the project. Now is the moment to meet with your team and explain what is about to occur...and how it will occur. Let them know why you're offloading – it's basically so you can focus on the projects you have on your plate and hand this project off to a new project manager who has the available time to spend on something like this that is taking up too much of your time and attention due to problems, issues, or whatever is wrong with it. If the PM is drawn from the PMO's existing pool of PMs, it is likely that any or all of the following criteria will be met.

·        Work with the new PM on knowledge transfer

You and your team will be entirely responsible for bringing the new project manager up to speed as soon as feasible. Provide the new project manager with the statement of work (SOW), the most recent budget and resource planning information, all issue and risk management lists, the current project schedule, and the last few (or all, if applicable) status reports so that the incoming project manager can learn how the project got to where it is today. As understood in PMP and Scrum Master Certification training, perform as much verbal knowledge transfer as possible because this is where the most rapid – and presumably most informative – transmission of project information will occur.

·        Take it to the customer

Finally, inform the customer that a new project manager will be taking over the project. I would be hesitant to go into detail since it may make them feel like they are a less valued client than your other project clients. Concentrate on the future, on the new project manager's availability to help drive the project past all of the current problems, and emphasise that you'll still be available as needed — however realistic that may be — to help with problems or to mentor the upcoming PM.

Summary

It is never simple to let go of a project. Especially if you've put your heart and soul into it and have reached this point of complete dissatisfaction. Even if you know it's for the best, it's still difficult. Furthermore, it is tough to confess that you require assistance...that you require someone to shoulder this burden for you. However, make the transition as seamless as possible by thoroughly documenting it, and everyone should realise that it is best for you and the project to make this change.

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3 Tips To Guarantee Project Success And Quality Every Time!

Three important techniques are involved, based on my experience and what I’ve understood as project manager certification holder.

1)      Clearly defining what has to be done from the outset.

Any interaction or endeavour requires careful planning. A project can be killed virtually before it begins if adequate planning time is not included. Spend enough effort – and intend to spend enough time – early in the project to adequately record the work to be done before it begins. This will result in two outcomes.

·         You may have another deliverable - the project plan or statement of work - for which you may bill, earning extra project money for the business.

·         You'll get formal confirmation from your customer that you're on the same page, and you'll know you're focusing on the 'correct' issues rather than merely symptoms of another problem.

Once you've documented the work to be done, use a project management software solution like Project Insight to create a project plan with the exact activities that will be required to finish the project and track all progress through this schedule.

2)      Assist the project by utilising your project management office.

As understood in the project manager certification course, use your project management office (PMO) to the maximum extent possible to assist the project, the project manager, the team, and the client. If anything is impeding a project's progress and slowing service to a project client, the PMO should work effectively on that project's behalf to remove roadblocks, bring extra necessary resources to the project – even temporarily, if necessary – or demonstrate assistance to guarantee the project client maintains faith in the project manager and delivery organization's capacity to effectively deliver on the project's end solution.

3)      Maintain weekly project updates, regardless of how slowly the project is going.

Regardless of its size, the project should be managed as if it were a formal project. To document the project schedule, use your preferred online project management software solution. The project might be small and just require a few tasks, or it could be enormous and involve a whole team on both sides. Plan to deliver a weekly update in a uniform manner at the very least. For extremely minor projects, it may just be an email template that you fill out each week with progress information, however for bigger and more prominent projects, it would most likely be a fairly formal status report and weekly formal status call. The trick is to accomplish it and see it through. Never let yourself get complacent. Because some encounters continue forward with little observable progress over a period of time.

As I learned when preparing for PMP and CAPM Certification, you don't want the client to be confused about what's going on since it leads to nothing good. Put something in front of that customer every week that indicates what you're working on, how far you and your team have come, and any challenges you're dealing with. Even better, if you can find some action item to include in that report, you'll be engaging them, which is typically a positive thing. And don't forget to update project progress in the project schedule using your web-based project management software application, and provide the client a copy of that amended schedule every week during the engagement.

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT: Is Agile Really For You?

·         You run mostly low tech or no tech projects. 

As learned in Scrum master certification - agile appears to be the ideal method for high-tech projects. Agile projects are ones that have tight deadlines, a high level of complexity, and are one-of-a-kind... That is, every customer encounter does not involve a revolving door of the same type of activity. High-tech projects are the best fit for this description, so if you're working on them, go Agile. If you've never worked on these types of projects before, you probably don't require Agile – at least not right now.

·         You or your organization resist change.

If your company is primarily "old school," with project managers and techies who are used to things the way they are and seem to be resistant to change, you have a huge decision to make. Replace everyone with people who will buy into Agile or who are already "Agile" ready, slowly (or quickly). That will be the quickest way to adopt, but it will also be the most expensive and time-consuming. So, for the time being, it may be preferable to put the Agile conversion on hold – it appears to be a lose-lose situation for the company.

·         No one in the organization or PMO is PMP certified. 

This isn't always a deal breaker. However, without a PMP-certified project management office and employees, selling a truly Agile environment and workable project approach can be challenging. PMP stands for "dedication." It denotes a tried-and-true method. It refers to processes that can be repeated. It connotes hard work, accomplishment, and a shared language. It will be difficult to get a client if you go to a client and bid on a project with an entirely uncertified staff. Although not everyone in the PMO needs to be certified, there will undoubtedly be clients who demand to hear the words "Agile" and "PMP" in the same phrase.

·         The requirements for your organization are static and well-defined. 

As learned in Scrum master certification - without a question, Agile is most effective when applied to a project that truly requires it. And it's frequently a project with a lot of ambiguous or changing needs. Alternatively, requirements that are ambiguous from the start. Or a series of phases that the customer would like to be implemented one at a time. Agile is a fantastic solution in all of these cases.

·         Never need phases rolled out early on any projects.

I've already mentioned that a little bit above. If you're in charge of relatively typical (boring?) projects that don't require early functionality to be released to the public, end users, or whoever the target audience is, you'll probably never need to make the huge switch to Agile. Depending on the company, change will not be quick or easy, and there will likely be some churn of skilled, experienced employees. So, if you don't have to, don't. Never do something only to be able to label yourself "Agile." Bring an Agile class in-house and then label yourself "Agile" even if you've never led an Agile project. It's useful to have in your hip pocket, but you don't have to convert completely if you don't want to.

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4 Steps to take when facing issues with a project!

As understood in PMP and CAPM Certification prep course - what steps do you take when you've hit a major snag – a potentially show-stopping issue or issues on your project – and you need to take action, notify your customer, and get the project back on track?

1.     Analyse and discover.

For the purposes of this essay, I'm presuming that the project manager and project delivery team found the flaws, not the customer. The team must gather and analyse the circumstance or challenges that are causing the project to stall at this point. Gather the team to brainstorm, list the concerns, and prioritise viable solutions or courses of action based on feasibility, cost / effort, and likelihood of success. In the coming steps, this will be critical information for your management and the client.

2.     Take it to management. 

Next, meet with your senior management or PMO director to discuss the issue and the possible solutions you and your team have discovered. It's critical to acquire their approval, especially if this is a high-profile project or the action plan is one that would cost the engagement a lot of money. They might even wish to participate in the consumer conversation, which leads us to the following step.

3.     Go to the customer. 

Next, As understood in PMP and CAPM Certification prep course -, you're in charge of all communication, thus it should be you who first contacts the client and informs them of the problem, assuming they aren't already aware of it. Allowing your supervisor to handle this duty could jeopardise the customer's trust in you as the project manager and leader in charge.Here's an intriguing fact: when I was the leader of the Las Vegas PMO for a now-defunct organisation headquartered in another state, and the firm was shutting down due to some issues with our CEO, it was I, not my vice president, who went to my clients to advise them of the situation. It was not a pleasant situation to be in, but it was necessary, and it resulted in the largest affected client offering me a leadership position with their company.

Hold a more formal conversation with the customer after that initial contact to discuss the situation in further detail and explain the potential courses of action that you and your team have come up with. Never bring problems to the table without also bringing potential solutions. Brainstorm with the customer about the most important corrective action from the list you and your team compiled, and make sure everyone is on the same page about the next steps.

4.     Implement. 

Finally, carry out the corrective action and continue to include it as a key status item on status reports and in weekly status meetings until you and your team have satisfactorily remedied the problem.

Need more insights on the same? Take on a project manager certification today!

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What Can Artificial Intelligence Do For Project Management?

As stated by the Project Management Institute, the notion of artificial intelligence (AI) is now enthralling the globe. This is for a good purpose. AI is the future, AI is already being used in candidate interviews, and you've probably welcomed it into your kitchens, living rooms, and workplaces, as I have, in the shape of Alexa and Google products, and the list of things it can and will do for us is expanding rapidly — on a daily basis. The potential is limitless, and it is improving on a regular basis.

If AI can save lives like this, it's safe to assume it can also help us manage projects more effectively. It may be too expensive for certain firms, but it might be essential in the long run for precise administration of PM solutions and projects, as well as cost and time savings. What can artificial intelligence (AI) do for your project management infrastructure and PMO practises and strategies? Consider this:

·         Team meetings. 

If everything is configured correctly, AI could listen in on team meetings and collect all of the status update information, then update things like the project schedule, issues list, risk ledger, change orders, and other key project information with the most up-to-date progress and status information.

·         Status calls.

If AI can listen in on 911 dispatch conversations and detect signals of cardiac arrest in prospective call-in victims, it can certainly be trained to listen in on project status calls and detect confident and anxious tones from both the customer and project delivery teams.

·         Change orders.

AI may listen in on client status calls, as well as other important conversations and emails, and sort out talks with demands that appear to be out of scope. As stated by the Project Management Institute, having AI predict the need for project change orders in the future might significantly increase a project's income and profitability, as well as turn the entire scope management process on its head!

·         Issue tracking. 

Because AI learns the issue tracking and reporting methods as well as the project's goals and mission, milestones, and technology in use, whatever we can have AI track on the project certainly assures higher accuracy and possibilities for aid with solutions.

·         Risk assessment.

AI might be useful for finding, tracking, analysing, and managing the whole risk process throughout the project, just as it could be for problem tracking. As more data is collected on a single project and throughout a company's portfolio, AI learns and grows.

Summary / call for input

As I learned when preparing for the PMP and Scrum Master Certification, the bottom line is that AI will play a significant part in tech project solutions, as well as in the delivery structure and methodology for tech-centric project management companies, not if, but when. It will be beneficial if used intelligently, as it will save time and money while also considerably enhancing our PM capabilities, in my view. Project success may be easier to achieve, and fewer project failures would be beneficial. However, with AI, we must be cautious and handle any dangers and concerns - it will learn quicker than we can!

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3 Challenges Faced While Working With New Clients!

 As understood when preparing for the PMP and CAPM Certification– here are the three most common challenges that consultants face while working with new clients:

1.     Concern over your availability

The potential customer has undoubtedly looked at your website and client list, as well as your résumé. They may be correct in assuming you have a lot on your plate. They are afraid that they will be unable to locate you when they are most needed. For me, I normally address this problem by ensuring that they will have at least 'x' amount of hours of contact to me each week.If at all feasible – and I'll come back to this in point three below – I attempt to go with an expected number of hours – or range of hours – that they'll get every week for a set retainer fee. That way, they'll feel like they have a right to that level of access, and they'll be more confident that you'll be there when they need you.

2.     Concern over your expertise

Your competence may be a source of anxiety for the potential customer. Especially if the planned engagement involves a technology or process with which you have some familiarity but not extensive knowledge. Gather as much information as possible about their requirement, ask for any supporting papers so you may examine them outside of a face-to-face encounter, and ask excellent, driving questions to show you understand the process and their need.As learned when preparing for the PMP and CAPM Certification– allow them a little additional time – unbilled time – up front in the 'discovery' phase to get as much information as possible about the requirement and use that knowledge to set up a decent proposal that details your understanding and allays any doubts they may have about your skills. The majority of consulting skills is transferable between engagements - even if the technology changes, the methods remain the same. That is something that a thorough and precise proposal from you will persuade them of.

3.     Anxiety over cost containment

This is a major one, especially given the current state of the economy. They're already thinking about how to minimise your spending from spiralling out of control the moment you walk through their door to discuss a future engagement since they know they need you but don't have an endless budget.If it's clear that cost-cutting is a priority, I attempt to offer them a fixed weekly or biweekly pay based on an estimated amount of hours. Of course, if the hours start to pile up, the agreement stipulates that you will be charged more to cover the extra labour. However, I've found that most people are willing to pay the set fee and wind up using less of your time than was originally scheduled.Win – win.

Want to learn more about such challenges? Enrol in a project manager certification course today!

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4 Tips To Add Value To Your Projects!

As learned in PMP Certification course–here are 4tips on how you might potentially bring value to your project engagements as the project manager in charge.

TIP 1: Improved project status reports. 

We go through the motions of creating the same report on every project using the project status reporting methodology and outcome. Not because it fulfils the customer's particular wants and desires, or because this project differs from the last one you supervised, but because that's what we've always done in this organisation, with no consideration to filling a hole, any ounce of originality, or any value added labour and information.Consider creating something more serious, such as a great dashboard report with high-level red-yellow-green status flags for each major feature for those stakeholders who want a fast look. Then look through the project's health in depth, including the timeline, budget, resource planning, problems, change orders, hazards, and so on. And don't try to construct a distinct status report for each interest group – make it a one-size-fits-all solution, and you'll know that no matter what they claim, everyone has the same information.

TIP 2: Share the financials. 

Keep the project client up to date on the project's finances on a weekly basis. Include it in the status report as a dashboard, full report, or – better yet – both. If I had done it (against my PMO director's better judgement on a handful of major federal contracts), they would not have failed and been cancelled. Don't hide the budget situation from your project customer; be transparent and show accountability. In many circumstances, if they don't see it, they will assume the worst.

TIP 3: Complete transparency. 

Be open and honest. There is no reason not to be entirely open in this age of real-time communication, news, and information exchange. As learned in PMP Certification course–all of your stakeholders require the most up-to-date information, and concealing news and information from the project client is never a good idea. When a stakeholder or client is required to make a choice, participate in a meeting, or simply participate in a key decision, you can depend on that individual having access to the most up-to-date status and information and being ready to offer what you require.

TIP 4: Focus on cybersecurity. 

Most project managers, I believe, can agree that risk management, avoidance, tracking, and mitigation receive insufficient attention. Cybersecurity has evolved into a critical issue that must be addressed on a continuing basis. Cybercrime costs the economy about $600 billion each year, thus each project involving sensitive data need a cybersecurity component, which means the CSO (Chief Security Officer) or one of his staff must be at least a peripheral part of any IT project. That also implies you'll need a CSO or someone who's been trained to fill that function. The presence of that crucial team member will be much appreciated by your project's customer. It's a win-win situation.

Want to learn more about the same? Enrol in Project Management Institute certification course today!

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