Skills You Need For Project Management

Every project is different. Even if you are managing what, on paper, looks like the same project as your company ran last year, it will be different. That’s because the team members involved are probably different as some people have left and others joined the company. The business environment is different. And you are different – you’ve got a year’s more experience.

So even very repetitive-seeming projects can have a vastly different outcome. It’s one of the great things about project management and why it’s such a great career choice – managing projects is never boring!


1. Task Management

Projects are made up of tasks, and being abletask management to manage all the tasks is absolutely essential for a project manager. There are a number of task management software solutions to help, but as well as those you will need a strong eye for detail and the ability to chase down updates on progress from your team.

Task management involves ensuring that you know what is going on at any one time, and reorganizing tasks around the available resources as appropriate. Using software to help can make this critical skill easier, as much of the process of getting status updates can be automated.

2. Team Management

Projects aren’t done in isolation, so you’ll be leading a team, even on the smallest project. That team could be just one person, but that individual will still be looking to you for advice and guidance. You’ll be able to put your team management skills into practice on every project.

Team management may come naturally to you or it may be something that you have to work out. It includes ensuring that the team members are motivated, that they know what they are supposed to be working on and that they have the resources required to get their jobs done. Some people say that project management is mainly about giving everyone else the resources and space to do their work, and that’s what team management is all about.

There are also some administrative elements to team management like tracking holidays, sickness absence and ensuring reward and recognition for your team members where it is within your ability to do so.

3. Change Management

Requirements change on projects all the time – it’schange management one of the most annoying things about project work! But it can also be very rewarding. After all, changes normally make a project better as they add more functionality and end up with a better result for the client. So we shouldn’t shy away from changes, but they do need to be managed effectively. Changes should be recorded, assessed and an impact analysis carried out so that you can see what impact the change would have on the schedule, budget, scope and quality. Then someone has to make a decision about whether to incorporate this particular change into the project or not. That’s usually the project sponsor, although they will probably look to you for a recommendation.

Change management is another critical skill for the project manager. If you can manage changes effectively you can introduce new features and changes to the project with full analysis of the impact and the minimum of fuss. Use the existing change process and your change log to effectively manage issues on your project.

4. Issue Management

Just like there are always changes on projects, there are always issues! Something always goes wrong, so if it hasn’t happened on your project yet, just wait. It will! Issues can range from anything from the very small, low impact problem that you can resolve yourself to a massive disaster needing you to convene a team of experts to come up with a solution.

Issue management, whether the problem is big or small, always follows the same process. You have to record the issue, assess the impact and work out what you could do to fix it. There might be several options, in which case you’ll also need to make a decision about which one to go with. If the issue is too large for you to make the decision yourself, you’ll have to make a recommendation to your project sponsor or board and let them make the final call.

Knowing how to deal with problems when they arise is another key skill for project managers. If you can handle issues calmly and smoothly it will not only help the project but also make you look professional too.

5. Presenting

The final key skill to mention is that of being able presentation skills to give good presentations. There will be plenty of moments in your project management career when you will have to stand up in front of a group and give a short talk. That could be during a requirements gathering workshop, in front of 20 project team members, or during a staff conference in front of thousands. Either way, presentation skills are critical as being able to present well shows that you have confidence and public speaking abilities and that will help your career develop.

Many, many people find public speaking a scary thought, even if it is just in front of a small group of people that you know. In fact, speaking to an audience of colleagues is often more scary than speaking to strangers. After all, you won’t see the strangers again! If you make a mistake in front of your colleagues you’ll have to face them the next morning. And the morning after. And the morning after, until news of your presentation mishap dies down. Don’t worry – you can learn good presentation skills and you can get better at them with practice.

Coutesy: ProjectManagement.com

Changes on the New PMBOK 5

PMBOK 4 to PMBOK 5 changes

Here is a breakdown of the changes that are occurring with the update from PMBOK 4 to PMBOK 5:

• Project stakeholder management joins the Knowledge areas, making 10 knowledge areas.
• Processes increase from 42 to 47, with the process groups remaining at five.
• 19% increase in input, output, tools, and techniques, now totaling 614.

Process additions

The release of PMBOK 5 also brings with it these process additions:

• Plan Scope Management
• Plan Schedule Management
• Plan Cost Management
• Plan Stakeholder Management
• Control Stakeholders Engagement

Process changes

The following table shows the process changes that are happening between PMBOK 4 and PMBOK 5:

PMBOK 4	PMBOK 5
Distribute Information	Manage Communications
Report Performance	Control Communications
Monitor and Control Risks	Control Risks
Plan Procurements	Control Procurements
Identify Stakeholders	Identify Stakeholders
Direct and Manage Project Execution	Direct and Manage Project Work
Verify Scope	Validate Scope
Plan Quality	Plan Quality Management
Perform Quality Control	Control Quality
Develop Human Resource Plan	Plan Human Resource Management
Plan Communications	Plan Communications Management
Manage Stakeholder Expectations	Manage Stakeholders Engagement

Behind the new PMP changes

"The hiring managers can expect the same things they have in the past," according to Kleine. "One of the things about the PMP exam and the credential in general is that it is a dynamic credential, so it stays relevant. There is not only an exam, but professional development as well."

Kleine offers, "Regardless of when the credential is bestowed, it's us making sure through either the professional development in the current and the newest credential holders that they are up to speed and their skills and experience speak to the global marketplace of project management. From a PMI perspective, we take great pride in the exam development process that we do have in place and employ." Kleine tells me that PMI prides themselves on the process behind developing the PMP exam because it involves certified PMPs working across industries.

According to Kleine, "The exam itself, while it's designed by PMI, we use some other resources to pull it all together. The actual exam creation as far as questions are concerned and the content is done by certified PMPs around the world."

"This is on two different fronts," Kleine details. "The first is when we think about the actual construction of the exam and the actual domain areas of knowledge for the exams. These areas are really based on research we do with practicing professionals, practicing PMPs around the world. So every three to five years we perform what's called a role delineation study where we look at the specific role of the project manager. Particularly in the case of the PMP, we look at someone who leads and directs projects for companies. And going through that research, the project managers will identify what are the areas of responsibility for project managers and what are the various tasks a project manager performs in that role while leading and directing a project."

"We take all that research and aggregate it for the examination. That specific process is managed and facilitated by PMI, but the actual inputs are coming from certified PMPs around the world," says Kleine.

This latest change is part of the overall maintenance of the PMP certification, according to Kleine. He stated, "The other piece is about the maintenance of the certification. What we do each year is have four or five sessions around the world where we bring in certified project managers to refresh and update the content to make sure it remains relevant, but again that is coming from the certified project managers and facilitated by PMI."

The practitioners are defining the terms, structure, and layout of the exam, and PMI has taken that and built on it according to Kleine and Carter-Bey.

Some Tips for Project Planning

I am glad to share some of the Tips, while you are Planning for a Project - which I came across to read:

Here are rules, processes and tools for project planning and project management.

Large or complex projects in big organizations often require some sort of executive 'sponsorship' or leadership. This is commonly termed 'project sponsorship' .

While project management skills are obviously important for project managers, interestingly the methods and tools that project managers use can be helpful for everyone.

A 'task' does not necessarily have to be called a 'project' in order for project management methods to be very useful in its planning and implementation. Even the smallest task can benefit from the use of a well-chosen project management technique or tool, especially in the planning stage.

Any task that requires some preparation to achieve a successful outcome, will probably be done better by using a few project management methods somewhere in the process. Project management methods can help in the planning and managing of all sorts of tasks, especially complex activities.

Project management is chiefly associated with planning and managing change in an organization, but a project can also be something unrelated to business - even a domestic situation, such as moving house, or planning a wedding.

Project management methods and tools can therefore be useful far more widely than people assume.

Project management techniques and project planning tools are useful for any tasks in which different outcomes are possible - where risks of problems and failures exist - and so require planning and assessing options, and organizing activities and resources to deliver a successful result.

Projects can be various shapes and sizes, from the small and straightforward to extremely large and highly complex.

In organizations and businesses, project management can be concerned with anything, particularly introducing or changing things, in any area or function, for example:

·         people, staffing and management

·         products and services

·         materials, manufacturing and production

·         IT and communications

·         plant, vehicles, equipment

·         storage, distribution, logistics

·         buildings and premises

·         finance, administration, acquisition and divestment

·         purchasing

·         sales, selling, marketing

·         human resources development and training

·         customer service and relations

·         quality, health and safety,

·         legal and professional

·         technical, scientific, research and development

·         new business development

·         and anything else which needs planning and managing within organizations.

Successful project management, for projects large or small, tends to follow the process outlined below.

The same principles, used selectively and appropriately, also apply to smaller tasks.

Project management techniques are not just for project managers - they are available for anyone to use.

(Courtesy: Business Balls)

 Manage Project Issues 

Disaster. Something has gone badly wrong on your project. A supplier has gone bust, or a developer is off sick, or a deliverable has been finished but is not at all fit for purpose. Whatever the problem, it’s your responsibility as the project manager to find a solution. Instead of sitting sobbing over your keyboard, where do you start? Here is our fool-proof 5 step approach for managing issues on your project.

1: Identify The Issue

When someone brings an issue to your attention, the first thing to do is take them seriously. Don’t dismiss the problem out of hand, however insignificant it seems to you. This is the point to log the problem in your issue tracking software, whether that’s a fully fledged project management software tool or a simple spreadsheet.

You’ll want to capture several details at this point such as:

• Name of person who raised the issue
• Short title for the issue
• A longer description of the issue
• Issue number for easy tracking
• Area of the project that it affects
• Date it was raised
• Issue category such as financial, operational, schedule etc.

At this point you may also have an idea about how big a problem it is and who is the most likely person to fix it, so you can note these down too. If you don’t know yet, don’t panic – that’s what the next steps are for.

2: Assess The Impact

Once your issue is logged, you can consider what sort of impact it will have on the project. Remember, an issue is something that has already happened (in contrast to a risk) so it is going to have an impact of some sort.

The person who raised the issue is probably best placed to advise you on the significance of the problem, but it could also be useful to organize a meeting to discuss the impact. Then make a note of the impact and significance in your risk log. You might, for example, categorize issues as High, Medium or Low, or score then on a 5-point scale. It doesn’t matter how you rank and assess them as long as you are consistent and it makes sense to you and your team.

3: Make An Action Plan

Now you know how big the problem is, it’s time to work out what to do about it. If you haven’t called the relevant people together for a meeting yet, do so now. In fact, most project managers will run Steps 2 and 3 in parallel and have one meeting where the team discusses the impact and then works out what actions to take next.

Brainstorm some potential solutions to your problem. If you need more input from other experts, get it. You don’t have to come up with the definitive answer during the first meeting, but if it is a critical problem it’s likely that you’ll want to spend lots of time working out what to do so that the rest of the project can move forward successfully.

Document the decisions made in this meeting along with who is going to be responsible for carrying out the actions and when they should be completed by. You can add this information to your issue log, or update anything that you already had in there. Finally, make sure that you record who is ultimately responsible for fixing the problem – the issue owner.

4: Complete Your Action Plan

Get to it! Issues won’t go away by themselves. Work through the actions that you have identified. Assuming that you aren’t responsible for all of them (try to delegate the actions to the person most suitable in the team), this part of the process will involve you chasing up the individuals who have taken ownership of the different tasks. In fact, it is easier if you ask the issue owner to do this and then all you have to do is follow up with him or her.

You will have identified dates for the critical tasks to be completed by, so check in with your team mates to ensure that they are on track to complete the work on time. One of the tasks may also be rescheduling activities in the project plan, so if there are any other knock-on implications of the issue, make sure that those are carried out too, like updating any other project documentation.

5: Review The Situation Again

Once all the actions are complete, you will have dealt with your issue. The very act of fixing the problem may have led to other concerns, so make sure that you review the situation again when the action plan is complete. You may find that you need to update your schedule, open another issue, make some changes or log a risk as a result of the tasks you have done to get the project back on track. That’s all fine – just go back to Step 1 and work through the whole process again.

Schedule time on your project plan to periodically go through your list of issues, review progress against the actions and check everything is as you would expect. You can also use these sessions (which could be a standard agenda item in a monthly status meeting) to ask team members if they are aware of any other issues that need to be logged and managed. You can then work together to keep on top of anything that is impacting your project.

No project is going to be trouble-free, so it is good to know what to do when the inevitable problems arise. Using this simple 5-step process will help you focus on assessing the problem, working out what to do about it and carrying out your action plan, which overall will help you keep your project on track for success.

( Courtesy Projectmanager.com)

PMP Tools & Techniques by Process

In This I would like to share the 9 Knowledge Areas and the  42 Processes are how has been mapped in  this simple Table Based on the PMBOK 4th Edition.