Why the PMBOK is not a Methodology
11 years 2 weeks agoOne of the more common discussions on the web and in other places is focused on arguing the merits of, or comparing, the PRINCE2 Methodology with the PMBOK Methodology.
The problem with the proposition is basic premise is completely wrong! The PMBOK® Guide is not and never has been a methodology. Methodologies define the processes, responsibilities and workflows needed to
PMI Standards Update
11 years 4 weeks agoMost people with an interest will know that PMI have released the PMBOK® Guide 5thEdition, the Standard for Program Management 3rdEdition and the Standard for Portfolio Management 3rdEdition, with an official publication date ofthe 31stDecember 2012. PMI’s other key standard; the Organisational Project Management Maturity
The Case for a Standard Data Reporting Format in a Massive Multi-Contractor Environment
11 years 9 weeks ago
If my team and I were on a mission to standardize our program control software, we might perform a benchmarking exercise. I firmly believe if we performed such an exercise, we would find that one-hundred different organizations would have at least one-hundred-five software architectures between them. In fact, that may be optimistic.
Schedule and cost control tools have
A Brief History of Scheduling
11 years 12 weeks ago
The science of ‘scheduling’ as defined by Critical Path Analysis (CPA) celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007. In 1956/57 Kelly and Walker started developing the algorithms that became the ‘Activity-on-Arrow’ or ADM scheduling methodology for DuPont. The program they developed was trialled on plant shutdowns in 1957 and their first paper on critical path
The Scheduling Conundrum
11 years 14 weeks agoThe scheduling conundrum is simple:
We know effective scheduling makes a significant difference to project success and we know what effective scheduling looks like but in most projects, the schedule is ignored, bad scheduling practice is the norm and most projects finish late.
The business of scheduling and its underpinning concepts and theories underwent a revolution in
Project task durations
11 years 16 weeks ago
Probably the most common action undertaken by project planners everywhere is assigning a duration to a task; most of us do this almost automatically. Generally it is only when a dispute arises that the complex interaction of the factors discussed involved in setting the duration come into play.
There is no universal answer to the question of what is the ‘correct’ way to
Distributed -v- Consolidated Contingencies
11 years 16 weeks agoDistributed contingencies are normal in most aspects of project management but often result in sub-optimal use of resources. Typical examples include allowing some safety margin in each CPM duration estimate (eg, setting the durations at an 80% probability), allowing contingencies on a project by project basis for risk, setting budgets with a 90% confidence limit, etc.
A better approach
Scheduling For Effect
11 years 20 weeks agoAs the end of 2012 approches, and assuming the world won't end of the 12/12/12 I have a few thoughts for every scheduler’s New Year resolutions.
- You can’t change the past, the present is being managed by the project workforce, the only thing you can influence with your schedules is the future. To achieve this, the schedule needs to be an
My Project Is Making No Progress!
11 years 20 weeks agoI had a situation recently where a client stated that despite his people working as fast and seemingly efficiently as they could, he was seeing next to no progress reflected in his performance reporting, his end date was pushing out, his efficiency was down, people were asking questions.
Now, it's not uncommon to see under staffed or under resourced projects falling
The CPI Stability Myth
11 years 22 weeks agoUndoubtedly the longest running ‘urban myth’ in circulation within the general project management community, arising from US Defence based research from the early 1990s, that the Cost Performance Index (CPI) always stabilizes at the 20% completion and the final outcome will be within 10% of this value and usually worse. This myth has been extended by some authors to all projects in all
