Project Selection
8 years 51 weeks agoDelivering the wrong project on time and on budget with 100% of its scope completed to the defined quality standards is a complete waste of money!
Before value can be created by the traditional project management processes defined in the PMBOK® Guide, the project manager has to be given the right project to manage. But selecting the best of
Wiser Group Decision Making
9 years 1 week agoIf ‘two heads are better than one’ why do so many committees make bad decisions?
Ethics is not enough
9 years 7 weeks agoOne of the slow burning issues in Australia (and globally) is the flammable cladding used in lieu of the specified non-flammable cladding on many hundreds of high rise buildings. As a consequence, many of these buildings do not comply with the Building Act and expensive remediation works are required. In Melbourne, there are more than 85 properties where non-compliance with National
Improving the Governance of Projects, Programs and Portfolios.
9 years 12 weeks agoA short while ago I posted a blog that was highly critical of the new ‘Practice Guide for the Governance of Portfolios, Programs, and Projects’. The core of my criticism was the confusion of management and governance (and PMI’s focus on improving management functions); see:
Statistical Uncertainty
9 years 23 weeks agoStatistics drive decisions in every walk of life, including project management. One of the applications of statistics we’ve been exposed to more than once recently is answering the question how many meals to load on a Qantas flight?
Qantas economy cabin seats roughly 300 passengers, dinner has 3 choices on the menu, should the flight load 300 meals distributed by the expected
The Effect of Randomness and Luck
9 years 27 weeks agoIn our last article You are probably wrong about probability we looked at probability[1]. Randomness is a key ingredient in probability, contributes to luck, affects statistics, and can easily be confused for skill or competence!
Luck and
You are probably wrong about probability
9 years 32 weeks agoThis is the first of four articles based on Leonard Mlodinow's book, The Drunkards Walk; looking at probability, in the next article we will look at randomness, and then how this affects everything in project controls and business. For example, does the Rugby
PMP Questions – getting a second opinion.
9 years 36 weeks agoMost people when faced with a painful decision such as having a leg amputated seek a valid second opinion! Sitting for the PMP exam is no different – regardless of whose course you have completed testing your knowledge against a different set of reputable questions developed by another person is always a good idea.
Course developers tend to write questions that are answered by
PBS -v- WBS, is there a difference?
9 years 40 weeks agoI was recently involved in a virtual discussion on the Association for Project Management (APM - UK) website around the use and differences between a Product Breakdown Structure (PBS) and a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). The resulting briefing document produced by the APM is summarised here
What’s the message??
9 years 44 weeks agoA couple of conversations in the last week or so has highlighted the importance of effective communication if you want anyone to take notice of the project information you have carefully gathered and analysed. Good data, good analysis and good information are useless if no one gets the message.
Far too many project controls professionals and project managers think they have done
