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    101 Project Management Problems and How to Solve Them: Practical Advice for Handling Real-World Project Challenges

    • 101 Project Management Problems and How to Solve Them: Practical Advice for Handling Real-World Project Challenges

    • By: Tom Kendrick

    • Publisher: AMACOM

    • Pub. Date:

    • Print ISBN-10: 0-814-41557-1

    • Print ISBN-13: 978-0-814-41557-3

    • E-Book ISBN-13: 978-0-814-41575-7

    • Pages in Print Edition: 272

    • Subscriber Rating: 0 out of 5 rating0 [0 Ratings]

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    Overview

    Real project solutions when you need them: NOW.

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    Top Level Categories:
    Business

    Sub-Categories:
    Business > Project Management

    Table of Contents

     

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    Copyright

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    Introduction

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    Part 1: General

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    PROBLEM 1 What personality type fits best into project management?
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    Considering Other Factors

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    PROBLEM 2 What are the habits of successful project managers?
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    Referring to an Old List

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    PROBLEM 3 I'm an experienced individual contributor but very new to project management. How do I get my new project up and going?
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    Engaging Your Team

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    Choosing Your Approach

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    Delegating Work

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    PROBLEM 4 What are the most important responsibilities of a project manager?
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    Understanding Your Project

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    Leading Your Team

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    PROBLEM 5 What is the value of project management certification? What about academic degrees in project management?
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    Considering Project Management Certification

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    Considering Project Management Degrees

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    PROBLEM 6 There are many project development methodologies. What should I consider when adopting standards such as the Project Management Institute PMBOK®?
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    Assessing Project Management Structures

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    Choosing Your Approach

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    PROBLEM 7 What are the key considerations when developing or revising a project life cycle? What should I consider when choosing between ``waterfall'' and ``cyclic'' (or ``agile'') life cycles?
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    Assessing Waterfall Life Cycles

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    Assessing Cyclic Life Cycles

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    Establishing Reviews, Change Processes, and Metrics

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    PROBLEM 8 How can I efficiently run mini-projects (less than six months with few dedicated resources)?
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    Building Your Team

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    Closing a Small Project

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    PROBLEM 9 How rigid and formal should I be when running a small project?
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    Establishing the Minimum

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    PROBLEM 10 How do I handle very repetitive projects, such as product introductions?
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    Incorporating Specific Differences

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    Tracking the Work

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    PROBLEM 11 How should I manage short, complex, dynamic projects?
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    Maintaining Support

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    Establishing Processes

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    Monitoring and Communicating

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    PROBLEM 12 How do I balance good project management practices with high pressure to ``get it done''? How do I build organizational support for effective project planning and management?
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    Building Sponsor Support

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    Building Team Support

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    Resorting to Stealth-Mode Project Management

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    PROBLEM 13 How does project management differ between hardware and software projects?
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    Defining Life Cycles

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    Establishing Processes and Roles

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    PROBLEM 14 How many projects can a project manager realistically handle simultaneously?
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    Managing Very Small Projects

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    Managing Discontinuous Projects

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    PROBLEM 15 How do I handle my day-to-day tasks along with managing a project?
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    Determining Your Available Time

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    Balancing Your Responsibilities

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    Reassessing Your Workload

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    PROBLEM 16 How do I develop and maintain supportive sponsorship throughout a project?
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    Initiating Your Project

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    Executing Your Project

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    PROBLEM 17 What can I do when my project loses its sponsor?
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    Securing Sponsor Commitment

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    PROBLEM 18 How can I secure and retain adequate funding throughout my project?
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    Communicating Progress

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    Protecting Your Priority

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    PROBLEM 19 Can the project management function be outsourced?
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    Avoiding Outsourced Project Management

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    Adopting Outsourced Project Management in Exceptional Circumstances

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    PROBLEM 20 How can I ensure good project management practices during organizational process changes?
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    Integrating Project Management into the New ``To Be'' Processes

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    Standardizing the New Processes

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    PROBLEM 21 What is the best structure for program management for ensuring satisfactory customer results?
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    Establishing a Program Office

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    Communicating Effectively

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    Part 2: Initiation

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    PROBLEM 22 How do I effectively manage customer expectations?
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    Uncovering Needs and Wants

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    Documenting Scope Clearly

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    PROBLEM 23 How can I reconcile competing regional/crossfunctional agendas?
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    Establishing One Version of the Truth

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    Building Consensus

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    Documenting Agreement

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    PROBLEM 24 How should I effectively deal with contributor hostility or reluctance during start-up?
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    Converting Adversaries

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    Maintaining Alliances and Seeking Alternatives

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    PROBLEM 25 When is a project large enough to justify investing in a two-day project launch?
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    Sizing the Meeting Agenda

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    Evaluating Trade-Offs

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    PROBLEM 26 How do I establish control initially when my project is huge?
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    Decomposing Big Projects

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    Managing Interactions and Communication

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    PROBLEM 27 How should I initiate a new project with a new team, or using a new technology?
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    Dealing with New Processes or Technology

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    PROBLEM 28 How should I evaluate and make ``make vs. buy'' project decisions?
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    Considering Fitness

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    Considering Your Team

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    Making a Decision

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    PROBLEM 29 How can I quickly engage good contract workers?
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    Getting Help

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    Closing the Deal

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    PROBLEM 30 In a large project, when should I seek commitment for overall funding?
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    Making the Business Decision

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    Adjusting the Funding Commitment

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    PROBLEM 31 When working with extremely limited resources, how can I get my project completed without doing it all myself?
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    Negotiating for Help

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    PROBLEM 32 How should I initiate a project that has a relatively low priority?
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    Gaining Sufficient Sponsorship

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    Establishing Team Cohesion

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    PROBLEM 33 How should I organize my project management information system (PMIS) to facilitate access and avoid ``too much data''?
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    Managing Your Structure

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    Managing Security

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    Part 3: Teamwork

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    PROBLEM 34 How can I organize my team for maximum creativity, flexibility, and success?
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    Considering Team Experience

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    Considering Team Size

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    PROBLEM 35 How can I work effectively with other project teams and leaders who have very little project management experience?
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    Leading by Example

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    Using Your Influence

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    PROBLEM 36 How can I help team members recognize the value of using project management processes?
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    Demonstrating Benefits

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    Customizing the Process

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    PROBLEM 37 How do I keep people focused without hurting morale?
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    Staying Positive

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    Reminding People Why We're Here

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    PROBLEM 38 How can I involve my team in project management activities without increasing overhead?
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    Simplifying Your Process

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    Managing Reviews and Communication

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    Maintaining Efficiency

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    PROBLEM 39 How can I manage and build teamwork on a project team that includes geographically remote contributors?
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    Establishing Relationships

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    Avoiding Favoritism

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    PROBLEM 40 How do I secure team buy-in on global projects?
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    Leveraging Sponsorship

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    Reciprocating with Others

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    PROBLEM 41 How can I best manage project contributors who are contract staff?
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    Making It About More Than Money

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    Managing Contract Staff

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    PROBLEM 42 How do I cope with part-time team members with conflicting assignments?
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    Involving Part-Time Contributors

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    Securing Other Managers' Support

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    PROBLEM 43 How do I handle undependable contributors who impede project progress?
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    Resolving the Problem

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    Getting Back on Track

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    PROBLEM 44 How should I manage informal communications and ``management by wandering around'' on a virtual, geographically distributed team?
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    Other Interactions

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    Practicing ``Tele-MBWA''

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    PROBLEM 45 When should I delegate down? Delegate up?
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    Delegating Down

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    Delegating Up (or to Peers)

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    PROBLEM 46 How can I best deal with project teams larger than twenty?
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    Establishing a Program Hierarchy

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    Communicating in Layers

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    Archiving Information

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    Part 4: Planning

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    PROBLEM 47 What can I do to manage my schedule when my project WBS becomes huge?
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    Breaking Up Big Projects

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    Managing Project Connections

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    PROBLEM 48 How can I get meaningful commitment from team members that ensures follow-through?
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    Assigning Ownership

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    Staffing ``Orphan'' Activities

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    Tracking the Work

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    PROBLEM 49 As a project manager, what should I delegate and what should I do myself?
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    Assessing Your Potential Availability

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    Remaining Flexible

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    PROBLEM 50 Who should estimate activity durations and costs?
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    Involving Activity Owners

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    Adding Your (Skeptical) Inputs

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    PROBLEM 51 How do I improve the quality and accuracy of my project estimates?
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    Selecting Methods

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    Verifying Estimates

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    PROBLEM 52 What metrics will help me estimate project activity durations and costs?
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    Assessing Actual Activity Performance

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    PROBLEM 53 How can I realistically estimate durations during holidays and other times when productivity decreases?
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    Accounting for Other Project Absences

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    PROBLEM 54 How can I develop realistic schedules?
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    Sequencing the Work

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    Avoiding Fixed-Date Schedules

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    PROBLEM 55 How can I thoroughly identify and manage external dependencies?
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    Identifying External Dependencies

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    Negotiating Commitments

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    Tracking Commitments

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    PROBLEM 56 How do I synchronize my project schedules with several related partners and teams?
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    Planning Each Component Project

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    Iterating the Program Plans

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    Maintaining Program Plan Integration

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    PROBLEM 57 How do I effectively plan and manage a project that involves invention, investigation, or multiple significant decisions?
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    Defining the Project

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    Dealing with What You Don't Know

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    PROBLEM 58 How should I manage adoption of new technologies or processes in my projects?
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    Analyzing Costs and Benefits

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    Securing Buy-In

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    PROBLEM 59 How should I plan to bring new people up to speed during my projects?
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    Anticipating Staff Changes

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    Adding New Team Members

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    PROBLEM 60 How can I resolve staff and resource overcommitments?
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    Revising Plans

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    PROBLEM 61 How can I minimize the impact of scarce, specialized expertise I need for my project?
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    Identifying Unique Resource Issues

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    Managing Resource Scarcity

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    PROBLEM 62 What is the best approach for balancing resources across several projects?
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    Planning Each Project

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    Making Adjustments

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    PROBLEM 63 How can I minimize potential late-project testing failures and deliverable evaluation issues?
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    Planning Thoroughly for Testing

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    Managing Changes

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    PROBLEM 64 How do I anticipate and minimize project staff turnover?
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    Monitoring for Signs of Restlessness

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    Managing Proactively

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    Part 5: Execution

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    PROBLEM 65 How can I avoid having too many meetings?
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    Building Better Meetings

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    Dumping Unneeded Meetings

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    PROBLEM 66 How can I ensure owner follow-through on project tasks and action items?
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    Following Up on Assignments

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    Making Status Visible

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    Closing Out Assignments

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    PROBLEM 67 How do I keep track of project details without things falling through the cracks?
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    Tracking Dogmatically

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    Scheduling Periodic Reviews

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    PROBLEM 68 How can I avoid having contributors game their status metrics?
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    Establishing a Safe Reporting Environment

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    Aligning Metrics and Goals

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    PROBLEM 69 What are the best ways to communicate project status?
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    Reporting Regular Status

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    Preparing Special Reports

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    PROBLEM 70 How can I manage my project successfully despite high-priority interruptions?
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    Managing Your Absence

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    PROBLEM 71 What are the best project management communication techniques for remote contributors?
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    Communicating Informally

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    Communicating Formally

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    PROBLEM 72 How do I establish effective global communications? What metrics can I use to track communications?
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    Using Telecommunications

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    Setting Up a Global PMIS

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    Measuring Global Communications

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    PROBLEM 73 On fee-for-service projects, how do I balance customer and organizational priorities?
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    Understanding Potential Differences

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    Managing Conflicts

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    PROBLEM 74 How do I survive a late-project work bulge, ensuring both project completion and team cohesion?
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    Anticipating Problems

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    Retaining Friends

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    PROBLEM 75 How do I coordinate improvements and changes to processes we are currently using on our project?
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    Planning for Change

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    Making and Managing the Change

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    Part 6: Control

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    PROBLEM 76 How much project documentation is enough?
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    Specifying Project Documents

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    Specifying General Documents

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    PROBLEM 77 How can I ensure all members on my multi-site team have all the information they need to do their work?
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    Maintaining Your Project Management Information System

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    PROBLEM 78 How can I manage overly constrained projects effectively?
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    Managing Constraints

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    Negotiating a Realistic Baseline

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    PROBLEM 79 How do I keep my project from slipping? If it does, how do I recover its schedule?
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    Managing Your Critical Path

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    Communicating Your Status

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    PROBLEM 80 What are the best practices for managing schedule changes?
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    Analyzing the Need for Change

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    Adopting a Schedule Change

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    PROBLEM 81 How can I effectively manage several small projects that don't seem to justify formal project management procedures?
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    Initiating and Planning Small Projects

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    Controlling Small Projects

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    PROBLEM 82 What are good practices for managing complex, multi-site projects?
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    Dealing with Complex Technology

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    Getting Lucky

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    PROBLEM 83 How do I best deal with time zone issues?
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    Planning for Around-the-Clock Staffing

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    Communicating Globally

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    PROBLEM 84 How can I manage changes to the project objective in the middle of my project?
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    Setting the Foundation for Change Control

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    Establishing an Effective Change-Control Process

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    Using Your Change-Control Process

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    PROBLEM 85 How should I respond to increased demands from management after the project baseline has been set?
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    Using Your Change Process

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    Making Good Change Decisions

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    PROBLEM 86 How can I avoid issues with new stakeholders, especially on global projects?
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    Engaging New Stakeholders

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    Managing Project Changes

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    PROBLEM 87 What should I do when team members fail to complete tasks, citing ``regular work'' priorities?
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    Verifying Work Priorities and Causes

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    Adjusting Your Plans

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    PROBLEM 88 What is the best way to manage my project through reorganizations, market shifts, or other external changes?
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    Anticipating Changes

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    Managing Through Change

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    PROBLEM 89 How should I deal with having too many decision makers?
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    Involving the Right People

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    Making a Decision

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    PROBLEM 90 How should I manage multi-site decision making?
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    Framing the Decision

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    Committing to a Decision

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    PROBLEM 91 What can I do when people claim that they are too busy to provide status updates?
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    Providing Encouragement: Carrots

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    Seeking Alternatives

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    PROBLEM 92 How can I effectively manage projects where the staff is managed by others?
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    Influencing Others

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    Using Measurement

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    PROBLEM 93 How can I minimize unsatisfactory deliverable and timing issues when outsourcing?
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    Communicating Effectively

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    PROBLEM 94 How should I manage reviews for lengthy projects?
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    Reviewing Plans

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    Recharging Your Team's Batteries

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    PROBLEM 95 What should I do to establish control when taking over a project where I was not involved in the scoping or planning?
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    Establishing Relationships and Teamwork

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    Making the Plans Your Own

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    Adjusting Expectations

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    Part 7: Tools

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    PROBLEM 96 What should I consider when adopting technology-based communication tools?
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    Using Computer Networking

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    Using Video Communications

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    Using Electronic Messaging

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    PROBLEM 97 How should I select and implement software tools for project documentation, scheduling, and planning?
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    Choosing Scheduling Tools

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    Managing Information

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    PROBLEM 98 What should I consider when setting up software tools I will be using to coordinate many interrelated projects?
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    Managing Program Information

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    Coordinating Program Plans and Monitoring Progress

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    Part 8: Closing

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    PROBLEM 99 How should I realistically assess the success and value of my project management processes?
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    Measuring Variance

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    Assessing Teamwork and Satisfaction

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    PROBLEM 100 What are good practices for ending a canceled project?
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    Documenting What Happened

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    Recognizing Individual Accomplishments

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    PROBLEM 101 How can I motivate contributors to participate in project retrospective analysis?
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    Focusing on the Personal

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    Helping the Organization

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    Index
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    C

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    F

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    M

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    P

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    S

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    T

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    W