Creating a risk management approach and culture in an organization can seem like a huge challenge. However, if you break it down it’s really all about getting these three layers in place for your business: Adequate management process Systems of control Governance Once you’ve addressed those points, you’ll find that your risk management approach falls […]
Copying Views Between Projects In Microsoft Project
Most likely you spent some effort creating the exact desired look and feel of your task table and Gantt chart. You will probably want to save this and then apply it to other projects. Yes, this is possible to copy views in Microsoft Project. Stakeholders want customized views of your project. And once you have […]
The Integrated Project Schedule
I find when I and my friends go on hikes that the longer and more complex the trail the more I study the map. This makes perfect sense. The probability of becoming disoriented when the trail is long and has many junctures and crossroads is greater. Likewise a long and complicated project definitely requires a […]
What Should A PMO Meeting Cover?
What should a PMO meeting cover in your organization? Project Management Office teams can be made up of a diverse group. You may have project management experts, or the project management team leader, project co-ordinators or others in more junior positions, analysts, software experts, data experts, business leaders, trainers, strategists and more. When you get […]
Microsoft Project and Effort Driven Tasks
In Microsoft Project you can specify Effort driven tasks. But how exactly does this effect your Microsoft Project schedule? Effort driven calculations only apply after resources are initially assigned to a task. And it effects how the dependent variable in the work equation is calculated. The work equation is as follows: Work = Duration x […]
Risk Reporting
What does risk reporting look like in your business? It’s a simple question with a challenging answer: Risk reporting looks like whatever you need it to look like in order to get the required action and visibility. This sounds vague but it’s actually a good thing: you can tailor your risk reporting approach to make […]
Virtual Float
Sometimes the process of updating your schedule creates virtual float. What exactly is virtual float? And is it good for your schedule? Float in scheduling is good. It’s what all proficient managers strive for. But schedule delay updates on the critical path may generate float on other paths, which is not good float. This delay […]
Deltek Acumen Fuse and the DCMA’s 14-Point Assessment
The Deltek Acumen Fuse DCMA 14-point metrics are among many metrics you can use to analyze schedule quality. Deltek’s Acumen Fuse schedule quality analysis software implements a five stage project maturity framework defined as follows: S1 the base, S2 critiqued, S3 risk-adjusted, S4 optimized, and S5 team-aligned. S1 the base – raw schedule that is […]
Project Review or Lessons Learned? What’s the Difference?
You know that projects need governance, but where does the project review and lessons learned fit in? And what’s the difference between them? They both take a project and review what’s happened on it with the objective of coming up with a written report for next steps. In this article we look at the differences […]
Resilience an Important Schedule Quality Attribute
An optimized schedule is good, but a resilient schedule is better. It provides for a more reliable plan that is less susceptible to risk and more able to recover from unexpected external events. Most inexperienced sea voyagers plan the shortest route to their destination, but any sailor “worth his salt” knows better. The shortest way […]