Defining Project Quality
Does completing a project that meets specifications within schedule and budget define a quality project? Not necessarily! Consider the Edsel automobile. The Edsel is a classic example of a “quality” project carried out by an expert project team that produced an innovative, sound design which ended...
Six Steps to Control Project Quality
So you’re buckled in your airline seat, having tuned out the safety demonstration, when you hear the pilot announce “Flight attendants take your seats, our departure time has been moved up. The weather is closing in and we need to leave or we’ll be delayed and that will cost us all time and money....
Ten Questions to Reveal True Project Status
True or False – Most of the information you need as the project manager to track project status comes from your accounting system? The answer is “False!” However, the organization’s accounting system is the most popular thing we hear project managers blame for their difficulties in monitoring...
Top 10 Excuses Not to Ask for a Scope Change
Are you among the many project managers who have the fear that raising a scope change with a customer will be confrontational and may adversely affect the relationship and future work with that customer? Ironically, we find in our work interviewing many customers about satisfaction with service...
Can You Hear Me Now?
How do you like to have information given to you so that you can take it in, absorb it, and really understand it? Some people like to hear all the details, and others like to see the big picture first. However, our tendency is to give people information based on the way we like to receive it. So,...
MBTI – How do you tell an Extravert from an Introvert?
How do you tell an Extravert from an Introvert? Many people say it's based on their energy level, but Myers-Briggs' theory says that it's really based on where you get your energy from. So let's think about this in terms of charging a battery. Extraverts, when they're charging their battery, they...
Are You a Delegator or a Dumper?
If you are: Working longer hours than your staff; Doing work assigned to your staff; Not getting your top-priority items done; Regularly being interrupted by staff needing info or decisions; Consistently rushing to meet deadlines; Handing off tasks at the last minute; Then you might be a Dumper!...
Six Steps To Successful Strategic Planning
Full of energy and hope with a new strategic plan and then wonder what ever happened to it a year later? Tired of seeing your organization’s strategic plan get derailed by the crises of the day? There are six key steps in a strategic planning process that will define your strategic goals and...
Head in the Clouds or Stuck in the Weeds?
Have you had this experience working with a project team? Some team members prefer to focus on the details while others focus on the big picture. It’s all related to how we prefer to take in information. Also, those who focus on details often prefer to rely on their experiences while those who...
Design Build or Not? – That is the Question
Thinking about using an alternative project delivery approach such as Design-Build (DB) or Design-Build-Operate (DBO) for your next project? Here are some key questions to address in making that decision: Do local laws allow it? Review local laws because they may restrict the type and size of...
Reinforcement is the Key to Partnering Success
Partnering is a continuous process that changes the age-old philosophy that design and construction projects have to be situations where one party succeeds at the expense of another. Partnering is a management process in which all parties to a project voluntarily commit at the outset to adopt a...
11 Keys to Value Engineering Success
Successful Value Engineering (VE) studies save project costs that are 10-20 times the cost of the study. For example, the Hampton Roads Sanitation District has found savings average 17 times the cost of the VE studies conducted on the designs of several of its wastewater treatment facilities. So...
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