Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

Emotional intelligence (aka EQ) is recognizing, comprehending, and responding to our own emotions. As with leadership, there is much debate over whether EQ is learned or occurs naturally. But despite the controversy, project leaders need to develop and expand their EQ.

Why is EQ important for these leadership roles? First, self-aware leaders can better leverage their strengths and improve their...

The pandemic is winding down, and war in Eastern Europe is ramping up, creating a lot of uncertainty for 2022. But some trends are now coming into focus and will continue throughout the year. Here are five  to watch for as the year continues to unfold.

The future is tailored hybrid projects. The first sign of the first part of this trend is evident in the latest PMBOK® Guide. An entire...

To start reserve planning requires a completed risk analysis  (for details on how to complete a risk analysis, see our publication, Risk Assessment Framework: Successfully Navigating Uncertainty) . First, estimate the financial impact for each risk, then compute the estimated monetary value (EMV). The EMV is the product of the likelihood and the impact in dollars or your local...

While the role or job title might be project manager, project managers also need to act as leaders. They need to help set the vision for the project and motivate the team to work by influence. Here are six tips to improve your leadership skills to lead project teams better.

Be self-aware—Self-awareness is a crucial leadership attribute. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and use the...

Mainly during project execution, the project manager must track the work accomplished.  Tracking may be essential if a project is large and complex, has many tasks that span more than a week, or is time-critical. 

As with all project management tools and solutions, the method employed should be scaled to the project.  For example, there is no need for a $20k software solution for...

As you probably know from the Risk Assessment Framework, we firmly believe that having categories and prompt lists can help with brainstorming. While some budget estimates can be computed, a big part of the job is to ensure all costs are included. Therefore, it is critical to consider all the charges, including taxes, fees, and economic conditions. In addition, one or more of these categories...

Over the years since the first PMBOK® Guide appeared, the project management body of knowledge has grown exponentially.  More than a thousand pages are currently in two PMBOK editions needed to understand project management.  In addition, these editions are supplemented by online information, textbooks, and more.  This amount of information can be daunting to an aspiring,...

A statement of work (SoW) is an important document that usually accompanies a contract.  It provides some high-level detail about the work to be performed and the associated roles and responsibilities.  Having a good SoW is always essential to get the best outcomes, and it is crucial for fixed contracts.  Here are five tips to improve your SoWs.

Define success.  After a...

Mind maps are visual diagrams that arrange information, documents, images, and other digital artifacts around more central ideas.  Creating mind maps help people think through problems and issues by allowing them to generate ideas by association. 

Mind maps are easy to create.  Here are some basic steps:

• Decide on the central idea and place it in the middle of the map. ...

Project management can be stressful at times.  Meeting the competing demands of sponsors, stakeholders, and teams can be challenging.  Many mistakes are caused by spending too little time on a task, being distracted, or lacking full attention.

Many project management mistakes are caused by one or more of these issues, which are very common.  So let's make 2022 the year that we...