Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

Leaving a key stakeholder out of project decision-making may have consequences. Stakeholders that are affected may have an interest in or power over your project. If left out, they may not care, but some may have hurt feelings, or worse yet, want to cause harm to your project. It is always better to over, rather than under identify stakeholders - you can always remove someone from the list, but...

Last week, we looked at the importance of having project management tools.  To close that part of the discussion off, hive.com states that 77% of high performing projects use some form of project management software. 

This week, let's consider how to make sure you are getting the right tools. Here are 6 important points to consider in your search for the best project management tools....

As the size of projects grow, the project manager must scale efforts to meet the growing needs.  Project management becomes a full time job.  Some larger projects even have project management teams and project control specialists to help. But having the right tools can help anyone work more efficiently and effectively. 

Let's just take a look at one example - scheduling. ...

As a project manager, you need to manage your team by influence and motivate them to complete the project.  How can you do this?  First and foremost, get to know your team very well. Find out more about their interests and aspirations and use this information to make better assignments and seek rewards or promotional opportunities for those that exceed performance expectations.

In...

What are the 5 project management processes?  Regardless of the project life cycle or methodology you use, all projects go through 5 overarching processes, more correctly referred to as "process groups."  Some large projects may be divided into project phases and each phase should also go through the 5 processes.  Following these process groups and the processes they contain...

Why is project management important?  It is important because businesses run on projects.  Projects are needed to execute strategy.  Some organizations may not refer to them as projects, but whatever they are called, they usually meet the definition of projects.

Project management can be expensive.  I often advise that it should be around 10-20% of the overall project...

Predictability helps organizations more effectively and efficiently manage people, cash, and other resources.  And predictable projects usually finish sooner than others as well.

I often hear talk about how unpredictable projects are because <insert any excuse here>. By following some good and best practices and continuously improving, you will find that over time, your projects...

The path to entrepreneurship can be tough. According to Failory, nine out of ten startups fail. If you're thinking of starting a company focused on project management or other business fields, those stats can be pretty scary. Don't stress. With careful planning and strategizing, project managers and small business owners can build thriving companies.

Read on for top entrepreneurship tips for...

A natural outcome of project management is increased team creativity and innovation. But some projects will need more than others.  For example, if you are a creative marketing team or have complex problems to solve as part of the project. 

Want your project teams to be more creative and innovative? You can take the next step by GRADually changing your organization's culture to enable...

Studies have shown that roughly 56% of projects failing projects have poor communications as a factor. Whether you are presenting or just having a meeting, having strong communication skills is critical for project managers. Here are 5 essential practices to work on:

1. Develop and rehearse an elevator pitch. Be able to provide a quick 30-second message about the primary goals and benefits of...