Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

Despite many internet articles to the contrary, PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) and FPA (Function Point Analysis) estimates can be valuable for many projects outside of software-related industries and not just for scheduling.

PERT estimates are a part of a more extensive system and was designed to focus on schedules.  Its benefit is that it mathematically provides everything an estimat...

[Project managers take note!  Starting a business from scratch and without capital is something you may do if you want to start a private practice.  Plus starting a project from scratch without capital is very similar.]

When you have little to no startup capital, founding a business can feel like climbing a mountain. Fortunately, the digital revolution has made starting up easier and more afforda...

[NOTE: Want to find out more about project cost management?  You're invited to the launch of PPC Group's new publication, Project Cost Management: Principles, Tools, Techniques, and Best Practices for Project Finance, by Ray Frohnhoefer and Inham Hassen, in June 2022. For more information and to register for the event, click here: https://www.accidentalpm.online/PCM_Virtual_Launch_Registration.]

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 currency.

While it ...

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 may ...

Project managers need the most flexibility when dealing with project cost management.  Some may never have budget responsibilities, while others may have full responsibility.  Those with some duties will also need to navigate many organizational practices about preparing and presenting budgets.

Here are six best practices that will help and apply over a wide range of cost management practices.

C...

If you have started a business recently, operated one for some time, or run into some unexpected issues, you may be in debt. This is a somewhat normal part of having a business — there are good times, but you also have a fair share of difficulties. However, if your debt is starting to get out of control or it impacts your mental health and your business, this is where you need to make some changes...

How are projects paid for? Generally by financing the project.  The funds that pay for the project may come from operations (for example, from revenues) or from capital expenditure.  Capital expenditures are typically made from the company treasury or reserves.  As a third method, the organization wanting to perform a project can borrow, and then repay, money.  There are  a variety of ways to do t...

Many introductory courses that include information about budgeting for project managers discuss the idea that a project budget may have to be time based.  That is, the expenditures are divided over weeks, months, or quarters to show how spending will occur over the course of the project.  But the project budgets in an organization only tell a part of the story.  Budgets are about when we will be m...

[Note: Beginning with last week's article and continuing forward, in addition to tagging articles with knowledge areas, we will be adding new tags for business, people, and technical (including process). We will update past articles over time. This will align content with the new PMP®​​ exam content areas, which in turn, align with the PMI talent triangle areas - Leadership, Technical Project Mana...