Project Hero Blog - Weekly Best Practices and Tips

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...

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...

What are the differences between waterfall and agile projects? We can use both methods to manage projects, but both follow different processes.

With waterfall, a project is initiated, then planned.  Requirements are developed in full before proceeding with the project work.  Finally, project execution begins, and the project manager monitors and controls project progress. Once...

What is the minimum passing score for the PMP® Exam?  This is a trick question because there isn't one!  The scoring of the PMP exam is dynamic.  As stated in the PMI Certifications Handbook:

"The passing score for all PMI exams is determined by sound psychometric analysis. PMI uses subject matter experts – project professionals from around the world and many different...

Last month was Global Diversity Month, so let's take a look at how accessibility and project management are related.  Accessibility is concerned about whether all users will have an equal experience with an product or service - in other words, the output of a project. Anything that makes it difficult or impossible for a person with a temporary or permanent disability to equally use your...

Stop throwing away lessons learned or putting them in obscure IT folders!  Lessons learned have tremendous value for projects - don't waste them.  Let's look at four reasons why project management lessons learned are essential:

Don't make the same mistake twice:  Spanish philosopher George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”...

What is the project management risk process?  The project management Risk Assessment Framework is a flexible, easily scaled, and tailored framework aligned with the Project Management Institute's PMBOK® Guide. 

The benefit of the framework is that it is easy enough for an aspiring, new, and accidental project manager to understand yet comprehensive enough that even seasoned...