Decision-Making

On new development projects, the production stage can be the point of no return. Before it’s too late, a rigorous gating process can help to ensure that development activities, teamwide input and critical stakeholder priorities are all aligned with the overall project vision.

When unforeseen problems occur on a project, the rush to resolve them often ignores their underlying causes, and the same issues reoccur, sometimes worse. Project leaders should include root cause analysis in their corrective actions, but there are challenges to consider. Here is guidance, including a 10-step problem-solving model.

If and when the NBA owners and locked-out players come to agreement and begin the 2011 season, a rescue project of sorts will begin. And players, managers and support personnel will face the same challenges most project leaders face when getting a late start or falling behind.

You don’t always have the luxury of getting everyone’s input on decisions. Often, you’ve got to make a decision quickly or risk losing the opportunity altogether. Here are seven principles for making thoughtful, yet timely decisions without getting sidetracked by consensus overload.

Project portfolio planning efforts often stumble on seven common pitfalls, including outdated evaluation criteria and prioritization based on emotion. To avoid these missteps and produce better business outcomes, here is a best-practice framework that can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your organization.

Every organization has squeaky wheels — individuals who are certain that their immediate needs outweigh everyone else’s. They often disrupt project portfolio execution, distracting project teams and making it difficult to know who is working on what. A queue to collect, prioritize and manage inbound requests is the first step in dealing with this pervasive problem.

For various reasons, many small businesses avoid formal project management techniques and tools. That doesn’t mean they’re always good reasons.

Organizations must go beyond the resume to identify project and program managers whose capabilities align with their needs. An effective hiring process requires precise definitions of job responsibilities that can be matched to specific skill sets, as well as a structured assessment of personality traits.

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