Why Project Manage Your Business

A decade ago, if someone were to be a Project Manager, it is almost synonymous to a technical or engineering position.

Today, such is not the case as we have seen numerous positions in non-technical fields relating to project management, and we are no longer assured of continued business success in this highly competitive and volatile business environment. To ensure business continuity, management gurus advocate innovation being the key to business survival. To innovate, one way is to produce projects of services or products.

Project management is a blend of hard and soft skills intertwined to present a project manager with versatile skills to proactively plan projects and have a sense of anticipation of how the project will move and issues which may appear over time. A project manager has to keep in mind that he or she is mandated to ensure project success, and anything which does not promote or increase project success should be ignored.

One of the key critical area which project managers usually fail to manage is managing stakeholders - the fact that  needs and expectations change over time and over the progress of a project signifies the need on the part of the project manager and the team to actively manage stakeholders through direct interaction and engaging them in the project process. The same applies to engage dissenting voices into the process to allow for ownership. 

These are a few tips I have for an aspiring project manager:

1. Always involve your supporting and opposing stakeholders in the process. Declining opposition to your project spells increased success to your project.

2. Change management must be thought out carefully vis-a-vis project planning, and has to be executed before, during and after project hand-over. Many times failure to execute change management has caused anxiety to the users, poor benefit awareness and fueling rumors, which in turn causes project opposition.

3. Improve your leadership skills and influencing skills. These skills are indispensible or vital because we work with people.

4. Use best practices and observe a project management standard like PMBOK.

5. Always allow for project visibility. This means breaking a lengthy project into progressive phases and each phase with producible deliverables. Project ownership will increase when stakeholders see the tangible and contributing deliverables.

I hope the tips will help you become a better and well-respected project manager to benefit your project stakeholders.

Latest...

NEW COURSES AVAILABLE NOW

Measuring, Charting and Reporting Project Performance Using MS Project 2010 and MS Excel 2010/2007- delegates are taught to use project planning and executing performance measuring tools like S-Curve, Earned Value Measurements and Project Schedule and Cost Performance Quality Control Charts.

• 3-day Agile & Lean Project Management
• 3-day Lean Project Management: Applying Lean Six Sigma Concepts In Project Management
• 3-day Project Leadership, Management & Communications
• 2-day Project Risk Management with computerized Risk and Uncertainty Simulations of your Project Work - delegates are encouraged to bring their own projects into this simulation workshop to determine factors adversely affecting project dateline and budget
• 3-day Managing Multiple Projects with Multiple Priorities and Queuing Theory (includes MS Project 2010 application)
• 2-day Microsoft Project 2010 training
  

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ProjectXcess.com is a free service (requires registration) by LMC Learning, providing vital information and tools to aid in project management initiatives, such as...

* PROject Management Information SystEm" (PROMISE) is a web-based solution for project management workflow and document management
* Project Management Audit Methodology POISE
* Project Management Education
* Case Studies and Best Practices
* Discussion Forums
* Templates, Checklists and Forms

CLIENTS

UPCOMING WORKSHOP COURSES BY LMC LEARNING FOR EXTERNAL PROGRAMME ORGANISERS
Updated on 2012-01-08

2-day Successful Project Management, 16-17 January 2012 organised by Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman in Petaling Jaya.

PMP Exam Preparatory for PNB-IT (2 batches), 18-20 & 25-27 January 2012 organised by NotaAsia in Subang Jaya.

5-day PMP Exam Preparatory for Telekom Brunei, 30 January - 3 February 2012 organised by NotaAsia in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

5-day The Effective Project Coordinator Seminar, 12-16 February 2012 organised by GLOMACS in Dubai.

5-day The Complete Course in Project Management, 20-24 February 2012 organised by AzTech in Kuala Lumpur.

5-day PMP Exam Preparatory for Telekom Brunei, 27 February - 2 March 2012 organised by NotaAsia in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

5-day PMP Exam Preparatory for Telekom Brunei, 26-30 March 2012 organised by NotaAsia in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

5-day The Complete Course in Project Management, 14-18 May 2012 organised by AzTech in Istanbul.

5-day The Effective Project Coordinator Seminar, 3-7 June 2012 organised by GLOMACS in Dubai.

5-day The Complete Course in Project Management, 9 - 13 July 2012 organised by AzTech in London.

5-day The Complete Course in Project Management, 26-30 November 2012 organised by AzTech in Kuala Lumpur.

5-day Project Budgeting & Cost Management, 24-28 December 2012 organised by GLOMACS in Dubai.