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Using Project Management Techniques to Scale New Heights

Written by Mike Morton on . Posted in Articles.

Editor’s Comments

Catherine Daw is president of SPM group, a leading management consultancy focusing on strategic project management, so when she decided it was time to undertake one of her life list goals, she put her project management skills to work. The project was to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, in North-East Tanzania. After seven months of preparation and training, they set off and a combination of determination and project management skills helped them reach the summit of one of the world’s highest peaks. She tells the story in Everything You Ever Needed to Know about Running a Project, You Could Learn by Climbing a Mountain.

Michael Mah continues his two-part article, Easy As Implementing a Package, by discussing the frustrations that so many CIOs and CTOs go through with large IT package implementations, especially with cost and schedule overruns. He cites seven reasons why companies have such a struggle with project implementation. They’re worth noting.

But Ilya Bogorad, in his piece The Real Costs of Failed Projects, cites a study that tells us that only 21% of organizations regarded completing projects on time and 9% felt coming in on budget was important. He also points out that project performance is often based on assessments by people closely involved in the projects, and wonders what affect human nature has on their objectivity and the general definition of project failure.

In Maximizing Project Value: Developing a Project Business Case, Jeff Berman explains why developing a project business case is so important. He believes it’s an important part of laying the groundwork for project success by ensuring that top management is onside and buying in to the project. The important point here is getting the time, resources and funding to do the job properly.

Chris Vandersluis has given this month’s piece a light summery title, Chocolate or Vanilla. His subject matter is neither light nor summery, as he wrestles with Requests for Proposals seemingly written by committees that are very much at odds about what it is they really need or want. In many cases they want chocolate, vanilla or just about any other flavor under the sun.

Finally, More Top 10 Tips for Project Management Success from Claudia Bacca are well worth noting, no matter whether you’re a seasoned project manager or just starting out in your chosen career. It always helps to go through some fundamentals from time to time.

So, welcome to the August Project Times. We hope you enjoy what we have for you and that you’ll let us know what you think – positive or negative!

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Mike Morton

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