tom mochal

Articles

Why does your IT organization need formal policies?

February 2, 2006 8:00am PST

To an IT professional, formal policies may be easily dismissed as a bureaucratic waste of time. In this article, Tom Mochal explains why formal policies actually are useful when it comes down to it.

Articles

Be clear when assigning work to team members

January 31, 2006 8:00am PST

If team members understand the work perfectly, but don't deliver on time, you may have a performance problem. However, if the team member is not clear about the work they have been assigned or the...

6 Latest comment by siwash.rock@...

Articles

Analyze your risks to determine which ones to manage

January 24, 2006 8:00am PST

Tips for determining project risks and their severity.

10 Latest comment by mick.heath@...

Articles

Use time wisely with effective meeting management

January 17, 2006 8:00am PST

Here are some solid tips for running meetings in the most efficient way.

2 Latest comment by fdaske

Articles

Don't deliver more features than the client requests

January 10, 2006 8:00am PST

In project management, goldplating--delivering more requirements than what the client requested--is a no no.

11 Latest comment by tom.mochal@...

Articles

Manage project expectations through status reporting

January 3, 2006 2:32pm PST

The purpose of status reporting is to manage the expectations of the sponsor and the stakeholders. In many cases where conflicts arise, it's not because of the actual problem, but because the...

Articles

Check these four items before analyzing your budget numbers

January 1, 2006 8:00am PST

Tom Mochal offers four areas to look at when analyzing a budget.

Articles

Use the initial project justification to measure the business value of a project

December 20, 2005 8:00am PST

Here's what to do if you're asked to measure the business value of a project once it is finished.

9 Latest comment by Robert_Devarie

Articles

Manage your people by due dates, not percent complete

December 13, 2005 8:00am PST

Managing by due date is the only way to proactively manage the project workplan.

8 Latest comment by AgileLogic

Articles

Process skills most important to successful project managers

December 5, 2005 4:09pm PST

Is it more important for a project manager to have good people skills, process skills, or be a subject matter expert? Tom Mochal gives his opinion.

32 Latest comment by 3dsoul

Articles

Utilize a scope freeze during the drive toward implementation

December 3, 2005 8:00am PST

Managing scope effectively does not mean that you turn down all scope change requests, but there comes a time when there has to be a freeze.

Articles

Minimize rework as a part of your quality management process

November 29, 2005 2:14pm PST

One of the responsibilities of a project manager is to put into place a quality management process that seeks to keep rework to a minimum.

7 Latest comment by MGelman

Articles

Manage the document life cycle for the important documents on your project

November 22, 2005 8:00am PST

Not all documents require a full lifecycle, but if you understand the nature of building documents, you will be better able to plan for the time required to complete them successfully.

3 Latest comment by john.mayo@...

Articles

If you're going to be a project manager, be a proactive one

November 15, 2005 8:00am PST

There are three types of project managers--accidental ones, good ones, and proactive ones.

36 Latest comment by jabermudez@...

Articles

Understand the relationship between assumptions and risks to manage these two related concepts

November 7, 2005 6:34pm PST

You can live with your assumptions, but you must manage your risks.

8 Latest comment by turbit...

Articles

Use the concept of the triple constraint to manage client expectations

November 1, 2005 8:00am PST

Think of a project as a three-legged stool. If one of the "legs" is decreased or increased, the remaining legs much do the same.

13 Latest comment by guerrerag

Articles

Manage the documents on a project before they manage you

October 25, 2005 7:00am PDT

A project manager should think ahead of time about how documentation will be managed so that he or she does not end up in a situation where storing and finding documents is an obstacle to...

3 Latest comment by turbit...

Articles

Market your project to build enthusiasm

October 18, 2005 7:00am PDT

The most interesting part of the Communications Plan involves marketing communication that is targeted toward people that you want to influence. Typically, marketing communication is used to build...

5 Latest comment by joleng16

Articles

Proactively manage your workplan using this ten step process

October 11, 2005 7:00am PDT

Like much of project management, updating the workplan requires discipline and habit. On most projects, you can follow this simple ten-step process.

1

Articles

Measure your projects, but beware unintended consequences

October 4, 2005 7:00am PDT

It's good practice to determine ahead of time what it means for the project team to be successful. However, make sure you are smart about the way the success metrics are defined and reported so...

7 Latest comment by Wayne M.