tom mochal

Articles

Shorten meetings to sharpen project focus

January 8, 2001 8:00am PST

It's important to hold regular status meetings to keep a project on schedule. But as Project Mentor Tom Mochal explains, team members can lose sight of their goal when these sessions run too long.

9 Latest comment by John Tieso

Articles

Understand the critical path to put your project on the road to success

January 1, 2001 8:00am PST

Your project deadline has been moved up a month. How do you allocate resources to meet the new due date? Project mentor Tom Mochal advises you to learn about adjusting the critical path.

1 Latest comment by jstudebaker@...

Articles

Use a project administrator to complete day-to-day tasks on large projects

December 26, 2000 8:00am PST

Activities like adding data to workplans, distributing reports, and gathering statistics can distract a project manager from the bigger tasks at hand. Project Mentor Tom Mochal explains why a...

6 Latest comment by Rolling Thunder

Articles

Are you spending too much time performing application enhancements?

December 26, 2000 8:00am PST

Your legacy applications are running well, so why are you spending so much on them? Tom Mochal suggests that enhancements are the culprit. It's time to assess their value.

2 Latest comment by pvg@...

Articles

Managing people in a matrixed organization

December 18, 2000 8:00am PST

As a project manager, you want your team members to show dedication to your project. But how do you keep the team on track and on deadline when they are tasked with several other projects? Project...

3 Latest comment by kol

Articles

Use a source-code management tool to keep application components secure and organized

December 12, 2000 8:00am PST

Keeping track of changes to your enterprise applications is critical, especially if you develop the apps in-house. A source-code management tool can help ensure that development components are...

Articles

Quality management requires focus on processes, not just people

December 11, 2000 8:00am PST

Ensuring the highest quality on project deliverables depends on the skills of the project team. But even top-notch people can't achieve project success without an adequate process for managing...

9 Latest comment by ronkelley

Articles

Two quick ways to estimate the cost of a new project

December 5, 2000 8:00am PST

Your boss wants to know how much the IT project will cost. How do you come up with an intelligent and accurate estimate if you've never tackled a similar project before? Project mentor Tom Mochal...

Articles

Use customer service surveys to measure your value

November 27, 2000 8:00am PST

As a project manager, you work hard to deliver value and quality to your customers. But is that really what they're getting? Project Mentor Tom Mochal explains how to use surveys to measure...

2 Latest comment by tom.mcafee@...

Articles

Understand the cost of collecting metrics

November 20, 2000 8:00am PST

Collecting meaningful data will help you make business decisions. But when is it too costly to collect this data? Project mentor Tom Mochal offers these tips to help you make the decision.

1 Latest comment by plantogo2000@...

Articles

Establish a common understanding before trying to manage customer expectations

November 13, 2000 8:00am PST

It's difficult to agree on deliverables when there's no project definition in place. Project Mentor Tom Mochal explains that the project manager must have a common understanding with the client in...

Articles

Look for leaders when interviewing project managers

October 30, 2000 8:00am PST

When recruiting a project manager, it's hard to tell from a resume the skill level of a candidate. Project Mentor Tom Mochal explains how to gather such information during an interview.

Articles

Project sponsors can just say no to scope change requests

October 24, 2000 7:00am PDT

If you are a project manager, there are times when you don't want to say no to a change request. Instead, encourage the project sponsor to do your dirty work.

Articles

Use quality management to catch errors early in the project life cycle

October 16, 2000 7:00am PDT

The saying "You don't have time to do it right, but you do have time to do it twice" is especially pertinent for project managers. Tom Mochal explains how using quality management to do work right...

Articles

Get to the root of your project management problems

October 2, 2000 7:00am PDT

When you're struggling to meet a project deadline, there could be dozens of reasons why you're missing the mark. Project mentor Tom Mochal explains how asking a series of "why" questions...

2 Latest comment by amy.c.hout@...

Articles

Scope change and status reports affect project progress

September 18, 2000 7:00am PDT

When scope creep seems to be taking over your project, or you've got a long list of project assumptions, you might have trouble keeping the job on track. Project mentor Tom Mochal offers his...

4 Latest comment by JBWConsulting

Articles

Kill projects when they no longer meet business goals

September 5, 2000 7:00am PDT

Should you keep a failing project going when it's no longer relevant to the team involved? Why is a project definition so important to a successful outcome? The Project Mentor helps others deal...

Articles

Manage documents, take low-risk factors seriously for PM success

August 21, 2000 7:00am PDT

To avoid pitfalls on your next project, manage your documents carefully and keep in mind that a low-risk factor may have the same potential impact as a high-risk one. You should also record all...

1 Latest comment by anonymous - mk

Articles

Creating risk plans and asking for feedback are crucial to project success

August 8, 2000 7:00am PDT

A project manager needs a risk management plan in place in case a key player in a project can't see the project through to completion. Learn why this plan is crucial to project management success.

4 Latest comment by richardw@...