Projects happen in just about every organization.  There may or may not be a formal project management process in place in an organization, but projects are still happening all around.  Inside business units need work done.  Outside clients need new services, software, and reports or tweaks to existing solutions already in place.  Projects just happen. Ideally, we’re ready to meet those needs with some formal project management practices in place.  And what better way to meet those needs than to have that PM structure rolled into its own self-contained organization that is responsible for projects and only projects?  What better …

MATTHEW KOSINSKI  |  August 21, 2015 Recent Research from the University of Phoenix found that roughly 60 percent of all working adults — and 73 percent of professionals in their 30s — want to change careers. If you’re thinking that’s too many people to be a coincidence, you’re probably right. “In the survey, we found that half of those who said they wanted to change careers had entered their careers just because their were jobs available,” says Ruth Veloria, executive dean at the University of Phoenix Business School. “I think what we’re witnessing is a large-scale lack of careers that are interesting or engaging personally. Some people …

Burnout – it’s a problem I used to think was fake, until a loved one went through it at her job. She physically became ill because of the stress. Fortunately, she was able to leave and start a new career. But what if that’s not an option for you? How do you identify burnout as a project manager and what steps can you take to remedy the problem? What’s the  first suggestion? Create a schedule and stick to it. I’ve alluded to me doing this in my professional career recently. It’s nothing fancy but it has helped me prioritize my day. Now, …

You may have already experienced it, but there will come a point at some point in your project management career where you will need to hand over a project to someone else. There are many different reasons for this including: Your workload is looking too heavy and senior figures have decided to pass it over to someone else; the project would be align better with another PM’s skills, or the client has made the decision that they would like someone else to manage the project. Imagine you’re about to replace a Project Manager for an ongoing project or even starting in …

By: Pamela Harding What is WaaS anyway? Let me explain. Like software-as-a-service (SaaS), workforce-as-a-service (WaaS) allows businesses to adjust their workforce up or down as needed. WaaS is also known as the 1099 Economy, On-Demand Economy (ODE) and Sharing Economy. Whatever you call it, it’s here to stay. Tom Starner of HRDive published a very interesting article on this -http://bit.ly/1Rx8lZ9. He astutely notes that “On-demand workforces can be used by employers of all sizes, as the variable cost model ensures it’s not cost-prohibitive.” An on-demand workforce allows business to be nimble – an absolute must in today’s environment. In fact, …

First of all what is a PMO? According to Wikipedia a Project Management Office, abbreviated to PMO, is a group or department within a business, agency or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organisation. The PMO strives to standardise and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. It/they should also provide holistic reporting and benefits tracking as well as a holistic view of projects and programs for prioritisation of execution. Some harsh realities According to the Standish CHAOS Report (2009), 68% of projects do not meet time/cost/scope targets. Only 32% of projects or programs were completed on time, within budget and …