Top PW&WCBA Blog Posts of 2014

We’ve published a lot of inspiring and thought-provoking posts this year about project management, business analysis, leadership and more, so we wanted to take a moment to look back on the most popular posts of 2014. Here are the topics our readers enjoyed the most this year:

Leadership Lessons: Paul R. Williams: Paul R. Williams, Leader of Project Management, PAi, talked to us about how PMOs add value to the organization. Today, PMOs are a strategic imperative for the C-Suite to deliver projects aligned with key strategic initiatives. Project Managers are in high demand today; Williams will give us keen insight into recruiting, training and retaining key program staff. To read the full post, click here.

Here Comes The Boom! An NFL Champion Illustrates Key Business Analysis Skills: As business analysis practitioners, we certainly appreciate the analytical style of Richard Sherman and his LOB brothers.   In addition to conducting a sort of pre-game analysis, we too must be able to conduct game-time analysis and make adjustments, where needed.  For example, it is important for practitioners to understand stakeholders early on. Whether by talking to the actual stakeholder, consulting with other practitioners who have worked with them, or some other method, we need to understand certain things about our stakeholders, including (but not limited to) the stakeholder's view of the problem or opportunity at hand, expectations of a solution, and anticipated level of involvement with the initiative. To read the full post, click here.

Leadership Lessons to Live By: In virtually every industry that exists today, leaders must set aside more time to reflect and assess their thinking, capabilities, and strategies. It is crucial that they evaluate how their leadership brand is being perceived by others and whether or not it requires a tune-up.  We highlighted some key leadership lessons that you should live by. To read the full post, click here.

The 5 Best Free Project Management Tools: There are effective free project management tools out there - some are more robust than others, but all of them provide ways to collaborate and complete projects quicker. We found five of the best free project management tools that may make your job easier. To read the full post, click here.

Big Data and Project Management: Today, organizations are taking strategic risks to add business value through innovative big data initiatives. Big data is a blanket term for any collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to process using available data management tools or conventional data processing applications. Tom Davenport, author of “Big Data at Work” has worked with many companies and he’s uncovered key principles around five key areas to be successful at big data projects. To read the full post, click here.

Agile State of Mind: Are you wondering how to choose which project management method to deliver a successful project? Organizations today have to be more competitive in the marketplace so choosing the best practices and methods for your organization and projects is important. Agile is a set of values and principles, not a pre-defined process with obvious areas of limitation. Waterfall is a model based on development method that is linear and sequential.  We put together the top four criteria to choose the best fit of methodologies at the right time for the right customer. To read the full post, click here.

Women in Leadership: Jo Miller: Jo Miller, CEO Women’s Leadership Coaching Inc. sat down with us to talk about women in leadership. Today, women make up over 50 percent of the workforce, are entrepreneurs, hold key leadership positions and serve on board of directors. Miller will give us her insight into the challenges women face in the workplace, how to overcome these obstacles and become a more empowered leader. To read the full post, click here.

Leadership Lessons: Dr. Alicia Aitken:  Dr. Alicia Aitken, managing director Asia Pacific, Human Systems International (HSI), sat with us to talk about the ins and outs of leadership in today’s competitive business landscape. According to Aitken, being authentic makes great leader stand out in a crows these days. Today’s world is full of leadership models, business school taught methods and processes. Leaders stand out by being authentic and true to who they are and who they are leading. To read the full post, click here.

About the Author: Amanda Ciccatelli, Social Media Strategist of the Marketing Division at IIR USA, has a background in digital and print journalism, covering a variety of topics in business strategy, marketing, and technology. Amanda is the Editor at Large for several of IIR’s blogs including Next Big Design, Customers 1st, Digital Impact, STEAM Accelerator and ProjectWorld and World Congress for Business Analysts, and a regular contributor to Front End of Innovation and The Market Research Event,. She previously worked at Technology Marketing Corporation as a Web Editor where she covered breaking news and feature stories in the technology industry. She can be reached at aciccatelli@iirusa.com. Follow her at @AmandaCicc.

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How to Avoid Project Management Failures

These days, project management can be a touchy subject, especially when it comes to project failures. But, knowledge, strategy and precautionary tactics can help project managers avoid serious project management pitfalls.

Here’s what leaders in the industry shared with Fierce CIO recently about tips for avoiding project management pitfalls.

Don't expect immediate results.

"If you're a tried and true waterfall type of project management shop and you go in and change to an agile shop, that's a big change… in principles and also asking a lot of people to partake in that change. Some folks are resistant to it, especially if there's not an immediate payoff. The immediate impact will actually be less effectiveness, maybe less efficiency, but you have to hold true to the fact that long term, it's going to pay off." - Randy McGraw, SVP of technology and operational services at service provider West IP Communications

Have a project leader to provide feedback.

"You may know the technology and service inside and out--but it is still important to have someone on your side who can actively participate and provide insight and things of nature change management." - McGraw

Don’t let deadlines run your project.

"Let's focus on the right solution [first] and then figure out how to get it done in the time frame we have to. Whether we have to [divide it], phase it, or defer some work. Taking that approach of what's the right end game and making sure you set your project and your approach up to get you there ultimately is most important…Help people from falling into those pitfalls of time-driven decision making." - Kevin Riley, CTO of Sonus Networks

Approach project management one step at a time.

"When you do these projects, they can be very complex [and] you can get caught up in looking at the full body of work and all the details, and it becomes hard to wrap your head around the plan.” - Riley

Stay detail-oriented and streamlined.

"Make sure you minimize details, but also make sure your plans around those [finite number of] details are perfect."  - Bill Scudder, CIO of Sonus Networks

Avoid bureaucracy. 

"I try not to have a lot of bureaucracy around project management because I think that can actually slow things down." - Scudder

Provide feedback throughout the process.

"We do start with a process where we have an exec review board for large project.  We call it the IPAC. IT project approval board.  They come and present the problems they're trying to solve, the resources they need, etc.  If they're stuck, we also do a traffic-light review… so we have a funnel of large projects that go through that.” - Scudder

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Leadership Lessons to Live By

In virtually every industry that exists today, leaders must set aside more time to reflect and assess their thinking, capabilities, and strategies. It is crucial that they evaluate how their leadership brand is being perceived by others and whether or not it requires a tune-up.  

According to Forbes, here are leadership lessons to help you accelerate your career as a leader.

Opportunities Are Everywhere

Leadership requires circular vision and when you begin to grow complacent, you only see the obvious details before you.  In fact, your mindset becomes stagnate because you are not stretching your perspectives enough to see more than you want to. When you fall into this trap, it’s time to reshuffle the deck, and map out the factors that are influencing your thinking. You must begin to identify areas that can be improved – such as relationships, culture, networking, how you are investing in yourself, etc.

Without Strategy, Change Is Substitution

Change management is the unwritten rule in every job description and a key success factor in your workplace performance.  Rather than wait for change to come your way, be proactive and identify patterns of change so you are prepared to manage it head-on.  As a leader, you must always have a strategy for change.  A change management strategy is the ultimate form of leadership accountability, because it forces you to think critically about what you need to do as a leader to minimize risk and maximize reward.

Embrace an Entrepreneurial Attitude

An entrepreneurial attitude that is centered on continuous renewal and reinvention of yourself as a leader and your business is what allows you to sustain success and reach for significance. The entrepreneurial attitude is a mindset; it must be an operating standard that is embedded in the minds of everyone in the organization. It’s a challenge to reinvent within industries that have been in place for decades – but you can start to employ the entrepreneurial attitude by injecting new talent, new perspectives, and new resources. 

Refresh Your Thinking

Great leadership is about keeping refreshing the way an organization thinks.  It may be a lot of work, but the marketplace demands it. This is why leaders must keep themselves refreshed with new knowledge, skill-sets and aptitudes. Time is your most valuable asset and it’s up to you to determine how to best maximize it. Be courageous, refresh your thinking and implement what you learn. 

Trust Yourself

Trusting yourself is the ability to know your strengths well enough that they allow you to navigate your workplace successfully.  It’s the ability to trust your gut and know that when preparation meets the opportunities that are in front of you, your natural talents, capabilities, and skill-sets will get you through any situation.  How many times does your gut tell you to take action but you don’t?  Instead, you wait for those around you to take the calculated risks that you are hesitant to take yourself. Effective leadership is about timing and when you don’t trust yourself, oftentimes you miss the opportunities to create impact and influence – and disrupt momentum along the way. 

Manage Your Brand

Leadership branding is the new normal for organizations seeking to operate at optimal efficiency and profitability.  When an organization’s leaders can’t define their leadership brand identity for their executive team, senior leadership team, silos begin to form and the organization begins to lose its competitive edge. When you don’t manage your leadership brand – someone else will.  When this happens, you become vulnerable to what others expect from you because you have not set forth any precedence for those expectations.  As a result, the balance of power and influence sways away from you; your own identity crisis makes it easy for others to question your capabilities, and decisions.

Adversity Can Make or Break You

Adversity management reveals you. What others might see as a big problem – you might see as a situation that is easily manageable.  When you see adversity through a lens of opportunity, it gives you a leg-up and a powerful competitive advantage.  How you manage adversity will shape the way others see the real leader that you are. 

A Leader’s Success Is Never Won or Lost in an Instant

The significance of your leadership tenure is defined by your complete body of work.  It is the culmination of the work you do — how it all ties together and how you handle the rough patches along the way — that forms your legacy. If you cannot sustain consistency, you begin to lose value for your brand and the platform you are trying to create to influence outcomes.

Give to Others in Faith, Not in Expectation

Leadership is about sharing the harvest of the momentum that you are building with others. Leaders must recognize that it is their responsibility to inspire and unite – and in doing so they expand their influence through others. Amongst many things, leadership is about making those around you better – by being a great teacher, investing in relationships, and making sound decisions.  One day they may give back to you more than you ever expected – but don’t go into it expecting others to reciprocate.

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The Best Project Manager for the Job

Having the right project manager (PM) is crucial to successful project delivery. But, what attributes does a great PM have? According to Hemant Kogekar, principal of Kogekar Consulting, here are findings from a CIO Executive Board Study on what differentiates a good PM from an average one.

Experience

Many organizations look for PM candidates who have a project management certification. But, the study found that certification does not predict PM effectiveness. Turns out that PMs with diverse experience across technology and business areas are more effective.

Knowledge of the Business

Effective PMs understand not only ‘how’ but also ‘why’. They know the goals of their projects and how the goals fit within the organization. High performing PMs become ‘business partners’ and not just ‘order-takers’. Business partners improve their credibility due to their understanding of project scenarios. Effective PMs develop relationships across the organization so that they understand dynamics within the organization – enabling PMs to steer through complex issues.  

Leadership Ability

The importance of leadership skills is often underestimated when businesses select PMs. Effective PMs understand what the team needs and tailor their communications to drive performance. These PMs leverage team members’ skills, and gain the team’s trust. Poor PMs run the team into the ground while the project is delivered. Although PMs with a poor track record of  leadership may achieve short-term gains, these PMs constrain the success of the project. Good PMs not only deliver the project outcomes, but build a team’s capabilities throughout the project.

Commitment

According to the study, two of the top three drivers of PM effectiveness are “passion to succeed”, and an “ability to meet internal deadlines”. When selecting PMs, leaders should seek candidates who demonstrate these attributes. Good PMs become demonstrate passion in the project and holding themselves accountable for the project’s success. Effective PMs follow the standard processes, but look to improve these processes to remove bottlenecks, time consuming steps and other inefficiencies.

Risk Management

Effective PMs are skilled in anticipating the risks throughout the project life-cycle. These PMs not only identify risks, but also develop strategies to avoid them. The study found that there was a big difference in the ability to anticipate and manage risks between the top and bottom performers.

Crisis Management  

Projects are stressful; a smoothly running project is a rarity. Good PMs maintain their cool in times of crisis. They maintain composure and guide their teams through the myriad of crises and challenges that projects encounter.

Quick Problem Solving

The best PMs are experts at solving the problems that a project encounters. These PMs deal with insufficient information and are quick learners who draw lessons from unfamiliar situations and concepts.

Ambition

Good PMs are success-driven. Organizations need to recognize this and create pathways for PMs to progress to senior roles. If organizations fail to look after good PMs, they will find and opportunities elsewhere.

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