Listen to The PM Podcast

Play Now:

This episode is sponsored by:

If someone asks you explain what you do as a project manager, do you sometimes struggle to explain it? It’s easy to explain the hard tasks like building houses, changing processes or developing software, but once I get to the less tangible items like project team motivation or relationship management I usually begin to lose the listener. It gets even worse if you have to explain the value of project management to your senior management. It is very difficult to find solid facts that we can use to show that there really is value in our work.

This problem has puzzled our profession for a long time. That is why the PMI has funded a study on the value of project management and it’s results have been released.

We can finally and with scientific certainty say that there is indeed value in what we do.

Our guest today is Mark E. Mullaly, PMP, President & Chief Organizational Therapist of Interthink Consulting Incorporated. He is the co-lead investigator on this study and you can look forward to hearing a great interview.

And don't forget to stop by at PM Opinions to write a short review for The PM Podcast. Even just one sentence will help!

This episode is reserved for subscribers of the Premium Podcast. Learn how to subscribe to the Premium Podcast to access this interview...

Two weeks ago I discussed Opportunity Creep. The discussion then was sparked by a meeting I had at the PMI® Global Congress in Denver earlier this year. Today, I want to discuss Robot Project Management.

In particular, I want to call out to you and help you avoid becoming a Robot Project Manager.

This concept, too, was sparked by one of the many discussions at the Global Congress. And if you have never been to any type of project management meeting like that then I can heartily recommend it. It doesn't have to be a big one like the congress either. A simple local PM gathering will do. The people you meet and the conversations you have will positively influence you and your career.

Play Now:

This episode is sponsored by:

Has your project ever been audited? Was it a good experience or would you much rather spend 2 hours at the dentist instead? We met up with Elizabeth Harrin, author of Project Management in the Real World , at the PMI® Global Congress in Denver last month and we discussed not project audits, but its cousin Peer Reviews.

We define what a peer review is and how it compares to a formal project audit. We shine a light onto the fact that peer reviews will help you as a PM to keep honest. In particular during the more hectic times of a project, when it’s easy to say that “I just don’t have the time to have the risk management meeting this week”.

And of course, we look at how you should prepare for a peer review both from the perspective of someone who is giving and someone who is receiving such a review.

We also introduce you to a new Gizmo: It’s a new website called PM Opinions where you can read and write reviews on project management products and services.

This episode is reserved for subscribers of the Premium Podcast. Learn how to subscribe to the Premium Podcast to access this interview...

Two weeks ago I was at the PMI® Global Congress in Denver Colorado. For two days I was surrounded by about 4,000 other project managers. I listened to a number of great and not so great presentations and I also participated in a few meetings of the PMI’s New Media Council. There were presentations on all kinds of topics including scope in project management.

My biggest problem is that in such moments it is very difficult for me to turn my brain off and more often than not thoughts collide and synapses meet and out come usually some good ideas and insights on project management. I have a personal issue with scope control in project management! The scope of what I thought I would be thinking about is spiralling, and I think that's a good thing! It shows the value of attending these events.

And over the coming episodes, I would like to share my thoughts with you, here on The Premium PM Podcast.

And I thought that since it is around Halloween, I start out with something CREEPY. In particular, Scope Creep.

To be precise, scope creep and the fact that it isn’t really all that bad a thing to happen on your project. In fact, I recommend that we should all embrace scope creep on our projects. Understanding scope creep is a crucial part of project scope management, but not one that we need to avoid.