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Just in case someone has been living under a rock, I'm adding this. I can't tell you how many times people at work email files hundreds of times when we could all just collaborate in Google Docs. We used Google Hangouts to chat in former projects and could actually see when each other was typing something. Love it!

I agree with Jen. While GoogleDocs is a great time saver I wish you could do more with formatting, pasting, etc. The formatting also differs if you download the doc onto a Mac which can be a pain when working with a group. Overall, though I think it is a worthwhile collaborative tool.

Good call. My team spent an entire meeting demonstrating how to use Live Meeting via Outlook, only to later find out that it costs our company each time we initiate a call. I mentioned Hangouts as an alternative, and nobody had any idea what I was talking about, despite the fact that all of my teammates have Gmail. Yikes! Sometimes its scary how much we don't know!

Project Management is about managing time, scope, and resources at the same time. Here you will find links to the best material on the Internet to help you do that. Be sure to scroll down past the ads for more hand-picked links.

This is a tool that I wanted to share because I know in ILT a lot of people tout using Adobe Captivate for various projects. I recently came across Active Presenter, which has a no-time-limit free version that does all of the basic features of Captivate, most notably screen capturing. One of the obstacles I run into with project management is having everyone on a project team understand how to use various resources. If you have an SME who would be willing to make a quick screen capture of how to use a tool and record it using this program, it will save a lot of time getting everyone on the same page.

Time saver and better screen capturing than Captivate? I must try it!

One reason PMs fail is their desire to get the product right the first time. This site says that this is an unrealistic expectation and that we should expect to get it wrong the first time and communicate this to our team. The dynamics will change making them more open and less pressured to "make the wrong step". This approach is modeled by Microsoft which generally takes about 3 times before they get a product right. Other useful tips and lessons follow such as Less is More. An uplifting site that reminds us that it is okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them.

Very insightful article. The point the article made that I felt was interesting was the part about how it can be hard early on to not test what they are making. Easy to go down the wrong direction.

This is a great tool to help teams get organized and get in synch. Us this tool to organize your time and projects.

Helpful article with formulas for figuring out how much time it takes to develop eLearning.

This is defiantly a tool I need. I don't have enough experience for development estimates. This resource provides realistic guidelines for making these types of estimates.

I loved the task & time chart. It was very specific and helpful. Thank You!

Zoho offers a suite of online web applications geared towards increasing your productivity and offering easy collaboration. Zoho's online office tools include a word processor, spreadsheet application, presentation tool, hosted wiki, notebook, CRM, Database software, etc. I have used it for some of the database applications. They also have a Project Management tool. The collaboration tools could also be used by members of a project team to share documents and to work together on projects. Here is an interesting story that I found on their site: http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1855616,00.html.

The International Journal of Project Management offers wide ranging and comprehensive coverage of all facets of project management. Published eight times per year, it provides a focus for worldwide expertise in the required techniques, practices and areas of research; presents a forum for its readers to share common experiences across the full range of industries and technologies in which project management is used; covers all areas of project management from systems to human aspects; links theory with practice by publishing case studies and covering the latest important issues. Application areas include: information systems, strategic planning, research and development, system design and implementation, engineering and construction projects, finance, leisure projects, communications, defence, agricultural projects, major re-structuring and new product development. Papers originate from all over the world and are fully peer-reviewed, on the 'double-blind' system. In addition, the journal carries conference reports, and book reviews. Topics Covered Include: Project concepts; project evaluation; team building and training; communication; project start-up; risk analysis and allocation; quality assurance; project systems; project planning; project methods; tools and techniques; resources, cost and time allocation; estimating and tendering; scheduling; monitoring, updating and control; contracts; contract law; project finance; project management software; motivation and incentives; resolution of disputes; procurement methods; organization systems; decision making processes; investment appraisal. The journal is published in collaboration with the Association for Project Management (APM) and the International Project Management Association (IPMA) and is their official journal.

Being a project manager can be a stressful job. You are responsible for a project that business people in your organization care a lot about. Someone may have over-committed you, and is now asking you why you aren't on time, within scope or under budget. You and your staff are working together to find solutions as best you can--but within your organization there is no one you can lean on for answers. This is why we built ProjectManagement.com. Our mission is simple: To make project managers more successful. ProjectManagement.com is the experience bridge that fills in the gaps--providing help to project managers in a number of ways. It is a community, your community, for project managers in Information Technology and other industries.

No matter how great we are at creating learning solutions, we will not even get off the ground without the right content and context. Sometimes, working with SMEs can be one of the most difficult parts of the process. This article provides four great suggestions for how to effectively work with your SME.

I like #2. So many times SMEs loose sight of the project objective. :-)

Jenna, these guidelines are simple but powerful. What of the greatest challenges I had on a recent project was to get the SME to back off and take care of the content, not the learning materials. I never really succeeded but it might have helped if I had the #4 guideline instilled in our heads early in the project.

A methodology for managing a project is a logical step-by-step process for successful planning, control and delivery of the project. Typically a methodology in project management describes every step in depth, so that a project manager will know what they will need to do in order to deliver and implement the project on time, on-budget and to the customer's satisfaction. The project management methodology developed for the WVU Health Sciences Center is a streamlined approach due to the types of projects that will be managed.

This article provides proof why a little time spent planning your projects can go a long way towards achieving success and avoiding common pitfalls.

This article really summed the ways eLearning projects can go wrong. I found the on on not meeting the needs an interesting problem. The project was either not clearly defined in the begining or the scope changed and then the direction of the project never adapted. good and inlightening read.

This site features a variety of tools and articles on different aspects of the Project Management life cycle. There are tools for communication, time management, project scheduling and strategy. Each article allows you to take a quiz and test your knowledge before going further to explore more information on the topic.

Very informative article from the Harvard Business Review. Using many real life examples, this article reviews the problems and solutions to managing a multicultural team. Problems can be overt such as language and accents to something subtle such as how to deal with conflict. Four categories were identified by the researchers that could create barriers to effective teamwork. These categories are direct versus indirect communication; trouble with accents and fluency; differing attitudes toward hierarchy and authority and conflicting norms for decision making.

I think that one thing that was interesting is that it stresses being careful in how you establish groups and subgroups otherwise you may see a strengthening of differences. It is something that I see in the classroom all of the time. Kids break up based on common culture, language, or backgrounds.

I liked this article with it's straightforward language and steps that make sense. Not only are the concrete requirements such as budget and tools discussed, but the often overlooked teamwork and leader roles are covered. Also on this site are related articles from "An Introduction to Project Management", "The Role of the Project Manager" and many others.

that was a great article. I link the simplification of project management ins beining defined through the who, what, when, where and how. Also they discuss getting participants to commit, that is important or they will not do their part in the project. thanks for sharing.

I like the reminder of several basic but easily forgotten tips. Writing down the objective is key for me. I can become a little too creative at times and end up distracted from the main goal. I like to keep it in sight throughout the entire process. Thanks for a great article!

Project managing e-learning. More is worse! This blog outlines some of the pitfalls that developing E-learning shares with traditional project management as well as some challenges unique to these types of projects. Some solutions are also suggested, mostly dealing with keeping your project plan agile and iterative.

Thanks for posting this article, Brook. Because it talks about elearning being software (tech) development and content development at the same time, it applies to my case study...and because it talks about training struggles, it is reflective of my own work environment too.

This article brings up some valid points that I wish I had read a year or so ago. Originally I thought eLearning was simple converting F2F material for an online environment. At its basic concept it is, but the complexity of this process is much more complicated and resource intensive than I imagined. Those considering the jump from F2F should seriously consider the points of this article and the affect on their organization resources. Thanks for the info.