Project Management Knowledgebase

This is a nice simple overview on how to set up your WBS. The narrator also has a lovely British accent which makes it a little more fun.

That was a great way of explaining the WBS and demonstrated what should be included in the WBS thanks for sharing this.

Another good addition here. I learned a few new things about creating a WBS, such as using SMEs to decompose work below the package level.

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

Great product for collaborating. Keep track of your projects and collaborate with your colleagues securely through an intuitive user interface.

Use this with your team. It is an innovation tool used to help generate creative thinking, planning and organize ideas.

Good article, I heard of four of the styles but 2 were new to me. Affiliative and pacesetting were interesting. I like the affililiative as they are team focused and work to lead a cohesive unit. I didn't care for the pacesetting but do see how in some situation they can be useful like with government regulations. Thanks for sharing the article.

This is a task management web application based on agile methodology. It has a great visual and clean user interface which makes it easy for anyone to understand and use. The features of Trello are easy to use, such as the drag and drop of tasks/cards. This can be easily used for agile requirements gathering as well.

And it's Free! I like the clean look of the software. I might give this a go for my upcoming move. Thanks for posting.

The cards really remind me of the Scrum model.

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.

Jeff Sutherland created Scrum, so go to the source. He and Ken Schwaber wrote and currently maintain this guide.

I am very interested in Scrum. Thank you for posting. I also found this site: http://www.projectsatwork.com/.

I like scrum simply because I want the title of Scrum Master.

Here's everything you need to know to set up a project management group in your organization. I have included links to several free tools-spreadsheet, sample business case document, and PowerPoint slides-to help you.

Nice article Victoria. They make setting up a PMO sound so easy! Could very well be the case in a smaller organization. Taking on something like this in a larger organization can be a challenge. Thanks for the post!

Assumptions of project management-oriented ID models are challenged.

Interesting discussion about how Agile and traditional ID roles can be integrated. Thanks for sharing. I often wonder about how ID work can be done at a faster more "agile" pace.

A blogger whose mission is to bring together thought-leaders from Project Management, Organizational Change Management, Psychology, Social Science, and Neuroscience to share their insights and inform how we can effectively manage today's complex projects.

Project Management Techniques by Dick Billows - podcasts - for those of us who prefer a more auditory learning style, or who want to learn something while working out or driving. Some do include video, though. These podcasts contain all the basics and some additional perspectives and techniques to aid effectiveness.

I know someone posted about google docs, but this resource contains many apps that can be used within the Google docs framework, so you can more easily collaborate, but still have a framework to start with.

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.

This is a web application tool for resourcing a project and better understanding company-wide resource allocation. From a user testimonial: "The only downside is that it is Flash based and it has been known to crash within certain browsers and especially on a Mac. In saying that, the company that developed this is constantly pushing out bug fixes and new feature sets." o Report Feature.

This is very similar to Trello and is a web app. It allows a PM or project staff to track requirements, meetings, commitments, new ideas, etc. Acceptable for the Agile methodology and also has reporting features.

This is another article that explores the potential of leveraging the Agile PM methodology in the ID world.

I like the prictorial way they represent this design modle. This looks like a nice way of organizing the PM role.

D-cube! Design, Develop, Deploy. I like this simplified version of ADDIE. It fits with rapid design and since the only way we know if a product works is to test it, then you might as well get it out the door and get some feedback which you can then feed into the iterative process of making it better.

A video chat with Michael Allen about "leaving ADDIE for SAM" (also the subject of his latest book). The gist of this is about adopting an agile-like development methodology in instructional design.

A review of one of the latest PM tools available, Todoist. Recommended by the author as an effective tool for managing tasks and projects. May not necessarily be great for teams though, it seems to be more of a personal task manager.

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.