How to Manage Project Quality (Without a Quality Plan)
None of my projects have a quality plan, but my teams still deliver quality projects. You don’t need them either when you follow this advice.
Author: Elizabeth Harrin
Elizabeth Harrin is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK. She holds degrees from the University of York and Roehampton University, and several project management certifications including APM PMQ. She first took her PRINCE2 Practitioner exam in 2004 and has worked extensively in project delivery for over 20 years.
Elizabeth is also the founder of the Project Management Rebels community, a mentoring group for professionals. She's written several books for project managers including Managing Multiple Projects.
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Project Management, Women, and India
This is a guest post by Soma Bhattacharya, the project manager behind Stepping into Project Management. I returned home to India to find it very different from what I had left behind 6 years ago. India is growing everyday and considered the hub of outsourcing for IT and other domains. I grew up in a…
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Research shows female project managers earn less (but we might get more maternity pay)
The Arras People 2011 Benchmark Report is out – and the study shows some interesting facts about pay. Pay for female project professionals peaks at the £30k to £40k salary band. Salaries for women over £65k are rare, and only 15% of women earn over £50k. Male salaries plateau between £30k and £50k with 47%…
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Women manage the cheap, small projects: new research on International Women’s Day
2011 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. Today, people all over the world are celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. And they are also eating pancakes, as this year IWD falls on the same day as Shrove Tuesday. Women have an important part to play in…
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PMI Launches Agile Certification
Agile techniques are increasingly important to project managers and the organizations they serve, and PMI® hasn’t been blind to this fact. There was enough publicity about Agile at the Global Congress in Washington, D.C. last year that I don’t think it is much of a surprise the PMI has chosen to embrace agile practices and…
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Good service, bad service
“Good morning, Elizabeth,” says the man at the coffee stand. “The usual?” “Yes, please.” I fiddle with my purse to get the correct change. “Sorry, I don’t have enough money,” I say. “I’ll just go to the cash machine.” I leave the counter and cross the street to the nearest cash point. When I get…
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Making an impression (but not in a good way)
In February 2011 I fell off the stage while giving a presentation. I was talking about using social media on projects to PMI’s UK Chapter, giving The Presentation With The Mixed Feedback that I also delivered at the PMI Global Congress in Washington the year before. The event was hosted in the wonderful Thomson Reuters…
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The Value of Contract Management Fundamentals for Every Project Manager
This is a guest post by Rick Graham, an instructor with ESI International. During the late 1910s and early 1920s, the Ford Motor Corporation constructed the world’s largest industrial complex along the banks of the Rouge River in Dearborn, Michigan. Henry Ford’s vision of mass production included not only the first production lines, but also…
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Can we use Facebook to manage projects?
“What about Facebook for project managers?” is a question I’m asked a lot when I talk to people about social media tools for project managers. As you know, I’m a big believer in the benefits that social media tools can offer project managers. But when I’m asked about Facebook I always say that I don’t…
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Managing a Film Project
How do you keep the production of a film on time, on budget and on scope? In this video I discuss these issues with short film producer, Michael Savva. Elizabeth Harrin: Well, hello! I’m Elizabeth Harrin from A Girl’s Guide to Project Management and I’m here today with short film festival finalist, Michael Savva. And…
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2011: The Year to Get Registered or Chartered?
APM has been campaigning for Chartered Project Professional status for some time. It hasn’t happened yet, and they have now brought out Registered Project Professional status. I think this is a watered-down version of being Chartered, and it might reflect their frustration at the Chartered process taking so long. APM Registered Project Professional (RPP) is…
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The winning side: project management at Lloyd’s Register
“I left school with minimal qualifications,” said Roger Clutton, Programme Director at Lloyd’s Register Group Services Ltd. “I was probably programmed to feel not good at things.” Clutton is the self-confessed project manager for “horrible projects” at the risk management organisation which provides risk assessment and risk mitigation solutions across the UK. Lloyd’s started out…
