This is part 2 of a 3-part series about managing cross-cultural and international teams. Missed part 1? Read it here. Project managers taking on international projects face a variety of practical challenges. For example, time zones are important. How will you conduct real-time team meetings? Who is going to be the person who gets up…
This is the first in a 3-part series about managing cross-cultural and international teams. The world of business is continually shrinking: we work in an environment with real-time audio visual communication with colleagues on the other side of the world and online translation tools. Even small companies can operate internationally with outsourcing agreements and partners…
Firstly, a big SORRY to Anthony Mersino. Anthony sent me his book at the end of last year and it has taken me forever to get around to posting a review. That’s not because I haven’t read it. On the contrary, as soon as it arrived I picked it up and then couldn’t put it…
I thought I’d share with you the official write-up of the fab gala dinner at last week’s conference. They timed the speeches between the courses, so it meant people didn’t leave their dinners to get too cold while they went up to present or collect awards – only at a project management event are things…
Andrew Ball, head of IT Performance Audit at the Audit Commission, was one of the speakers at last week’s BPUG Congress. He spoke during a session in the strategic project and programme management strand about how to cope when projects go wrong. The main thrust of his argument was trying to avoid projects going wrong…
I was at the International Congress for Project, Programme and Risk Management last Wednesday and Thursday and listened to some really interesting speakers. Liz Underhill, Programme Manager for the London Olympics Programme, spoke early on the first day about the progress so far on planning for the Games. What struck me about her role is…
We are moving offices (it feels like only yesterday that I last did an office move – from beautiful Avenue Matignon to crummy La Défense), so I decided to clear out my desk drawers before the crates arrive. There is a whole lot of stuff in there that should be sent for archiving or just…
Jonathan Lazar makes the point, in the preface of this book, that universal usability helps all users. Computer interfaces that include usability features come with a solid business case to support e-commerce spend, as they improve hit rates and support access across a variety of technologies including mobile devices. Universal Usability is a collection of…
It’s the time of year to prepare for annual performance appraisals. I did some research for Projects@Work recently, and wrote an article for them about how project managers could best arm themselves for the dreaded one-to-one with their line manager. I ended up in contact with loads of experts, more than I could fit in…
Each week Computing and Computer Weekly rehash old material about how important it is to get more women working in IT and how terrible it is that there is unfair treatment in the workplace. I’m sure there is unfair treatment in many workplaces, although I’ve been fortunate enough never to experience any. And reading about…
Looking for a present for the PM in your life? She might appreciate some of these gifts: Vouchers for Starbucks or her local coffee shop — for keeping going when steering group reports are due A subscription to Shattered A retractable powder brush, so the inside of her handbag doesn’t get messy, and a fix-all-hide-all…
I listened to Rich Maltzman talking about his forthcoming book Fiddler on the Project (co-authored with Ranjit Biswas) on Controlling Chaos, way back in July. We’ve been corresponding since, trying to find time to talk about project management and authoring. I finally got round to asking him some questions last week, and from the sounds…