Conflict is inevitable in a project environment. There’s always competition for resources, incongruent requirements, break-downs in communications and many other factors that could become a source of conflict.
On a project conflict can lead to dysfunctional outcomes. However, if you actively manage conflict, it can actually help the team arrive at a better solution.
The Infographic below provides a good summary of many possible causes of conflict on projects.
Conflict Management
To manage conflict in a project environment, involves building trust for all parties to be open and honest and to engage in seeking a positive resolution to the situation creating the conflict. A Project Manager needs to strive to establish a collaborative approach among team members involved in order to fully resolve the problems.
If a collaborative approach is not possible, you need to use other management styles for handling the conflict, like assertiveness, accommodation, avoidance or compromise. Conflict is one of the biggest challenges a Project Manager faces on projects. You need to draw upon all your interpersonal skills to lead the team to a successful resolution.
A few things I have learned over the years are the importance of staying calm, to keep confident and allow parties to vent their frustration, but also ask them to come forward with possible solutions. It’s best not to be defensive, or apologising, or getting worked up in a situation of conflict. You need to develop a thick skin and try not to take things personally.
Also, don’t escalate people every time you have conflict, that’s also deferring the problem. Only escalate if you have tried to collaboratively solve the conflict and there’s still a break-down in communications or trust. Then you’ll find that senior management is very supportive in giving assistance to resolve the conflict.
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There are many strategies one can implement to improve your project management skills as long as you remember to keep a balance between hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are easier to learn and refer to tangible technical skills like scope management, planning and scheduling and assessing and responding to risks. On the other hand, soft skills are more difficult to teach, because they are less tangible and harder to quantify and measure. They refer to skills such as empathy, influence and emotional intelligence.
Top 3 Tips for improving Soft Skills
Make the commitment to learn and improve
Put yourself in situations where you can practice
Evaluate your progress and adjust as needed
Hard and Soft Skills Balance Infographic
Below you will find an Infographic from Brandeis University explaining these concepts really well.
There are many possible topics covered in the Project Management Professional (PMP)® Exam. Undoubtedly you would use the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition as your primary resource as it is the globally recognized standard and guide for the project management profession. However, it does not cover every possible topic that the PMP Exam may touch on. One of those topics is Opportunity Cost.
Here we will explain why as a project manager you need to understand Opportunity Cost, beyond that it may be on the PMP Exam, and what exactly Opportunity Cost is. We will also give an example of an Opportunity Cost question.
Project Selection
Why does a Project Manager need to understand Opportunity Cost? It is very possible as a Project Manager you will be charged with project selection at some point in your career. You will need to make sure you evaluate and select projects based on your organization’s goals and needs to ensure returns are maximized as well as opportunity costs are minimized. As part of the project selection process you will need to evaluate where to best utilize valuable resources such as specific skill sets, time and money. Allocating these resources to a specific project prevents their use for other projects at the same time, after all an organization only has so many resources and needs to take on projects with the highest potential for success and the greatest return.
Potential Future Return
What is Opportunity Cost? Opportunity cost is the loss of potential future return from the second best unselected project. In other words, it is the opportunity (potential return) that will not be realized when one project is selected over another. For example if Project X has a potential return of $25,000 and Project Y has a potential return of $20,000, then selecting Project X for completion over Project Y will result in an opportunity cost of $20,000. That is the “loss” of not completing Project Y.
Sample Exam question
Herewith an example of a PMP Exam sample question around Opportunity Cost:
“You are part of a project selection team evaluating three proposed projects and you need to select the project that would bring the best return for the organization. Project A has an NPV of $25,000 and an IRR of 1.5, Project B has a NPV of $30,000 and an IRR of 1.25, and Project C has an NPV of $15,000 and an IRR of 1.5. What would be the opportunity cost of selecting Project B over Project A?”
$15,000
$5,000
$25,000
$30,000
The correct answer is C. Opportunity Cost is the potential return of the project not selected. In this case we did not select Project A, so it is $25,000. There is extra unrelated information in this question; IRR is not relevant when evaluating opportunity cost. Once all of the unnecessary information is filtered out the questions is simply asking what is the dollar value associated with Project A.
Opportunity Cost simply comes down to the benefits or returns that are passed up when one project is selected over another.
Understanding what Opportunity Cost is may or may not be necessary when taking the PMP Exam. Even if questions about Opportunity Cost are not on your PMP Exam it is still important for you as a Project Manager to understand Opportunity Cost as it is a method for selecting one project over another especially when valuable resources are limited.
As a Project Manager it’s important to differentiate between project management methodologies and standards. Here are 7 questions to help define what a methodology and a standard is, based on a summary of the best information I could find and what I know from experience.
#1 What is a methodology?
A methodology is a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out to deliver projects. It tells you what you have to do, to manage your projects from start to finish. It describes every step in the project life cycle in depth, so you know exactly which tasks to complete, when and how.
The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.
#2 What is a standard?
A standard is “a collection of knowledge areas that are generally accepted as best practice in the industry”.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) developed the Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3) – now a globally recognized standard – to enable organizations to identify, measure and improve PM capabilities, standardize processes, help solidify successful project outcomes and ultimately determine best practices and strengthen the connection between strategic planning and execution. OPM3 focuses on overall organizational strategic effectiveness and incorporates project, program and portfolio management. This standard was updated in 2008 and again in 2013 and is recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as an American National Standard.
#3 What is the difference between a methodology and a standard?
Standards give you industry guidance, whereas methodologies give you practical processes for managing projects. Standards are not methodologies, and vice versa. The two most popular standards are PMBOK and Prince2.
#4 Why use a methodology?
A project methodology should help you by giving you a clear process for managing projects. After you have customised it to perfectly fit your environment, your methodology should tell your team what has to be completed to deliver your project, how it should be done, in which order and by when.
#5 What should be included in a project management methodology?
When you buy a project methodology, it should give you:
A core set of processes to follow for delivering projects
A set of templates to help you build deliverables quickly
A suite of case studies to help you learn from past projects
An option for customizing the methodology provided
The ability to import your existing processes into it
#6 What a project management methodology will not do?
A Methodology is not a silver bullet. It will not fix projects by itself or guarantee success and an efficient, effective, experienced project manager is still required to deliver projects successfully. No methodology will be 100% applicable to every type of project. So you will need to customise any methodology you purchase to ensure that it perfectly fits your project management environment.
#7 What are the benefits of using a methodology?
By using a methodology you can:
Create a project roadmap
Monitor time, cost and quality (project triple constraint)
Control change and scope
Minimise risks and issues
Manage staff and suppliers
Of course, you will need to use the methodology that is most suitable to each project you undertake. For smaller projects, you will only want to apply lightweight processes and when managing large projects, you should apply the heavyweight processes to monitor and control every element of your project in depth.
But if you can manage every project you undertake in the same way, then you will gain efficiencies with your approach, work smarter and reduce your stress. You will also give your team a clear understanding of what you expect from them and boost your chances of success.
In order to give you good descriptions of Project Management Methodologies, I have found an Infographic from Wrike, covering the 16 top project management approaches.
In the comments please share the project management methodologies that you have used and tell us more about them.
In my current position at a big Retail Organisation, I frequently need to mentor project managers who are new to the project management profession. They are highly committed to being successful, but they need guidance and support from their managers as well as their peers to learn what is expected from them as project managers. They learn mostly from practice and over time they see that they are capable and like doing it.
In this article you will find 10 skills which are critical competencies to develop in order to become proficient in your path to success. It’s important to know what your strengths and skills are and if they match the skills needed to be a successful project manager.
#1 Be a Leader and a Manager
Leaders share and communicate a common vision (future state or end goal); they gain agreement and establish the future direction. They motivate others.
Managers are results driven and focus on getting work done against agreed requirements. A good project manager will constantly switch from a leader to a manager as situations require.
#2 Be a Team Builder and a Team Leader
Projects are often cross-functional in that they use people who may not have worked together before. It is up to the project manager to set the atmosphere of the team, and to lead them through the various team development phases to the point where they perform as a team.
#3 Be an Excellent Communicator
Being a communicator means recognising that it’s a two-way street. Information comes into the project and information goes out of the project. All communications on your project should be clear and complete.
As a project manager you will have to deal with both written and oral communications. Some examples are documents, meetings, reviews, reports, and assessments. A good mental guideline is “who needs this information, who gathers and delivers it, when or how often do they need it, and in what form will I give it to them”.
#4 Be a Good Organizer
Let’s just think of all the aspects on a project you will need to organize. Start with project filing including all documentation, contracts, e-mails, reviews, meetings, specialist documents, requirements and specifications, reports, changes, issues, risks, etc.
It’s almost impossible to stay organized without having Time Management Skills – so add this to your list!
#5 Be a Competent and Consistent Planner
The skill of planning can’t be underestimated (and neither can estimating!). There are known and logical steps in creating plans. As a project manager you will certainly own the Project Plan, but it must be created with input from the team. Examples are Project Schedules, Test Plans, Risk Management Plans, Hand-over Plans, Benefit Realisation Plans, etc. As long as you’re aware that planning should become second nature to you.
#6 Be a Problem Solver
Fortunately, this is a skill that can be learned.
Firstly, you need to identify the possible ’causes’ that lead to the problem ’symptom’. Causes can come from a variety of sources, some are:
interpersonal problems
internal sources
external sources
technical sources
management sources
communication
opinions or perceptions or politics
Having found the root causes, the next step is to analyze possible options and alternatives, and determine the best course of action to take in order to resolve the problem(s).
#7 Be a Negotiator and Influencer
Negotiation is working together with other people with the intention of coming to a joint agreement. And for all these you need to have some influencing skills. Influencing is getting events to happen by convincing the other person that your way is the better way – even if it’s not what they want. Influencing power is the ability to get people to do things they would not do otherwise.
#8 Set Up and Manage Budgets
At the heart of this is the skill of estimating – particularly cost estimates. Nearly always the project manager will need certain knowledge of financial techniques and systems along with accounting principles.
Part of the Project Plan will be something called the Cost Plan or often called the Project Budget. This will show the planned cost against a time-scale. The PM will want to get involved in purchasing, quoting, reconciling invoices, time sheets, etc.
The project manager then needs to establish what has actually happened as opposed to what was planned and to forecast the expected final costs. This will need to be communicated in status reports and to the Sponsor and Steering Committee.
#9 Customer First Orientation
A good project manager always puts the customer first. You need to understand the customer’s perspective regarding the project. Through empathy and alliance with the client you can manage expectations better and ensure complete customer satisfaction at the end of the project. This is possible even if the project runs over budget or over time.
#10 Knowledge of the Industry and Technology
It’s really advantageous to have technical knowledge relevant to the industry you’re working in. Without needing to be an expert, you need to be up to date with the specific industry issues and technologies important to the project you are managing.
Within these competencies there are numerous behaviours that are dependent on your level of maturity, life experience and emotional intelligence. This is not always possible to fast-track, but will come through years of experience.
One of my favourite motto’s I want to leave with you, that has always helped me on projects, are:
“always be planning, always be communicating and always be building relationships”.
Let us know in the comments what your biggest frustrations are. If you’re an experienced PM reading this, share with us some of your wisdom.
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The traditional methods used in the practice of project management are hindered by a number of drawbacks, which become more pronounced when trying to satisfy the needs that more complex projects often demand.
This article looks at how Agile Project Management aims to address these shortcomings with a more flexible and interactive model which allows an adjustment to requirements and scenarios in a more bespoke way, allowing the user more creativity and a greater level of control.
For an in-depth look of the Agile project management approaches, benefits and challenges, I recommend the Agile Project Management Guide from Simplilearn.
As you will read, one of the founding principles of the system and fundamental differences between Agile and traditional project management is the fact that it focuses on people, relationships and working software as opposed to processes and tools.
Please let us know in the comments what you think and feel free to share the Guide.
From the historic use of project management to build the Pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China, to present day domain knowledge, to the future outlook of project management, this Infographic provides an interesting overview from a UK and International perspective.
Discover more about the PM industry like Professional Bodies and membership, Accreditations, the top sectors requiring specialised domain expertise and the most used PM Methodologies. Lastly a look at the future of Project Management and the importance of developing the entrepreneurial Project Manager.
Project Management Timeline – An infographic by the team at Telegraph Courses
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If you are considering to adopt an Agile Project Management approach, to manage projects more efficiently, you would want to be clear on the trends, the benefits and the challenges that you can expect.
When starting out, I would recommend that you read my article:
It will help you to understand what Agile Project Management is, to discover the 12 Agile Principles, the 7 Stages of an Agile project, the roles, the Organisations and Certifications available, as well as Products to use to become Agile certified.
You should think about developing your organisation’s capability to use an Agile approach as a long term strategy. It is not a quick fix. Plan for your migration to a more Agile approach.
Also have a look at the Agile Report from Software Advice with research on agile project management software features that most drive efficiency, identifying features that are most beneficial for companies, their employees, and overall project success. It provides the trends found among software users implementing Agile project management solutions in 2015.
Key Findings
Some key findings from the Agile Report include:
90% of respondents cited both workflow tracking and story mapping as the most efficient functionalities
89% of respondents cited activity streams as the most used agile features
49% of project managers cite difficulty training as the top challenge of agile software
Agile – Lessons from real Software Users
Find below the summary of the Agile Report based on a survey of project managers on what functionality and features of agile project management software have the greatest impact on a team’s efficiency. Before you make an investment in this software, learn more about how your peers are using these tools so that you can make a more informed purchase decision.
Most experienced project managers know the importance of Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence can be defined as:
“Awareness of one’s own emotions and moods and those of others, especially in managing people.” Source: Collins English Dictionary
Emotional intelligence is often what differentiates great leaders from the people they lead.
Four Pillars
There are generally four pillars associated with Emotional Intelligence, namely:
Self awareness – ability to recognize and monitor our thoughts and feelings.
Self management – ability to think before acting.
Social awareness – being aware of the emotional condition of others.
Social skill – ability to manage groups of people (project teams), building social networks, finding common ground with stakeholders, building rapport.
Don’t get me wrong – I also firmly believe Project Managers, as all people in life, should always be brutally honest!
But do we practice what we preach? Is it still possible and wise to act with integrity in today’s world?
Can you honestly say as a project manager that you always and under all circumstances conduct yourself with honesty and integrity? To me it seems that taking responsibility, respecting others, fairness, and honesty have become virtues that we only subscribe to when it suits us.
None is righteous, no, not one
Sometimes one wonders if even the people that are seen as beacons of honesty and integrity are always that honest. It is so easy to tell a white lie, of course only to save somebody else’s feelings – and most of the time that “somebody else” being ourselves.
Big sins and little sins
It is also so easy to state a half-truth or “forget” to mention the bad news while bluffing ourselves that it is for the best in the greater scheme of things. And what about our duty to understand the truth – when we realise that we acted honestly and in good faith, but that we were mistaken? Does the old saying: ”When an honest man discovers he is mistaken, he will either cease being mistaken, or cease being honest” then also apply to us?
No good deed goes unpunished
Then we also need to consider the practicality of being honest. What will happen to me if I do act with honesty and integrity? Will I be praised and possibly be rewarded by the powers to be in my company? Or will nothing be said publicly while my future prospects dwindle away? As Napoleon Bonaparte once said: “The surest way to remain poor is to be an honest man.”
PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
How are we supposed to conduct ourselves as Project Management Professionals? Of course we all know that we should abide by our code of ethics. But do we really take it serious? Do we live by it every day or do we only take it out and brush it off when we need to prove to others how just and honest we are?
Let’s take a short quiz to see how earnest we are about integrity:
No.
Have you (or will you) ALWAYS and under ALL circumstances:
Yes
No
1
When you discovered errors or omissions caused by others, communicate them to the appropriate body as soon they were discovered?
1
0
2
Confront others who engage in gossip and make negative remarks to undermine another person’s reputation?
1
0
3
Respect the property rights of others, including not making a photocopy (or any other means of reproduction) of any part of the PMBOK® Guide or any other copyrighted work (including songs and movies) without prior written permission of the publisher?
1
0
Score:
3 Marks – You are extremely honest and display high levels of integrity / You were not honest with yourself when you completed this quiz*
* delete whichever is not applicable
Less than 3 Marks – At least you were honest when taking this quiz, and that’s a good start!
How do you feel about this? Should we follow the world or let the world follow us?
********************************
About the Author: Dave Fourie is a dedicated, innovative and people oriented project management trainer with 25 years plus project management experience. For more information about his services, visit his blog, Project Management Training Africa.
This is a reminder of a wonderful free resource for project managers from any industry. The PMXPO 2015, hosted by Project Management.com that took place on 30 April was the biggest event in its eight-year history.
There were several interesting sessions covering various topics from “Redefining the PMO” to “PPM Process Management” and “Agile Leadership practices”. The virtual event sessions are still available on-demand until July 31, 2015. Existing PMP’s can earn up to 6.25 PDU’s for attending.
Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Visit PMXPO 2015 today and enjoy the content.
The PMP certification is one of the most recognized certifications for project managers globally. Many job advertisements list a PMP certification as a mandatory requirement for certain positions. Therefore, if you are serious about your career path as a project manager, nothing should stop you from getting the PMP certification. Fortunately I passed the PMP examination on my very first try, but I became aware of myths about the PMP exam that I would like to address here.
#1: Pick the correct answer
Beware of choosing the correct answer. The PMP exam is a multiple choice question type of exam and out of the 4 answers, you need to choose the BEST (not correct) out of it. This means that you could have four correct answers.
What I did for most of my questions where I really have difficulty answering them is to eliminate the weakest answer and work towards the best one.
#2: You need to be the Jack of All Trades
This is for exam takers who had read too much about PMP tips. You will come to realize that the PMP exam does not have a fixed passing rate and it pretty much covers every process group and knowledge area. Does this mean that you will not pass if you are weak at certain areas? The answer is: “No.”
When I received my PMP exam result, I noticed that I had two areas which are below proficient. This means that even if you are not proficient in a certain area, you can still make it through, but it’s surely not worth to risk, because if you are planning to pass this examination, you should be well prepared.
#3: Four hours is long
The examination lasts for four hours, but for a professional certification like PMP, it is never too much. In fact, I had to miss my last 10 questions, even though I timed myself very well that I must finish at least 50 questions in every hour. The reason for this is that you become tired towards the end of the exam. Therefore, having a good rest the night before is very important.
#4: Finishing the PMBOK is a MUST
Honestly, I had never flipped through more than 50 pages of the PMBOK. The PMBOK is an important piece of document for your reference, but it is not your only source for the PMP exam because the book contains hundreds of pages taking a long time to finish. As a result, I trusted the educational materials from my PMP exam preparation course instead.
This is not a shortcut to success because the materials basically tell me what I need to focus on the 10 knowledge areas of project management and I should refer to the PMBOK on the key areas that I need to focus. Therefore, I still used the PMBOK but most of the time as a reference only.
#5: Practice makes perfect
I can see that many PMP exam takers look around for sample questions for PMP exam and I have to say that it is important but not necessary. Personally, I had never bought or attempt any sample questions of the PMP exam apart from the ones that provided by my PMP exam preparation education. Therefore, you don’t have to buy thousands of questions from the internet just to give you more practice.
It is more important for you to know the project management concepts and framework introduced by PMI. In fact, you only need few sample questions just to familiarize yourself.
#6: Experience matters
Regardless of how many years of experience you have in project management, if you don’t answer the question according to the PMI project management framework, you will fail.
Your experience is not what matters most. Instead, it is your knowledge that determines whether you will pass or not. However, having project management experience does give you an advantage if you put the PMI knowledge first before yours.
#7: Exam tips
Don’t believe all the tips on the internet about PMP exam. Focus on reading the materials that will help you pass your PMP exam.
There is no shortcut to success because:
“Success is a journey, not a destination”
– Arthur Ashe
Can’t agree with me? Drop your feedback in the comment area below. Don’t forget to check out the FAQ of PMP exam.
About the author: Alan Tay is a project manager who runs IT security projects and the owner of Project Detective, a project management blog, where he often publish tips on project management and PMP exam preparation tips. Visit his blog for more information.
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