Project Management Articles
Article Source: Project SmartTop Five Communication Skills for Project Managers Research among project managers globally identifies top communication skills for leading teams. Leading people - the experiential side of project management - is as important as task-based skills according to project managers in Europe, the Middle East, India, America and Australasia. In recent research they said that communication is a critical skill for project success, both for keeping team members up-to-date and for winning the support of key stakeholders. But which skills make all the difference? Here are the top five respondents say have made all the difference to their careers. Read article |
Understanding the Software Development Process The software development process has undergone drastic changes over the years. Initially only requiring a developer to write the code of the software, advances in the industry have expanded development into a more complex process. Involving architects, analysts, programmers, testers and users to develop code, it is now capable of delivering more advanced results. You can avoid some of the most common problems that occur with software development by understanding the three most common reasons for project failure. Read article |
Leading Meetings with Multicultural Audiences With the increasing prevalence of virtual teams that span the globe, multicultural audiences are becoming more common. Meeting leaders must be poised to meet the unique needs of these groups. One of the key roles of any meeting facilitator is to create a safe environment where all participants feel valued and included. When the meeting includes participants representing a variety of different cultures and backgrounds, this can be somewhat challenging. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when leading a session with a multicultural audience. Read article |
Facilitating a Requirements Validation Meeting with Ease! Ensuring that a requirements document is accurate, complete and fully supported by key stakeholders can be critically important. Unfortunately, requirements validation sessions can be protracted and challenging. Oftentimes, the goal of the session is to gain agreement among various stakeholders on a lengthy, detailed requirements document. This can certainly be a tall order, but it can be done! Read article |
How Do You Project Confidence Leading Meetings When You're Really Not? Oftentimes we're thrust into situations where we're expected to lead a meeting, and we may lack the confidence we think we should have. Maybe we're not confident because we're new to the organisation, possibly we're not as knowledgeable about the subject matter, or maybe we're not as senior as some of the attendees. There are a whole host of reasons why we may experience feelings ranging from slight intimidation to downright terror!! Don't fret, here are a few simple tips to help you when you need to lead a session with confidence! Read article |
How Do You Help the Group Reach Consensus When They Simply Don't Agree? Do you ever feel that you're herding a group of feisty cats instead of leading a meeting because your team members simply can't agree? Well, take comfort in knowing that this common problem plagues most meeting facilitators at one point or another. Indeed, if your group is disagreeing vehemently (but respectfully), that's a sign of healthy conflict, congratulations, you're likely on your way to some great ideas and solutions! Unfortunately as meeting facilitators, we often need to guide the group towards a consensus decision and oftentimes that just doesn't seem possible. The good news is that reaching a consensus decision does not mean that a two hour session must turn into a two week session, or worse, a real knock down drag out. Let's explore a few tips you can use the next time you're faced with this situation. Read article |