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When I started in the project management industry in 1984 the concept of a baseline was nothing new.  Indeed, it was a critical element of the first major client deployment of project management software that got my business and my career underway. Even in 1984 baselines were not a big favorite of those in project management.  It was something over the years that I continued to promote.   These days we hear less and less…

It’s quite flattering to find myself featured in the October edition of the PM World Journal. This is a scholarly publication filled with the writings of people who have been in the project management world for some time and has always been a key source of information and education for me. The article is the result of my speaking engagement at the University of Texas Dallas this year at the Annual Dallas at the 14th…

When under pressure, we all tend to retreat to that which is familiar. That’s not just in project management. It’s true everywhere. I’ve been studying a bit of Abraham Maslow thanks to some other ideas I’ve been working on associated to Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Needs”. In 1966, he was quoted in the Psychology of Science as saying “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as…

I’ve been remiss in keeping the blog here on epmguidance.com up to date for which I apologize. With some of the largest projects in my life now winding down, I can refocus on what laughing passes for normal around here. Over the last 6 months I’ve been working closely with the team at HMS on our newest product, TimeControl Project. It launched last month and I couldn’t be more proud of the work that everyone…

In our business we are often asked if data from one system can be integrated to another. There’s almost a pull for people to say “If I can integrate it, I must”. That’s just not true. Let’s look at an example where integrating might cause a negative impact. Years ago I was asked if I could integrate project scheduling data with Outlook. “Look,” said the client who was an IT specialist, “Outlook task data…

I have a mobile phone from Verizon. One day, soon after I’d upgraded my phone, it chirped in the car. “Your Verizon team is ready for you,” it said. I was unnerved. What did they mean? Why are they saying that? Then, I looked up and saw that I was stopped at a red light outside a Verizon store. I was somewhat stunned for a few minutes as I took in this new level of…

The Thanksgiving Day holiday is coming up this week in the United States.  In other countries, holidays are coming over the coming weeks when families have traditionally gathered.  When people describe the expectations for a holiday gathering, the Norman Rockwell Painting “Freedom from Want” is the most common expression.  We have some standard that this painting calls from us.  The painting was done in 1942 in the US during the height of the Second World…

This week I’ve got a treat.  This article was written by Maria Hart exclusively for EPMGuidance.  Hope you like it! Thanks to the Internet, remote working has become more popular than ever before. CIO details that not only has the number of telecommuting workers grown by 140% in the last 15 years, but the companies that do provide remote working options have also enjoyed 20% less employee turnover rates. At the same time, transitioning to remote work…

With money flooding into the economy and huge incentives to get the economy back underway, governments at federal, state and municipal levels are looking for innovative ways to get projects underway.  One of the best already-established paths is the “Public-Private Partnership (PPP).  That’s not to be confused with the other popular PPP acronym at the moment for the US Payroll Protection Plan. What is a PPP? A public-private partnership is a project which is a…

This collection of tips and techniques on project management has been put together by my long-standing friend and colleague David Barrett.  Keys to Our Success is 29 chapters from 29 different perspectives about real life business challenges for project management.  I was privileged to write the chapter called “Between the Tasks”. The book will go on sale January 24th on what Amazon calls “Blitz Day”.  I encourage you to take a look at: http://tiny.cc/fhqkiz. …