What are the 

Project Management Blind Spots?

Subject matter experts or accidental project managers who are well intentioned but lack project
management training and experience often run most development projects. They often have “blind spots”
and are unaware of best-practice techniques to manage projects more effectively. Here some of the most
common blind spots that new and seasoned project managers need to focus.
 
Scope control
The most important process area in project management is scope. It is defined as “the sum of the products,
services, and results to be provided as a project.” While most project managers may understand this, they
don’t always understand that it is their job to both help define and manage the scope — and ensure that the
scope change is managed in a way that it doesn’t negatively impact the project’s objectives. The project
must consist of only those deliverables necessary to achieve the goal.
 
Participative planning
Many new project managers believe the developing the project plans is their exclusive responsibility. In
fact, it is a team effort. They need to conduct a joint planning session with the project’s primary
stakeholders to gain consensus about what the project’s approach is. This session should be led, if
possible, by a trained facilitator who can not only assist in eliciting ideas but helps coordinate the
recommendations into the final plan
 
WBS
These joint sessions should produce a planning document that includes in-scope and out-of-scope
statements, a work breakdown structure (WBS), which is “a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition
of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required
deliverables. It organizes and defines the total scope of the project.” The WBS is a vital part of the scope
baseline and is. Together with the scope statement, the WBS becomes the foundation of the baseline,
against which you can more effectively manage scope.
 
Stakeholder analysis
In addition to upfront scope planning, stakeholders should be involved as much as possible in changes,
risks, and any other project-threatening issues. This requires the project manager to perform a stakeholder
analysis to better understand each stakeholder’s interest and investment in the project.
 
Change management
When stakeholders within and outside the organization attempt to make changes to the project, the result is
often scope creep, defined as “adding features and functionality without addressing the effects on time,
costs, and resources or without customer approval.” The issue is not that the scope should never change
but that the change, if required, be handled in the most efficient way possible. Each project should have a
change control board that reviews all proposed changes to ensure they reflect the project’s objectives.
Once a change is approved, the project manager must issue a new schedule, cost estimates, and resource
requirements.
 
Want to learn more? Register on the next session of our online course Adaptive Project Management and
start building your management skills. Register here https://apm4dev.eventbrite.com/?aff=mailchimp

Benefits of a Project Management Methodology

Project management can help development organizations meet their strategic goals by standardizing
processes, reduce risks, and avoid duplication of efforts, to ultimately increase the impact of their
interventions.

Project Management is more than just implementing the activities identified in a log frame, it includes
managing all the components required to effectively manage a project from its resources, risks and
changes, to ensure that the project meet its objectives within the expected quality, timeframe, and budget,
at the same time of meeting the expectations from stakeholders.
Organizations that use Project Management Methodology have a structured process to manage all type of
projects and increases their chances of success. By adopting a Project Management Methodology
development organization are able to:

 Quickly adapt to new challenges and invest limited resources in the best way possible in order to
achieve recurring successes.
 Build a successful Project Management culture that will enable the effective utilization of the project
management methodology
 Expand the skills of project managers, and give them a holistic understanding and a solid
foundation to manage their projects efficiently
 Reduce risks and increase the chances of project success
 Increase the motivation of the project team, and increase their productivity
 Deliver more projects on time, and within budget that meet or exceed the expectations of donors,
beneficiaries and project stakeholders

There are many ways that a project management methodology can help reduce the significant risks of
projects present to organizations of all sizes.  A good methodology can be applicable to any type of project,
the same method can be used repeatedly in an organization with lessons learned used to adapt the
methodology.
 

Want to learn more? Register on the next session of our online course Adaptive Project Management and
start building your management skills. Register here https://apm4dev.eventbrite.com/?aff=mailchimp

Benefits of a Project Management Methodology

Project management can help development organizations meet their strategic goals by standardizing
processes, reduce risks, and avoid duplication of efforts, to ultimately increase the impact of their
interventions.
Project Management is more than just implementing the activities identified in a log frame, it includes
managing all the components required to effectively manage a project from its resources, risks and
changes, to ensure that the project meet its objectives within the expected quality, timeframe, and budget,
at the same time of meeting the expectations from stakeholders.
Organizations that use Project Management Methodology have a structured process to manage all type of
projects and increases their chances of success. By adopting a Project Management Methodology
development organization are able to:
 

 Quickly adapt to new challenges and invest limited resources in the best way possible in order to
achieve recurring successes.
 Build a successful Project Management culture that will enable the effective utilization of the project
management methodology
 Expand the skills of project managers, and give them a holistic understanding and a solid
foundation to manage their projects efficiently
 Reduce risks and increase the chances of project success
 Increase the motivation of the project team, and increase their productivity
 Deliver more projects on time, and within budget that meet or exceed the expectations of donors,
beneficiaries and project stakeholders

There are many ways that a project management methodology can help reduce the significant risks of
projects present to organizations of all sizes.  A good methodology can be applicable to any type of project,
the same method can be used repeatedly in an organization with lessons learned used to adapt the
methodology.
 
Want to learn more? Register on the next session of our online course Adaptive Project Management and
start building your management skills. Register here https://apm4dev.eventbrite.com/?aff=mailchimp

Email Etiquette - The value of good email

communications
All your professional email communications needs to make an impression that you are someone that will be
easy and a pleasure to work with and that you are a credible professional.  With email, you only have one
chance to make that first impression which will be invaluable to building trust and confidence. It’s very
common that your first contact with other people will often be through email. In fact, while you may never
actually meet them face to face, you might well end up having a productive ongoing email and professional
relationship with them for years. 

These are three reasons why you need email etiquette:

 

 Avoid confusion, poorly worded emails can lead to misinterpretation or mistake

 Efficiency: emails that get to the point are much more effective than long emails.
 Professionalism: by using proper email language you will convey a professional image

Here are some simple rules of email etiquette you can follow in order to make sure your emails will be
warmly and productively received.
 

 Check your organization’s email policy is. Many organizations have rules about the types of
message that can be sent and also if your email is monitored or screened
 Make sure your e-mail includes a courteous greeting and closing. Helps to make your e-mail not
seem demanding or terse.
 Address your contact with the appropriate level of formality and make sure you spelled their name
correctly
 Spell check - emails with typos are simply not taken as seriously
 Read your email out loud to ensure the tone is that which you desire. Try to avoid relying on
formatting for emphasis; rather choose the words that reflect your meaning instead
 Be sure you are including all relevant details or information necessary to understand your request or
point of view
 Refrain from using the Reply to All feature to give your opinion to those who may not be interested.
In most cases replying to the Sender alone is your best course of action
 Type in complete sentences. To type random phrases or cryptic thoughts does not lend to clear
communication
 Always acknowledge emails from those you know in a timely manner
 Be sure the Subject: field accurately reflects the content of your email
 Keep emails brief and to the point
 Always end your emails with "Thank you," "Sincerely," "Best regards" 
 Avoid unnecessarily large file sizes. Digital photos especially, learn how to resize your digital
photographs
 Don't type in CAPITALS as this is considered to be SHOUTING. This is one of the rudest things you
can do.
 Use BCCs (Blind Carbon Copies) when addressing a message to a group of people who don't
necessarily know each other
 Don't write anything you wouldn't say in public
 Be Professional, stay away from abbreviations and don't use emoticons (the little smiley faces).
 Ask Before You Send an Attachment: Because of large size attachments or computer viruses, many
people won't open attachments unless they know the sender, ask the recipient first
 Think before you forward! Get the sender's permission first
 Don't send confidential or secret information through email. Email messages are more like
postcards than sealed letters; they pass through many computers to get to their destination.
Remember, the content of an email includes the character of the person who wrote it, so try to make a
good impression every time.