You've checked off the last few tasks on your to-do list, submitted the final deliverable, and shaken hands with a group of happy stakeholders. Time to congratulate your project team on a job well done and pop the champagne! Wait, what do you mean the project's not finished? Record lessons learned?? Groan. It can be tough to make time for any retrospective when many urgent new tasks and projects are waiting. And if your team has already moved on to new work, it can be like herding cats to get everyone in the same room again. However, the benefits of recording project management lessons speak for themselves: you can identify best practices for future use and share them with the rest of the company so everyone can learn from others' experiences. Your life gets exponentially easier going forward, and your company becomes more competitive. This article includes a simple how-to guide, along with the downloadable "Project Management Lessons Learned Document" templates at the end, to make the process of recording project takeaways quick and painless. The Importance of a Learning Culture Recording lessons learned is not just a task to be checked off at the end of a project. It's a crucial part of fostering a learning culture within your organization. When teams see the tangible benefits of learning from past projects, they're more likely to embrace continuous improvement and strive for excellence in every project. Creating a learning culture in project management can result in benefits you can appreciate for years. Best Practices for Recording Project Management Lessons Recording lessons learned in project management is a crucial practice that helps in refining project strategies, avoiding repetitive mistakes, and continuously improving team performance. Here are some best practices for effective documentation of project management lessons. Make it a Regular Practice: Don’t wait until the project's end to document lessons learned. Make it an ongoing practice throughout the project lifecycle. This ensures that insights are captured when they're fresh and most relevant. Encourage Open Communication: Foster an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their successes and failures. Open communication leads to more comprehensive and honest insights. Be Objective: When documenting lessons, focus on the situation and the outcome, not on individuals. This helps prevent the process from becoming personal and encourages objective analysis. Categorize Lessons Learned: Organize lessons into project planning, risk management, or communication categories. This makes it easier to reference and apply the lessons in future projects. Use a Standardized Template: A consistent format ensures that all necessary information is captured. This should include the situation description, lessons learned, and recommendations for future projects. Review and Apply Lessons: Regularly review and incorporate the documented lessons into your project management practices. This ensures that the team benefits from past experiences and continuously improves. Remember, the goal of recording project management lessons is to build a knowledge base that contributes to the success of future projects. How To Identify & Record Project Management Lessons Learned 1. Don’t save it all for the end of the project. Attach quick review meetings to project milestones to support continuous learning. Periodic reviews are known to have a positive impact on team motivation, since they'll directly benefit from the lessons learned instead of altruistically passing on tips to other teams. This also means you'll get better quality insights, as people aren't trying to remember what happened weeks or months ago. Plus, it's easy to gather everyone while the project is still active. (This is especially true with contract workers or consultants, who typically scatter once a project ends.) The importance of recording project management lessons will become clear as we work through the rest of the steps. 2. Focus on why and how. A lessons learned document isn’t simply a report or description of the project’s results. Go deeper: what problems did you encounter and how did you solve them? What cause-effect relationships did you notice? What insights did you pick up into how work processes could be improved? 3. Emphasize successes. Which strategies and procedures contributed to success? Knowing what worked well is just as helpful as knowing what didn't! Answer these questions: What should we start doing? What should we stop doing? What should we keep doing? What's still causing us trouble? 4. Evaluate each stage of the project. If you're stumped on where to start, discuss these aspects of the project with your team to get the conversation going and make sure you hit all the important points: Project planning Defining scope & requirements Resource and budget management Risk management Reporting Testing/Revisions Stakeholder communication Team communication Quality of meetings Quality of final project outcome 5. Find consensus. Your whole team should agree on the lessons learned, and everyone should contribute. The people personally involved in the work are the ones with the insights you need! 6. Make takeaways actionable and widely applicable. Once you’ve collected lessons learned with your internal team, you need to repackage them for general use and apply them to your future work. They shouldn't be so specific that they don't pertain to new projects, or so generic that they confuse people. Create a preliminary plan: what would improvements look like, and who would be responsible for making them happen? 7. Make your conclusions accessible. Wouldn't it be a shame to reflect and record lessons learned only to have your insights lost or forgotten? Set up a knowledge base or an intranet where every team can store their lessons learned and access advice from other teams. Learning how to write a project management report will also be beneficial to document all of the project's details and identify potential changes to implement in your next project. Additionally, practicing how to document project management lessons learned is a skill that your entire team will benefit from, which will benefit your organization overall. The Long-Term Impact of Recording Lessons Learned in Project Management Recording lessons learned in project management can profoundly impact an organization's efficiency, productivity, and success. Here's how: Continuous Improvement: Documenting lessons learned fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement. It helps teams to identify what worked well and what needs to be improved, leading to better project outcomes over time. Knowledge Sharing: Lessons learned serve as a valuable knowledge base. They provide insights and guidance for future projects, ensuring teams don't repeat past mistakes and capitalize on proven strategies. Enhanced Decision-Making: With a historical record of lessons learned, project managers can make more informed decisions. They can predict potential risks, foresee challenges, and devise effective solutions, improving the quality of decision-making. Increased Efficiency: Over time, applying lessons learned can streamline project processes, reduce waste, and increase efficiency. Teams become more adept at managing time, resources, and scope, leading to more successful projects. Improved Team Morale: When teams see their experiences are valued and used to improve future projects, morale and motivation can be boosted. It cultivates an environment of growth and learning, enhancing team satisfaction and retention. Recording lessons learned in project management is a strategic investment that pays dividends in the form of improved project outcomes, knowledge sharing, and organizational growth in the long run. Conclusion Recording lessons learned in project management is a strategic activity that reaps long-term benefits. It fosters continuous improvement, enhances decision-making, and boosts team morale. It provides a treasure trove of insights for future projects, ensuring teams evolve and grow from every project experience. Utilizing the provided templates can further streamline this process, making it a standardized part of your project lifecycle. Remember, the wisdom acquired from past projects is a powerful tool for future success. So, keep sharing your insights and tips, and contribute to the collective learning and growth of the project management community. Use these ready-to-use templates to record and share your team's most helpful project tips: Download template #1: Project Management Lessons Learned - Periodic Milestone ReviewDownload template #2: Project Management Lessons Learned - Final Review What are your tips for better project management? We know you've picked up some project management wisdom along the way, so share your tips for recording lessons learned with your fellow readers in the comments! Read Next:The Ultimate Guide to Project ManagementThe 3-Step Guide to Choosing a Project Management Methodology4 Strategies for Dealing with Difficult Stakeholders Sources:Harvesting Project Knowledge, PMTips.net, The-Program-Manager.com, Intland.com
Many people see project management as a complicated tangle of work breakdown structures, spreadsheets, critical path timelines, risk assessments… There’s a reason they give out certifications for this stuff! But as David Allen astutely points out everyone is a project manager — especially on Thanksgiving Day. What size turkey do you need? What if dinner’s ready, but the guests are late? Or they show up two hours early? Is there such a thing as gluten-free gravy? With so many variables to juggle and plans to coordinate, let’s turn to the experts: how would a certified project manager pull off the perfect Turkey Day? Step 1: Define your scope. How big of a celebration do you want? How many guests? Do you want to break out the good china or would you rather have a casual, "grab a plate and have at it" meal? Is dinner served at precisely 4 pm, or would you rather have an all-day, "drop in and grab a piece of pie" affair? Project Manager’s Tip: Don’t do more than you need to. If your guests aren’t going to notice or care about hand-lettered, gold-foiled name cards, don’t waste the time, money, and effort creating them. Step 2: Make a plan. Sort out your menu, whom you’re going to invite, who’s bringing what, figure out the seating chart, create your shopping list. Project Manager’s Tip: Be realistic. Don’t plan a 6-course gourmet feast if you’ve never peeled a potato before. Step 3: Map out your timeline. If you value your sanity, you can’t just fly by the seat of your pants — you need an organized itinerary. Schedule what you’re going to make ahead of time and when. Figure out what time everything needs to go in the oven and in what order for it all to come out at just the right time. Project Manager’s Tip: Do the risky stuff first, if possible. If you’ve never made homemade cranberry sauce, don’t try it for the first time an hour before the turkey’s done. It’ll be less stressful for you and you’ll probably get better results if you buffer in some extra time around any uncertainties. Step 4: Assess the risks. What’s the likelihood your fad-diet-obsessed cousin will be eating Paleo this year? What if someone drops the gravy boat? What do you need a backup plan for, and what can you shrug off? Project Manager’s Tip: Remember that not everything is worth worrying about. If a risk or issue won’t have a major impact on your day, don’t bother bending over backwards to address it. Step 5: Work with your stakeholders. Ah, family. They’re a lovable bunch, but they can be a handful. Your sister-in-law claims she makes the world’s best pumpkin pie, but that's been your mom’s territory for ages. Share your planned menu and let people pick what they'd like to bring. If conflicts arise, be flexible when you can! After all, who's going to complain about two pumpkin pies? Project Manager’s Tip: Communicate early and often to keep surprises to a minimum. Step 6: Collaborate with your team. Most of all, a great Thanksgiving takes teamwork. You’ll need to delegate certain tasks to other people, or count on others to help you if you want to pull off a successful holiday. Besides, people usually want to help out! Project Manager’s Tip: Just because you’re the "manager," doesn’t mean everything has to be done your way. If your sister wants to buck convention and bring a turducken, why not? You never know — it could be the start of a fun new tradition! Step 7: Don’t forget the retrospective. At the end of the day, when your family is drowsy from an overload of tryptophan and carbs, your sink is piled high with gravy-crusted dishes, and the candles are burning low, take a few minutes to reflect on the day and everything that went well. Project Manager’s Tip: Focus on the highlights! Everyone worked hard to make the day successful, so remember to say thank you. It's what the whole day is about! It'll help you fully appreciate a job well done. Ultimately, the important thing to remember is that Thanksgiving is not a day to manage. It’s a day to savor. It doesn’t need to be perfect — and that’s good, because things will go wrong. The green beans may be soggy, and your aunt may still forget to bring the cranberry sauce even though you've reminded her three times. But if you spend the day surrounded by loved ones, laughing and making memories that bring a smile in the year to come, your Thanksgiving project will be a resounding success. So take off your project management uniform and just enjoy it! Have a Happy Thanksgiving, Wrikers!
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… The Death Star projects failed spectacularly. Learn from the Empire’s mistakes and keep your projects from falling to the Dark Side! Check out our new Star Wars-inspired infographic and avoid further destruction by sharing it with all your padawans. You can share this infographic with all your padawans by embedding it on your blog with this code: Wrike Project Management Software> Feel like a Jedi master? Your education doesn't have to stop there. Check out lessons learned from other big project failures or read all the details about the Death Star failures to avoid making the same mistakes!
We’re always looking for fun and creative new ways to use Wrike. The backlog may seem pretty straightforward: stash stuff in there for a rainy day, or if you solve problems with Agile, use it for sprint planning. But there are actually quite a few interesting ways to use the backlog that you may not have considered. Here are 10 different ways to make the most of your backlog: 1. Track High-level Goals. Looking for a product backlog example? Not everything you put in Wrike will be tied to specific projects or individual action items. Keeping quarterly goals, product ideas, and long-term plans in the backlog makes it easy to remember the big picture and see everything you want to accomplish — which can help you prioritize wisely. And if you put these items on your Wrike Dashboard, they'll never be “out of sight, out of mind.” When life gives you a window of opportunity or the stars align, you can instantly say, “Now’s the perfect time to _____!” In the same vein, you can use these backlogged goals as parent tasks. Create every actionable task as a subtask to at least one goal. This shows which long-term effort the work is supporting. Using the backlogged goals this way will help make sure all your time is devoted to worthwhile efforts. 2. Complete Creative Projects. Compose song lyrics or creative writing pieces in your backlog, letting them marinate until inspiration strikes. They’re always at hand when the perfect lyric or headline pops up, and you can take full advantage of the Time Slider (revision history) tool. Since Wrike tracks every keystroke and lets you revert to previous versions, you can let your creativity off the leash and just play without worrying about losing any of the good stuff. The revision history slider is also a pretty cool way to get a timelapse view of your unique creative process. 3. Write Routine Lists. Keep track of wish lists, grocery lists, movies to watch, books to read, bands to check out, and more in your personal backlog. Once they’re in Wrike, it’s easy to share these lists if you choose, and you can view them from your mobile devices. 4. Plan Trips and Events. Say you start planning a trip to one of the destinations on your backlogged “Travel Europe” bucket list. You can easily create a folder to keep track of the growing number of details like itineraries, confirmations, packing lists, maps, guides, and more. And since it’s backlogged, your info is always at hand when you need it (like at the airport). The same goes for planning events: a task called “Plan Jen’s Surprise Party” can easily grow into a folder with invite lists and RSVPs, menus and recipes, gift ideas, music playlists, and more. 5. Stash Your Read Later/Watch Later Items. One of my personal favorite uses for the backlog is to make it my virtual back pocket. I often come across interesting articles, videos, and TED Talks that pique my curiosity while link surfing, typically when I’m researching an unrelated project, or a link shared by a colleague or friend. It’s the kind of stuff I want to keep for reference, or save to peruse when I have more time. Instead of bookmarking it or emailing myself the link, I use the Wrike Chrome Extension to automatically create a task in my dedicated "Back Pocket" folder of Wrike. I backlog the task, take a screenshot of the page if I want, and always have it right there to look at later. 6. Store Your Knowledge Base. The backlog is the perfect spot to keep useful tidbits, whether you’re logging personal reference items (think Emergency Maintenance numbers, contact info for doctors and dentists, a list of good babysitters, that article on magical baking soda cleaning solutions) or sharing professional ones like notes on competitors, administrative passwords, routine IT/troubleshooting tips, vacation schedules/PTO request forms, best practices, and templates. 7. Track Inventory (Like a Librarian). This one we picked up from our customer Tisso Naturprodukte: make Wrike your office librarian! If your office has a stash of books to borrow, you can easily keep track of them using the backlog. Here’s how Tisso Naturprodukte’s system works: each book gets its own task. When someone wants to check it out, they assign it to themselves and set a due date for when they plan to bring it back. Once they return it, they unassign themselves and clear the due dates again. You can also use folder tags to keep track of equipment or supplies, tagging backlogged tasks with their specific location or status. 8. Keep Agendas and Meeting Minutes. If you have upcoming meetings with clients or colleagues, the backlog can be a great place to stash agenda items or reminders for things you’d like to bring up. If they’re shared agendas, two mouse clicks can bring someone else into the loop. Now you can avoid that nagging “I know I was supposed to talk to her about something” feeling, and use the backlog as your personal book of reminders. 9. Log Research. Some projects just don’t conform to a set timeline. Long-term, ongoing research is one of them. Instead of trying to shoehorn these items into rigid deadlines or constantly rescheduling them, simply set up a backlog of tasks. Log every piece of acquired knowledge as a backlogged task in your "Project Research" folder, then rearrange your tasks to create a mind map. You’ll be able to see all the pieces of the puzzle, make new connections, and organize your thoughts or process. A new breakthrough could be just around the corner! 10. Collect Personal Interests/Reminders. Keep a running list of potential weekend activities, personal best mile times, good habits you want to pick up — anything that’s ongoing you want to track or be reminded of. I like to keep a task at the top of my backlog widget on my Wrike Dashboard called “Sit Up Straight!” It catches my eye every time I check my Dashboard and reminds me to work on my posture. Once I’ve kicked that bad habit to the curb, I can replace it with a new one. Your turn! How do you use your backlog? Share your genius tips in the comments!
Performance reviews: dreaded morale-crusher or welcome opportunity for recognition (and a possible raise)? Whichever side you come down on, you can probably agree that there's room for improvement when it comes to employee evaluations. How did this standard practice become so common? Do they really work? The beginnings of performance reviews stretch all the way back to the Industrial Revolution of the 1700s. The 1920s saw a huge shift in employee treatment with the birth of Human Resources, pensions, and minimum wage. Between 1992 and 1997, employee satisfaction with the review process plummeted from 20% to 5%. [inlinetweet prefix="" tweeter="" suffix="via @Wrike"]4 out of 5 workers feel performance reviews don’t accurately reflect the work they’ve done[/inlinetweet]. Take a look at the full infographic below to learn exactly how performance reviews came to be common practice, and how technology will make them more social in the coming years. Source: Walton Illustration Ace Your Next Performance Review Use our collection of productivity tips to stand out as a top performer on your team and wow your boss.
Official memos. Oxfords and briefcases. Informal chit-chat in flat grey cubicles. If you’ve ever worked in for company with a strictly formal culture, you know just how drastically things have changed in the last decade. Casual dress codes, flat management organizations, drinking and swearing at work — companies have started to let loose a little in an attempt to adapt to the desires of a younger workforce and bring more fun to the work environment. Creating a vibrant culture that attracts top talent, inspires your employees and grows your company is leading many organizations to bring a more relaxed, spontaneous, and collaborative atmosphere to their offices. And yet finding the right balance of informality and professionalism can be tricky. Instead of simply planning happy hours and installing arcade games in your break room, focus on these three areas where a more informal—i.e., less rigid—company culture really count. Transparency & Honesty What does strong leadership look like? For many, it means looking like you have all the answers, navigating change with confidence, and being decisive when it comes to tough choices. 26-year-old founder Nathan Latka pushed against all that when his company Heyo was approached with an acquisition offer. Instead of holing up with his core executive team, he made the entire process public — not only to his employees, but to the one million monthly listeners of his podcast. To say it was a risky move is an understatement, to be sure. The lucrative offer may have gone up in smoke. But Latka points to some compelling benefits of being so open with his team: for one, they came up with ideas he would never have thought of and challenged his assumptions and blind spots. It gave his entire company the opportunity to learn from the process, and it gave him the chance to lead with questions instead of answers. Even when he had already arrived at a decision for himself, he went into meetings to listen and ask questions. The result: his team was more invested in the outcome, having spent time analyzing the situation and solution from all angles themselves. Plus, other people brought up opportunities he hadn’t thought of and often either changed or deepened his perspective on things. Good leaders know that open communication is essential for a thriving business. 85% of employees are unsatisfied with the quality of communication at work, and 81% say they would rather “join a company that values ‘open communication’ than one that offers perks such as top health plans, free food, and gym memberships.” It’s not always easy to let your team behind closed doors and admit that you may not know the best course of action, but the payoff is worth it. In the end, Latka's deal went through — and he even signed the letter of intent live on his podcast. Flexibility & Accountability You have to be willing to let your culture change as your company grows, and that requires flexibility. This doesn’t mean that you simply let your company culture define itself — you have to be proactive and intentional in cultivating the best work environment for your team. But you also have to be adaptable, and with more of today’s employees working remotely or requiring flexible schedules, that means reframing how you approach company culture (including remote work culture) and how you measure your team’s contributions. As many others have pointed out, the term “work-life balance” creates a false dichotomy where your work and the rest of your life are in competition, on opposite ends of a spectrum. Companies that recognize their workers’ personal lives not as an inconvenience or distraction, but as an opportunity to enhance employee performance and satisfaction, are able to create a culture of flexibility that results in truly engaged employees. When allowed to set their own hours, research has consistently found that workers are not only as productive as their colleagues with standard office hours, they’re happier, less stressed, and far less likely to consider leaving the company. With more team members working remotely or non-standard office hours, this can mean significantly less face time with colleagues and managers—and it can be easy for company leaders to tend towards micromanagement to ensure that work is progressing as planned and priorities are clear across the team. But micromanagement actually dampens your team's creativity, motivation, and morale. Making accountability an intrinsic part of your company culture allows employees to take ownership over their work and results, resulting in greater productivity, performance, and work satisfaction. Personality & Fun Southwest Airlines is famous for its personable flight attendants who crack jokes and sing songs during instructions and announcements—and for its people-first company culture. As Southwest’s president and CEO Herbert Kelleher says, “What we are looking for, first and foremost, is a sense of humor.” A fun atmosphere builds a strong sense of community among your employees, and it helps counter-balance the stress of hard work. Among companies noted as “great” in Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, 81% of employees say they work in a fun environment. A fun work environment encourages free thinking and creativity, helps people build relationships across teams and departments, and encourages productive collaboration. How to Get Company Culture Right We asked business leaders and founders their secrets for creating a perfect work environment, from hiring to match your values to inspiring employees. Read their advice, then hit the comments to let us know what you think is the key to a thriving company culture.
Why pursue Agile certification? Perhaps your employer is requesting it, or you'd like to pump up your resume. Maybe you just want to learn more, or you're getting ready to join an Agile development team. Whatever the case may be, it's important to note that you don't necessarily need a certification to thrive on an Agile team. After all, credentials alone don't make great programmers, project managers, or Agile practitioners — knowledge, skill, and experience do. But if you're interested in delving deeper into the Agile methodology, learning some high-level applications, and boosting your resume at the same time, certification might be for you. Here's a list of widely recognized organizations offering certification in Agile and its offshoots, Scrum and XP: Agile Agile Certification InstituteTake an exam to prove your Agile expertise and earn one of ACI's 6 professional certifications, including Accredited Agile Practitioner, Accredited Kanban Practitioner, and Accredited Lean Software Development Practitioner.Details: No training necessary; pass the exams and you're certified. You must earn 45 knowledge points every 4 years to maintain certification. International Consortium for AgileChoose from certifications in Agile Programming, Agile Software Design, and Agile Development. Training courses teach participants how to design, develop, and test software while embracing Agile principles like collaboration and adaption to change. In total, ICA offers 13 "Professional" certifications, 8 "Expert" certifications, and 1 "Master" certification (Read the full list of course options).Details: ICA courses typically involve 2-3 days of instruction. Scaled Agile Academy5 certification options, including a two-day Agile Practitioner course that teaches developers to apply Scrum, Lean, and XP-inspired practices to large-scale, Enterprise-level projects.Pre-requisites: 1+ years of experience in software development, testing, business analysis, product management, or project management. Scrum Scrum AllianceLearn the ins-and-outs of Scrum, Scrum software, and the developer's role on the team with the Certified Scrum Developer and certified Scrum product owner program. Take at least five days of formal training from Scrum Alliance REPs, then take the exam to earn certification. (CSD track course list.)Details: Certification is good for two years. Full requirements. Scrum.orgThe 3-day Professional Scrum Developer course sorts students into teams and takes them through the Scrum process, from Scrum tools to completing a sprint to developing software in increments.Prerequisites: Must have studied the Scrum Guide and passed the free Developer and Scrum assessments through Scrum.org's website. Must also have experience with Java and .NET. (Full requirements) International Scrum InstituteComplete their Online Scrum Training Program and take a 50-question, multiple-choice exam to earn the Accredited Scrum Team Member certification.Details: No renewals are required to maintain certification. ScrumStudy6 certification options, including Scrum Developer Certified. This entry-level certification is designed to teach participants the basics of Scrum so they can fully contribute to their projects and teams.Maintenance: Need to earn 25 re-certification credits every 2 years. Extreme Programming (XP) Agile FAQsThe Extreme Week course is a 5-day workshop for development teams who want intensive, hands-on training in XP. Teams will learn how to self-organize, adapt their designs to changing requirements, and make their development process more efficient.Details: The course is delivered to the team online, so a projector & screen are required, along with a designated space for the team to work together. (Full requirements) ASPE SDLC TrainingThe three-day Extreme Programming Workshop teaches participants the essentials of XP and how to implement it. A combination of lecture and hands-on activities helps teams complete planning, development, and testing for a real software project.Details: Since these labs include live coding, some experience with Java or a similar object-oriented language is required to complete the project. Industrial LogicThe 4-day Extreme Programming Workshop teaches participants core Agile principles, including evolutionary design, customer stories, and development tools and strategies.Details: You’ll need a projector, screen, reliable high-speed internet access, and workstations for your team. (Full requirements) If you hold an Agile certification, hit the comments to tell us about your experience! What courses do you suggest?
In the past decade, the number of people connected to the internet has exploded. Now, almost 3 billion people are online, sending over 100 billion emails, posting 500 million Tweets, and watching 3 billion YouTube videos every day — and the numbers keep growing! As more customers flock to the internet to socialize, conduct daily business, and make purchases, marketing departments are also evolving to incorporate new online marketing approaches and teams. With so many new marketing roles, strategies, and tools popping up, it can be tricky to keep track of them all — or understand exactly how they all relate to each other. Click through the Slideshare presentation below to learn the essentials of 5 popular online marketing approaches, then download the full eBook for a complete guide to digital marketing. Beginner's Guide to Online Marketing Download the free online marketing eBook to read tips on creating or improving your strategies, gather new tool suggestions, and get a better understanding of the online marketing world.
Everybody loves a good sequel! The second installment of our Lean video series is here, with all new lessons and 100% more explosions. Okay, not really... but our productivity coach Errette Dunn is back with some dynamite tips to make your daily work more efficient. Watch the video to learn: • How to identify the 7 wastes dragging knowledge workers down • How to cut common wastes and get more done every day • The two essential questions you need to answer to get the most value out of your work Bust through your productivity roadblocks by hitting ‘play’ now! Like this video? Download the PDF guide with a summary of the 7 wastes and share it with your team! More helpful videos are on their way, so subscribe to the Wrike blog RSS feed and never miss a new release! Also Watch: • Product Development Tips from the Wright Brothers (Video)
Marketing Operations is on the rise, with many companies turning to marketing ops teams to make their marketing efforts more efficient and effective. While Marketing Ops is still a relatively new field, its beginnings stretch back to the 1920s, and its evolution through different marketing disciplines provides insights into its importance, benefits, and increasing popularity. Keep reading to learn all about the hot new field that’s been identified as one of the fastest-growing professions in marketing. Share this infographic with fellow marketers on social media, or use this embed code to post it on your own site: Infographic brought to you by Wrike Current Marketing Ops Trends Learn more about marketing ops with this overview of popular strategies and common practices: State of Marketing Operations and MarTech in 2015
Good sponsorship is the #1 driver of project success.[1] Yet fewer than 2 in 3 projects have actively engaged project sponsors.[2] With fewer than 40% of all projects successfully being completed on time, within budget, and to specification/requirements,[3] good project sponsors are needed more than ever. How to Get Effective Project Sponsor Support 1. Make sure project sponsors understand how critical they are to project success. Project failure is costing businesses $109 million for every $1 billion invested.[2] So show execs and sponsors the stats, broken down into dollars and cents, to convince them that they need to be an active part of project leadership — not just a passive observer of the project manager’s efforts and results. 2. Clarify the project sponsor's role & responsibilities. Especially if they're new to the role, your project sponsor may not fully realize what’s expected of them, or what their relationship is to you as the project manager. And if they don't understand their role, there's no way they can fill it successfully. As Ron Rosenhead explains, the project sponsor's job is to monitor progress, help resolve issues, and champion the project to other executives — in general, to be the link between the project manager and higher-ups. A good sponsor smooths the way for timely decisions and access to resources so that the project manager can run the day-to-day without hitting a wall at every turn. But sponsors also maintain objectivity, keeping in mind the big picture of how the project fits into larger business goals and the overall direction of the company. 3. Meet regularly and establish good communication habits early on. Effective project sponsor-to-project manager relationships are like any other: good communication is the key. Whether it's weekly, biweekly, or monthly, set a regular meeting schedule at the start of the project. At the very first meeting, discuss your goals for the project and what each of you will need from the other in order to meet those goals. Use this Project Sponsorship Checklist to guide your discussions and clarify exactly what each of you is expecting from the other. 4. Help garner organizational support for project sponsors. 85% of organizations that responded to Peter Taylor's management survey said they have project sponsors, but then 83% admitted they do nothing to support, train, or guide those sponsors.[4] The result is project sponsors in name only — sponsors who are unclear about how important they are to project success and how they can best contribute to that success. Unlike project managers, there are very few outside resources to help new project sponsors learn the best practices of their new role. Good project sponsorship needs to be a priority across the entire organization, including ongoing training and a proactive approach to sharing best practices and lessons learned. So highlight your project sponsor's contributions when reporting on project success and emphasize how further developing good project sponsors is in the entire organization's best interest. Tips for Dealing with a Difficult Project Sponsor: Whether your project sponsor has too many demands on her time, is having issues navigating shifting business objectives, or simply doesn't make your project a priority, here are a few tips you can use to engage a difficult project sponsor. Communicate the effect on project success. Tell them, "This action (or inaction) is impacting the project in this way; these are our options for resolving it." Approach the conversation from the point of view that you both want the project to succeed and focus on how you can work together to achieve your shared goal. Help sponsors understand that they're the ones either hindering or enabling your access to executive support, sufficient resources, etc., and therefore are just as accountable for the project's success as you are. Look to the higher-ups. Knowing what your sponsor’s boss ultimately wants is the secret to keeping sponsors engaged and on your side. Remind your sponsor that your joint efforts will help keep their boss happy and reflect well on them. What's your advice for working with project sponsors? Share your experiences with fellow project managers in the comments below. Then check out the collective wisdom of the #PMChat community on keys to effective stakeholder management. Learn More About Project Management If you're looking for more resources around project management, then check out The Project Management Guide for Beginners. It's an online guide that takes you through the fundamentals of PM in layman's terms and it's totally free to browse, and bookmark. Sources: 1. PMI, Executive Sponsor Engagement: Top Driver of Project and Program Success. 2014 2. PMI, The High Cost of Low Performance. 2014 3. The Standish Group, CHAOS Manifesto. 2013 4. Peter Taylor, Project Sponsors are from Venus. LinkedIn Pulse 2014. 5. Strategies4Sponsors.com 6. Quickbase.Intuit.com 7. SensiblePM.com, Strategies for Project Sponsorship – #PMHangout21
