23 Project Management Books for All Experience Levels
You only have so many hours in the day, and precious few of them are your free time. So while you want to learn more about project management — either to pick up new skills or sharpen the ones you’ve already developed — you don’t have unlimited hours to read every book on the subject. Which project management books are best for your experience level? Which are actually relevant to the work you do every day? And most importantly, will they put you to sleep mid-sentence? While we posted some of our team’s must-read project management books in this article, we’ve since expanded our library with a few new favorites. From project management software professional services to team leadership, take a look and pick up a few to add to your work bookshelf. 23 Project Management Books for All Levels Beginners & Accidental Project Managers 1. The Project Management Answer Book - Jeff Furman, PMPThis quick reference guide is in question-and-answer format, so you can easily look up solutions to common problems and find the full answers you need right when you need them. This book is also useful as a supplement to formal PMP exam prep. 2. Project Management for Non-Project Managers - Jack FerraroThis book decodes project management terminology and techniques to make the topic accessible to complete beginners — useful even to experienced managers who simply don’t have formal training in project management and need an intro to the language and theory. 3. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management - Eric VerzuhProject management is a broad field with many different approaches and applications. If you're looking for a thorough yet high-level overview of the discipline, pick up a copy of "The Fast Foward MBA in Project Management." It's used in many graduate-level courses and within larger corporations to train project managers internally. 4. Project Management Absolute Beginner's Guide (3rd Edition) - Greg HorineCovers every aspect of project management, from the responsibilities of project managers to planning and executing the project itself. You'll learn about Work Breakdown Structures, defining a project schedule and budget, controlling deliverables, managing issues and risks, leadership and communication skills, working with stakeholders, and more. 5. Project Management JumpStart - Kim HeldmanFor beginners just getting their feet wet (or getting thrown straight into the deep end) this book explains core project management principles in the context of typical issues and real-world scenarios. It also contains an overview of PMBOK, the bible of project management. 6. Project Management Lite: Just Enough to Get the Job Done...Nothing More - Juana Clark CraigWant a no-frills introduction to basic project management? This book presents the foundation of the field in plain English for those who just want a quick primer before learning more. Advanced & Experienced Project Managers 1. Strategic Project Management Made Simple: Practical Tools for Leaders and Teams - Terry SchmidtProjects fail all the time, whether due to faulty strategies or uncontrollable circumstances. Use the strategies in this book to build a strong project plan that sets your team up for success. You'll start by asking four questions: What are we trying to accomplish and why? How will we measure success? What other conditions must exist? How do we get there? 2. Neal Whitten's No-Nonsense Advice For Successful Projects - Neal WhittenPacked with useful insights, tips, and best practices, Whitten encourages readers to take ownership of their projects in order to distinguish themselves as capable and reliable project managers. Take advantage of Whitten's 30 years of experience to set yourself apart and accelerate your career. 3. The Deadline: A Novel About Project Management - Tom DeMarcoLearn about project management and enjoy a fun read with this fast-paced novel. Follow the story of Tompkins, a project manager who’s kidnapped and presented with an impossible deadline. His solution is unconventional: with a huge staff of software developers at his disposal, he splits them into eighteen teams. Each team uses a different method, testing different project management assumptions and approaches. Pick up tips to effectively manage your projects while enjoying an entertaining page-turner. 4. The Lazy Project Manager: How to be Twice as Productive and Still Leave the Office Early - Peter TaylorLaziness is a virtue? Peter Taylor shows how laziness can translate into greater efficiency, increased focus, and better project outcomes. Apply the Pareto principle to find out which 20% of your workday really matters, and learn how to work smarter to achieve sustainable work/life balance and optimum productivity. 5. Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure - Todd C. Williams, PMPAt some point in your career, you’ll find yourself managing a project that’s floundering. Whether or not you’re able to pull it out of a tailspin is one thing, but learning from what went wrong — and learning from others’ mistakes — is the key to continuous improvement and future success. When you’re in crisis mode, reach for this book to assess the core problems and create an action plan. 6. Project Retrospectives: A Handbook for Team Reviews - Norman L. KerthThe best project managers make constant improvement a top priority, conducting retrospectives at the end of each project to identify lessons learned. Follow the roadmap Kerth outlines to identify what went well and what you can improve to make your processes and teams even stronger. 7. Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (11th Edition) - Harold R. KerznerAt 1,200 pages, this is not a book you’ll read in one sitting or casually peruse during a quick work break. But it is recognized as an in-depth, go-to reference for all things project management, from measuring project ROI, establishing business justification, managing project sponsorship, and more. 25 case studies in a variety of industries illustrate the principles in real-world situations. When you’re in the middle of a project and a problem arises, reach for this book to find a diagnosis and possible solution. 8. Death March (2nd Edition) - Edward YourdonAt some point in your career, you’ll be tasked with a “Death March” project: an initiative that's sorely understaffed and underfunded, with unrealistic deadlines. While you won’t be able to completely avoid these types of projects, this book will help you survive them with your sanity intact. By understanding the underlying factors, you can find ways to address the root issues, manage expectations, and alleviate pressure on your team. Although it’s written with IT projects in mind, the principles are invaluable for anyone involved in a “Mission Impossible" project. Managing IT & Software Development Projects 1. Rapid Development: Taming Wild Software Schedules - Steve McConnellDon't be fooled by the title: this book isn't about churning out more lines of code each day. It's about finding best practices for your project to achieve faster results. You'll learn how to avoid common mistakes, wrangle project schedules to make them predictable, and achieve greater control over projects. The last section of the book outlines best practices, along with the risks and benefits of each one, so you can pick and choose which are best suited for your specific situation. 2. The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering, Anniversary Edition (2nd Edition) - Frederick P. Brooks, Jr.Author Frederick Brooks Jr. draws from his experience as a project manager at IBM to offer wisdom for leading huge projects and large teams. Although first written in 1975, this newer, expanded version is still considered a classic must-read for anyone managing large projects, especially in IT and software. While the technology Brooks references is outdated, the underlying insights into the common pitfalls of software development and project management remain as relevant as ever. 3. Waltzing With Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects - Tom DeMarco & Timothy ListerNot all risks are bad! Sometimes bigger risks mean greater rewards, and playing it too conservatively means you could be left behind by bolder competitors. On the other hand, being reckless or ignoring possible consequences can mean failure for your project — and your business. This book shows how to identify and take advantage of worthwhile opportunities, recognize common risks, and determine your acceptable level of risk. 4. Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams - Mickey W. Mantle & Ron LichtySoftware developers have a reputation as a quirky bunch, and Mantle and Lichty explain which management strategies will work with developers and why. They'll teach you their tested techniques for managing high-performance and distributed software teams at some of the largest companies in the nation and share what worked and what didn't. Leadership & Management Techniques 1. Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams (3rd Edition) - Tom DeMarco & Tim ListerWith a perceptive look into the how and why behind personal motivation, DeMarco and Lister share tips for assembling a great team and making the most of their time and talents. Rather than defining managers as overseers, DeMarco and Lister stress that a successful manager's main job is removing barriers to productivity so their teams can excel. 2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable - Patrick LencioniTelling the story of a newly-appointed startup CEO and her troubled executive team, this book outlines 5 common disruptive team dynamics: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability, and Inattention to Results. You’ll probably recognize bits of yourself and your team in the story, and you’ll find steps and strategies for improving your teamwork. 3. The Essential Drucker: In One Volume the Best of Sixty Years of Peter Drucker's Essential Writings on Management - Peter F. DruckerNearly ten years after his passing, Peter Drucker is still famous as a leading management expert. This title collects what the man himself considered his essential teachings. Get Drucker’s take on making good management decisions, the difference between efficiency and effectiveness, focusing on contributions over results, and more classic leadership advice. 4. Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values - Lawrence A. CunninghamHow do you become a great leader and establish a company culture where success is sustainable? This book looks at Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet’s $300 billion conglomerate, to show how managers can generate real economic worth from abstract values like frugality, integrity, drive, and independence. 5. Crystal Clear: A Human-Powered Methodology for Small Teams - Alistair CockburnAuthor Alistair Cockburn understands that successful projects come primarily from people, not methodologies or tools. Although the book is on Crystal Clear, a lightweight software development methodology, this book also focuses on how to set up and support your team so they can do their best work. In addition to providing an Agile roadmap, this book will teach you how to free your projects from heavy processes that slow you down and ransack your budget. What's on your bookshelf? Share the titles you've found most valuable in your project management career in the comments! Tip: If Amazon happens to be your bookseller of choice, try ordering your new books through Amazon Smile. Amazon will donate a portion of the price of your items to a charity of your choice. 6 Best Books for New Project Managers Read next:5 Best Project Management Books for Beginners and Accidental PMs15 Books Every Manager Should ReadThe Ultimate Guide to Project Management Credit: Image at top designed by Freepik.
10 Phrases That Can Ruin Your Project Kickoff Meeting
A project kickoff meeting is a lot like tuning a music band before an important gig: set the wrong pitch and even Chopsticks might turn into a cacophony. The fact is, how you get started matters. In the case of a kickoff meeting, a couple of careless phrases can discourage and mislead your team. To help you avoid a sloppy project start caused by poor word choices, we dug in, asked around, and gathered a list of the top anti-favorites of all time. Check out why you need to put these phrases on your blacklist: 1. “We don’t have a defined deadline yet, but we need to finish this iteration ASAP!” Why it’s no good: Our recent survey has showed that 54.6% of employees find deadlines inspiring. So even if you don’t have a precise deadline for the whole project yet, make sure you give an ETA for its milestones. Try this instead: “This project has an approximate time frame of X weeks. This phase needs to be completed by (date). What can we do to finish it faster?” 2. “HOW you do it is not relevant. I just need it done” Why it’s no good: Sometimes a firm approach can energize your team, but uncompromising statements like the one above can only discourage them. We definitely don’t point you to micromanagement instead, but speaking about some basic how-to’s might be handy. Try this instead: “Dave, you’ll be responsible for this part. Follow these guidelines... Please finish it by…” 3. “I want you to give this project 110%.” Why it’s no good: According to team members’ complaints all over the web, they heard this phrase so many times that it has actually lost any motivational ring. Moreover, some employees even find it scary: “I know I will give my full effort. But do they want me to work even harder, longer hours to prove myself?” Try this instead: “Let’s combine our best efforts and do great work — like I know we can!” 4. “We need to start actioning this item.” Why it’s no good: This confusing jargon can leave your team wondering what exactly it was all about. Was this some sophisticated way to say “start working on a task?” Try this instead: “This task is urgent. First thing we need to do is…, then we can proceed to…” 5. “We need to think outside the box as we work on this project.” Why it’s no good: That’s our all-time least favorite phase. Employees find it annoying and extremely overused, and apparently thinking inside the box can be useful, too. Try this instead: “Let’s approach this problem from a different angle," or, "Let’s discuss alternative options.” 6. “Let’s begin this project by grabbing the low hanging fruit first.” Why it’s no good: It’s another overused expression, and some managers admit they even find it embarrassing. Spare your team’s imagination. Keep it simple. Try this instead: “Let’s cover the simple tasks/areas first and then move on to the more complicated ones.” 7. “Tim, aside from the development part, please keep graphic design on your radar.” Why it’s no good: Do you mean “coordinate”, “observe”, or “check on the progress”? Metaphors are great, but there’s no guarantee that you and your colleague will understand it in the same way. Try this instead: “Tim, please coordinate with the design department on this task," or, "Check on the progress with… and report to…” 8. “This project will take the industry to the next level/ will be revolutionary/ groundbreaking/ etc.” Why it’s no good: We are sure your project is amazing, but your internal kickoff meeting is not the place for buzz. Cheering words won’t harm, but it’s better to keep them constructive and clear. Try this instead: “Our project stands out because… We have the following goals to achieve…” 9. “Let’s take this part of discussion offline.” Why it’s no good: If your meeting is face-to face, this phrase doesn’t seem to make much sense. And from what we’ve learned around the web, that’s why it’s so irritating. How much more “offline” can you be? Try this instead: “Let’s discuss this matter privately/separately/at the next meeting.” 10. “Don’t worry about the problems. We’re here to discuss solutions.” Why it’s no good: Any project could face bumps along the road, so neglecting the possible risks will discourage your team and make them fear difficulties. After all, forewarned is forearmed. Try this instead: “We might face the problems like… To prevent them or be ready for them, we need…” What phrases do you avoid during project kickoffs? A project kickoff meeting helps your team understand what the new project is about, grasp their specific roles and responsibilities, and gets them ready for the challenges they might face. To ensure that your team didn't miss anything important, you need to keep your vocabulary simple, clear, and to the point. After all, you want your team to leave the conference room ready to move mountains, not just feeling relieved that it’s all over, don’t you? What are other phrases you’d hate to hear at a kickoff meeting? Or maybe you’re guilty of using some of the listed ones yourself? ;-)
How to Combat the 4 Main Sources of Scope Creep
"It might be a good idea to add this feature." "Let's extend the test cycle so we have more data." "I hate adding to your work but can you...?" These sentences, once uttered, herald the onset of every project manager's recurring nightmare — that phenomenon of a project ballooning in size and scope, while budgets and timelines remain the same. It's called scope creep. And it's deadly. But what is it exactly, and how does it get past our defenses to slowly but surely inflate a project's scope? The Definition of Scope Creep In its simplest form, a project's scope is all about parameters. A project's scope should be a documented set of project boundaries, schedules, and major deliverables. These can be outlined in a statement of work. Scope creep (also known as "requirement creep" and "feature creep") has become such a dirty word in project management because it refers to how a project's requirements tend to grow uncontrollably — often dictated by project stakeholders, or internal miscommunication, causing a Frankenstein-like mashup of features that weren't there during the planning stage. And often kill your deadlines. People often confuse scope creep and gold plating. The difference between scope creep and gold plating is that gold plating does not necessarily mean the project's requirements have changed, but that the project team has been working past the point of diminishing returns. How Does it Creep Up on Projects? Let's count the ways: 1. Lack of Details The easiest and simplest culprit to blame for scope creep is vagueness. When there is a lack of a clearly-defined and controlled project scope (you can use a scope document template to create this), the scope will mutate. Don't be surprised if stakeholders and even team members choose to define your project more loosely than you envision. It's because you, as the project manager, didn't communicate the vision and the scope clearly enough in your Project Initiation Document! TIP: The Project Scope Statement that goes into the Project Initiation Document is where you should lay out all project boundaries. Don't gloss over it. Spend time concretizing it so that expectations are managed, there are no surprises, and your stakeholders comprehend exactly what they'll get at the end of the process. 2. Weak Leadership Here's the rub: stakeholders and clients may try to change the scope to get what they want if they sense that you lack experience, or are not a strong project manager. TIP: This is based on their perception of you. Stand your ground if demands are beginning to inflate project scope. Communicate strongly through body language during meetings. And if your meetings are virtual, keep these virtual communication tips in mind. 3. Differing Stakeholder Opinions Another possibility: you may have too many stakeholders, each with differing opinions. Too many cooks spoil the broth, as the adage goes. While stakeholders may all want the same end product, their motivations may vary wildly. And those motivations will affect what they feel should be prioritized during project development, which can wildly alter your timelines. TIP: Limit the number of your stakeholders. Or try to determine their motivations so you can arrive at a common ground. If it makes sense, additional requests from stakeholders can be parlayed into a future project after the current one is done. 4. 11th Hour User Feedback If you don't involve your end-users or your customers from the beginning of the process, introducing them midway through (or near the end of) a project, guess what happens? They may give you feedback you've never heard before, which often adds to your list of action items. Instant scope creep. Take the costly mistakes of the Denver International Airport project as a fair warning not to involve people late in the game. TIP: The word you need to use here is collaboration. If you collaborate with your customers early and often, you run less risk of delivering something they don't need or want. Keep communication lines open so the ideas and the feedback keep flowing. What are other ways Scope Creep creeps up on you? Your turn. What other sources of scope creep did we miss? Add your thoughts in the comments and tell us how you've fought against the scope creep terror. Read next: Lessons Learned in Scope Creep and Project Failure from Denver International Airport Photo credit: Ana Julaton by Mark Sebastian
How to Optimize Client Projects With Performance Management Tools
A good performance management process plays a big role in the success of individual projects. Find out how to measure project performance and learn why performance management tools can boost your projects today.
Three Ways to Minimize Your Project Budget Exposure
Keeping the project budget in line is one of the most difficult things in project management – and yet it is a huge factor in determining the overall success of the project when the engagement winds down. The goal is to keep it in line throughout and avoid falling into emergency mode at any point with a huge budget overrun that you have to either fix or find yourself at the brink of project shutdown. Through my experience, I've found that the following three processes are extremely helpful to me as I try to keep my project budgets in check on the multiple projects I'm usually managing at any given point in time. Project managers are busy with many things beyond managing the budget on our plate. Developing good processes and habits will help you significantly reduce the likelihood that your project budget will turn into a catastrophe. Let's review each of the three ways to minimize your project budget exposure more closely…. Review and revise the project budget at least weekly The first thing you can do to protect your project budget is probably the easiest thing you can do and it is definitely the least invasive thing you can do. All it requires is you – and the proper information provided to you on a weekly basis. Get weekly information from Accounting concerning the charges to your project and revise your information diligently every week. This may seem simple…even mundane. But it always amazes me how many project managers get lazy and let this slide for a week or two and then eventually longer. "Hey, it wasn't a problem three weeks ago and nothing significant has happened on the project so why should my budget be in jeopardy now?" Well, it's amazing how the little things build up – and they can build up fast. Stay on top of the budget – don't let a week go by without comparing forecast to actuals and re-forecasting, if necessary. It's much easier to fix a 10% budget overrun now before it gets out of control than it is to fix a 40% budget overrun a month from now after it is already out of control. And which one is management going to be more pleased about hearing? Which one will the customer be more understanding of and flexible in working with you on? Make your project budget high profile This is also a fairly easy one and it has worked extremely well for me. And if you're organization is a matrix organization with everyone working on multiple projects at once, even better. Here's the scenario…. You are a project manager running five projects at once. Each of your technical team members are on – on average – three different projects at the same time. And let's remember that – in all honesty – 80-90% of all employees calculate their project charges for the week at the last minute, usually on Friday. Very few accurately document their time during each workday or at the end of the day. And we all remember most of what we did each week … but there's always that four or five hours that we really can't pinpoint exactly what we were doing. We know we worked 50 hours this week, but can only accurately account for 45 of them. They have to go somewhere. Where do they go? They go to the project that they feel those hours will be least noticed in. And that is usually the project that those personnel know is not being monitored closely. So don't let that be your project. Make sure your team members know you're watching the project budget – and the hours that they charge to it – like a hawk. Discuss the budget with them at every weekly internal team meeting and give them a status update on how the project budget is standing up to the original forecast. Share your concerns with them. Periodically question them on charges just to keep them on their toes. Don't be accusing, just ask them questions about the charges and the work that was being performed. If they know you're that aware, it's highly unlikely that any of your projects will be recipients of the 'grey' hours at the end of each work week. Manage scope closely This is probably the hardest one to do and can have the most devastating affect on the project budget. The problem here can be two fold. You have the issue of managing the project scope from your project manager perspective and negotiating changes and change orders with the customer. But you also have the task of managing your project team members closely as they work with the customer. On at least a third of my projects I've run across potential scope issues through discussions I've had with my project team members who were in close communication with the customer. They tend to develop a relationship with the customer and then you have the ego trip issue of your developer 'knowing' they can do anything quickly and easily. The customer makes a small request, your developer thinks it will be no problem to incorporate this 'new' request quickly and you end up having a developer spend a few hours – which can mean a few thousand dollars - of your precious project budget on a customer request that is likely beyond the original scope of the project. None of this was malicious or even on purpose – they were just helping out the customer on a small request. Inform your team, warn them of these situations, and then ask them about their customer interactions and any requests that may be coming their way when you meet with them internally on a weekly basis. Call for feedback Let's hear from our readers. What budget issues have you experienced? Do you find it hard, at times, to rein your team in when trying to keep costs down. What steps do you take to keep your project budget from getting out of hand?
The 3-Step Guide to Choosing the Right Project Management Methodology
There are an overwhelming number of project management methodologies, many of them combinations and hybrids of several approaches. With so many different options, how do you choose the right methodology for your project and team? We created a short Slideshare to walk you through it. Follow these 3 steps, and you won't have to rely on "eenie meenie miney mo" when it comes to choosing the best way to work. 3 Steps to Choosing a Project Management Methodology Once you're ready to dig into the specifics of top methodologies, download our free eBook The Beginner's Guide to Project Management Methodologies. It covers 16 popular approaches, provides key comparisons, and discusses the pros and cons of each practice. Want to stay up to date with all of our helpful Slideshare presentations? Follow us on Slideshare!
The Ultimate Guide to Total Quality Management (TQM)
Your organization does good work. But, as a leader or a project manager, you feel like a lot of it rests on your shoulders. Up to this point, it’s been your responsibility to review everything carefully and make sure your company’s outputs meet your quality standards. It’s working, but you know there has to be a better way. What if you could set up a system and a culture where everybody is invested in quality? What if you could refine processes that lead your team to consistently and reliably deliver top-notch work? It’s possible, and it’s a concept called total quality management. What is total quality management (TQM)? To put it simply, total quality management (TQM) is a set of principles that helps organizations do their best work. It focuses on helping companies evaluate and refine their processes, with the ultimate goal of improving their outputs and delivering a high-quality customer experience. In many companies, managers and leaders accountable for the quality of work and the success of the organization. However, total quality management spreads the load more evenly. Since every employee is involved in delivering the work, they are also held accountable for its quality. What is the history of total quality management? Think total quality management is something new? Think again. This concept has some pretty strong historical roots. Quality control has been around for ages. However, a mathematician and statistician named W. Edwards Deming is seen as the pioneer of the concept of total quality management. He saw flaws in U.S. production, especially when it came to quality control. Deming thought it was odd that management controlled the production process, despite the fact the line workers were the ones who had boots on the ground — and, as a result, had far more insight into how an effective process should run. He lectured on this topic in Japan in the 1950s. Japan was receptive to the concept of total quality management and quickly began implementing it. Upon seeing the success of those efforts in Japan, total quality management spread across the rest of the world — eventually becoming commonplace in the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s. Why is total quality management important? Total quality management can feel like a difficult concept to wrap your arms around, and it’s tempting to write it off as another complex, academic subject that doesn’t have applications in the real world. But that’s not the case. Many successful companies — like Toyota, Xerox, and Motorola — implement total quality management. Why? Well, because it can lead to a number of undeniable benefits, including: Higher-quality products and services: This is the obvious one. When you intentionally and mindfully manage a process with quality in mind, you improve your outputs. That’s the biggest benefit of total quality management — your team delivers top-notch work. Improved customer experience: A focus on the customer is a core principle of total quality management (which we’ll dig into in detail later). Keeping an eye on the needs of the end customer means you offer a better experience, leading to more loyalty, a better reputation, and even increased sales. Greater efficiency: Total quality management also hinges on processes, and even more specifically, continuous process improvement. Regularly evaluating your organization’s workflows and identifying ways to refine and streamline them leads to greater efficiency and productivity. Boosted team morale: Employee involvement is another core piece of total quality management. Every single team member rallies around a shared goal and commits to achieving it. That level of togetherness can lead to positive team culture and better morale. See? Total quality management isn’t just a stuffy theory or a buzzword — it can have real, measurable, and important effects within your team and organization. Using collaborative work management software (like Wrike) can make the process easier and enable even greater productivity. More on that a little later! What are the total quality management principles? Total quality management is about improving quality across the organization. But, it’s not quite as simple as saying, “Alright, we’re going to do a better job.” Total quality management has a formal set of eight different principles it’s based on. Here’s a straightforward explanation of each of those concepts: 1. Customer-centered You can think your processes, products, and services are top-notch. But, your opinion means nothing if your customers aren’t satisfied and impressed with your offerings. Organizations that implement total quality management always have the end customer in mind. They know their customers are the ultimate judges of whether or not their organization is of superior quality, and they refine their processes and offerings in the interest of the customer. 2. Total employee involvement Remember when we mentioned that total quality management isn’t something handed down from on high? Rather, it involves every single member of the organization in achieving a goal and improving quality. This can mean several different things. First and foremost, companies need to provide clarity around their objectives. Secondly, they need to provide the training and resources employees need to do their work efficiently and effectively. Finally, a high degree of psychological safety means employees have the freedom to push themselves — without the fear of repercussions for failure. 3. Process-centered Companies that implement total quality management don’t take a willy nilly approach to their work. Instead, there are prescriptive sets of steps and workflows for getting work across the finish line. These processes not only help them deliver more consistent work, but they also make production far easier to plan and monitor. That’s not to say these processes are set in stone. They’re constantly evaluated and improved upon. 4. Integrated system Every company has various teams and departments responsible for different tasks. However, with a total quality management approach, these different groups can’t operate in their own universes. Total quality management emphasizes the importance of the links that connect these different departments and functions. To preserve and improve quality, an organization needs to work as a cohesive, integrated system — rather than a collection of various teams. This requires a high degree of transparency and an understanding of the processes and work of other departments. 5. Strategic and systematic approach Imagine that you wanted to drive to Niagara Falls. Would you set out without any directions? Probably not, because you have no idea how to get where you want to go. The same is true for an organization. Total quality management requires that a company creates a strategic plan. Even more than that, the strategic plan needs to emphasize the importance of quality and quality management. 6. Continual improvement Companies that are invested in total quality management aren’t content to stick with the status quo. They’re constantly looking at ways to be better. This means evaluating processes, products, services, customer experience, employee feedback, and more to identify areas where you could improve. When you spot them, you need to address them and monitor them to ensure those changes actually benefited your work. 7. Fact-based decision making There aren’t many gut decisions made by organizations that implement total quality management. That’s because this approach prioritizes making decisions based on facts and data. Companies need to gather, organize, and analyze data about their performance measurements and use that to make their decisions. Total quality management doesn’t rely on intuition or best guesses. 8. Communications It’s hard to overstate the importance of effective communication on a high-performing team — and that’s why it’s a core principle of total quality management too. There needs to be clear and frequent communication across the entire organization to keep every employee in the loop on changes, operations, strategies, processes, and more. There’s no such thing as over-communicating. How does Wrike help with total quality management? Think total quality management sounds like a lot? It can be. But, rest assured, it’s not something that will be implemented overnight. Even taking small steps in the right direction can help you and your team improve your processes and work quality. Need some help? Wrike can help you satisfy many of the core principles of total quality management for project management, including: Total employee involvement: With clear and automated task assignments, every employee knows what they’re responsible for. Process-centered: Templated workflows allow you to create a process and easily repeat it for similar projects. Integrated system: Wrike provides visibility into what every team is working on (and working toward). Continual improvement: Wrike’s project status report will show you how projects are progressing and make it easy to spot sticking points in your processes. Fact-based decision making: Wrike offers a number of other reports to give you data about how your team is performing so you can make strategic decisions. Communications: With the ability to leave comments, tag team members, attach files, and more, Wrike keeps all of your communication centralized in one place. With a total quality management system like Wrike in your corner, you can help your team deliver top-notch work — without any added stress or hassles. Ready to jump in? Start your free trial of Wrike now.
The Rules of the Project: Two Strategies for Aligning Means
Aligning the means between individuals, project and organization is a Herculean task for any Project Leader. The means are the rules of the project. The way things are done. Following are two strategies that can be used to align means. To provide you with some ideas on the project baseline. To start the discussion. Patterning – Going Through The Motions In essence, with this strategy the project team is told what the means are; the larger organization knows best. This idea originates from Jeff Sutherland in “Shock Therapy: Bootstrapping Hyperproductive Scrum”. If you have a new team that has no experience with Scrum, you will put a very experienced Scum Master in charge and he will set the rules. Relentlessly. Only a few rules, that make up the basics of Scrum, but they have to be followed with strong discipline. The Scrum Master will make sure this happens. Set the rules first, than, after a while, let go when it becomes natural. This is called “patterning”. Continuous Transparent Feedback A human system always communicates with its environment and based upon the feedback it gets from it, alters its behavior. If a group of animals will drink water from a well and one of the groups dies because of it, they entire group may search for a different well. If a company introduces a new product, and sees its stock plummeting because of it, it might change its strategy. It is therefore essential that the project members get continuous feedback on their own performance and the environment. This is where the use of analytics, metrics, “in-your-face” information visualization and plain old coaching comes in. By providing feedback to the team on how well they perform under the current project rule set, they will adapt to more effective means if needed.
Optimizing Project Productivity With Integrated Project Management
Read and discover how Wrike’s innovative integrated project management system can help your company optimize its project workflows with ease and clarity. Project coordination becomes more efficient and streamlined with Wrike’s simple project management software.
