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5 Top Resources for Project Management Offices 
Project Management 3 min read

5 Top Resources for Project Management Offices 

Centralize your operations, align strategy with execution, and deliver projects on time, every time, with Wrike’s five must-read resources for PMOs everywhere.

Webinar Takeaways: A Clear Path Forward for Modern PMOs
Project Management 10 min read

Webinar Takeaways: A Clear Path Forward for Modern PMOs

Here is a full recap of Wrike’s live webinar, “Scalability: A Clear Path Forward for Modern PMOs,” with key takeaways from this three-part series.

9 Podcasts for Project Managers on the Go
Project Management 7 min read

9 Podcasts for Project Managers on the Go

Discover 9 project management podcasts that will help you build skills and learn tips and tricks from project management experts.

21 Unique PMO Use Cases Prove Wrike's Versatility
Project Management 5 min read

21 Unique PMO Use Cases Prove Wrike's Versatility

PMOs have a tough job as they have to play both the roles of quarterback and air traffic controller in determining project priority, when work can begin, where to allocate resources, and reporting on the team and department’s work. They are the go-to person to ensure project charters capture all requirements and impacts to the business before they’re approved to begin work. As work commences, PMOs must monitor and mitigate risks before they knock projects off course. Above all, it’s imperative they know exactly where projects stand and are able to give a comprehensive progress report on all progress at a moment’s notice. Similar to football, where a quarterback is only as good as his receivers, the same analogy applies to PMOs — you’re only as effective as the tools at your disposal. You need to connect strategy, planning, and execution, whether you operate within an Agile or Waterfall methodology. For too long, PMOs have relied on portfolio project management (PPM) tools to get by, but unfortunately, these only offer investment planning and portfolio management, financial planning, cost analysis, and maybe timelines. Traditional PPM setups don’t connect with project execution and collaboration. This is where Wrike shines, offering a combined CWM for PMOs, so they can do it all in one platform and connect strategy to execution to results. This eBook is divided into nine sections, comprising 21 use cases of how PMOs rely on Wrike to connect planning to execution and strategic impact. What’s in the eBook Inside the eBook, you’ll learn: The nine key areas in which PMOs rely on Wrike to get work done The 21 use cases Wrike is uniquely equipped to solve Visual examples of how Wrike enables PMOs to strategize, plan, and execute their work Wrike features that PMOs can use immediately Dynamic request forms: Trigger a pre-planned project from these automated intake forms and route the work request to the appropriate teammate. Customize each form so that you collect all the details upfront and start work immediately. Blueprints: These are especially useful for recurring work as they allow you to quickly create tasks, folders, or projects with attributes you’ve already specified. Create a Blueprint from scratch, save existing work as a Blueprint, or launch new work using a Blueprint you’ve saved. Resource management: With Wrike’s Workload view, project managers get full visibility into each team member’s schedule and workload, can adjust timelines, and reassign work as necessary to accommodate urgent requests or changing priorities. @mention functionality: Just like Slack and social media channels, Wrike’s @mention functionality lets you tag stakeholders as needed to request their feedback or inform them of project updates. Anytime you tag someone, they receive automated notifications in Wrike and email. Shareable dashboards: Get a detailed overview of work progress at an individual, team, and department level instantly. All stakeholders can track work progress in real time, visualize deadlines, and reprioritize as necessary. Critical path: In Gantt charts, focus on tasks that are crucial to completing a project and tasks that can cause work to fall behind. Via the Timeline, all tasks that are part of the critical path turn red, and those that don’t remain their original color. Project scorecard: With budgeting in Wrike, program managers can add custom fields to track budget spend for their entire program while also sharing real-time updates with their team and highlighting key milestones and KPIs. Work breakdown structure: Make large projects more manageable by breaking them down into smaller items, such as folders, subfolders, tasks, and subtasks, while organizing everything into programs that roll up into portfolios. RAID logs and project risk report: Identify and score potential risks based on severity during planning so that they can be mitigated along the way. PMOs can track and resolve these risks using the risk management dashboard. Finally, project managers can monitor risks from start to finish with Wrike’s weekly automated project risk report. Time tracking: Track resource spending against planned budgets in near real-time and lock time entries after approval, whether you prefer weekly, monthly, or a specified interval. If you forget to set a timer, you can even add time retroactively with a few clicks. Cross-tagging: Give full transparency to everyone into work items (those who need it) so they can track projects amongst their workflows. Cross-tag tasks, subtasks, folders, milestones, entire projects, and more. No other CWM can match Wrike’s cross-tagging functionality. Get all the PMO use cases here There are 21 great reasons why PMOs at Siemens, Walmart Canada, and Ogilvy trust Wrike — it’s the most robust CWM solution to help them connect strategy, execution, and results. Get the specifics by downloading the use case eBook here.

33 Selected Blogs About Innovation, Project Management and 2.0: Vote for the Best!
Project Management 7 min read

33 Selected Blogs About Innovation, Project Management and 2.0: Vote for the Best!

What project management blogs do you read? I’ve assembled a list of blogs that give me substantial food for thought when I write on innovations in project management. The list also includes blogs that serve as great sources of information about Enterprise 2.0, new management methodologies, leadership, motivation, as well as useful project management tips you can use in your day-to-day job. I hope these resources will help you take a look at your management practices from another point of view or perhaps even  push you to radical changes in the ways you manage your projects and teams. I wrote a short summary for every blog, so that it would be more convenient for you. Enjoy! I deliberately listed these blogs in alphabetical order, giving no preferences. I did it because I want you to decide which blogs will make it to TOP 10 Blogs for Project Manager 2.0. I’m a believer in collective intelligence, and I think that ratings like this should be made collaboratively. So I want you to let me know which of the blogs on this list you like best and why. Just leave a comment to this post. You don’t see a blog that makes worthwhile Project Management 2.0 reading? Tell me what blogs on project management, Enterprise 2.0, leadership and team-building you read. Go ahead and post the link to your favorite blog related to these topics in the comments. I also ask you not to post links to irrelevant blogs, e.g. blogs marketing a particular project management product or training program. 1.   A Girl’s Guide to Project Management – the name of this blog can be misleading, as it will be interesting even to those who don’t fall into the “4girls” category. Elizabeth Harrin blogs about everything connected with project management: events, books, tools, real-life war stories, you name it. 2.   Agile Software Development Made Easy! – a site where you can find the answers to all your questions about agile management, agile software development, agile planning and agile-related methodologies, such as  Scrum, eXtreme Programming and Lean. 3.   Andrew McAfee’s Blog: the creator of the term Enterprise 2.0 blogs on his recent research in this sphere and analyses how Enterprise 2.0 is changing the way organizations work today. 4.   Bertrand Duperrin's Notepad is a useful source of ideas, analysis and examples for those who are interested in the HR aspect of Enterprise 2.0 and social technologies. 5.   Better Projects: Craig Brown blogs about project management in real life, requirements management, leadership, etc. You’ll find numerous tips that will help you in puzzling moments. 6.   CloudAve – a group of bloggers, lead by Zoli Erdos and Ben Kepes “live and breathe cloud computing.” They cover the latest news in this industry and publish analytical posts about SaaS, enterprise software, project management and related topics. 7.   Collaboration 2.0 – an influential, seasoned Enterprise 2.0 consultant, Oliver Marks, writes about collaboration in the enterprise, its development, its necessity, its road blocks, its examples and tools that can be used to foster collective work in an organization. 8.   Daniel H. Pink (personal blog): Dan is a great thinker who has interesting ideas on motivation and management in the new creative economy. 9.    Dave Garrett’s Project Management 2.0 – a blog where the author covers different real-life project management situations, helping his readers to overcome difficulties they may have in running their projects. 10.   Enterprise Web 2.0: Dion Hinchcliffe, an influential Enterprise 2.0 thinker, analyses the latest trends in this industry and gives his unique point of view on how Web 2.0 social technologies are reshaping the business world. 11.   Eric Brown’s Technology, Strategy, People & Projects – a wonderful collection of the author’s ideas and tips on topics from project management to business models and business strategy. Many of you will probably find Eric’s “New CIO” series very useful. 12.   Gary Hamel’s Management 2.0, written by an outstanding management innovator, is a perfect place to find thoughts on how the development of the technologies transform the traditional management discipline. 13.   Gil Yehuda's Enterprise 2.0 Blog – here you’ll find practical advice on how you can upgrade your organization’s collaboration and management practices with Enterprise 2.0 tools and behaviors. 14.   ITSinsider: Susan Scrupski is a well-known Enterprise 2.0 expert and has a very interesting blog where she publishes her thoughts on the latest trends  in this sphere. 15.   Leading Agile touches important topics connected with agile management in the enterprise: methods, adoption, culture, etc. 16.   Leading Answers – what I like about this blog is that its author, Mike Griffins, an expert in both agile and traditional project management, writes in plain English and gives you practical knowledge on leadership, team-building and other important soft skills that you’ll be able to apply to your projects right away. 17.   /message -- Stowe Boyd, a well-known social tools advocate and visionary, analyses the phenomenon he calls “social Web revolution.” If you’re interested in social tech and how it can be applied to business, this is the place for you to go. 18.   Moving Beyond Management reflects the recent activity of the PMI agile and leadership communities. This blog gives you an idea of what’s hot in agile project management today. 19.   NOOP.NL – a blog dedicated to managing software development; however, you can also find articles on general project management topics like motivation, leadership, discipline, etc. 20.   PMPodcast, authored by a PMP with 18 years of project management experience, this podcast offers some very interesting interviews that give you an understanding of how projects are managed in today’s organizations. 21.   PM Student – if you are a project management newbie, this blog should be your first destination for getting-started tips. 22.   Portals and KM, written by Bill Ives, is a place where you’ll find analyses of the recent Enterprise 2.0 field news, Enterprise 2.0 case studies and thoughts on social media’s practical application to business. 23.   Pretzel Logic covers social software and contains lots of helpful information on developing an Enterprise 2.0 strategy. 24.   Project Shrink – the author of the blog, Bas de Baar, is a “Project Leadership/Social Media guy” and writes about motivation, communication and the transformation of the project manager’s role in the present business environment. 25.   Raven’s Brain – a spot where you’ll find numerous tips on project and program management, personal productivity, professional development and soft skills that you’ll need to build a successful project management career. 26.   Scobleizer  is a hot spot where tech enthusiast and video podcast evangelist Robert Scoble expresses his views on the newest online technologies, gadgets, social media sites, etc., and keeps you up-to-date with the latest trends in this sphere. 27.   Scott Berkun’s blog is a place where you’ll find lots of thought-provoking posts on managing innovation that instantly grab your attention and make easy reading, thanks to the inimitable style of the author. 28.   Scott Gavin, the creator of the famous “meet Charlie” presentation, blogs about how Enterprise 2.0 tools empower innovation and collaboration in the business environment. 29.   Software Project Management is mainly a blog about the software development lifecycle, and the author, Pawel Brodzinski, also writes thoughtful pieces on agility, project management, team-building and other things that will be interesting to a Project Manager 2.0. 30.   TED is not actually a regular blog, but rather a site devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading,” and it is an unparalleled collection of talks and presentations given by the world’s most innovative minds from different areas. 31.   The FASTForward Blog – an in-depth collective analysis of the current Enterprise 2.0 potential and opportunities, as well as obstacles that sometimes prevent this movement from gaining immediate popularity among business people. 32.   Voices on Project Management – written by a number of highly professional project managers from different regions and industries, this blog is a perfect place to find helpful tips on things like sustainability, talent management, ROI, programs and portfolios, and all points in between. 33.   Zen, Project Management, and Life, written by Bob Tarne, who’s great at introducing new ideas that can be incorporated into your project management practices. Now, go ahead and start voting!

Getting a Master's Degree in Project Management: To Do or Not To Do
Leadership 10 min read

Getting a Master's Degree in Project Management: To Do or Not To Do

If you run a Google search for "Master's Degree in Project Management" you will get over 3 million results for schools across the US and around the world. Granted, those results are not solely listings for schools offering programs, but still — scary. If you try to narrow down your search results by going to a site like gradschools.com and filtering by "Business & MBA" and "Project Management" tags you will still get 327 results. Better, but not exactly a walk in the park. Finding the right program is a big venture. There are two questions you really need to ask yourself before you go hunting: (1) Is a Master's in Project Management (MPM) what you really want? Would you prefer alternatives routes, such as your MBA or PMP certification? (2) And if you do decide on the MPM, what are your personal requirements when choosing a program? Want a better project management tool that your team will actually use? Start your free Wrike trial today! The Great "Project Management Degree" Debate There are conflicting views about whether getting a Master's degree in Project Management is worth the time and money. According to a US News article, 43% of project managers in the US have only a Bachelor's degree. If you follow The Great Project Management Degree Debate, you'll know there are varied opinions on the value of the degree at all. Some people say get the Master's in Project Management, some people say go for a general MBA, some people suggest alternative certificates (e.g. PMP) instead — and then there are others who say don't bother with any of them since experience beats all degrees. Confused yet? We browsed through forums and articles and tried to gather a consensus on whether or not people in the field think you should get your Master's in Project Management: The Pros & Cons of a Master's in Project Management Pros: 1. Employability "Through teaching an MPM program at a local university for the past five years, I wholly believe that the students that have come through this program are much more employable once they have completed the program." — JD McKenna, Project Manager, USA "I have my Masters of Project Management and this qualification stands out in my CV when applying for great jobs. I know lots of guys with MBAs who are still in lower management positions. A Master's in this great field is definitely sought after and sticks out more than an MBA." — Anonymous, USA "My recommendation falls someplace in the middle. I would recommend that you get a Master's in Project Management [focused on] your field of expertise or interest." — Dr. Paul D. Giammalvo, Project Manager, Indonesia   2. More Informed Execution  "I am now in a PM role (with certification) and I definitely think the MPM has helped me understand with more clarity why we do things the way we do and has certainly helped communicate [decisions].... The MPM is really interesting. You get to meet a range of other students with other PM experiences that you learn from and it is challenging and I think personally rewarding." — Anonymous "I hold both an MBA and an MPM degree. I disagree that these two degrees are essentially the same. My bottom line answer is: advanced learning never hurts, so go for the degree. It may not guarantee you your next job. But it should definitely help you when it comes to executing in that job." — Dave Violette, Program Manager, USA "For those going through a Master's program who have already had more than a few years of work experience, PMP certification, and specific large or complex project management experiences, the MS in Project Management will likely have far more meaning to employers and ROI to you - not just financial ROI, but the ability to get the most out of curriculum.... A Master's in Project Management would be an excellent addition to the journey." — Mark Price Perry, VP of Customer Care, USA Cons: 1. Experience and Accomplishments Count More "Good project managers become such by practicing and continuous self improvement. Yes, they need to know the theory, but professionalism comes from applying, adapting and improving it. For that reason I don't think one-off long theoretical study is what would bring you to the next level." — Stan Yanakiev, IT Project Manager, Bulgaria "The qualification has not really helped me at all in getting a job, its only in combination with experience (how do you get that initially) or certification.... As a way to further your career, I am not convinced that the MPM has quite the aaahhh factor that we would like as recognition of our efforts." — Anonymous "I would look dubiously on a PM candidate that has a Master's in PM but no experience. Advanced degrees are more meaningful after you have been in the field." — Mark Price Perry, VP of Customer Care, USA "I would value experience over master's level certification. I would recommend that you look at practitioner-based courses as well. You can take PRINCE2 without any prior experience, and it will be cheaper than a Master's." — Elizabeth Harrin, Director of the OTOBOS Group, U.K. "I liken project management to riding a bike, you can read as many books on the subject as you like, but until you get on and actually ride a bike you know only the theory and not the practice.... As a hirer of project managers I look for experience, then certification, and finally qualifications. Even for trainees I look not necessarily for project management experience but they should at least have participated as team members in a project environment as this environment is completely unlike a normal operational environment." — Julie Goff, Australia 2. MBA is More Widely Recognized "Experience and accomplishments count more than a degree in Project Management. So I would recommend that you complete your MBA first. If Project Management is a module that's good, but for a major, choose something like Finance, Marketing, Supply chain Management, or IT Management." — Satnam Bansal, Business Manager, USA "I found that project management courses in universities are normally aimed at the construction industry. So all the work examples were for building something. An MBA is more widely recognised than a PM masters and assures the business people you can understand where they are coming from." — Julie Goff, Australia (again) 3. More Important is a Positive, Strong Character  "Allow me to add another attribute which, I believe, is more important than experience and certification. The job of a project manager is very dynamic and will require him to handle all sorts of situations; in other words, a project manager is a problem solver by nature. Due to this, a project manager needs to have a positive and strong character to carry the pressure in his job." — Wai Mun Koo, PMO Director, Singapore Other Factors to Consider When Selecting a Program If you went through a long, strenuous, detailed process when applying for your bachelor's program, consider this: graduate school is typically even more competitive. Before you decide which program to select, you need to figure out the potential ROI for completing your Master's degree. Do some long-term planning and roadmap the next five to 10 years of your career. You may be wondering: what can I do with a project management certification? Will a Master's degree help you reach the end of your 10-year plan? What do you hope to gain from the degree? Would you be better off with an MBA or PMP certificate to accomplish your 10-year plan? After collecting advice from forums and articles, here are a few factors you should consider when applying for programs: MPM vs. MBA vs. PMP While we were surfing through the discussion forums based around whether or not to get a Master's in Project Management, we saw a lot of strong business leaders calling for people to get their MBA or PMP certificate instead. Consider all your options; in fact, most people recommended a combination of two or all three. MPM vs. MBA — Both degrees have long-lasting value and show dedication to your craft. MPM is a great choice for people who want to dig into the details and nuances of being a project manager, while MBA is the path you should take if you want to go into higher levels of management that require a wider berth of business knowledge, big-picture mindsets, and the language that comes along with being an Executive. MPM vs. PMP — Both are great for people who want to be better project managers. MPM is a great choice for people who want to stay in project management roles for the next decade. If you don't plan to stay in project management forever, or you want to put off getting a full-blown degree, perhaps PMP certification is enough to give you the knowledge you need for the next 3-5 years of your career. Online or Onsite With the advent of the internet, more and more universities are offering programs online. If you want access to a specific university's resources without the hassle of moving across the country or across the world, consider an online degree. Just remember that you'll lose the great libraries, convenient walk-in access to office hours, and so-bad-it's-good campus food. General or Specialized Some Master's programs give you a general knowledge of project management and all that it entails. Other programs are industry-specific: construction, IT, etc. If you know what field you'll be working in, and you plan to stay in that field long-term, a specialized Master's program might be a better fit. Another tip: some programs offer general MPM programs, but many of their class offerings are industry-focused. Research the course offerings before committing to a program. Theory or Hands-on With the wide assortment of MPM offerings, some universities are theory-based (e.g. write an essay, a term-paper, a detailed thesis), and some are hands-on learning (e.g. create project plans, develop project schedules, learn to track budgets). Don't settle on the first program you find — or the first program that accepts you — make sure they're offering the type of education that suits your goals. Is Higher Education right for you? A Master's in Project Management can be a great asset, or a great waste of time and money. Do your research, read program reviews, and get feedback from your peers before committing to a new degree. At the end of the day, the decision is in your hands, but you don't have to make the decision alone. What made you finally decide to go for your MPM degree or vote against it? Give us your feedback and help out other project managers with your personal recommendations. Sources: http://www.projectmanagement.com/discussion-topic/16656/Should-I-study-a-masters-in-Project-Management http://www.projectmanagement.com/discussion-topic/18467/Need-Advise---Masters-in-Project-management http://www.projectmanagement.com/discussion-topic/6357/Value-of-Master-of-Science-in-Project-Management http://projectmanagement.ittoolbox.com/groups/career/projectmanagement-career/is-swapping-mba-for-ms-project-management-worth-it-5479871 http://www.projectmanagement.com/discussion-topic/19985/Is-the-PMP-a-better-investment-than-the-MBA-

Ideal Project Management Software: Is There One?
Project Management 3 min read

Ideal Project Management Software: Is There One?

I recently wrote an article for PMHut.com. The Project Management Hut is a very useful site for project managers and those who want to know more about this sphere. Articles on topics like traditional and innovative project management methodologies, what is client resource management system, project leadership, the history of project management and much more are written and gathered from all over the world by a group of project managers, who decided to make their vast experience accessible to everyone. The PMHut authors invited me to contribute to their resource and write about a feature set for an ideal project management tool. In my article, I express my point of view on what problems project management software should help you solve and in what way. As always, your feedback on the piece is welcome in the comments to this post.

PMP Certification? Use this List of Helpful PMBOK Guide Resources
Project Management 5 min read

PMP Certification? Use this List of Helpful PMBOK Guide Resources

Want to prepare yourself for a Project Management Professional certification (PMP certification) exam? First things first: PMBOK stands for "Project Management Body Of Knowledge." The definition of what PMBOK means, directly from the 1st (1996) Edition of the PMBOK Guide, is as follows: "all those topics, subject areas and intellectual process which are involved in the application of sound management principles to... projects." The PMBOK is an abstract idea meant to encompass all the knowledge project managers around the world use to successfully manage projects. The Project Management Institute (PMI) has published five editions of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, more commonly known as the PMBOK Guide. The most recent version came out in 2013. Some people mistakenly refer to the PMBOK Guide as the embodiment of the general PMBOK. This guide does not contain everything in the PMBOK — you can never hope to capture everything worth knowing in one document — but it's a great place to start. It covers the context in which projects operate along with detailed processes for running projects, and it has been collaboratively compiled by many studied project managers. The PMBOK Guide is a lengthy resource, coming in at just under 600 pages. As such, there are many, many guides to the guide. We went through what Google had to offer and sorted out some good starting places if you're just getting your hands on A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge for the first time. These resources will help you understand PMBOK, the PMBOK Guide, and how it differs from its biggest rival: PRINCE2. 17 PMBOK Learning Resources PMBOK, THE ABSTRACT IDEA What is officially considered a part of the PMBOK? PMI published an overview of the PMBOK standard materials. PMI's Learning Center includes many PMBOK resources. OVERVIEWS OF THE ENTIRE PMBOK GUIDE Here's what's new in the 5th edition, according to PMI: • A 10th Knowledge Area has been added; Project Stakeholder Management expands upon the importance of appropriately engaging project stakeholders in key decisions and activities. • Four new planning processes have been added: Plan Scope Management, Plan Schedule Management, Plan Cost Management and Plan Stakeholder Management. These were created to reinforce the concept that each subsidiary plan is integrated with the overall project management plan. Haven't purchased the PMBOK Guide yet? You can buy it on PMI's website. If you're looking for a general overview of the PMBOK Guide, check out the Wikipedia page:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Guide_to_the_Project_Management_Body_of_Knowledge Don't trust Wikipedia? Here's another overview of the guide (which happens to be very similar to the Wikipedia page):http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/pmbok.php Another overview of the PMBOK Guide with a slightly different breakdown:http://edward-designer.com/web/introduction-to-pmbok-guide-knowledge-areas-processes-process-groups/ PMBOK GUIDE 5TH EDITION VIDEO More of an audio learner? Check out this overview video from IIL describing the differences found in the 5th edition of the PMBOK Guide:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYaTMBMqWxU 5 PROCESS GROUPS IN THE PMBOK GUIDE Good overview of the 5 Process Groups (skip the top section and go straight to the bottom of this page):http://www.itinfo.am/eng/project-management-body-of-knowledge-pmbok-guide/ Free management eBook covering each of the PMBOK Guide's 5 Process Groups (download link above the social sharing buttons):http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/faqpm/principles-16.htm A presentation on the PMBOK approach based on the 5 Process Groups:http://www.itbusinessedge.com/slideshows/show.aspx?c=78357 10 KNOWLEDGE AREAS IN THE PMBOK GUIDE Browse the content within the 10 Knowledge Areas of the PMBOK Guide:http://standardmethod.net/browse.html#/process Free management eBooks covering each of the PMBOK Guide's 10 Knowledge Areas (click the eBook images at the bottom to go to the downloads page):http://www.free-management-ebooks.com/faqpm/principles-17.htm MORE TOPICS FROM THE PMBOK GUIDE A table showing you how the Process Groups and Knowledge Areas of the PMBOK Guide work together. (Skip the top table and look at the second table.) Process Groups are along the top, Knowledge Areas are down the left:http://www.tensteppm.com/open/A6.1CompareTStoPMBOK.html The PMBOK Guide's take on Work Breakdown Structure:https://www.workbreakdownstructure.com/work-breakdown-structure-according-to-pmbok.php PMBOK GUIDE vs. PRINCE2PRINCE2 is another widely-followed approach to project management, and thus, considered to be the biggest competitor to the PMBOK Guide. A side-by-side comparison of the PMBOK Guide vs. PRINCE2 :http://www.ppi-int.com/prince2/prince2-pmbok-relationship.php A paper comparing the PMBOK Guide and PRINCE2 project management. It comes to the conclusion that the two are not comparable as they serve different purposes:http://www.maxwideman.com/papers/comparing/comparing.pdf Article about how PRINCE2 can be complimentary to the PMBOK Guide:http://www.corpedgroup.com/resources/pm/HowPrince2CanComplement.asp After going through this list of resources, you should feel comfortable with PMBOK and how the PMBOK Guide is organized. If you've done additional research on the topic, please add other articles or books you found helpful to the comments below!

20 Questions for Project Governance Success (Infographic)
Project Management 3 min read

20 Questions for Project Governance Success (Infographic)

Whether you manage projects, programs, portfolios, project management offices (PMOs), or centers of excellence, you want to do all you can to ensure your projects are successful. You need not only good, but great project governance, which encompasses all of the processes, activities, and checks and balances necessary to ensure successful projects, programs, and portfolios.  Check out our webinar From Good Governance to Great: How To Turbo-Charge the Success of Your PMO here Industry-leading global professional organizations, numerous research studies, and the stats of millions of failed projects every year point to an indisputable fact: governance is the #1 critical success factor for projects, programs, and portfolios. Avoiding project failure comes down to establishing effective project governance — but how can your team get there?  How to get to project governance success Great project governance comes from asking the right questions to ensure best practices are followed. By asking these 20 questions, you will ensure you have the right foundational building blocks for project success. Discover why teams across industries and the world choose Wrike as their preferred platform to ensure project success. Sign up for a free trial and get started today. And don't forget to take a look at our dedicated webinar, From Good Governance to Great: How To Turbo-Charge the Success of Your PMO, to discover why governance is critical to project and program success and the questions you should be asking about proper governance.

Get Ahead Quickly: The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Book Review)
Project Management 3 min read

Get Ahead Quickly: The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management (Book Review)

Now on its fifth edition, Verzuh’s book provides up-to-date information on change management best practices, real-life examples and case studies, plus details on current trends. It also offers guidance on how to engage stakeholders and apply Agile management techniques to your projects. Those looking to earn project management certification can benefit from this read, as the book gives ample preparation tips for PMI’s Project Management Professional exam.

Free Online Project Management Guide for New Project Managers
Project Management 3 min read

Free Online Project Management Guide for New Project Managers

If you're taking your first steps as a project manager and feel like you're in way over your head with all the terms, acronyms, and best practices, we've put together something that can help. Today we launch our online Project Management Guide for Beginners. It's a complete guide that tackles project management fundamentals and addresses it in easy-to-understand, layman's terms. In the guide, we break down the basics of project management into different sections: a basic glossary of terms; a discussion on project management methodologies; tips on team management, collaboration, risk, stakeholders, and more; even a section on the PMI and PMBOK. The guide also features a sizable collection of frequently asked questions to introduce you to basic project management concepts. We've arranged the guide to allow you to browse by the topic you're interested in, but you can also read through it sequentially for a full overview. So instead of feeling overwhelmed by all the various processes necessary to bring a project to completion, refer to our Project Management Guide for Beginners, and get a clearer picture of best practices and processes for delivering projects on time, within budget, and to exact specifications. Here's a sneak peak at the sections of the Project Management Guide. Go check it out:

Master Wrike Analyze With Our New Certification
News 3 min read

Master Wrike Analyze With Our New Certification

Wrike’s Customer Certification program is scalable training to help users get more familiar with Wrike’s features. Our newest certification, Report Mastery: Silver, is for users looking to master Wrike Analyze’s boards, widgets, and reporting insights.

The Ultimate Project Management Software Guide for Startups
Project Management 10 min read

The Ultimate Project Management Software Guide for Startups

Every day in the startup world is characterized by various tasks, from finances to client-facing work, building new products to administrative items, and more. There’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of hands in the pot trying to tackle each action item that pops up.  Startups have a team-first mentality, where every team member is willing to jump in and play a part to get the job done. That horizontal leadership structure can lead to a lot of camaraderie, but the day-to-day roles and responsibilities related to project ownership and completion can get messy and chaotic.  That wasted time can be costly when every minute and dollar spent in the early startup days are precious, especially when nine out of 10 startups fail.  But don’t let that statistic make you panic quite yet. Having the right tools in place, such as project management software that keeps the whole team organized and on task, is a critical driver in reducing the risk of failure and achieving that seemingly elusive startup success.  Curious? We’ve rounded up some of the fundamental reasons project management should matter to your startup, what to look for in project management software tools, and how to identify and implement the right project management software tool while keeping your (often tight) budget in mind.  Why should project management matter to startups? Effective project management is imperative to any business, no matter the size of the organization.  According to the latest Pulse of the Profession report by the Project Management Institute (PMI), 57% of respondents saw significant business changes in their operational efficiencies over the past year and another 49% experienced changes in the maturity of their project management.  That means that even if project management and efficiencies aren’t top of mind for you as your startup gets off the ground, they should make their way to the top of the list as your company grows. These aspects of a business are important to the success of project completion and business strategy.  Sure, a formalized project management tool and processes can seem unnecessary, rigid, and overly burdensome for the flexible, entrepreneurial startup culture. But the reality is that defining project management methodologies and implementing a software tool at the beginning will help your business thrive as it scales. Rest assured that flexibility can coexist alongside process and organization, and a project management software tool can help with the latter.  Project management for startups is more than planning, organizing, and executing projects from start to finish. There are several benefits of defined project management practices, specifically when it comes to running a startup.  1. Prioritize limited resources Startups have small teams and a spirit for collaboration, which breeds fluid job roles and responsibilities. A limited number of employees in flexible positions can make it challenging to figure out which tasks and projects rank higher than others — and who exactly is responsible for what.  Introducing project management processes and software in the early stages of a startup can help the team better prioritize their work. You have to make the most of your limited resources while executing on your vision and big goals, and project management for startups can help you do just that — without frustration and confusion.  2. Stay on top of deadlines No two days at a startup are the same. Priorities shift, the overall company vision may change, and innovation can lead to new products and services that weren’t even on your radar a couple of months ago. With so many moving parts, staying organized and sticking to a schedule (especially one that clients or customers are counting on) can fall by the wayside.  Project management practices help you monitor progress and ensure important deadlines aren’t missed. That structure provides some level of accountability and commitment within your teams — even if your overall culture is still relaxed and flexible.  3. Scale efficiently  Startup environments bring about a level of high-growth and constant change. Investing in project management early on will pay dividends when your startup begins to scale. Growth can be remarkable for the business but more challenging for employees if the proper processes and systems aren’t in place to support that evolution and expansion.  As you grow, you’ll likely have more goals to meet and projects to deliver, so it’s crucial to build a project management foundation that will allow you to meet these goals. Likewise, standardized processes make it significantly easier for new team members to get onboarded and acclimated as your team grows in size.  What features should you look for in startup project management software? There are hundreds of project management software tools out there to choose from. Some are more robust than others and focused on the demands of enterprise companies. Others are more simplistic and better suited for a nimble startup or small business.  Not sure what you should keep an eye out for? These are some of the key features you should look for in startup project management software, even if you start out on a plan that doesn’t offer all of these features right away: Team collaboration. As a startup, your team is your most valuable asset, and it’s crucial to foster a collaborative and team-focused environment. The ability to work on projects together simultaneously, break down project tasks, store associated project documents, and share team calendars are project management software components to keep an eye out for. Any functionality that allows your team to collaborate quickly and efficiently is a plus in choosing project management software. After all, that’s the whole point. Organized and streamlined processes. Real-time file sharing and collaboration make it easier and quicker to handle assigning tasks and see them through to completion. With streamlined processes and workflows, you can track project performance, quickly assign tasks and get an instant understanding of project and performance, rather than wasting time requesting frequent status updates. Document storing and sharing. As you build your startup and document processes, projects, and other aspects of the business along the way, you’ll want to ensure you can quickly locate and access documents and files. Using a project management software tool with document storing and sharing capabilities can help prevent you from losing critical information, especially if employees leave. All of your important documentation will be centralized and accessible rather than siloed. Resource management. Since you have limited resources (and you don’t want to burn your team out), you’ll need to make sure you’re balancing workloads as effectively as possible. Project management software tools with simple resource management capabilities can help you better understand the workload and available bandwidth across team members. When you identify a plate that’s too full (it happens!), you can simply reassign tasks to other available team members and keep your project moving forward. Time-tracking capabilities. Hassle-free time-tracking and the ability to distinguish between billable and nonbillable work can help you better understand where your team is spending their time. With this information readily available, you’ll have visibility that will allow you to plan better, boost revenue, and more accurately forecast — so you avoid over-promising and under-delivering. Real-time reporting. Agility and flexibility are common traits of nearly all startups, and making quick decisions is necessary when you’re working in an ever-changing landscape. Project management software tools with real-time reporting empower you to make more informed decisions at the drop of a hat. Maybe you’re pivoting the business’ direction or need to quickly gauge the current status of a project. No matter your need, a tool with real-time reporting can help you get the information you need so you can make decisions and act fast. Budget management. Every dollar counts, right? Managing projects always carries the risk of running over budget. Spend less time worrying about the bottom line by managing budgets directly within project management software. By keeping an eye on total spending, you can spot when your spending starts to creep up and adjust accordingly.  The level of complexity and customization you’ll need in a project management software tool depends on your business needs. The features listed above should help you dive in and get started, and grow your tool capabilities and usage as you go.  How can project management software for startups help save money? Isn’t project management software going to end up costing your startup more money? Well, technically, yes, depending on the software you choose.  But if we put the cost of the tool aside for a moment, the right project management software can actually help your startup save money too — making it more than worth the cost. Here’s how:  Organization inevitably leads to time savings, and time is money. Project management software will streamline processes and add another layer of organization to your business. To put it simply, this helps you and your team members save time. And with more time on your hands, you’ll be able to get more work done. Instead of hiring more people or scrambling for more resources because plates are too full, you can use project management software to help your current team better manage their time. Faster, smoother workflows equal more time saved and less money spent due to wasted hours and energy. Project management software can reduce training costs. As your business grows and you add more members to the team, you’ll need them to move quickly to ensure projects stay on track. Having all of your projects and information centralized within one system can reduce the learning curve for your new employees, allowing them to dive in and get their hands dirty right away.   Time tracking can save your business money. If you really want to be money-conscious, opt for software with time-tracking capabilities. How does time tracking save money? You’ll save your startup a few bucks by increasing productivity, eliminating inefficiencies, and will be able to manage billable hours more seamlessly. If your startup depends on any amount of billable work, accurate time-tracking is non-negotiable. Improved communication is a huge cost-savings. When hiccups in communication occur, you’re at risk of projects falling out of scope, missing deadlines, and wasting time and effort on work that doesn’t matter. Even further, communication issues could end with you owing money, discounts, or free products and services to your customers. One way to reduce communication issues is to build a solid internal communication channel to boost transparency and ensure your team is always on the same page. Consolidated interactions through a project management software tool can help you save money and keep your clients happy too.  How much is project management software for startups?  The price of project management software can run the gamut. There are a number of free options out there that may offer limited functionality. There are also a number of robust systems for enterprise corporations that may fall outside of your budget and current needs.  With so many different software options and feature capabilities, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind in terms of pricing. These include:  Desired features Fee structure Additional costs  Let’s talk about each of these in a bit more detail.  Desired features For starters, it’s helpful to know what types of features you’re looking for in your project management tool, so you have an idea of what types of plans to consider. Many project management software companies offer free versions of their tools with reduced functionality or a set number of users. These types of solutions may work when getting started, but if you choose a free option, you may want to explore upgraded feature capability in the future. Fee structure Another important aspect of the pricing model is whether you’ll be paying per user or a flat fee. You’ll also want to understand if you’re paying monthly or annual subscription fees. These pricing models play a key role in determining the overall budget available for your project management software and whether or not a tool fits within those restrictions. Additional costs Don’t forget to add in additional costs. Ask about implementation, training, and support fees and how each of those components is factored into pricing. Especially if the tool is new to you and your entire team, you’ll want to make sure you can offer some training led by the experts to help your team members get up and running successfully. While some basic support might be included in the price, determine whether you’ll need advanced support (and what that costs) — even if it’s only for a short period of time during the initial stages of implementation. With these considerations in mind, there’s a large pricing range for project management software for startups. As we mentioned, many service providers offer free plans with limited functionality or for a set number of users. Certain software programs may cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands per month depending on per-user or flat fee costs.  Wrike offers a mix of free and premium paid plans to help you meet your project management needs. With the free plan, you can invite unlimited users and all core elements of project management are included: file sharing, task management, real-time activity, and different views. You get 2 GB of storage space, basic integrations, and Cloud storage integrations. This is a great plan option if your startup team is just starting to dive into project management with the potential to upgrade later. Additionally, Wrike offers plan paid options, with increased functionality for larger teams and enterprises. What is the best project management tool for startups? The best project management tool for startups will vary depending on your specific needs, but Wrike is a great option for any startup who wants to lay an effective project management foundation — and then grow from there. Wrike offers many plans to choose from, which gives you the option to choose something more budget-friendly at the beginning and move on to a plan with more functionality and capabilities as your startup grows and needs more project management support.  We think Wrike is the best project management software for startups and offers the following features (and more) to help your startup succeed: Company-wide communication that eliminates silos and suits your business’ needs Better collaboration through file sharing, task management, and instant reporting capabilities  Increased visibility through customizable dashboards  Resource management functionality that promotes better-balanced workloads across the team  Flexibility to grow alongside your startup as it grows Templates to allow you to communicate and collaborate with ease 400+ app integrations so you can keep working with the tools you already know and love Remember that project management within your startup doesn’t have to be overly complex and burdensome. The right tool will allow you to make the smartest use of your limited resources, help you stay on top of deadlines to keep your customers and team happy, and give you the tools and processes needed to see projects through to success. Ready to take project management within your startup to the next level? Sign up for a free trial of Wrike and set your projects, team, and startup up for success.

10 Free Online Training Resources for Adobe Creative Cloud
Marketing 3 min read

10 Free Online Training Resources for Adobe Creative Cloud

Whether you’re a novice designer or have years of experience under your belt, there’s always new shortcuts, features, and techniques to learn — especially when it comes to complex software like Adobe Creative Cloud. Sharpen your existing skills or learn the ins and outs of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere, and the rest of Adobe’s suite of creative tools with these free online tutorials and training resources.  1. Adobe Learn Adobe Learn is an official collection of manuals, tutorials, and FAQs straight from Adobe. Learn the essentials of each application, brush up on new features and techniques, and connect with other Creative Cloud users to discuss new tricks and best practices. 2. Adobe CC on YouTube Keep up with the latest feature releases and industry news with the Adobe CC YouTube channel. Watch interviews with leading creative professionals, hear their favorite tips and tricks, and watch workshops and master classes on demand.  3. CC TV with Terry White Blogger Terry White shares nearly 500 videos, including tutorials covering the breadth of Adobe CC, broken down in to helpful playlists covering each application. White also shares his reviews of the latest technology and creative tools.   4. Cineversity Cineversity offers hundreds of tutorials on 3D graphics and visual effects, along with community forums, a knowledge base, and other creative resources. Check out their offerings on After Effects, Illustrator, and Photoshop.   5. Computer Arts — Creative Bloq Award-winning design magazine Computer Arts features articles with roundups of top tutorials for all types of creative software, including Adobe CC. Check out their favorite demonstrations and trainings for Illustrator and Photoshop.  6. Creative COW Access dozens of tutorials on After Effects, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere, and more Adobe CC apps. You can connect with other creative professionals in Creative COW's discussion forums.  7. Julieanne Kost  Kost shares dozens of video tutorials and techniques for Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom on her YouTube channel, suitable for both beginners and advanced users. She also blogs for Adobe and has written several books on Photoshop and Lightroom.  8. KelbyOne's CC Resource Center  In addition to basic how-tos and feature walk-throughs, KelbyOne offers videos with advice on improving your creative workflow, how to get the most out of Adobe Creative Cloud, and quick crash course tutorials on the different applications.  9. Larry Jordan Find hundreds of expert training videos on Adobe Premiere Pro and Photoshop from editor Larry Jordan, along with high-level lessons on the craft of film editing. From practical how-tos like creating masks for chroma-keys or creating green-screen effects in Premiere, to high-level analysis on shot order and casting techniques, Jordan's goal is to help viewers "edit smarter."  10. Layers Magazine Layers Magazine covers the latest tools and techniques used in the creative industry, and they offer hundreds of how-to articles on Adobe’s Creative Suite. If you’re looking for specific instructions on how to stitch images together into a panorama in Lightroom, or how to change a model’s shade of lipstick in Photoshop, start here.  More Tools and Resources for Creative Professionals If you live in Adobe Creative Cloud, you know how useful plugins and extensions can be when it comes to making design work easier and more efficient. Check out our list of the top 10 free and paid add-ons for Adobe Photoshop and grab some must-have new tools. Then learn how Wrike's solution for marketing and creative teams can streamline administrative tasks and free your time to focus on creative work. 

Making the Most of Virtual Project Management Courses
Project Management 3 min read

Making the Most of Virtual Project Management Courses

One of the biggest trends in project management in 2014 is the shift to virtual training. After all, online learning is often more time-efficient, allowing you to fit in coursework whenever you have free time and limiting the hours you need off work. They can be more cost-efficient by eliminating travel expenses. Some argue they're even more effective, since you can learn at your own pace, without cramming three months' worth of material into your head only to have most of it leak out again. Plus, materials are easily accessible, so you can review them any time. But with this rising trend has come an abundance of options (see 20 Online Project Management Training Resources). How do you choose a quality project management course that also fits your needs? And how do you make sure you're getting the most out of the experience? We've put together an evaluation checklist to help you find the best match. Project Management Course Evaluation Checklist: CREDITS: Is the program accredited? If they offer PDUs, how many will you earn? CONVENIENCE: Do they offer options that suit your schedule and availability? REPUTATION: What kind of reputation does the company have? Tip: Check their social media pages to get an idea of what their current customers have to say. SIZE: What's the average class size? INSTRUCTOR: Who is teaching the course and what's their level of experience? STANDARDS: Do they align courses with current industry standards? Are course materials developed in-house or by outside consultants? SYLLABUS: Do they offer a preview of the syllabus or training schedule so you can get an idea of exactly what the course covers and how it will benefit you? APPLICABILITY: Does the course or program incorporate real-life applications you can use in your daily work, or is it mostly theoretical? SUPPORT: Will you receive any continuing support from trainers or faculty after you finish the course? Preparing for and Maximizing the Course Make sure you’ve read the course description, understand the time and work involved, and ensure that you’re able to put in the required effort. Set a schedule for when you'll attend classes and complete assignments. And find a space where you can work uninterrupted. Once the course starts, make an effort to engage with other participants. Take advantage of discussion forums, social media pages, and chatrooms to connect and network with other project managers. You may end up learning just as much from your fellow students as from the instructor! After you've aced the course, don't forget to update your LinkedIn profile and résumé to reflect any certifications you’ve acquired. Qualified project managers are in high demand! Friendly reminder: You can earn PDUs by attending Wrike webinars! We present our very own experience-based strategies to increase productivity, establish good team habits, and improve collaboration. One hour of participation or viewing earns 1 PDU. Now that you have the list of training options and this checklist, you're ready to get started. Let us know in the comments which courses you have taken and your thoughts about them!

Project Management Software Guide for Freelancers
Project Management 7 min read

Project Management Software Guide for Freelancers

In the world of freelancing, every day is different. When you’re working on several projects with a number of clients at once, it can be easy to lose track of your notes and client information.  There are many responsibilities to juggle as a freelancer, such as client work and projects, contracts, invoices, emails, and other administrative tasks. How can you juggle all of these things (and more) without dropping a ball or two?  Project management tools can help you successfully manage your freelance business. With the right software in place, you can focus on the things that matter most, like staying organized and efficient, meeting deadlines, and delivering high-quality work for your clients. Benefits of project management tools for freelancers Why should you use project management tools as a freelancer? The right software offers a number of advantages, including: Automated organization: Working with many clients is hard. You’ll quickly lose important information if you don't have a system for managing and storing it in a way that’s quickly accessible and makes sense to you. Streamlined workflows: If you’ve ever walked through an overly complicated process, you know just how valuable streamlined workflows can be. Not only do they save you time, allow you to work more efficiently, and eliminate unnecessary work, developing solid processes can also make you look impressive to your clients. More manageable workload: With freelance project management software, you don't miss the forest for the trees and can see everything you're working on, rather than individual projects for one client at a time. Having a bird’s-eye view of your workload can allow you to better forecast availability and will give you insight into whether you need to clear your plate. Boosted earnings: Time is money, and project management software can save you time. Your earnings depend on your ability to get your work done and send high-quality deliverables to your clients. When you save time, you’re creating the opportunity to earn more. More consistency: If you present your own processes and tools to your clients, it can prevent you from having to work in their tools. With your project management software in place, you can onboard clients the way you want to, often without having to learn the ins and outs of a brand new, unfamiliar system.   Features to look for in project management software for freelancers Project management for freelancers can look different from more traditional team-centric project management. Your freelance project management software needs to work best for you as the primary user.  What should you look for in a project management software tool for your freelance business? Add these items to your must-have list:  Collaboration and client access capabilities. One of the main benefits of using a project management app for freelancers is that you can centralize information and avoid bouncing between your inbox and other tools. To maximize this benefit, look for a tool that allows you to grant access to your clients so they can quickly and easily access shared documents and information on their end. Integrations with tools you’re already using in your business. What’s the second-best way to reduce the number of tools and software programs you’re using? Making sure they can integrate for ease of use across multiple products. Consider looking for a tool that will integrate with your email platform, instant messaging tools, and any other products you can’t live without. Different views. Maybe you want to see your entire workload at once using a calendar view, or perhaps you’re diving into a project in greater detail and prefer to use a Gantt chart for this one. Having the ability to change your view based on your needs can allow you to work quicker and digest the information you need in a way that resonates with you best. Time-tracking capabilities. If you aren’t integrating a time-tracking tool you’re already using, it’s beneficial to look for a tool that comes with a time tracker so you can keep an eye on how you’re spending your time. This tool will particularly come in handy if you’re charging hourly rates. But even if not, you need to get a handle on your time as a freelancer so you can get the best bang for your buck. How to organize your freelance projects with Wrike Wrike makes it easy to organize and manage all of your freelance projects and clients.  It’s as simple as creating projects for every client or assignment you take on and then adding necessary tasks and due dates to keep yourself on track. Once you have those building blocks, these other features can help you level up your freelance business:  Set up projects using client project templates and best practices. This pre-built professional services template allows you to plan projects from initiation through closeout, mapping tasks across an interactive timeline. Integrate your current tools. Wrike integrates with 400+ tools which means you don’t have to leave the current apps you love in the dust. Instead, you can integrate your favorite tools with Wrike and boost your productivity at the same time. Track and manage your time for each project. Increase visibility into how you’re spending your time so you can streamline your forecasting, communicate hours remaining to clients, or sync your tracked time to financial systems for easy invoicing purposes. Use the “my to-do” smart folder to manage your daily to-do list. Centralize your to-dos in one place. This list will contain all tasks and subtasks assigned to you and tasks that you manually add. It’s the perfect place to capture those sudden midday thoughts when you remember you forgot to respond to an email or need to finalize a deliverable by the end of the week.  Why is Wrike the best project management tool for freelancers?  With a robust feature list to meet your business needs, time tracking functionality, and an unrivaled integration list, Wrike is the best project management software for freelancers who want to get more done in less time.   Time is money when you’re a freelancer, so don’t waste any more of it. Dive in and boost your productivity by signing up for a free trial of Wrike today.

What Project Management Books Should You Read?
Project Management 3 min read

What Project Management Books Should You Read?

People often ask me to advise them on the best resources that will help them deepen their project management knowledge or start their own project management journey. One of Wrike’s clients recently asked me: “I’ve been given the green light to seek out any useful resources in the field of Project Management to further my professional development. I’ve Googled a few things, but can’t really decipher what would be beneficial vs. a waste. I was wondering if you might be able to point me in the right direction and recommend  particular books or seminars that I could look into?” I thought that it would be better to post my reply here, so that more people could take advantage of the advice. When you look for information on project management, the first thing you’ll find will be resources affiliated with the Project Management Institute (PMI). PMI is a very influential organization in the project management world and offers a lot of materials and training. It can give you a good overview of the fundamentals (“old school”). So PMI courses might be your first choice when you start educating yourself in project management. As for me, I am familiar with Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) and walked through that river, but at the end of the day, my project management philosophy was much more influenced by the following themes: •    Jim Collins’ works on leadership. I recently posted my ideas on how his Level 5 leadership concept is aligned with Project Management 2.0; •    Agile project management methods:  they are close to Lean practices. Besides, there’s a SCRUM methodology, which I posted on in my blog; •    Enterprise 2.0 principles (one of the best readings here is Wikinomics). It’s interesting that all of the three above mentioned points come from different backgrounds, yet they have lots of commonalities. Also, I recommend you take a look at works by David Allen and Stephen Covey. They are not related to project management in general, but they might help you improve your personal and team productivity. What do you read to improve your project management skills? What did you like and recommend to others? Do you know courses in your area that you could recommend? Leave a comment below and share your wisdom with other readers.

12 Useful Project Management Boards on Pinterest
Project Management 5 min read

12 Useful Project Management Boards on Pinterest

  If you love organization (and I know all you Wrikers do), then you'll probably enjoy Pinterest. Users organize cool images, articles, and more into boards of related information. Our recent "11 Ways to Use Social Media to find PM Resources" blog post tells you HOW to find great project management resources on the social media site, but now we're taking it a step further. Here's a list of our favorite project management-related Pinterest boards to check out when we want to find new PM strategies, awesome infographics, project management images or PM humor on those days that just need a laugh. General Project Management Boards Sadiq Somjee's "Project Management" boardCheck it out for: Pins about PM methodologies, personality traits that make great project managers, and strategies for running your projects well. As well as a little bit of humor and (my favorite) Calvin & Hobbes. Sylwia Zolkiewska's "Project Management" boardCheck it out for: Advice about effective PM methodologies, motivating your employees, and tips for being a better project manager. PQC International's "The Wonders of Project Management" boardCheck it out for: As the the self-proclaimed board hosting the "Wonders of PM", you'll find articles about stress-free PM, terminology you need to know (similar to our own post), and the Batman & Robin of PM! Project Management Resources Dr.Talaat Refaat's "Project Management" boardCheck it out for: Links to great resources such as articles about the qualities of a successful leader, eBooks about creative project management, and videos about turning obstacles into opportunities. Oh, and links to a few coffee cups for sale featuring PM humor. (Any office birthdays coming up?) Moheet Nagrath's "Project Management@Fast Learning" boardCheck it out if: If you're a new or accidental project manager, this board helps you pick up the basics quickly and easily. Pins help you answer questions like: "What IS project management, anyway?" PMP® (Project Management Professional) Insights The PMP® Exam's "PMP Insights" boardCheck it out for: Wisdom direct from the brains behind the PMP exam. You'll find digestible insights into high-level PM ideas. I also suggest you look at their other boards for more educational information (e.g. podcasts, quizzes), lessons learned, and details regarding the PMP exam. Project Management + Change Management Lesley's "Project Management/Change Management" boardCheck it out if: You're trying to create a change in your organization, but you don't have a solid plan, or you're battling employee resistance and bad project management. Project Management + Risk Management Bonita Tompkin's "Project Management" boardCheck it out for: Articles, books, images, and videos about managing the risks that come with every project you start. Project Management + Strategic Planning Julia C's "Leadership, Strategic Execution & Project Management" boardCheck it out: The best project managers know that projects start long before the first task is created. Take a look if you have a new project coming up and need help improving your goal-setting, planning, and kick-off. Project Management + Time Management Daniel Sommer's "Productivity - Project Management - Time Management" boardCheck it out for: Advice on how to stop wasting time and start increasing your productivity. Also includes a link to ambient background sounds that makes you feel like you're sitting in your favorite coffee house. Time for a little in-office escape! Project Management Templates & Charts Kim Huang's "Project Management" boardCheck it out for: Templates for management presentations — everything from business analytics to marketing overviews to change management steps. BONUS: A Little PM Humor Marta María de León's "Project Manager" boardCheck it out if: You're having one of those days where you just want to lay your head on the desk and sigh heavily. These images might be so relatable that you'll have no choice but to laugh and perk up again. Did we leave out any of your favorite PM boards? Drop us a link in the comments! Also, check out Wrike's Project Management Pinterest boards for more inspiration and education.

20 Online Training Resources for Project Managers
Project Management 7 min read

20 Online Training Resources for Project Managers

What makes a great project manager? Experience? Communication skills? Planning prowess? Or is it the desire to constantly improve and develop new abilities? We’ve collected 20 online project management training resources for you to sharpen your skills, broaden your knowledge, collect PDUs, and earn notable certificates to advance your career. Take a look and be one step closer to obtaining a project management certification like the PMP — Project Management Professional certification. Here's the list, in alphabetical order: 1. Corporate Education Group presents a variety of individual classes on topics like risk management and project scope, plus PMP exam prep. Courses usually consist of three-hour sessions spread over a period of several weeks. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Partner; PRINCE2 Accredited Training Organization.  2. ESI International creates online training courses in subjects like cost control, requirements management, and negotiation skills, plus Associates and Masters certificates through their academic partner George Washington University. ESI employs 600 instructors with an average of 20 years of experience, and course lengths vary from a few days to just over a month. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider and Registered Consultant Program participant 3. Global Knowledge has instructors who are certified PMPs and consultants with an average of 15 years of experience. Sign up for virtual learning or self-paced courses on Agile, Project Portfolio Management, preventing project failure, and managing high-risk projects, or enroll in an exam prep boot camp. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider   4. International Institute for Learning, Inc. provides a comprehensive course catalog, covering both core project management concepts and advanced strategies. The IIL conducts virtual and on-demand courses on topics like project scope, risk management, and Earned Value Management systems (we have our own guide on how to calculate earned value, too!), plus prep courses for a variety of certifications. If you're looking to pick up a few PDUs, they also supply a library of on-demand webinars. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider; PRINCE2 Accredited Training Organization (ATO); Managing Successful Programmes ATO; Management of Risk licensed affiliate; Management of Portfolios ATO; Portfolio, Programmes, and Project Offices licensed affiliate; Change Management ATO; Benefits Management ATO; Agile Project Management ATO; International Association for Six Sigma Certification; Association for Project Management ATO 5. Passionate PM has a wide selection of on-demand learning modules for earning PDUs, or enrolling in live online prep courses for the PMI-RMP exam, PMP/CAPM exam, or an accelerated PMP "Exam Cram.” All instructors have at least a decade of project experience, and many hold an impressive list of certifications. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 6. PDU Insider is maintained by OSP International, LLC (the founder is well-known PMP Cornelius Fitchner, host of the PM Podcast and PDU podcast). Check out the site for a list of on-demand PDUs that you can access and complete whenever your schedule allows. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 7. PDU of the Day highlights a new way to earn PDUs every weekday. People refer opportunities to the site, and the site owners review opportunities before posting. Many (but not all) of the opportunities are free, including live webinars and recorded presentations. 8. PDUs2Go.com is run by PMP Jennifer Bridges and offers self-paced Category A PDU courses to purchase and complete at your convenience. Choose the delivery method that best fits your needs: either have a hard copy shipped to you or download digital course materials to review during your commute, on the treadmill, or over a leisurely cup of coffee. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 9. PMCentersUSA gives you interactive online classes taught by seasoned project professionals and which cover a variety of topics, including time and cost management, managing multiple projects, portfolio management, and five-day advanced skills virtual workshops. All courses align with the current edition of PMBOK, and when industry standards change, they update their course materials. Check out their weekly webinar series for a chance to score PDUs. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 10. Project Management Institute (PMI) E-Learning allows you to earn PDUs through online seminars, on-demand courses, and publication quizzes straight from PMI. And be sure to consult your local chapter for convenient Professional Development Days close to home! Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 11. PMstudy can get you certified online in Program Management, Six Sigma green and black belts, Human Resource Development, and Risk Management. PMStudy also offers PMP and CAPM online exam prep. All instructors are certified project management professionals with an average of 15 years of project experience and 400 hours of PMP teaching experience. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 12. PMSOFT presents live, online accelerated PMP prep and Agile Management methodologies courses, plus continuing education in topics like Work Breakdown Structure standards. Classes are scheduled on weekends to fit around your busy work schedule and include online reading material and downloadable presentations. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider, PRINCE2 Accredited Training Organization 13. Prodevia Learning provides advanced courses developed by industry leaders for highly-experienced project managers. Throughout the course, you have access to a personal instructor, and you can set your own learning schedule with an unlimited amount of time to complete coursework. Courses include "Mastering Project Risk," "Managing Politics and Conflict in Projects," and "PMO Design and Implementation." They also offer a Professional Project Executive (PPE) certification program. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider  14. RMC Project Management hosts live, instructor-led online classes on project planning, scheduling,  communication, work breakdown structures, and more. Online classes use collaborative technologies like live chat, virtual whiteboards, and file sharing to connect students and instructors. They also offer an extensive selection of exam prep courses, plus free webinars to earn PDUs. All instructors have at least 15 years of experience and hold multiple certifications. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 15. Simplilearn has developed two options for online learning: self-paced or instructor-led. Choose from exam prep in several areas of project management, including Agile and Scrum certification. Complete practice tests and interact with other students in Simplilearn's online discussion forums. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider, PRINCE2 Accredited Training Organization, Scrum Alliance Registered Education Provider 16. Watermark Learning courses are built on interactive case studies, so students get hands-on, practical learning opportunities. Courses include "Getting Real Results from Virtual Teams," "Defining and Analyzing Requirements," "Recovering Troubled Projects" and more. Instructors have an average of 25 years of experience managing projects. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 17. Udemy Project Management Training gives you access to on-demand courses on a variety of devices. In short, learning with Udemy works with your schedule. You'll need to check each course description to determine if it qualifies for PDUs, who the provider is, how many hours of content it includes, and how much it costs. Udemy's collection of courses includes project planning, project integration, a Project Management master class by Exner Education, and PMP/CAPM exam prep. 18. University of Waterloo Center for Extended Learning delivers online course offerings that include project management applications and fundamentals, along with PMP certification prep. Courses run for six weeks, after which you have two weeks to complete a final exam. Once new lessons are posted, you can access them at any time. Accreditation: Partners with World Class Productivity, a PMI Registered Education Provider, to provide PDUs for online courses 19. Villanova University administers online classes in project management essentials, advanced strategies, team effectiveness, Six Sigma, and PMP/CAPM exam prep. They've also developed industry-specific courses for IS/IT and healthcare professionals. Class sessions use streaming video, or you can download video lectures and audio presentations to learn on the go. Engage with classmates and instructors in real time through instant messaging, shared whiteboards, and two-way VOIP calls. Accreditation: PMI Registered Education Provider 20. Wrike webinars present our very own experience-based strategies to increase productivity, establish good team habits, and improve collaboration. Plus, they qualify for PDUs under Category C: Self-Directed Learning. Each hour of viewing recordings or participating in live webinars earns one PDU. What's your experience with taking an online project management course? What was the best project management certification for you? Check out these resources for yourself and learn how to become a certified project manager. Be sure to share your recommendations and tips in the comments, too! NOTE: PMI, PMBOK, PMP, CAPM, PMI-RMP, and REP are registered trademarks of the Project Management Institute, Inc. Read Next: Making the Most of Virtual Project Management Courses

5 Tips for Forming Productivity Habits in Your Team (PMI Presentation Recap)
Productivity 5 min read

5 Tips for Forming Productivity Habits in Your Team (PMI Presentation Recap)

This May 2014, I talked about the formation of new habits at a dinner for the Project Management Institute (PMI), Sacramento Valley Chapter and then again during a live webinar for the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter. Specifically, I shared 5 concrete strategies for forming team productivity habits, while also delving into the behavioral and psychological barriers that affect their success. Since 45% of our everyday actions are habitual, it’s important to make sure they are good ones! Project managers must cultivate the soft skill of knowing how to lead a team toward productive habits despite the staggering statistic that it takes anywhere from 66 days (on average) to eight months to learn a new habit, depending on the habit’s complexity. The 5 Strategies for Forming Productive Habits If you're trying to get your team to adopt productive habits, then here's a very brief rundown of those five strategies: 1.  Lead by example: Define the behavior you want the team to exhibit, then practice what you preach. Your team will follow when they see you do it first, and when the benefits of this new habit are clear. 2. Share the power to change: In spreading the new habit, you may need the help of power users or evangelists — enthusiastic team members who can spread the new habit to the rest of the team and even the entire organization. 3. Apply horizontal or vertical rollout: Split up the habit into smaller actions and smaller parts, so that tiny steps can be made. Small wins can motivate the team to take it the rest of the way, no matter how difficult it may be. 4. Motivate your team: Influence the emotional side of your people, not just the intellectual. Give them incentives to practice this new habit. Make it fun. Be creative. 5. Blend new work styles into existing practices: Leverage any existing habits that are useful when trying to "write" new habits onto the team's repertoire. This makes the new habit feel more familiar and ensures a more natural transition. If you want a more detailed discussion on the strategies, watch a recorded webinar on this same topic. Reactions to Change, Reactions to Grief One particular slide which yielded the most conversation from both groups was the image of the classic curve illustrating people’s reactions to change across time: how any change is first met with denial before spiraling into anger, confusion, depression, crisis, then settling into acceptance, and finally new confidence. One of the attendees pointed out that the curve “mimics the stages of grief." It does resemble it very closely, sharing four of the five stages in the Kubler-Ross model (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) which are the emotional stages one goes through when facing death or the loss of a loved one. Which makes sense. Learning new habits is a figurative death of sorts: a death to old behaviors and the status quo of the past. In its place, a new habit is born, giving rise to internal friction as the new behavior fights against established habits for dominance. This provided a fruitful discussion about how implementing a new habit shouldn’t be taken too lightly. It should be done with requisite amounts of sensitivity, all while motivating the team to forge better, more productive, behavioral patterns. At the end of the webinar for the PMI San Francisco chapter, they polled the attendees and shared the results with me: 96% said they learned something new from the webinar! And 89% said they learned something new from the presentation that they could apply to their current job. Glad to be of service, PMI! Cartoon Image Credits: Tom Fishburne on Marketoonist

Project Management Templates: #PMChat on PM Templates Discussion Recap
Project Management 3 min read

Project Management Templates: #PMChat on PM Templates Discussion Recap

Learn from the experts in this recap of the recent Project Management Twitter chat hosted by @PMChat. Topics include: Whether project managers have a standard set of templates for each project Recommendations about what to include in project status updates What types of templates PMs use for each project Project Management Templates: #PMChat on PM Templates Discussion Summary View more lists from Wrike Team What else would you add to the templates discussion? Feel free to add your ideas in the comments!

11 Ways To Use Social Media To Find Project Management Resources (or just about anything!)
Project Management 5 min read

11 Ways To Use Social Media To Find Project Management Resources (or just about anything!)

The web is an amazing resource for education, research, and discovery - if you know where (and how) to look. Of course, running a search on Google (or your favorite search engine) is one option for finding resources on project management or any other topic you’re exploring. But “page 1” of any search results page will show you links to pages housing content that search engine thinks is most relevant for your search - it may not be the best, newest or most interesting content out there. Social media sites can provide a treasure trove of resources that are completely different from what you’ll find in the search engines. In fact, you’ll not only find different project management resources in social media, but you’ll be able to: (1) explore them differently (e.g. visually, by “hashtag,” or in collections curated by others), (2) see varied types of media (e.g. pictures, infographics, video), (3) connect with the creators or the “curators” of the content, or (4) find groups of people actively talking about specific topics or industries. 11 Ways to Find Project Management Resources in Social Media See below for 11 ways to boost your marketing resource management in social media (or use these techniques to find information on just about any topic): PinterestPinterest is a great way to find visual content or even links to other types of content (blog posts, videos, etc.) One of my favorite ways to browse is by searching keywords and looking through boards, which are collections of content on a particular topic. Click here to find Project Management Boards on Pinterest   QuoraQuora is a question and answer site where you can discover interesting conversation threads or ask your own questions about project management. Click here to see project management questions and answers on Quora   TwitterTwitter is a constant stream of “tweets” on just about every topic imaginable. Hashtags are special tags that people place in their tweets to help with discovery. If you run a search on the hashtag #projectmanagement, you’ll find people tweeting about it and sharing resources related to project management. Click here to run a real time search on #projectmanagement on Twitter Or learn about the 20 Project Management Gurus to Follow on Twitter   LinkedIn GroupsLinkedIn is a great resource for everything business - but sometimes it's hard to discover great content on a particular topic. One way to solve this issue is to join relevant groups where people congregate to talk about particular topics or industries. Click here to run a search on project management groups on LinkedIn   FacebookSo you thought Facebook was just for baby pictures and vacation shots! Not quite. You can find project management groups or pages devoted to project management there, too: Click here to find Facebook pages related to project management   Google+Google Plus has a lot of great business-related content. Posts are displayed in an easy-to-skim fashion and you can find companies or groups dedicated to your topic of interest. Click here to find project management resources on Google+   ListlyWe all love lists, don’t we? Well, listly has great lists of project management resources, tools, and websites. Click here to find project management resources on Listly Click here to see Wrike's lists on Listly   WikipediaWikipedia is the famous and oft-quoted online encyclopedia completely created with user-generated content. It’s sometimes hard to figure out exactly what is available to you on Wikipedia. One way to discover new content is to look at categories. Click here to see the project management category on Wikipedia   StumbleUponStumbleUpon is an interesting site that provides a great way to discover project management-related sites online. Click here to see what StumbleUpon has in the project management category   RedditReddit is a popular social bookmarking site that covers a variety of topics - from the inane to the serious. It’s a mix of resources, reviews, and Q&As. Click to see what’s being discussed about PM on Reddit   YouTubeFor online videos, YouTube is the undisputed leader. You can find video tutorials, tool reviews, and more. Click here to access Wrike’s YouTube account where we share tips on project management.   Ready to get started?With these different social media sites and approaches for discovering content, you should be well-armed to find project management resources or information on just about any topic. What are your favorite ways to find new resources? Let us know in the comments.

20 #ProjectManagement Gurus to Follow on Twitter
Project Management 7 min read

20 #ProjectManagement Gurus to Follow on Twitter

Twitter is a fantastic resource for keeping up with the latest trends and connecting with leading figures in project management. But the sheer number of voices can often be overwhelming, especially when you’re new to the world of tweets and hashtags. We’ve sifted through the crowd and collected 20 inspirational and informative Project Management Gurus you should follow on Twitter to stay in the know, develop your PM skills, and further your career. Here's the list in alphabetical order: 1. David Allen @gtdguy You know him as the father of Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. As an author, speaker, and productivity guru, David helps bring focus, clarity and confidence to workers facing overwhelming to-do lists. Why you should follow: David's feed is full of productivity tips, motivational aphorisms, and easily applicable advice to help you get more meaningful stuff done at work and in life. 2. Craig Brown @brown_note Craig's blog, "Better Projects," collects his musings on Agile, Lean, and general collaboration. He has over 15 years experience managing projects, as well as training and coaching other PMs. Why you should follow: Craig tweets thought-provoking commentary on the current state of Agile, community, and collaboration. 3. Elisabeth Bucci @elisabethbucci Elisabeth is the popular author of "The Passionate Project Manager" blog. She publishes communication tips, team building techniques, and management advice inspired by her 20+ years as a PM. She also finds everyday project management inspiration in her hobbies, life as a mother, and pop culture. Why you should follow: Elisabeth's tweets reflect her vibrant personality, and she engages in a lot of conversations with other PMs and thought leaders, so her feed is a great way to keep up with what’s buzzing in the industry. 4. Luis Seabra Coelho @lseabra Luis is an experienced software developer and project manager. He posts videos, interviews, podcasts, and other PM resources on his Ah-Ha-Moments.net blog. Why you should follow: Follow Luis for a friendly resource on interesting articles, interviews with thought leaders, and a mix of hard and soft PM skills to master. 5. Rachel Feintzeig @rachelfeintzeig Rachel is a seasoned reporter who covers management and executives for The Wall Street Journal’s "At Work" leadership blog. Why you should follow: For insight into what's newsworthy in management and the general business landscape, Rachel's feed is sure to keep you plugged in to important conversations. 6. Cornelius Fichtner @corneliusficht You may know Cornelius as the host of "The PM Podcast," where he discusses project management methodologies, PMOs, and training opportunities. Why you should follow: Cornelius tweets the latest industry news, career advice, book reviews, and other helpful resources to further your career. 7. Seth Godin @ThisIsSethsBlog Seth is a well-respected entrepreneur, marketer, public speaker, and the founder of Squidoo. He's written 15 worldwide bestsellers, including: Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us and Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? Why you should follow: Get instant notifications of Seth's new blog posts, with forward-thinking insights into cutting-edge business trends, strategies, and advice. 8. Heidi Grant Halvorson @hghalvorson As a prominent social psychologist and Associate Director of Columbia Business School's Motivation Science Center, Heidi has the inside scoop on the science behind motivation. She's also a bestselling author and a contributor to Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes, among other top news outlets. Why you should follow: Don't miss Heidi's insights into human nature, motivation, productivity and creativity--they're sure to make you a better manager. 9. Elizabeth Harrin @pm4girls Elizabeth is the force behind the award-winning blog, "A Girl's Guide to Project Management." She's also the author of Shortcuts to Success: Project Management in the Real World; Customer-Centric Project Management; and Social Media for Project Managers. Why you should follow: Elizabeth's feed provides friendly commentary on a range of PM topics, from productivity tips to newsworthy articles. 10.  Jim Highsmith @jimhighsmith With 30+ years as an IT manager, product manager, project manager, consultant, and software developer, Jim Highsmith knows his stuff. He's written several books on Agile, including co-authoring The Agile Manifesto. He also co-founded Agile Alliance and Agile Project Leadership Network. Why you should follow: If you're interested in Agile, Jim's the ultimate resource for advice, strategies, and implementation tips. 11. Ed Laccohee @edlac As the founder of Controlled Projects, Ltd., Ed works to improve business practices by assisting with projects, improving frameworks, and analyzing methodologies. Why you should follow: His hilarious videos, articles, and commentary on his experience as a PM, along with tips and resources, make for an educational and amusing productivity break. 12. Susanne Madsen @susannemadsen With over 17 years managing multi-million dollar projects, Susanne serves as a consultant, coach and mentor to helps managers develop valuable leadership skills. She is the author of The Project Management Coaching Workbook: Six Steps to Unleashing Your Potential. Why you should follow: Susanne shares a steady stream of useful resources and wisdom to help develop your leadership style, skills and confidence. 13. Jena McGregor @jenamcgregor Jena writes a daily column for the “On Leadership” section of The Washington Post, where she covers management lessons and leaders in today's headlines. Why you should follow: Jena's focus on executives and CEOs plugs her followers into what's newsworthy, current hot-button issues in business, and what makes great leaders effective. 14. Shawn Murphy @shawmu Shawn is the brains behind the website "Switch and Shift: The Human Side of Business" and host of the podcast, “Work that Matters,” where he muses on the human element of business, creating optimism at work, and connecting with others. Why you should follow: Shawn is a self-proclaimed optimist that makes you feel good about your career and future. He shares insights on how to meaningfully engage with others and tips to make your workplace happier and more productive. 15. Project Management Institute @PMInstitute The Project Management Institute is the leading not-for-profit PM association. They have provided tools, certifications, research, advocacy and career advancement opportunities to millions of project managers since 1969. Why you should follow: If you're not following PMI already, you're missing out on a great resource for articles, research, tools, trends and general professional development opportunities. 16. Ron Rosenhead @ronrosenhead Ron boasts over 15 years of experience in training, consulting, coaching, and speaking on project management. Why you should follow: Ron's feed is a reliable source for timely articles, resources, news & commentary--all from an industry veteran. 17. Anne Samoilov @annesamoilov Anne is a respected independent consultant with over 10 years experience helping teams pull together to create big things. She's also the host of "The Fearless Launching Show" podcast, where she advises leaders and entrepreneurs in successfully launching new projects, businesses, products and ideas. Why you should follow: Be sure to follow Anne if you're starting a new project and looking to lay the groundwork for success. She tweets useful articles about planning and launching projects, handling any bumps in the process, and tips on developing essential skills. 18. Peter Taylor @thelazypm Peter is the "productive laziness guru." He's a speaker, consultant, coach, and author of The Lazy Project Manager and The Lazy Winner. Why you should follow: If you want to “work smarter not harder,” Peter is your guy. He also attends major conferences, events, and learning opportunities-- and shares helpful videos, slides, and webinars. 19. Laura Vanderkam @lvanderkam Laura is the author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast; All The Money In The World: What The Happiest People Know About Getting and Spending; and 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think. She's also a blogger for CBS MoneyWatch, and her work has appeared in publications like The Wall Street Journal and on Fortune.com. Why you should follow: Laura's feed is full of insightful tips on getting the most out of your day-- from productivity tricks and helpful habits to words of encouragement. 20. Neil Walker @PPMpractitioner If you read the popular "PPM Practitioner" blog, you know Neil. He's a consultant and author with over two decades' experience leading projects, programs and portfolios. Why you should follow: Follow Neil for tips on improving leadership and social collaboration, plus news and commentary from a trusted PM authority. Go ahead and follow these industry experts to start filling your feed with thought leadership, helpful tools, and the latest industry buzz. Or if you want to follow them all in one go, we've made your life easy by pooling these gurus into a Twitter list: subscribe here. Do you know of other great PM gurus on to follow? Let us know in the comments. Talk to you on Twitter!

Peter Taylor on Overcoming 7 Top Project Management Challenges (Book Review)
Project Management 5 min read

Peter Taylor on Overcoming 7 Top Project Management Challenges (Book Review)

We’ve collected seven of Taylor’s tips for project managers to give you a peek at what lies between the pages of Real Project Management: Challenge 1: Poor Communication Good communication has always been a sticking point for project managers, but it's getting even trickier to get right. Thanks to always-on technology and social media, an endless stream of messages are coming in from a multitude of channels. Which communication tools should you use, when, and for what purpose? Taylor's Tip: Good communication means the right message, at the right time, in the right format. Consider all three aspects when you have something important to say. But before you hit send, also consider whether your message really needs to be communicated at all. Eliminating unnecessary or distracting communication will help make sure important messages are received loud and clear. Challenge 2: Virtual Nature of Projects With remote teams on the rise, it's important for project managers to understand that who you're communicating to is just as important as the message itself. We must always remember to take cultural differences into account, but great project managers also factor in the loss of other communication cues like tone of voice and body language. They consider how their messages could be read, not just how they intend them to be read. The use of emoticons and other informal language is becoming a common way to eliminate misunderstandings and foster good working relationships. Taylor's Tip: Cultural differences go far beyond language barriers; they affect how people approach their work and what they value. That's why good people skills are needed now more than ever — not only to manage distributed teams, but also to effectively argue why you need certain resources, why particular tasks should be prioritized, demonstrate business justification, and so on. So don't neglect your soft skills! Challenge 3: Constant Time Pressures For project managers, the clock is always ticking. Time to deadline, time to market, time to achieving a certain ROI — all are expected to be fast, fast, and faster. Taylor sees expectation management as the key to success, since mismatched expectations mean wasted time. You need to thoroughly understand what it is you're expected to deliver in order to plan the most efficient path to delivering it. Taylor's Tip: There's a difference between working hard and being effective. Don't create extra work for yourself by needlessly involving yourself in decisions, communications, or processes that don't really need your input. It's not only a poor use of your time and energy, it slows down your team! Challenge 4: Executive Support Taylor sees a lack of committed project sponsors as a major challenge facing today's project managers. But a big part of the problem is this: while 99.5% of organizations surveyed said they believe good project sponsorship is essential to project success, 83% admitted they do nothing to develop, train, or support project sponsors within their companies. Taylor's Tip: Until organizations start properly supporting project sponsors, project managers will need to take it upon themselves to communicate their needs to their sponsors. Make sure your project sponsor understands how crucial they are to the project's success, what their role is, and what's expected of them. Challenge 5: Strategic Connection It's not enough to successfully manage your projects; you need to understand the overall business strategy connecting them all (what Taylor calls "strategic connection"). One-off or "orphan" projects only drain company resources, so overall business strategy should be something that's well understood throughout the company, not just at the executive level. Every project manager (and their team members) should be free to question whether or how the project they're working on contributes to larger business objectives. And if the connection can't be proven, the project should be halted. Taylor's Tip: Project managers must move beyond the tactical approach of managing budgets, project scope, and everyday processes to a more strategic view, where they focus on how their project can deliver the most business value. Challenge 6: Increased Complexity Projects are becoming more and more complex. Taylor defines a complex project as one that has some degree of uncertainty either surrounding its process or its purpose: perhaps there are unclear goals, various political factors or influences, or the tools and processes being used are new to the team. Whatever the root cause, complexity often means increased risk, and unprepared project managers may be in for a struggle. Taylor's Tip: Junior and mid-level project managers should seek out opportunities to work on more complex projects under senior project managers, learning all they can from the experience so they can confidently manage complexity in future work. Challenge 7: Lessons Learned Although each project manager and team member has personal takeaways from each project, they're too likely to internalize them and not share them with their colleagues. Even teams that actually have an internal knowledge base are often unsure what is (or isn't) helpful advice, a valuable template, a best practice, and so on. Plus, there's always pressure to start work on the next project as soon as the first is finished, skipping or rushing the process of reflecting, recording, and sharing potentially valuable information. Taylor's Tip: Instead of trying to record all lessons learned from a project, ask your colleagues what information they would find most helpful. Do they want to know what risks others encountered & overcame? Start a knowledge base just for people to record the risks they experienced and their advice. Whether it's useful templates, effective processes, or project planning tips, find out what your team wants and focus on that. More Tips for Today's Project Managers Check out our interview with Peter Taylor to learn the new definition of project success, which types of projects are most costly for organizations, and much more — straight from the man himself. Read Next: 9 Podcasts for Project Managers On the Go 5 Must-Have Skills for the Project Manager Resume in 2015 7 Keys to Project Stakeholder Management from the #PMChat Community