How to Answer the Most Common Project Management Interview Questions
Secured an interview for the project management position and want to come prepared? Nail your next junior or senior project manager interview with this guide to the most commonly asked project management interview questions and their answers.
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:
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.
How to Improve Leadership Skills as a Project Manager
Being an effective project manager isn’t only about coordinating the details. You also need to know how to manage and motivate the people on your project team. That requires some pretty effective leadership skills. These five tactics can show you how to improve your leadership skills.
The Modern-Day Project Manager: 5 Areas of Impact & Opportunity
The pandemic has influenced how we've had to adjust our roles and responsibilities. For the modern-day project manager, this has led to five major areas of impact and opportunity: collaboration, hybrid project delivery, digital information, AI, and risk management. Read on to learn how today's project manager will have to adapt.
What Soft Skills do Project Managers Need?
As a project manager, you oversee projects from beginning to end. You walk the project through its entire lifecycle, from initiation to closure. It’s a big job, and there are various skills and tasks involved that help you get there. Sure, you’ve got a toolbox full of hard skills (also known as technical skills) in your back pocket — things like risk management, budgeting, and project planning, to name a few. But those competencies aren’t enough. You need soft skills, otherwise known as interpersonal skills, to help you successfully cross the finish line. Here, we’ll break down what soft skills are, why every project manager needs them, and provide some of the top project manager soft skills you’ll need to be the best project manager you can be. Let’s dive in. What are soft skills? What exactly are soft skills? Soft skills are the interpersonal behavior skills that allow you to work well with other people and do your job successfully. These skills are often transferable, meaning they apply and add value no matter what role or industry you’re in. While hard skills help you do your specific job (in this case, project management), soft skills help you address the people side of things. You might hear soft skills referred to as interpersonal skills, non-technical skills, or transferable skills. Frequently mentioned soft skills include communication, leadership, problem-solving, teamwork, and creativity. Many job postings include a handful of soft skills in the requirements, and so should your resume. According to recent research by Monster, the four top skills that employers are looking for in 2021 are actually all soft skills: dependability, teamwork/collaboration, problem-solving, and flexibility. While technical skills are necessary and important for managing projects, soft skills are crucial too — especially when you’ll be collaborating and communicating with so many different people on a project team. What are hard skills for project managers? Hard skills, or technical skills, are the aspects of your role as a project manager that often include tangible deliverables that can be quantified. Hard skills in project management speak to the tools, techniques, and methodologies you can apply in your work. One way to demonstrate your hard skills as a project manager is through certifications such as the Project Management Professional (PMP) or the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM). Other hard skills include mastering project management methodologies like Agile, Kanban, and Scrum. Hard skills for project managers also include project planning, budgeting, risk management, documentation development, and project control, to name a few. Without these skills, it would be challenging to fulfill your role as a project manager, right? But pair these with your soft skills and you will not only lead a project from start to finish — you’ll do it successfully. Can a soft skill become a hard skill? Soft skills and hard skills are different by nature. Remember that soft skills are transferable, interpersonal, and allow you to work well with other people. Hard skills are developed through experience and education and are generally more technical. So no, soft skills can’t necessarily become hard skills, but they do work well together. For example, documentation development is a hard skill that you may want to improve. This includes drafting project briefs, task templates, communication plans, checklists — you name it. Proper documentation requires that you know how much to share without missing information or adding too many details. What’s the soft skill that can help you improve your documentation development? You guessed it: communication. While communication skills are a key component of documentation development, the hard skill goes beyond merely knowing how to communicate. See? Those skills work well together but aren’t one and the same. What is the importance of soft skills in project management? Project management is never just about getting the project done. Human interaction and communication are the core to effective project management. Think of a project manager as a symphony conductor or the maestro leading an orchestra. To get the symphony to play beautifully, a combination of leading, mentoring, communicating, and musical planning is needed. It wouldn’t be enough for the symphony to simply know how to make music on their own. This analogy speaks to the importance of soft skills in project management. As the leader, these soft skills — even when they take place behind the scenes — help steer the team toward effective execution. Leading others and guiding them through the project lifecycle comes with a level of responsibility that requires soft skills. If you can’t effectively communicate with your team, you may put the project at risk. Without problem-solving skills, the project timeline may be impacted negatively. In short, without soft skills, your project is at risk of failing. Top soft skills for project managers So, what soft skills matter most? Here are just a few of the soft skills required for a project manager. Add these must-learn project manager soft skills to your list: 1. Leadership As a project manager, you are the one in the driver’s seat. You need to have a clear vision and the ability to influence the project team. Effective leadership skills will inspire your team members to trust you as an authority and buy into your ideas for each project. It’s important to understand that leadership and management are different. Being a leader isn’t merely getting people to listen to you and do what you want. Leadership is about empowering others, being viewed as a strong source of authority and knowledge, and guiding and teaching others along the way. 2. Communication Communication skills, both written and verbal, are crucial in every role, but particularly for project managers. Would you be able to manage a project from start to finish without any communication? Not a chance. Solid communication skills help your project team do their best work, ensure stakeholders are adequately informed, and help you keep all parties on the same page. Email updates, project documentation, and stakeholder presentations are all areas you can hone your communication to become a more effective project manager. 3. Problem-solving Every project has a level of risk associated with it — whether scope creep occurs, you go over budget, or you miss a deadline. Eliminating risks entirely isn’t necessary; knowing how to problem solve and mitigate them is. As a project manager, you need to be quick on your feet and solve any problem that might arise throughout the project lifecycle. The truth is, every project will bring its own challenges. You need to have the problem-solving skills necessary to address and solve those challenges to keep things moving. 4. Teamwork The success of the project doesn’t depend on the project manager alone. Rather, the success of the project is driven by the project team. That means teamwork and being able to steer many toward a common goal and output is critical. When you facilitate teamwork as a project manager, you’ll contribute to the project being completed on time, individual team members feeling more satisfied, and maintaining a positive work environment with high morale. 5. Conflict resolution As a project manager, you will routinely deal with conflict. Whether it’s a conflict amongst your project team, with key stakeholders, or with other external sources, knowing how to address and handle conflict is crucial for your role. With varying personalities, perspectives, goals, and values, conflict is often unavoidable, and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to resolving those issues. Fortunately, there are a number of resolution strategies that can be deployed to effectively manage conflict within the project environment. What soft skills are needed for project management, even if you’re not a project manager? Maybe you aren’t an official project manager, but engage and participate in some level of project management in your role. In addition to the soft skills mentioned above, some additional soft skills needed for project management worth focusing on are active listening and time management. Working with other team members with different working styles and personalities warrants strong active listening skills. Active listening is an important project management soft skill because it requires focusing on what the speaker is saying to fully understand their message. No matter what member of the project team you are or what type of project you’re running, active listening is essential. Being able to assess and manage your time, prioritize tasks by order of importance to the project, and meet deadlines are all key components of success in project management. Time management is all about working efficiently, saving time, and managing your workload to deliver quality results at the end of the project. How Wrike can help project managers Effective project management is no easy task, but having the right soft skills can help you run projects with more strategy and less stress. Dive into the list of skills we provided and take your role as a project manager to the next level. Want to put your communication and teamwork skills to use? Start your free trial of Wrike to see how it can help you centralize communication and work collaboratively with your project team.
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 Valuable Project Management Skills You Forgot About
Project managers have their work cut out for them — they must manage all the various project stakeholders and keep the project on track by successfully juggling and directing their roles and responsibilities. It's easy to get bogged down by office politics, looming deadlines, and last-minute project changes. As a project manager, focusing on professional development and cultivating important skill sets can be vital to work success. These five project management skills are frequently forgotten, but equally important for project managers if they want to do the best they can for their project and their team. Important Project Management Skills to Work On 1. Horizontal Management Skills Project managers are typically the link between the project team, the sponsors, and the people who will be affected by the outcome. These people are not always under a project manager's direct jurisdiction. That means you need horizontal management skills to get people who work laterally or above you in the company hierarchy to go along with the project plan. Learn the best way to work with these people in your company in order to make project communications run smoothly. 2. A Good Sense of Humor Your sense of humor is your armor when "what you wanted to happen" becomes "what actually happens". Things are definitely not always going to go exactly as planned, so when the project schedule starts to stray, rely on your sense of humor to keep you sane. If you don't, you're going to spend many long, stressful nights crying, biting your nails, and pacing the office floor. Learn to smile at unexpected project change, and you'll be better off for it. 3. Change Management Skills Project management is not just managing the project, it's also managing the people involved. Change management skills help you manage the emotional and psychological side of people during your project. If you know what makes people tick, then you can apply that knowledge to encourage and inspire better work habits in your colleagues. 4. Expectation Management Skills Try to dig deep into what your clients expect from a project before getting started. Ask project teams what roadblocks they have hit in similar, past projects. Take this feedback into account when finalizing the project plan. If you manage all your project stakeholders' expectations, and ensure they have realistic expectations for the project outcome from the get-go, then you are less likely to face disappointment in the final outcome. 5. Management Soft Skills You've read about the best soft skills and traits for managers before — and (no surprise) they still apply to project managers. Your job will be infinitely easier if you work on being: a good listener, trusting and trustworthy, an open communicator, willing to keep learning, good at delegating, etc. Management soft skills are not something you can perfect, they are something you continually work to improve. What project management skills do you think are most important? Whether you're a client facing project manager yourself, or someone who interacts with project managers regularly, you probably have your own opinion. What management skill do you think project managers can't succeed without? We asked our community of project managers about their #1 piece of advice for new project managers on LinkedIn. Check out what they had to say, and add your own ideas to the conversation by joining our PM 2.0 LinkedIn group.
5 Powerful Ways for a Project Manager<br> To Leverage Filters in Wrike
Running several projects, you need to track all the deadlines, adjust the schedule, report the progress to your superiors… What a headache! Fortunately, with Wrike project management software it takes just a couple of minutes to get the exact project perspective you need. Today, we want to share some special hints on filtering your tasks in Wrike to make sure you always have the portion of data you need at your fingertips. Running several projects, you need to track all the deadlines, adjust the schedule, report the progress to your superiors… What a headache! Fortunately, with Wrike project management software it takes just a couple of minutes to get the exact project perspective you need. Today, we want to share some special hints on filtering your tasks in Wrike to make sure you always have the portion of data you need at your fingertips. Here are 5 powerful ways to use filters when planning things and tracking work progress. 1. Keep control of the tasks due this week. When the project is scheduled and is on its track, it’s important to be in the loop of what your team is currently working on. For this purpose, one of the handy options is monitoring the tasks to complete in the short term each week. This gives you and your team an accurate picture of what needs to be done and makes it easier for you to check on the ongoing tasks. You also can filter the list to see the tasks of particular team members. How to create the report: 1. Under “Tasks to do” in the filter panel, check the box “This week.” 2. Under “Assigned” in the filter panel, check the names of the particular assignees. If you’d like to have a short meeting with your team to discuss the tasks they’ll be working on, it might be handy for you to have a print copy of the task list. Click “Export” to create an Excel file and print the report for the meeting. If your meeting is virtual, it’s even easier to distribute the report. You just need to share its URL with your team. You will all have the same plan in front of your eyes, and if you make some changes, they’ll appear in real time. 2. Check out your team’s weekly results. A week is a perfect time frame to evaluate your team’s performance. It’s long enough to see noticeable results and short enough to adjust things if something goes not as expected. Create a performance report at the end of each week to evaluate team members’ productivity and make sure there are no stumbling blocks in the way of your project. How to create the report: 1. Choose folder -> Press “Show Descendants” button 2. Filter panel -> Completed on -> This week You will see the results for the current week according to the first day of the week that you’ve set in your account settings. You can see the total number of tasks completed during the given period in the right-hand bottom corner of your workspace. To see the most important tasks at the top of the list, sort them by importance. If you need to share this data with your superior, provide him or her with the report link right from the browser address bar. 3. Adjust schedule hitches. If things go off schedule, you should be the first one to know. To prevent serious delays, it’s helpful to constantly monitor the overdue tasks across your project to be able to tweak the schedule quickly enough. How to create the report: 1. Click on the folder name. 2. Filter panel -> Tasks to do -> Overdue. To have this data always at your fingertips, you can add the report to your dashboard by pressing the “Add to dashboard” button. 4. Overview important events. You most likely want to make sure that everything is prepared in advance for important things on your roadmap, like your next release or an approaching event. Create milestones for important stages of your project and monitor them for the upcoming month. How to create the report: 1. Filter panel -> Advanced filters -> Task type -> Milestone. 2. Filter panel -> Tasks to do -> This month/this week. 5. Pick up valuable ideas and bring them to life. If you log every idea into Wrike, it helps you better focus on important things that you can take advantage of now. What is more, during a calm period, it’s easy to look through the unassigned, backlogged tasks in the system and pull out the most valuable ones to work on them further. How to create the report: 1. Filter panel -> Assigned -> Unassigned. 2. Filter panel -> Advanced filters -> Task type -> Backlogged. Extra tip: When you filter tasks and create reports, don’t forget that there’s also the sorting feature at your service. For your convenience, you can sort tasks by importance, due date or priority, and the sorting order will be automatically saved for this task list. These settings also will be applied to the dashboard widget you create from the report. What kind of reports do you use in Wrike?
The Future of PMOs: Understanding the Challenges
The Project Management Office, or PMO, remains an increasingly essential part of a successful organization. And as new technology emerges and companies seek greater innovation, PMOs must evolve to remain relevant and valuable. So what is a PMO, and how do they add value to your organization?
How Neuroscience Can Make You a Better Project Manager
Disengaged employees are a very real and very possible threat to your business. A Gallup survey says that four out of five workers worldwide are not working to the best of their abilities because they’re disengaged. And that the U.S. economy loses up to $350 billion annually due to the lackluster productivity levels of disengaged employees. But how do you re-engage them? What strategies can you use to bring them back from the dark side of the Force? Our CEO Andrew Filev wrote an article on ProjectManagement.com to teach project managers 4 PM strategies that are backed by neuroscience. Readers will better comprehend why their team members are disengaged, and be able to improve the way they manage projects overall. He writes: "We should know why it’s happening and learn how we can re-engage our teams. This is where neuroscience becomes a valuable resource. It isn't as complicated as it might seem initially, and the knowledge of our brain’s wiring provides us with practical insight into how best to motivate our team and improve teamwork." Read the article to get all four neuroscience tips: https://www.projectmanagement.com/articles/283917/4-Ways-Neuroscience-Can-Enhance-Project-Management
