LET I T OU T
Share your tips
for handling
common project
management
issues on the
PMI Project,
Program and
Portfolio
Management
LinkedIn group.
PROJECT TOOLKIT
LACK OF DIRECTION
Poorly defined strategic direction and its partner in crime: poorly understood requirements. The former usually leads
to the latter—which usually guarantees change
requests down the road. Poorly defined strategic
direction, regardless of industry, can be the result of
an organization not taking time to create a roadmap
that illustrates its desired growth direction. More
frequently, the problem equates to a project team’s
lack of awareness of the strategic direction. Projects
that have a dim connection to the strategic vision can
be plagued with continually changing requirements,
cost and/or schedule overruns, quality problems and
ultimately diminished value to the organization.”
—Michael Worden, PMP, project manager, Meijer Corp.,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
NO LAID PLANS
Insufficient planning can make project execution feel like war—and often leads to agitated stakeholders and dissatisfied
clients. A lack of proper planning will invariably
create a need for corrective actions, which in turn
could cause delayed timelines and bloated budgets.
A project manager must be able to clearly articulate the project plan and envisioned outcomes to
stakeholders prior to execution. This is the key to
ensuring proper planning and therefore successful
delivery of the project.”
—Debangshu Ghose, PMP, senior project manager,
Mphasis Ltd., Pune, India
Vent Session
Whether it’s last-minute change requests or oblivious
stakeholders,
recurring problems
can push project
managers to the
edge. We asked
practitioners: What’s
your biggest project
pet peeve?
Voices