Project Management
Professional Certifications – Additional Work or a Ladder to Success for Federal Employees
read moreWhat Does it Take to Be a Project Manager in Government?
The Interpretive Guidance for Project Manager Positions published by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in May of 2019 lays out the responsibilities that are shared by a wide range of project managers. It also provides precise criteria to be used in the evaluation of current and future project managers in the Federal Government. The production of this guidance involved consideration by numerous government organizations that oversee human resources, financial management, procurement, and other related functions.
read moreThe Many Ways the Federal Government Measures Quality
Since the introduction of Total Quality Management revolutionized the manufacturing industry, we have understood that quality is a key measure of project management success. No longer is completing a project on-time and within budget good enough. Processes must be efficient and produce an outcome that meets every specification and satisfies the customer’s need.
Although this philosophy began with manufacturing, it has spread throughout every aspect of our lives. We are consistently asked to provide, collect, and report on the quality of products, services, processes, and ideas. Let’s examine ways that this emphasis on quality is spreading throughout the Federal Government.
Qualities of the Ideal Federal Leader
One of the three key drivers of transformation named in the 2019 President’s Management Agenda (PMA) is realigning human capital to serve America’s priorities for the 21st century. While there is a significant focus on filling technology gaps, several authorities have defined ideal qualities for leaders in the Federal Government.
read moreThe Need-to-Know Facts about PMIAA
The changes prescribed by the Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act (PMIAA) will impact Federal Civilian project and program management professionals across the entire workforce. How much do you know about PMIAA? Here are some basic answers to the most common questions.
read more10 Facts about PMP® Exam Changes Taking Effect December 16, 2019
After incorporating changes from the Sixth Edition of A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), the Project Management Institute (PMI®) is taking a step into the future of Project Management best practices with a revision to the Project Management Professional (PMP®) Examination. Here is a breakdown of the exam, according to PMI:
read moreGetting the ‘Gears of Government’ Moving in the Right Direction
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published a new playbook and distributed it through a memo to agency heads and C-level directors to help agencies accelerate the cross-agency priority goal of the President’s Management Agenda of modernizing the Federal workforce. The Executive Playbook for Workforce Reshaping: Accelerating the Gears of Transformation, offers four plays for government leaders and employees and anyone with an appetite for change.
read moreCongratulations to AFFIRM Leadership Award Winner Sam Shellenberger of DOL VETS
Management Concepts manages and operates the National Veterans’ Training Institute (NVTI) on behalf of DOL VETS to further develop and enhance the professional skills of veterans’ employment and training service providers throughout the United States.
read moreThe Role of Program Management in the Federal Government
The Project Management Institute® defines program management as a group of related projects managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not available from managing them as individual projects. A program manager is the person authorized by the performing organization to lead the team or teams responsible for achieving program objectives.
read moreThe PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition Moves PM in a Business Value, Strategy Alignment, and Adaptive Direction
The ongoing emphasis on Business Value, Strategic Alignment, and Adaptation to the dynamic project environment and stakeholder needs makes these changes a significant improvement and step in the right direction toward elevating the PMBOK® Guide to a truly application-oriented tool.
read moreFederal Program Management Gets a Boost
In the final days of his administration, Obama to signed the new Program Management Improvement Accountability Act (PMIAA) into law. As with the PMIAA 2015 version, this effort adds language to Section 503 in Title 31 of the U.S. Code, which applies to all Executive Branch entities (Defense excepted). Here’s a quick summary of actions the Office of Management and Budget and Agencies are assigned by the change.
read moreComparisons of Agile vs. Traditional Approaches
Can this discussion be condensed down to a set of graphs that illustrate the areas of “applicability” for both Agile and current best practices for project management…
read moreStrengths and Weaknesses of Agile
Agile style methodologies seem to have had some success in environments with common conditions: Software deliverables, Small team sizes (5-9 is usual size…
read moreAgile: Bits vs. Atoms?
Building on the frustrations now evident at the basis for the Agile Manifesto’s creation, where did the current project management best practices seem to go “off-rails…
read moreCan Agile and Traditional (Predictive) Software Development Co-Exist?
Beginning with this post, we will be posing a series of discussions on this question: Is Agile (Agile/Scrum) able to either peacefully co-exist with traditional…
read moreWhat Changes are Ahead with the new PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition?
It’s that time again for PMI® to update the PMBOK® Guide and release the next edition. You may or may not be aware, but since the PMBOK® Guide is recognized as…
read moreA New Prescription to Cure What Ails Federal Program Management?
In December of 2008 the now defunct Council for Excellence in Government, presented a report entitled “Delivering Program Results: Improving Government…
read moreThe Learning Organization: Insights from NASA
In my last blog I discussed the findings from a study the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA), in conjunction with the Project Management…
read moreManaging Requirements: Verification vs. Validation
A common source of project failure over the past two decades has continued to be the management or mismanagement of project requirements. We are not going to discuss…
read moreSuccess is Difficult: Part Three
I started this series of blogs on project management challenges with a discussion of project management success factors (“Three Pillars of Project Management”)…
read moreEstablishing a Successful IT PM Mentoring Program
Welcome back and if you did not read my previous blog post for August, you might want to quickly do that as it is background material for this follow-on post…
read moreIntegrating Internal Controls with Best Practices
In my previous blogs I talked about the different components that comprise the organizational environment where best practices can survive and thrive and the…
read moreIT Project Management Theory vs. Practice
A question that is asked in many of my seminars is: “This is fine in theory, but what about practice: how do you manage IT projects in real life?” This is the fine line between…
read moreWhy Success is Difficult: Part Two
I started this series of blogs on project management challenges with a discussion of project management success factors (“Three Pillars of Project Management”)…
read moreLeadership – The Critical Element in Best Practices
In my last blog, “What makes a ‘Practice’ Best?” I used a client example to cite various components that create an organizational environment where best practices…
read moreFITARA: Improvement or Impasse?
Anyone associated with government IT acquisitions, project management, or systems operation is likely to be familiar with the recently passed (Dec. 19, 2014) Federal Information Technology…
read moreThe PMP® Exam Is Changing – Update
In May, we told you about how the PMP Exam is changing effective November 2, 2015 to align with the annual PMP® Role Delineation Study (RDS) conducted in March…
read moreWhat Makes a “Practice” Best?
During the Civil War (as the story goes) a Union Soldier’s widow approached President Lincoln to complain about her husband’s death. Her complaint was that…
read moreProject Management Plans
When I am asked for a template for a Project Management Plan, I have to give my usual consulting answer – “It depends.” Because I have found that there is no one template…
read moreThe Struggle to Improve IT Acquisition
The Federal government wastes about half of the $80 billion per year it spends on IT. Agencies spend, on average, seven times more on IT…
read moreHow Leaders Can Bridge the Gap Between Where They Are Now and Where They Want to Be – It’s All in the Mind
In a previous post I presented a basic approach to goal setting that could be used to help leaders acquire new skills as they set goals to make the required behavior changes…
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