If projects, especially large-scale projects, are your business, you know that there is a certain amount of risk involved in getting to the finish line. So many things can go wrong! The wrong specs or plans can be inadvertently approved; the budget can be revised by a person without authorization; an outdated version of a file can be followed; work can be done without the proper permits; communication can break down among team members; cost increases can sneak up; certain people can be left out of hearing new, critical information; due dates might pass without notice; and unavoidable delays might cause changes that wreak havoc unless they are monitored and compensated for correctly.
Category Archives: Project Management
Exception Management: A Safer Way to Drive
It seems that with every new TV commercial, automobile technology makes another huge leap. Everything from automatic parallel parking, radar-assisted cruise control, back-cameras with audio warning, blind spot detection, and foot-activated rear door openers are now available.
What Type of Team is Your Organization?
Although all companies are unique, each company has employees who work together. How those teams work together can vary greatly. Have you taken a look at your team dynamics lately?
Does your company operate like a baseball team? Are you and your co-workers a bunch of superstars? Do you each work independently most of the time, each aware of company goals that you align with your personal goals? Does each superstar have his or her own timetable, striving to be the best at what he or she does?
Tweet“Oops! I Didn’t Know!!”
Has this happened to you? Someone in a group meeting throws out an idea. You muse about it for the rest of the day, then do some work to make that idea happen. And then you find out that two other people are also working on it, each independently and unaware of your work. Or, perhaps worse, you find out that the other two people had a chat after the meeting and are collaborating on the work, duplicating or contradicting the work that you just spent hours on.
In any group endeavor, communication is key and collaboration just makes sense. This is particularly true in the construction industry. On a construction project, there are many decisions that need to be made, much work to be done, and often, changes to the work along the way. Everyone involved needs to know what is going on, what work is needed now, and who is responsible for it.
TweetUsing Project Automation Wisely
From time to time we like to talk about automation in our client webinars because we believe that a system such as the Spitfire Project Management System can make the job of project managers much easier. Why work harder when you can work smarter?
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