By: Brian Egan
I have been doing research on the subject of project procurement management and ventured onto the PMI website to look for reference materials. There were surprisingly few books available, considering how important procurement activities are to project success.
A set of three books that seemed particularly relevant were written by Margaret Gilbert.
By Darrell G. Stiffler, PMP
For years, the Project Management Institute (PMI) has been touting the virtues of the Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) as the method to use in the Critical Path Methodology (CPM) construction of a network diagram. The network diagram uses boxes or rectangles, referred to as nodes, to represent activities, and by connecting the nodes with arrows it illustrates the logical relationships that exist between the nodes. However, the illustration of a network diagram in the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) is OK, but the nodes illustrated are poor. In trying to perform the forward pass, backward pass and calculating float the illustration has no value. Because of the PMBOK vacuum of detail and poor illustration of the diagram node, others have used their own style of node for the critical path calculation. There are many different ways to display the node, and un-standardization has allowed the whole subject to become confusing. I propose that PMI publish in the PMBOK a standard node. This would establish a standard and make it easier for all those creating a PDM much easier.
By Darrell G. Stiffler
The triple constraints model has been one of the main staples for teaching project management for as long as I can remember. The model is generally represented by a triangle with Scope on the horizontal leg, Time on the left leg, Cost or Resources on the right leg and Quality in the center of the triangle.
By Vicki Wrona, PMP
Project Management is both operational and strategic. It uses both analytical and interpersonal skills. It includes leadership and negotiations. Why do we want to limit its definition…and our worth as project managers?!
All too often I run into senior managers who believe that project management is strictly an operational function. They need a project done and someone gets it done…that’s how they see it. But as good as that is, if used properly, project management can be much more than that.
When used by senior management or in a project management office (PMO), it can be strategic as well. The project management office or similar function can help determine which projects will be funded and how they will be prioritized and worked. In other words, with solid portfolio management practices, they determine the mix of projects that best support the organization’s mission. This is not an operational function but instead a very strategic one.
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