Entries by Bonnie Biafore

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Navigate Complexity

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK7) talks about navigating complexity to successfully complete the project lifecycle. Although complexity can surface anywhere, there are four main sources of complexity to manage. Here’s an overview of those sources and tips for reducing the impact of complexity on projects.  Human behavior. The most significant project complexity comes […]

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Exploiting Opportunities

PMBoK7 places more emphasis on managing positive risks, called opportunities (situations that improve project outcomes.) In the past, this project approach was underutilized, because the tendency is to focus on negative risks (called threats.) Here are PMI’s five approaches to making the most of project opportunities.  Exploit. To exploit opportunity, you can take definitive action […]

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Build Quality into Processes and Deliverables

PMBoK7 talks about maintaining focus on deliverable quality and the processes used to create those deliverables. Here’s an overview of what the Project Management Institute (PMI) refers to as the “dimensions of quality” that PMs must manage.  Performance/Conformity. The products we produce need to perform in a way that meets specifications. They also need to […]

PMBoK7 Perspectives: More Systems Thinking

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK7) talks about recognizing, evaluating, and responding to system interactions, which means project managers must engage in systems thinking to drive positive project performance. Adding to last week’s list, here are more ways that systems thinking can boost project performance.  Turn up the empathy. The best project managers empathize […]

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Systems Thinking

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK7) talks about recognizing, evaluating, and responding to system interactions, which means project managers must engage in systems thinking to drive positive project performance. Here are a few significant systems thinking perspectives that boost project performance.  Business change is the goal (not just project completion). Smart organizations close projects […]

Defeat scope creep with effective change approval criteria

Scope creep is an insidious ooze of changes that can sink a project. Robust change management that thoroughly evaluates the merits of proposed scope changes is key to thwarting the creepy scope threat. One place to start is with solid change approval criteria.  Typically, change approval criteria evaluates: How scope changes Project costs added or […]

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Focus on Value

In this edition of Project Pointers, we’ll explore how project managers can focus on delivering value the business, one of the new elements of project delivery in the Project Management Institute’s seventh version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK7.) Here are a few significant ways to deliver value to your business as you […]

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Creating a Collaborative Team Environment

In this edition of Project Pointers, we’ll look at building a collaborative team environment, one of the new project delivery elements in the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK7.) Here are a few ways to create a collaborative team environment for your projects. Define roles, not just responsibilities. Productive teams have clear […]

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Be Adaptable

Being adaptable as you manage your projects can support the success of your projects, a new element of project delivery in the Project Management Institute’s seventh version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK7.) Here are a few beneficial ways to be adaptable as you manage projects.  Don’t fixate on perfection. It would be […]

PMBoK7 Perspectives: Apply Expertise

Today, we’ll explore how project managers contribute benefits with their expertise, one of the new elements of project delivery in the Project Management Institute’s seventh version of the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK7.) Here are a few significant ways to apply your expertise in managing projects: Complete project tasks. Most project managers have technical […]