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Find practical, time-saving tips and techniques for the busy project manager.

Welcome to the Project Management Article Series

Did you know?  ITtoolkit.com articles are all based on our models for fast track projects and manage by process I.T. 

Featured Project Selection Article
Easy Steps to Evaluating Project Proposals  
Full Article
Every project begins with a proposal, but not every proposal can or should become a project.  In a world of limited resources, tough choices have to be made.  The goal of  fast track project selection is to analyze project viability, and to approve or reject project proposals based on established criteria, following a set of structured steps and checkpoints. 

more selection phase articles
Full Article Dig Deep for Meaningful Project Requirements
Full Article Acknowledge the Driving Force:  Find the Motivations Behind the Project
Full Article Project-Speak Series:  Planning for Project Deliverables
Full Article How Big is Your Project?  Project Sizing Standards and Practices
Full Article Risk Management Series:  Identifying Project Risks
Full Article Four Easy Steps to Realistic Project Budgets
Full Article Estimating and Tracking Project Costs
Full Article Performing the Status Quo Analysis (What is the Cost of Doing Nothing?)
Full Article Issues and Options for Optimized Project Outsourcing
Full Article Is Your Project in Need of a Management Mentor?
Full Article Planning the Technology Migration Project
Full Article Control Rogue Projects in 4 Easy Steps
Full Article Promoting the Value of Project Management Standards

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Featured Project Definition Article
Project-Speak Series: Assumptions and Constraints Full Article
Few projects begin with absolute certainty.  If we had to wait for absolute certainty, most projects would never get off the ground. As projects are planned and executed, some facts and issues are known, others must be estimated. Estimation is an art, with many fine points to finesse between certainty and wishful thinking.  You can't just hope you have the resources you need to do the job, and you can't wait until every resource is available to begin. You have to manage and mitigate using informed assumptions and constraints. 

more definition phase articles
Full Article  Project-Speak Series:  Defining the Critical Path
Full Article  Project-Speak Series:  Defining the Project Milestone
Full Article  Project-Speak Series:  Defining Goals, Scope and Process
Full Article  Project-Speak Series:  Defining the Work Breakdown Structure
Full Article  Projects in Motion - Backwards and Forwards Project Scheduling
Full Article  Planning and Managing Project Requirements
Full Article  Project-Speak Series:  Performing the Stakeholder Analysis
Full Article  Project-Speak Series:  Forming the Project Steering Committee
Full Article  Project Success Criteria - In the Eye of the Stakeholder
Full Article  Defining the Role of the End-user in IT Projects
Full Article  The Big Job:  Assigning Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities
Full Article  Is Your Project Team Ready to Deliver Required Results?
Full Article  Tailor Made:  Matching Project Needs and Stakeholder Responsibilities

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Featured Project Governance Article
Organizing Successful Project Teams  Full Article
Project teams are formed for a single and specific purpose - to complete assigned projects according to plan and budget. The project team is a working unit of individual parts, sharing a common goal, achieved through the structured application of combined skills. Unity of purpose is essential to success, but team unity is not a given.  Teams start off as a unit, but once the work begins, the individual "parts" have minds of their own. And, as it turns out, individuality and creativity is also a  key component of team success.  

more governance phase articles
Full Article Put Your Team to Work:  Creating Project Job Descriptions
Full Article How to Delegate:  It's Easier Than You Think
Full Article Risk Management Series:  Practices and Procedures
Full Article Project-Speak Series:  Procurement and the RFP
Full Article Managing the RFP Process for Quality Goods and Services
Full Article Project-Speak Series:  Quality Management
Full Article Quality Management:  Calculating the Cost of Quality
Full Article Project-Speak:  Project Document Management
Full Article How to Test Project Deliverables:  The Devil in the Details
Full Article Smooth Transitions - Planning Project Closures
Full Article Managing Projects in the IT Environment:  Step Up to the Challenge
Full Article Organizing the Successful Project Management Office
Full Article Project Speak Series:  Concepts in Resource Management

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Featured Project Oversight Article
Overseeing the Successful Kick-off Event  Full Article
Take a deep breath and get your calendar out.  Your first major, and perhaps most important, project event is at hand --- the project kick-off.  The project kick-off is the equivalent of a grand opening, marking the opening day  for your project and its executing team.  The project kick-off is an opportunity to get your project moving in the right direction, bringing all key players together in one moment (or mechanism) to share information and a common purpose.  The kick-off sets the first impression, and you have to get it right. 

more oversight phase articles
Full Article Plan Productive Meetings with the Heads-Up Meeting Agenda
Full Article How to Perform the Post Meeting Performance Assessment
Full Article How to Keep Stakeholders Informed and Motivated
Full Article Top 4 Steps to a Motivated Project Team
Full Article Resource Leveling:  Making the Most of Limited Resources
Full Article Tips and Tactics for Fast Track Project Scheduling
Full Article Facing Up to Unexpected Project Delays
Full Article Project-Speak Series:  Management Checkpoints
Full Article Project-Speak Series:  Status Reporting Practices and Procedures
Full Article Controlled Chaos:  Keeping Track of Project Changes
Full Article Risk Management Series:  Controlling Project Risks

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Featured Project Review Article
Project-Speak Series:  The Lessons Learned Analysis  Full Article 
In simplest terms, lessons learned represent informed conclusions regarding project quality and performance.  These lessons are typically uncovered  by a formal (or not so formal) project review,  forming the basis for process and project improvement, to maximize future successes and minimize potential failures. By their very nature, lessons learned will be based both on fact and perception. Facts will be determined by quantifiable project results, and perceptions will be based on individual and collective views of project performance. 

more review phase articles
Full Article Evaluating Project Team Performance
Full Article Organized Audits Improve Project Performance
Full Article Project Closure:  Graceful Exits from Troubled Projects

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