Below are the winners who really stood out from the pack:

Rich Bubb

1. Never *assume* someone is doing what they are supposed to be doing. Find unobtrusive ways to check up on their progress &/or results-to-date.
2. Management will change your scope if it serves their purpose. Plan on it happening. This will save you much frustration, and keep you from being blind-sided.
3. ""Murphy"" is real. Murphy will cause as much unintended delays, changes, and/or costs as feasible. Murphy does Not Care about "your problems".
4. Pay attention to project buffers. If management knows you have ""extra time"", they will take it away if it serves their purpose/s. Plan on it happening. This will save you much frustration, and keep you from being blind-sided.
5. Educate yourself on Gantt, CPM, PERT, and most importantly Critical Chain project management methods/techniques.
6. Learn the difference between large and small projects. Not all PM tools apply to each project size.

Ron Falkey

The WBS can be a treasure trove to the PM and Project Team.

Everyone recognizes the value of the WBS as we start planning a new project. However, I've found that many PMs don't realize that not only is the WBS a foundational tool for up-front planning, but it has a lot to add throughout a project's lifecycle. The WBS is a project's index and the internet equivalent to a web-page site map. Not all stakeholders will assimilate information in the same manner. Some are more verbal, other more visual, and others still think in terms of people events and relationships. Using the WBS numbering scheme frequently and consistently in project communication, deliverables, and other artifacts can increase brevity while also helping establish a shared understanding for each of the information processing types.

When recording and reporting on risks, include the WBS # with the applicable risk. That will help folks identify the risk visually in GANTT and network diagrams, or see it in a time-line, or possibly in terms of the resources that could be impacted or brought to bear. All deliverables should be identified with their WBS #. To keep folks focused on the broader and complete picture, items in "status reports" should reference the WBS#.

If we keep the WBS as a central tool in our project communications, it will remain a living and vibrant part of the project, and assist us in revising and refining planning as the project moves down the time-line toward completion.

Toomas Arula

Tip: Use mindmapping after end of a project.

You may have used mindmapping for project planning, task formatting, communicating with every stakeholder, task executing and result protocol. Another application is to create new fresh mindmap about your gained experience. You may have a lessons learned template and these can be used with mindmaps. However, it is also useful to create an experience mind map that is different from the end of your project. An experience mind map will provide ongoing lessons learned as you move from project to project.

Some additional reasons include:
- your learning is different from the recently complete project
- your experience map project stakeholders are different from recent project stakeholders
- the time-scale of your learning is wider than the current project

Your experience mindmap must help you to draw some new conclusions to yourself and your stakeholders. The reward is your better feeling about yourself and more-effective actions in future.

Conclusion: Express your experience with mindmap!

Erik De Haes

Tip: How to handle crisis management in projects

When a crisis occurs you need to manage the crisis using this method:

1. step away from your desk
2. go to the coffee corner
3. take the biggest cup
4. fill it with coffee or tea
5. take at least 3 lumps of sugar and stir
6. stir until ALL SUGAR has disappeared
7. go back to your desk
8. now look again and review the crisis

Alternative for people who don't like sugar nor coffee or tea

1. step 1 to 3 is the same
2. step 4 fill it with coffee, tea or water till the edge
3. step 5 go back to your desk without spoiling a drop
4. step 8 now look again and review the crisis

Simon Dodds

Make one list of all of the things you are waiting for across all projects, and keep the list current. List what, who, since when, and the due date if there is one. Check this list before you talk with anyone who is on the list to make sure that they stay current.

I encourage you to check out LiquidPlanner’s 30 day free trial and give web-based collaboration and scheduling a try.

I was listening the Harvard Business Idea Cast and was introduced to a great book on improving productivity by Tony Schwartz.  The book talks about productivity and how we can be most productive in 90 minute periods followed by a period of recovery.  We often find ourselves committing to focus on a project, document or activity to "just get it done".  Despite our best intentions to work long hours to do "whatever it takes" to complete the job, it is actually counter-productive.

The author recommends breaking up work in 90 minute increments where you provide detailed focus and follow the activity by a recovery activity that recharges and refreshes you.  In one of his examples, he explained how he wrote his latest book.  Instead of spending 3-4 hours working intensely on the book, he did the following:

• 7:00 - 8:30 a.m. : Write
• 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. : Eat breakfast and relax
• 9:00 - 10:30 a.m: Write
• 10:30 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. : Go for a run
• 12:00 - 1:30 pm : Write and STOP for the day

By working intensely for short periods and following it by a relaxing activity, he was actually more productive and the book only took 6 months to complete.

Using this example, how do you think you could apply this to project management activities?

You can get a copy of the book here:

The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance