How to Earn Professional Development Units
In this post, we’ll review the requirements for earning PDUs towards your PMP and share some strategies for racking them up.
(Remote) Work Blocks
In this post, I will explain what work blocking is, my work blocking origin strategy, why work blocking may be useful for you (in certain circumstances), and strategies you can use to maximize efficiency.
50 Interview Questions for Program Managers
If you’re itching to join the Great Resignation before it’s too late, you’re probably finding yourself wondering what the heck employers even ask in an interview these days. Read on for best practices plus my list of the top 50 interview questions that program managers should prepare to answer.
The Pitch for Program Management
To prepare for our future, program managers need to educate a generation of executives who didn’t grow up in a waterfall world on the benefits of our role. This is where the pitch for program management comes in.
Remote is Work: Tips on Setting Up Your Organization for Success
In this post, I’ll share some ideas for how you can structure remote work to set up your organization for success. TLDR; communication is critical.
How to Craft a 30-60-90 Day Plan
This blog post will explain how to craft a 30-60-90 day plan as a way to align with your stakeholders on expected scope, measure outcomes, and stay accountable to your stated goals.
The Unpopular PM
As a proud millennial and child of the ‘90s, I distinctly remember the ubiquitous educational posters adorning the walls of my elementary and middle school imploring us to remember that “what is popular is not always right. What is right is not always popular.” What do you do when project stakeholders resist adopting effective program management practices?
Invisible Work
After nearly 13 years as a technical program manager, I’ve learned that program managers and engineers are different people. And thank goodness for that—because our roles could not be more different.
Delivering Projects without Organizational Support
Even if you present a flawless pitch at inception, assemble the perfect team, and prepare high-quality deliverables, if the organizational appetite is not there, your project ultimately won’t cross the finish line. How do you combat a situation in which your project lacks organizational support? Here are some techniques to consider.
Solutioning and Project Management
When a colleague asked me to write about the difference between solutioning and project management, I knew that solutioning had transcended from a passing fad to a full-blown trend. Solutioning seeks to structure the problem solving process so that it is consistent, repeatable, and generates optimal results.
Storyboarding for Report Writing
On the last few deliverables I’ve worked, we were having difficulty synthesizing the information in a coherent manner, incorporating perspectives from multiple authors, and organizing the content in a logical sequence for the reader to process. So, I’m trying a new approach. Here is our plan to storyboard as part of the report writing process.
How to Break Bad News
It’s not easy to share unpleasant news, but it’s a critical job function for project managers. If we don’t learn how to communicate risk effectively, we’ll never be skilled at what we do. So, how can we get better at breaking bad news?