Become the leader you are looking for
Life lesson Many years ago, before I met my wonderful wife, I was dumped by a great girl I thought for sure I'd marry one day. I had been dumped before, but this time had been different. I asked myself "why did this great girl leave me?" And after the frustration and...
7 tips on professional development
A year of intense professional development I just completed a review of my activities completed in the past year. I am happy and proud of the results. I have done a lot in 12 months. I must say it has been a mix of being pushed and choosing on my own to excel and...
Project Management Video – The Expert
This is an excellent project management video. The video is presenting an important problem that happens unfortunately too often. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg Key mistakes that can destroy a project Bad leadership from executive Leadership, if badly...
7 tips to prepare for an interview
The job search project Searching for a job is always an interesting journey. It is rare that we are an expert in the job search process. While it is true that we no longer stay in the same job or organization for our whole career, searching for a new job is still is...
winning support for your project
Beyond the project plan Here's an interesting question. After all, even if you are an expert on the subject of your project and have developed a very good and comprehensive plan, you may still hit bumps. At some point, you will note that something is missing. Maybe...
Project Leadership Coach – Discover Susanne Madsen
Project Leadership Project Managers often come from a technical background. And then project management methodologies make them focus on intellectual activities such as planning, tasks, milestones, events, etc. However, it is not sufficient to manage a project team....
Project Management Video – How to Slay the Dragon of Work Chaos
Project Management Video Interesting project management video can be found on YouTube. Here is video in which AtTask discusses work chaos. Software development and test/QA teams are under tremendous pressure in organizations forced to do more with less. Distributed...
Projects and operations in project-based organizations
Projects and operations Project management is often viewed in opposition of operations. It is also important to know and understand projects and operations in the context of project-based organizations. But let's start with the classic view of...
Defining project success
Question of the day Here is a question on project management that I read today. It immediately caught my attention. Do you understand what success looks like before starting, or do you get stuck in and work it out as you go? Project success is of course what all...
Guest Post: Planning Project Human Resource Management
In creating your staffing management plan, be sure you understand the constraints that imposed on your access to human resources.
PMP Study Plan – The final blitz and the exam
Study plan I have been studying intensively for the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam since mid-December. I had this plan to obtain my PMP for about 2 years. I started in August to accelerate my PMP study plan. The first step was to read completely PMBOK,...
Manage your career and resume actively
Your career is a key project Managing your career and your resume actively is an interesting exercise. It should be viewed as the most important project in your personal portfolio of projects. Why? Because the world of stable employment for decades in the same...
Project-Aria and Project Management on Twitter
Presence on Twitter This website is of course the main platform for Project-Aria. However, I am also actively participating on Twitter. If you are on Twitter, and interested in Project Management on Twitter, take a look! You can find Project-Aria on twitter at the...
The PMP study plan – the exhaustion phase
The PMP Study Plan I am starting 2014 with an intense focus on this project: to obtain my PMP certification. So intense that it is pushing many other project aside, including publishing many posts here on the website. They just stay there, in draft. Hopefully, I...
Study time for the PMP exam
Last blitz of study I am on my final study weeks to take the PMP certification exam. Many websites out there gives advice and tips on how to obtain the PMP certification. You can often read the following key steps to pass the exam: Read the PMBOK: Done! Find an online...
2014 – A new year for this project management website
A new year for our project management website 2014 is starting, and it is the beginning of a new year for all, including this website. I am happy with the progress in developing this website on project management, leadership and productivity tools. The very first...
Mega-Project: delivering billions of gifts
This is Christmas Eve. And this project has to start. We mean: NOW! It is an emergency and a priority. It is time to get ready for this ultimate project that makes any Ironman competition looks like a walk in the park. Someone has to deliver...
The dream of being a project manager
Who dreams in their youth of becoming a project manager? Really! It seems most project managers are an accidental project manager. Or they come to project management through another profession. As an example, someone studied accounting and then works in an accounting...
The thin line between projects and operations
What is a project? The Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK, 5th Edition) gives the following definition: "A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The temporary nature of projects indicates that a project...
From Malmö to Montréal
This morning, I had a nice surprise in the newspapers. First, let me give you a bit of context. It is one of my personal goal to know 4 languages. I already know very well English and French, and I also have been studying Spanish for a while. Early in 2013, I...
Get an edge as a parent
Many project managers have to try to reconcile their life as a project manager and being a parent. I am one of them living this challenge, having two kids. And I am inspired today by one of my friend, a project manager who just had his second child. How can we live...
Favorite challenge in project management
A friend of mine asked a few project managers this interesting question: "What problems and challenges do you look forward to most, while working in project management?" I was asked the question, and have been thinking about this during my morning public transit...
Sleep is a key success factor
Sleep: the disposable hero As project managers, we often have very busy and chaotic schedules, blitz to reach milestones, fast pace projects, and everything else possible that can happen to ensure we work hard for the success of our projects. There is a bit of a glory...
Inbox Zero
Here's a post on the infamous concept of Inbox zero. I am talking here about email inbox. Some of the logic here could also be applied to a physical inbox. I recently read again the book Getting Things Done, from David Allen. While still relevant...