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Project Management

Project Health Check : 5 serious project warning signs

As experienced change practitioners, I’m sure we’ve all worked on projects that have been difficult.  The unfortunate truth is that some projects gain so much momentum, they become “too big to fail”.  These projects steamroll their way through organisations, and have a tendency to displace anyone that dares to challenge them.

Sometimes when working closely on a project, it is difficult to see the warning signs.  However, it is worth carrying out a project “health check” every now and then, to check for danger signs.  If you see any significant warning signals, then you might need to take some serious (and unpopular) corrective action.  Five such signals are discussed below:

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Working with project managers to juggle the triple constraint

I’m pleased to say that my most recent blog article has been published on “Bridging-the-gap.com”, where I have contributed as a guest author.    I’d love to hear what you think, so please feel free to make a comment on the site, or contact me directly. Here is an excerpt and link: Excerpt: “The relationship between… 

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Project Fatigue can kill your chances of delivering! Tips for dealing with it.

I’d hazard a bet that we’ve all been there. We’ve all worked on that project, the one which seems to go round in circles with hundreds of false starts, changes of approach and seemingly endless issues to manage. After six months the team is making slow but significant process…  yet team members seem completely burned out!… 

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Business Analyst or Subject Matter Expert?

I took part at a fascinating debate at a recent IIBA event.  The debate focussed on the distinction between a Business Analyst (BA) and a Subject Matter Expert (SME), and the extent that the BA should “learn” the business. There is an ongoing debate within the BA community over the level of industry (business domain)… 

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“I want that one”: Helping project stakeholders to define the problem (rather than the solution)

I believe that one of the most important success factors in just about any project is having a shared understanding of the “problem” that needs to be solved.  Once the problem has been clearly defined, it is much easier to define the scope of the project (and far easier to analyse, define and prioritise requirements).… 

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7 things I wish I’d known when I started my BA career

One of the great things about the Business Analysis profession is that all of us have different backgrounds. I made a number of career moves before I became a BA, and I have never looked back (!) I’ve been working as a BA for a fair few years now. However, it strikes me that when… 

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BA Skillset : Refresh the lost art of ‘networking’!

In recent times, there has been a renewed focus on Stakeholder Management during business change projects.  Formal Stakeholder Management helps to ensure that expectations are managed, and conflict is addressed.  With this renewed focus on formal management techniques, it’s easy to forget the value of your informal network of colleagues, suppliers, friends and associates. Your… 

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7 Questions to help beat the “Truth Trap”

There are some things that are so obvious that everyone knows them.  These are the things that people talk about on busses, trains and in cafes.  Nobody questions them because they are common sense. Everybody is certain that these “truths” are correct. The trouble is that people can be wrong. The “truths” on which people… 

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