Airport Methodology

Project Management made simple   The etymology of formal project management has its roots in key industries; construction, engineering and defence, where a formal application was required to effectively manage complex projects. Given the respective scale of these projects the approach had to be robust in preventing the core of the project from stakeholders; large teams, […]

The Value of the Qualification

Didn’t get that job you thought you had in the bag? The problem is getting worse; qualified workers are getting the jobs over the experienced ones. I have recruited many staff as a manager and project manager as whilst I personally went down the university pathway prior to gaining my practical experience I have always […]

What is positive risk?

What is a Positive Risk?   Positive risks are event which have a positive impact on your objectives.  I think it’s the word “risk” that throws many people off.  For many people the term “risk” has negative connotations; i.e. something bad will happen, I will lose money, get injured, crash my car etc.. Contrary to […]

Innovation in Education

The world around us changes at a rapid rate, the emergence of disruptive technologies seem to be the ever present reality. The replacement of our existing technology with newer, better models, functions, features and effectively leading us to replace what we hold in the perpetual chase for the newest. Arguably and until recently innovation in […]

Innovation, Revenue Streams and Financial Modelling

As part of the 2016 Accolade VET Innovative Business Models Conference in Sydney Nic Thomas spoke about how to innovate in the Education sector, specifically the vocational Education and Training (VET) as well as thinking of ways to diversify revenue streams and closed off with a quick case study on financial modelling. Hope you enjoy […]

What is a PMO?

What is a PMO? A PMO could refer to a bunch of different things which may be different to each person’s context, and yes that’s why speaking in acronyms can backfire. In this context we are referring to a PMO as a Program Management Office.  Even though we have expanded what we are referring to […]

SWOT Analysis

What is a SWOT Analysis Engage a strategy or marketing consultant and you’ll hear the word in a few heart beats. For some it’s the be all and end all of business strategy, the new buzz word, the thing that will solve all your issues.  Well it may just be but it’s not a new […]

The Vision Poster

Make a Vision Poster It’s often said that you can accomplish anything you can imagine.  Well that’s true but it helps a whole lot more when it’s visual. The Vision Poster idea originated in a consultation session which I was facilitating.  I won’t go into the details, but the director of the company had a […]

How complex should program governance be?

Program Governance (How big is the tree?) I often get asked how complex should our program management governance structure be? I remember one client (for whom we ended up designing their entire program governance system) who wasn’t happy with the notion of a scalable governance structure, rewind that he wasn’t happy in a flexible approach […]

Making Meetings Effective

At some point we have all been part of a meeting; some have been useful others a colossal waste of time.  For many in the workforce the thought of going to a meeting is associated with dread, with the top ones that come to mind: Why is management holding a meeting? What are they up […]

Technical or non technical, that is the question!

Most project managers can be classified as technical or non-technical. This classification is based upon their technical understanding of the environment in which they are managing.  For example a civil engineer managing a civil engineering project would be classified as a technical project manager, whereas if the project was managed by a non-engineer would they […]

What is Scope Creep?

What is Scope Creep?   Scope creep is an unapproved variation to the scope.  This could impact the Product Scope (the deliverable) and/or the Project Scope (the work). Product Scope Creep This would be a variation to the agreed scope which affects the deliverable or project outcomes.  This could be the addition of new features, […]

Quality versus grade; the serious version.

Well serious for me was wearing shoes to my friend’s wedding so we’ll see how we go.   To first distinguish between the two words we need to establish their individual contextual definitions.  This article has been based upon the context of project management and I have used examples of grade and quality from different […]

Price and Quality

Price is often used by consumers to incorrectly differentiate the “quality” of products.  It’s basic psychology and a marketers favourite tool. Let’s assume that I place 2 identical items for sale one for $100 and the other for $20.  A customer will automatically start making some judgements on the grade of two products based on […]

Quality versus grade

Quality versus Grade   *Please note there is a language warning in this article. What is the difference between quality and grade? Before you become too invested in this article, note that it has been written on a light hearted keyboard.  If you want the serious version, using proper examples, head this way fine Sir. […]