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Monthly Archives: January 2020

Who Created the WBS?????

Posted on January 27, 2020 by | 7 comments

Current mythology is that the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) was developed as part of the PERT program within the US Navy in 1957/58.  I’m not so sure……..  Similar types of chart were around for up to 100 year before the PERT program started:

  • Organization Charts were developed in 1854 but not too widely used (the example shown is from 1917).
  • Cost breakdown charts were in use from 1909 at least (if not sooner).
  • Process diagrams and flow charts were publicized by the Gilbreth’s in 1921.

What I’m looking for is evidence that this type of hierarchical chart focused on work to be accomplished was developed prior to 1957; or alternatively confirmation that the PERT team initiated the idea and the NASA/DoD/PERT-COST people standardized the idea.

A summary of my findings and images of the charts are at: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-ZSY-020.php#WBS

Any feedback or input will be welcome.   Over to you……

Project Management history has been a long term interest of mine, for all of my papers see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-ZSY.php

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Posted in EVM & ES, Project Controls

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Governing for Success – Helping deliver successful projects

Posted on January 25, 2020 by | 1 comment

To succeed, organisations need to evolve and mature their management processes to achieve consistent success in the delivery of their projects and programs. However, there are no silver bullets – the core drive to be successful, and most of the effort, has to come from within the organisation and be fully supported by senior executives and other key stakeholders. This article outlines the journey to success: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Mag_Articles/SA1068_Governing_for_Success.pdf

For more articles on governance see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-ORG-005.php

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Posted in Governance

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The Changing Role of Processes in Project Management

Posted on January 22, 2020 by | Leave a comment

The next generation of project management standards to be released by both ISO and PMI in 2020 will look radically different to their predecessors.

This article explains why the concept of ‘processes’ is being dropped from the new standards and the use of knowledge management and methodologies (including processes) in supporting the implementation of the standards: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Mag_Articles/SA1067_Processes_in_Project_Management.pdf

For more on organisational inputs to project management see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-ORG-050.php#Overview

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Posted in General Project Management

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New Articles posted to the Web #86

Posted on January 19, 2020 by | Leave a comment

We have been busy beavers updating the PM Knowledge Index on our website with Papers and Articles.   Some of the more interesting uploaded during the last couple of weeks include:

You are welcome to download and use this information under our free Creative Commons licence.

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Posted in General Project Management

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Bathroom Brilliance – The key to creativity.

Posted on January 17, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Creativity is an essential element in problem solving and process improvement. But why do your really good ideas so often bubble up into your consciousness at the most inconvenient moments?

This article looks at some ways to harness your innate creativity: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Mag_Articles/SA1064_Bathroom_Brilliance.pdf

For more articles on creativity and innovation see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-TPI-010.php#Innovation

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Posted in General Project Management

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Communicating in Conflict

Posted on January 13, 2020 by | Leave a comment

One of the realities of life is every once in a while, you are going to become embroiled in a dispute or argument that is emotional and personal. This article maps out a set of strategies that can help you stay focused on using communication to achieve a pragmatic outcome you can ‘live with’ – win-win is nice, but you cannot control the other person’s emotions so you need to focus on how you behave and your objectives: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Mag_Articles/SA1063_Communicating_in_Conflict.pdf

For more articles on conflict management see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-TPI-010.php#Conflict

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Posted in Communication, Stakeholder Management

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New Articles posted to the Web #85

Posted on January 12, 2020 by | Leave a comment

We have been busy beavers updating the PM Knowledge Index on our website with Papers and Articles.   Some of the more interesting uploaded during the last couple of weeks include:

You are welcome to download and use this information under our free Creative Commons licence.

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Posted in General Project Management

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Managing Stakeholder Attitudes

Posted on January 9, 2020 by | Leave a comment

A very significant proportion of the risks around most projects are people based. The only way to identify, manage and/or mitigate these risks is by effective two-way communication designed to effect changes in the attitude key stakeholders have towards your project.

Each person’s attitude is derived from their perceptions of your project and how its outcomes will affect their personal interests. Fortunately, perceptions are negotiable and can be changed by effective communication, and if you can change a person’s perceptions, a change in attitude will follow.

For some ideas on how to make this happen, see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Mag_Articles/SA1062_Managing_Stakeholder_Attitudes.pdf

For more papers on stakeholder engagement visit: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-TPI-075.php

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Posted in Communication, Stakeholder Management

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The Ying and Yang of Resilience

Posted on January 5, 2020 by | Leave a comment

Resilience is the psychological capacity to adapt to, and recover from stressful circumstances. While desirable, this article suggests you can have too much of a good thing. As with the manufacture of swords, resilience, plasticity, hardness and softness are all important characteristics that are needed at different times. However, unlike a sword, people can adapt their behaviour to each situation. This article looks at the options: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Mag_Articles/SA1061_The_Ying_+_Yang_Resilience.pdf

For more papers on personal competencies see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-TPI-010.php

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Posted in General Project Management

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There’s Agile and there’s Agile, understand the difference!

Posted on January 1, 2020 by | Leave a comment

One size does not fit every situation even in an agile world!  The focus of this new article is to identify the differences in management approach needed to maximize value in three different situations where an ‘Agile’ approach can be used.

For any Agile approach to achieve its promise, the upper echelons of the organisation need to become agile aware and adapt the way projects are initiated, funded and governed so that the project team can optimize their use of Agile processes to maximize the creation of value. Download the article from: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Mag_Articles/SA1060_Agile_Spaces.pdf

For more papers on Managing Agile see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/PMKI-XTR-010.php#Process1

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Posted in Agile Ideas

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