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5 Project Management Tips: Things That Really Matter

Regardless of which project management approach you subscribe to every project can benefit from some focus on elements that are relevant to all projects and all methodologies. We all want to improve our project success rate and consistently deliver projects we can be proud of so just what are the aspects that cut across the […]

APM PMQ Exam: automatically assessed answers

In the APM PMQ Exam one area, people really struggle with is how much to write to get the necessary marks in the time available. Some people write too much whilst others don’t provide enough detail. The other issue is they don’t use the command verbs in their answer. This is an automatic assessment tool […]

On-line exam for the APM Project Management Qualification

Information for corporate IT teams enabling exams online for APM

The below is information that may be useful for corporate IT teams enabling exams online who are whitelisting the APM exam portal. Links to whitelist: https://surpass.proctorexam.com https://apm.surpass.com/secureassess/htmldelivery Information for IT Teams: https://www.apm.org.uk/media/48206/association-project-management-it-online-examination-sheet.pdf The “BTL Surpass” assessment platform is a turnkey solution powering the development and delivery of tests for credentialing and licensure organisations, schools, Higher […]

On-line exam for the APM Project Management Qualification

How APM exams work online

With more people able to take professional exams online we answer some important questions below specifically about how APM exams work online. How will they invigilate the exam? The exam is invigilated by a remote proctor. The monitor you though a microphone, webcam and an app on a mobile phone. The APM is issuing detailed […]

The Importance of Project Meetings

Meetings are an essential part of any project – how well they are managed is critical to the success of the project and yet many stakeholders and team members see project meetings as an interruption to their real work and a waste of valuable time. Project meetings vary considerably depending on the organisation and the […]

global project team

Working With A Global Project Team

Nowadays, more and more businesses are going global and hiring remote workers. As a project manager, it is highly unlikely that your team is always going to be in your office. You may have another department overseas that you need to liaise with. You may also have a number of freelancers that work in different […]

study group for PM qualifications

Does Your PMO Provide A Valuable Service?

An efficient, well-run project management office (PMO) should provide a valuable service to a project manager and the team, particularly on long or complex projects and large organisations, but whether they do or not is a different matter. Some PMOs are mired in bureaucracy and are often perceived as just adding to a project’s workload; […]

project management mistakes

Project Pitfalls You Need To Avoid

We all make mistakes in the work environment from time to time. It’s learning from them that counts. This is most certainly the case when it comes to project management and learning lessons is embedded into project management methodologies so there’s no excuse not to. It is unlikely that you are going to get everything […]

people discussing resource control

Project Planning and Control™ (PPC)

This post was updated on 17 March 2022 Based on the Association for Project Management (APM) guidance for Planning and Project Control Managers and Engineers this course builds a structured and formalised approach to planning and controlling projects. The APM’s guide, ‘Planning, Scheduling, Monitoring and Control – The Practical Project Management of Time, Cost and […]

ZOPA, BATNA and Win-Win in Negotiation

The new version of the Association for Project Management Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ) based on the 7th Edition of the Body of Knowlege introduced some new negotiation concepts. These are Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA), Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) and Win-Win. In this blog post, we briefly explain these terms and […]

How To Setup Adobe Connect In 2021

Addition – It is important to turn off any corporate VPN connection you may be using. Adobe support say it can break up the audio in the meeting room for everyone. Hello, my name is Paul Naybour and we have been doing training on Adobe connect at Parallel for a long time but clearly with […]

benefits of programme management

List and describe five benefits of programme management

Five benefits of Programme Management are: Achieving the overall strategic goals of an organization. Improve management of projects interdependencies and impact on the business as usual. Effectively managing resources among projects within a programme. Manage risks, issues and changes across the programme efficiently. Focus on definition and management of strategic benefits. Achieving overall strategic goals […]

Deployment baselines for linear and agile projects

Deployment baselines for linear and agile projects

The APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition introduced a new term deployment baseline and defined it as: Deployment baseline:  Agreeing the integrated plan to enable managed deployment. APM Body of Knowledge 7th edition https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/what-is-project-management/what-is-planning/ It’s a new phase for many many project managers, especially when applied to both linear and iterative lifecycles. So in this […]

Are we living in a VUCA Project Environment?

Living in a VUCA Project Environment?

What is a VUCA project environment? Are we currently living in a VUCA world and how might this affect your project? One of the new topics introduced into the 7th Editions of the Association for Project Management Body of Knowledge was the concept of a VUCA project environment, but what is VUCA. VUCA was developed […]

Virtual Training: Six Months On

It is almost six months since I wrote a blog post on the impact of Covid-19 on my training course. At the time I did not envisage that we would still be delivering all of our programmes virtual six months later. So I thought now would be a good time to reflect on the differences […]

project management FAQs

Project Management FAQs

Updated 29th November 2023 Here you’ll find the questions we are most often asked in our list of project management FAQs. But if there is a question not covered here that you would like us to answer, then feel free to ask in the comments section at the end