All Blog Posts
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The Project Schedule: A Beginner’s Guide
Introduction Prior to starting our project, we need to set out the project schedule. This is the intended timeline for our project and will include the estimated time it will take us to complete each task and milestones for when key events are expected to occur. The final product of our project schedule is the […]
Driving Sustainability through Project Management: A Holistic Approach
In the current climate, there really isn’t a day that will go by without reading or hearing something about the topic of sustainability. Sustainability, and the idea of creating a world where everyone is doing their part to increase sustainability and improve the planet for future generations is becoming increasingly important. The big question is […]
Change Management: A Beginner’s Guide
Change management is arguably one of the most important project management processes. Change is at the heart of every project. All projects seek to bring about positive, measurable changes. In order for these changes to be the most impactful and successful that they can be, it is important to control and manage them. This article […]
Tips to Pass the APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ)
Introduction If you’re preparing for the APM Project Professional Qualification (PPQ) 2nd edition assessment, this blog post aims to offer a streamlined guide that includes essential tips, insights, and a simplified process for analysing the case studies. This guide should be read alongside the Professional Qualification 2nd edition Candidate notes available from the APM. Important […]
Workstream or Work Package: Which is right for you?
On the radio the other day, I heard a senior civil servant discussing the workstreams in a project, which led me to ponder: why use the term workstream instead of work package? Are they merely two different terminologies for dividing a project, or does the language bear significance? The more I thought about this, the […]
Encouraging Collaboration Within Your Project Team
When the responsibility of the success of a project rests on your shoulders you need to encourage collaboration on your project team to get the job done. You may be at the helm of each and every project but collaborative management is also a vital part of your role. Working with a team and recruiting […]
Estimating Techniques: A Beginner’s Guide
Estimating is an essential part of project management planning. Learning how to perform and understand an estimate is a critical skill for a project manager to have. There are a number of estimating techniques that you can use, and we have included four key ones here as a starting point. What are the key estimating […]
Effective Time Management – The Basics
Learning the art of good time management is the key to success in any career. But perhaps it is more so for anyone who is involved in project management. As any project manager knows it is easy to fill your schedule with events and tasks, but it is just as easy to be overwhelmed by […]
Project Quality: A Beginner’s Guide
Introduction Project quality is a key cornerstone of any project, governing the standards that our project will be measured against. It is important that we understand not only what quality means, but also the different elements that make up quality. As project managers, we need to understand how to measure quality, and how to ensure […]
Benefits Management: A Beginner’s Guide
Introduction The point of undertaking any project is to introduce a change that will have a resulting benefit. A benefit is the positive outcome of the project, or the thing that the project has achieved which provides something new, different or better. Without benefits, what is the point in doing the project? Benefits are the […]
Project Scope: A Beginner’s Guide
Introduction Project scope can be defined as all of the work that will be undertaken and products that will be produced by our project. There are two aspects to understanding project scope – how to define it within the project and the importance of having a clear understanding of the scope. Defining project scope Project […]
An Action Plan for Overcoming Project Overload: My Experience
I had an intriguing meeting this week with a client. We discussed challenges their organisation was facing: the entire team was burdened with a plethora of projects, causing prolonged delays, and there was constant confusion about which projects should take precedence. As it turns out, this issue is all too common. Even when organisations introduce […]
Resource Management: A Beginner’s Guide
Our project resources are the things that we require to complete the project work. Resources include both physical and human resources. In order to make sure that we can complete the project, we need to have a robust resource management approach. Resource management involves ensuring that the project manager knows what resources are required and […]
How to Pass the APM PPQ using STAR
Master the APM PPQ assessment with our tips and the STAR method. Enhance your interview performance for the APM Project Professional Qualification by structuring your answers effectively. Explore real-life examples and expert advice to excel in the assessment. Unlock success in your APM PPQ journey today.
How To Become More Effective With Time Management Techniques
It seems every professional is busier than ever – much of it due to staff cuts and organisations expecting more from their employees. But it is possible to manage your time more effectively so you can be more productive even when you think you have less time and more to do! So here are my […]
10 Powerful Tips for Project Managers in the Telecommunications Industry
No matter what type of industry you are involved in, project management skills will form a valuable part of your skill set. For those project managers who are employed in the telecommunications industry, there is a good chance that you will spend much of your time talking to a range of different people, from the […]
Lisa Hawkins joins the growing team of APM experts at Parallel
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Lisa Hawkins, a professional project manager who joined the project management training team at Parallel Project Training in early 2023. She told me about her early career and how it led to her becoming a project management trainer; and some of her thoughts on project management in […]
Have You Got The Soft Skills Employers Want?
There have been various studies and surveys that suggest many employers believe that job applicants who have just left college or university are lacking in a range of soft skills that are necessary in the workplace. Of course their academic knowledge and technical skills are important but in the workplace an employee, whether in a […]