Blogs

Five rules to reduce scope creep in your projects

Scope creep remains the biggest cause of projects failing to deliver within their baseline constraints. This isn't news, it has been regularly reported since the mid-1970s and probably earlier. But why, if we all know about it, do we keep...

Capability or capacity which one has your attention

Capability without adequate capacity is a recipe for stress and frustrated ambition - senior managers see their strategies fail in the fight for scarce resources as work queues grow and grow. Capacity without appropriate...

Creating Centres of Excellence a sound philosophy

Conceptually creating centres of excellence is simple; a focal point for the assessment, capture and sharing of the best of practices available in the discipline area with the intent of driving overall performance up. This is how...

Thomas Docker our story

Tom Docker - co-founder of CITI in 1992 - died recently and suddenly in New Zealand while hiking. He had retired, with his wife Val, to Richmond in Nelson, New Zealand a few years ago, where he read, relaxed and painted.

Developing your project management recruitment process

You've probably had similar experiences with your project management recruitment process. Do you either trust the LinkedIn endorsements and embellished CV and go with your gut feeling - or do you need to find a better...

Stakeholder led project management

This book provides a stakeholder-centric analysis of projects, and explains which engagement models are relevant to different types of projects-from simple office moves to IT enterprise changes, to transformational change...

The third dimension who really are your stakeholders

What is the importance of successful stakeholder engagement in the change environment? In today's change environment it is generally considered that the success of a project relates to the amount of added value (benefits) realised...

Never do that again...taking action to learn lessons

Have you ever said "I'll never do that again - never eat too much, never spend all my money etc" and then you do! Then you say it again "I really will never do that again!" and then you do it again!! Sound familiar?

Stakeholder engagement is it worth the time and effort

How much time and effort is it worth putting into stakeholder engagement and what will your project gain from it?

Stakeholder support and new year resolutions

Identifying your stakeholders, engaging them and gaining their support is essential in achieving successful change - equally valid for your waist-line or your organisation.

Who are your key influencers in talent management

Who are the people in your organisation who others take a lead from? How are you using them in change situations?

Change management benefits realisation

Why a benefits realisation plan without a change management plan is not worth the paper it is written on.

Two simple questions about project success

Should we still be measuring project success on a 'on time', 'to quality', 'in budget' basis'? We all know that the vast majority of projects (actually around 85%) don't deliver against the original baseline and business case.

What do constraints tell us about success

Do you still believe that performance within the triple constraints of time, cost and quality are how success should be judged?

Are lessons being learnt

Overheard the other day, by the water cooler: "...oh yes, I wrote a Lessons Learnt Report about that last year, but I don't suppose anyone read it, let alone used it, before they did the exact same project this year"

The empty chair part two

Following on from the Empty Chair Part One, we thought it might be helpful to formalise the thinking and suggest some of the approaches that might work in addressing the problem of the absent sponsor.

The empty chair part one

A group of us, at the APM Chapter meeting, were talking about the relationship between project managers and sponsors. Of course everyone's experience was different on a sponsor by sponsor basis; some good and some bad.

Project management and Agile a marriage made in heaven or

I have been involved in project and programme management (PPM) for more than 20 years - mainly in the area of transformational and cultural change, but also with projects delivering IT systems and enhancements.

Will the Internet of Things affect the way we deliver change

You might have heard about the Internet of Things (IoT) and you might be thinking that it's another case of a solution looking for a problem...

Retail digitisation

The oldest shop in the UK has been there for nearly 600 years, and we've been buying things from traders for tens of thousands of years. So the idea of Retail isn't exactly new. Retailers love their stores, and we love them too.

Is your organisation making the most of the ripple effect

Part 2 - How does your organisation view learning? Is the value of 'learning in the workplace' at the heart of enhancing organisational and personal capability?

Making AGILE mainstream

As far as we can tell, most organisations that are using Agile development methods (and most are) started doing so because someone in IT thought it was a good idea, gave it a try, and it spread.

Just a drop in the ocean or

Part 1 - How do you view your learning? You attend a really great course - gain lots of new knowledge and insights - and then what?

Sponsors guardian guide or guru

Projects need sponsors. If there weren't any sponsors, there wouldn't be many projects. But is the sponsor a Guardian, a Guide or a Guru? Are they there to protect, point in the right direction, or offer advice? Or all three?

When is a Project Manager not a Project Manager

When it's a Business Analyst, a Change Lead, a Project Director, a Business Information Manager, a Project Lead, a Programme Manager, a Change Manager, a Business Manager?

Nothing stays the same

In 500 BC, Heraclitus was pondering about change. He said it was everywhere, all the time. He even believed that it was the fundamental essence of the universe. If he was still alive, 2,500 years later, he would be delighted to see...

The promise of PRINCE2 Agile

A perfect storm of circumstances in UK public sector project management is helping open the door to agile methods. First, some projects have not been as successful as expected - either not delivering a product or...

How much is just right when planning a project

There's a continuum that exists between planning your project to the nth degree and relying on sorting out problems as they arise. Some of the motivators for acting in the latter, 'troubleshooting' mode are...

Why does strategy implementation seem to be such an issue

Even a great vision and strategy can fail to deliver the intended benefits if changes are not implemented well. Assuming that the new strategy is sound, why is that implementation seems to be such an issue...

White elephant projects

I recently had an interesting conversation with our IT manager, who wanted to know why many IT projects ended up as expensive 'white elephants', wasting prodigious amounts of money, yet delivering so little...

Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce

CITI Limited is proud to be a member of the Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce and as part of our commitment to the community, we want to give back to other local members in the form o...

Can private sector learn from public sector about innovation and change

Innovation has become the new "buzz word" and desired state for organisations in both the private and the public sector. The term "innovation" has been used and, sometimes, overused by a lot of people and...

Management by process the project managers comfort zone

Process plays a crucial role in improving safe governance of projects. However, it should not become the project manager's 'comfort zone'. Let us take the example of managing conflict in projects...

Lessons in change saving ships and babies

A few days ago I was enjoying a pleasant boat trip with friends when a white line painted on the ship passing us reminded me of a book I had just finished reading and a fundamental principle of managing change...

How can my PMO start to add more value to the business

Ignoring any 'Well, it depends...' type answers (which aren't necessarily wrong, but neither are they necessarily helpful), the best answer I can come up with is - "By performing value-add activities which cannot...

Creating a business focused PMO

There is something gratifying in being able to create order from a previously erratic project management landscape. In 2009 I was part of a team which was specifically set up as a PMO in response to a business...

Introducing a Project Support Office

Introducing a Project Support Office (PSO) is easily done. Introducing an effective one is not! As the principal impact is on the culture. In most organisations, sponsors typically preside over project managers, who...

Types of change management

Change is a universal condition of every human. Though endless in its manifestation, an individual's experience of change can be described as falling into one of just four types of change management.