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Writing and More by IPDI2023-07-09T10:05:29-04:00

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The Building Blocks of Project Management

by Douglas B. Boebinger

Available on Amazon.com

The Building Blocks of Project Management Front Cover

Whether readers are new to project management or have years of experience, The Building Blocks of Project Management, shares important information about the methods and tools required to make projects more successful. As the name implies, this book outlines the “building blocks” necessary to properly initiate and plan every project, from a two-week assignment to a multistage multimillion-dollar undertaking spread over many years.

Readers will not only learn the six facets of project management— scope, schedule, cost, resources, risk, and quality—but also gain insight into the important soft skills of stakeholder identification and analysis, conflict resolution, and effective meeting management.

The book’s built-in case study, complete with examples of key artifacts/documents suitable for any project, and the 99 questions every project manager should ask, discuss, and resolve prior to beginning work, provide the reader with the practical tools needed to ensure consistently successful outcomes.

Doug Boebinger’s chapter in The Keys to Our Success

The Keys To Our Success Book Cover

Doug authored a chapter, Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst, in the book, The Keys to Our Success: Tools, Techniques, and Ideas That Some of Our Best Project Managers Use to Be Successful, compiled by David Barrett and Kathi Soniat. Click here to view the book on Amazon.

View a short video in which Doug talks about the chapter he wrote for the book.

Doug’s Rants

Some of you may know me, Doug Boebinger (I’m sorry), and some of you may not (yet).  For years now, I’ve spent my days flying from city to city, doing a wide range of project management-related courses and presentations.  In my travels, I have been privileged to speak with an array of people from numerous companies, in just about every industry there is.  From my courses, presentations, and personal discussions, I have come to various conclusions about a multitude of topics.  When I get off on one of these tangents in my teaching, I typically refer to them as “Doug’s Rants” and the name has stuck.

The rants address various themes, systemic issues, and truths that people know in their hearts but can’t say out loud. Well, I’m going to say them out loud (via the written word).  As I like to tell people, I play the role of the little boy in Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” If you don’t know the story, it’s short and insightful, and it’s required reading for anyone who needs to understand truth vs. conformance.

Project Management Humor

When it’s better to laugh than to cry…

Team Autonomy vs. Common Process: Solving the Conflict

Despite the obvious conflict of interests between a common process and the team’s desire for autonomy, it is possible to find a middle ground. The methodology to achieve this middle ground is complex, but the rewards are worth it.

So You Think You Are NOT a Project Manager?

With so many companies looking for ways to get more products out the door faster as inexpensively as possible with the highest possible quality, organizations are looking to project management as a key successful factor to make this happen. Is your company meeting the challenge?

Purchasing and Supply Meet Project Management

So, managing the conflict inherent in cross-functional project work requires managing expectations and maintaining the high ground of doing what is in the best interest of the organization – not the function or the project. Strive constantly to build a common set of real facts to unearth and eliminate the sources of conflicting priorities.

Process Improvement or Process Re-arrangement: Will You Know Before It Is Too Late?

Doing traditional re-organization and process re-arrangement is fire fighting. A properly developed, well integrated product development process which produces the products customers want with an organization that supports the process will assure the company that they have truly achieved process improvement and not just accomplished process re-arrangement.

A New Way of Process Improvement

To effectively improve your company’s process you need to look at the basic laws of business. Just as their are undeniable laws of physics, there are undeniable laws of business which, if broken, yield catastrophic results.

Interview with Doug Boebinger
on the Leadership Perspectives Podcast

The Keys To Our Success Book Cover

In this episode of Leadership Perspectives with David Barrett, Doug Boebinger discusses “Black Swans.”

From the podcast description, “Google the words ‘Black Swan’ and you will read ‘an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalised after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.'”

The podcast aired early in April of 2020, and the discussion was quite timely as the COVID-19 pandemic had totally disrupted nearly all aspects of business and process management worldwide.

Click here to visit the podcast page and listen to the discussion. Listen to more of David Barrett’s podcast episodes on his website.

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