Project Management Tools


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As you move ahead in your career, you are likely to face more complex and difficult challenges.

Some of these will involve the coordination of many different people, the completion of many tasks in a precise sequence, and the expenditure of a great deal of time and money.

Whether you succeed or fail with these projects depends on how good you are at project management.

This section of Mind Tools teaches more than 50 individual project management skills. Start with our quiz, which helps you assess your current skills levels. Then explore the key areas of project management, learn how to schedule projects, and find out how to manage change so that your projects are accepted and embraced by the people they affect.

The Browse by Category box below will help you target specific project management skills areas, while you can look through the full list of tools to find interesting topics. Enjoy using these tools!

 Free Tools   Mind Tools Club

Program Management
Structuring Projects as Part of a Program
The Iron Triangle of Project Management
Balancing Your Budget, Scope and Schedule

Project Management Framework

Project Management Phases and Processes
Structuring Your Project
The Planning Cycle
A Planning Process for Medium-Sized Projects
Logframes, and the Logical Framework Approach
Planning Robust, Coherent, Successful Projects
How to Write a Business Case
Getting Approval and Funding for Your Project
Project Initiation Documents
Getting Your Project Off to a Great Start
Project Charters
Getting Your Project Off to a Good Start
Request for Proposal (RFP) Documents
Getting Better Terms With a Competitive Bidding Process
Risk Impact/Probability Chart
Learning to Prioritize Risks
Project Issue Management
Identifying and Resolving Issues
Business Testing in Projects
Involving Real Users as an Important Testing Step
Benefits Management
Getting the Greatest Possible Benefit from a Project
Rationalizing Your Project Portfolio
Delivering Strategic Benefits with Limited Resources
Managing Project Finances
Understanding and Controlling Project Costs
Project Close Activities
Ending Projects Properly

Scheduling

Project Schedule Development
Planning the Timing and Sequence of Project Activities
Action Plans
Small-Scale Planning
Planning Large Projects and Programs
Planning Large-Scale Projects
Gap Analysis
Identifying What Needs to Be Done in a Project
Estimating Time Accurately
A Key to Project Success
Gantt Charts
Planning and Scheduling More Complex Projects
Critical Path Analysis and PERT Charts
Planning More Complex Projects

Scope Management

Business Requirements Analysis
Clearly Agreeing What You're Going to Deliver
Work Breakdown Structures
Mapping Out the Work Within a Project
Scope Control
Avoiding Too Many Changes in Projects

Building Support for Your Projects

Stakeholder Analysis
Winning Support for Your Projects
Stakeholder Management
Planning Stakeholder Communication
Project and Program Governance
Using Senior Management Support to Ensure Project Success
The Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
Knowing Where the Buck Ultimately Stops
The RACI Matrix
Structuring Accountabilities for Maximum Efficiency and Results
Influence Maps
Uncovering Where the Power Lies in Your Projects

Communication

Project Dashboards
Quickly Communicating Project Progress
Project Milestone Reporting
Keeping Projects on Track by Monitoring Significant Check Points

Change Management

Change Management
Making Organizational Change Happen Effectively
Overcoming Cultural Barriers to Change
Moving to a High Performance Culture
Lewin's Change Management Model
Understanding the Three Stages of Change
Beckhard and Harris' Change Equation
Overcoming Resistance to Change
The Change Curve
Accelerating and Improving Change
Leavitt's Diamond
An Integrated Approach to Change
Burke-Litwin's Change Model
Unraveling the Dynamics of Organizational Change
Kotter's 8-Step Change Model
Implementing Change Powerfully and Successfully
Changing People's Habits
Encouraging and Sustaining New Behaviors
Why Change Can Fail
Knowing What Not to Do
SIPOC Diagrams
Making Sure Your Change Process Serves Everyone
The ADKAR Change Management Model
Using Goals to Accomplish Change
Bridges' Transition Model
Guiding People Through Change

Project Improvement and Review

After Action Review (AAR) Process
Learning From Your Actions Sooner Rather Than Later
Post-Implementation Reviews
Making Sure That What You Delivered Actually Works
Conducting a Project Healthcheck
Finding Out How a Project is Progressing
Why Do Projects Fail?
Learning How to Avoid Project Failure

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