Client Project Management

Watch a client and creative director launch a project with the team and see if you can spot their mistakes. Then listen to the private comments of the team members about the meeting. Finally, hear my analysis of the mistakes and the consequences.

Watch the video of a PM and 5 team members planning a project and spot the PM's mistakes. See the PM deal with each team member's assignment and cope with the sponsor "sticking his head in." Then listen to private interviews and hear what the team members really thought about the planning meeting and listen to their level of commitment to their estimates. The listen to Dick Billows' analysis of the PM's work.

Watch the video to learn about adapting your communications style to "fit" each team member's personality and get better commitment and clear communication.

Trying to fight every change to a project doesn't work. Even if the customer doesn't ram the change down your throat, they are still unhappy with the project and with you. Watch a video of a project manager trying to fight a change and failing. Then see him handle the change correctly, with narration by Dick Billows, PMP, CEO of 4PM.com

Video Account Manager in Action: Watch a project manager start planning, get eaten alive by a tough executive and start work with no defined scope. Then see the PM try it again, using best planning practices, and win the day with a crystal clear scope definition. With analysis of the PM's performance by Dick Billows, PMP

We handle requests to finish earlier all the time. But all too often the PM handles t hem incorrectly and winds us with unhappy customers or a conflict that gets escalated to upper management. There is a better way as you will see in this video which shows the wrong way and then the correct way to handle these requests to finish earlier.

We need to provide the client with accurate estimates at various points during the engagement. in this video we demonstrates several different techniques for developing estimates and then show you how to present different estimates to the client and their key staff.

Watch the video on rising through the stages of a project management career establishing a track record of on-time, on budget project completions where the deliverables meet expectations. Beyond exceptional performance, earning certifications are critical stepping stones for advancement and successful job hunting.

Being an effective presenter is critical to building project support and influencing people; both keys to project success. In our all our classes you make live presentations privately with your instructor over the web. You get a video of your presentation along with your instructor' feedback and comments. Practicing presentations and seeing yourself on film are the best ways to get better. Here is a video we use with students who need to improve their body language. Watch 5 presenters and then listen to commentary on their work by Dick Billows, PMP.

That first session with a new sponsor can determine the project's success. Getting off to a good start requires that you talk persuasively about how the executive and project manager should work together. Getting the roles and processes straight is critical to success.

Watch a project manager walk into a bitter team conflict that has brought work to a stop. The PM uses the wrong techniques for conflict resolution and makes things worse. Hear Dick Billows, PMP's analysis of the flaws. Then see the same situation where the project manager uses good techniques and gets everybody back to work on their deliverables.

In this video, you will see a project manager working with her team to develop estimates using the best practices in project management. Specifically, she is using three point estimates which give her not only accurate numbers but also some statistics on the likelihood of being over or under the estimates. Everything is going famously until the project sponsor comes in and wants to really squeeze the team's estimates so the project finishes early. See how she handles it.

Having a highly motivated, problem-solving project team is a key component for consistent project success. We need to learn the right techniques to use as we manage our project team through the lifecycle of a project. This includes selecting the team members, crafting the right type assignment for each person, estimating work and duration, receiving status reports and dealing with performance problems.

Creative directors often ask this question and are often surprised at how you figure it out on each project. Read the article and watch the video on creating a WBS that lets you plan and control the project and make crystal clear assignments to team members.

Article & Video: Visual Status Reports=Fast Understanding - In status meetings, we need a visual tool to quickly communicate status data, even to people who are new to projects.