Identify Goal
Define Problem
Define Problem
Gather Data
Define Causes
Identify Options
Clarify Problem
Generate Ideas
Evaluate Options
Generate Ideas
Choose the Best Solution
Implement Solution
Select Solution
Take Action
MacLeod offers her own problem solving procedure, which echoes the above steps:
“1. Recognize the Problem: State what you see. Sometimes the problem is covert. 2. Identify: Get the facts — What exactly happened? What is the issue? 3. and 4. Explore and Connect: Dig deeper and encourage group members to relate their similar experiences. Now you're getting more into the feelings and background [of the situation], not just the facts. 5. Possible Solutions: Consider and brainstorm ideas for resolution. 6. Implement: Choose a solution and try it out — this could be role play and/or a discussion of how the solution would be put in place. 7. Evaluate: Revisit to see if the solution was successful or not.”
Many of these problem solving techniques can be used in concert with one another, or multiple can be appropriate for any given problem. It’s less about facilitating a perfect CPS session, and more about encouraging team members to continually think outside the box and push beyond personal boundaries that inhibit their innovative thinking. So, try out several methods, find those that resonate best with your team, and continue adopting new techniques and adapting your processes along the way.
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Twproject is a full featured web based project management software that gives you full visibility and control over your projects.Twproject is also a time tracking software, a bug tracking software, a project planning software.
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Problem solving is a project manager skill that facilitates effective problem solving by combining creative thinking and strong analytical skills.
Problem solving step 1: problem definition, problem solving step 2: cause determination, problem solving step 3: ideas generation, problem solving step 4: best solution selection, problem solving step 5: act, problem solving: creativity, problem solving: communication, problem solving: willpower.
This is a skill that provides the capability to bring a different perspective to problems, helping to design and implement effective solutions.
It’s easy to realize how in problem solving the identification of simple solutions to big problems can provide benefits to the project and the company, but there are not always successful Project Managers capable of finding them.
In this article we will try to give a hand to the less creative and more accustomed to patterns minds by suggesting some techniques that if properly implemented can be extremely beneficial.
Let’s start from the premise that some problems are small and can be solved quickly, while others may involve considerable time and effort.
Regardless of whether the problem you’re focusing on is small or large, using a systemic approach to solving it will certainly help you be a more effective project manager .
Here are what are the five problem solving step s that you can use for most problems.
The most important step in problem solving is to properly define the problem.
How you define the problem will determine how you will attempt to solve it.
For example, if you get a complaint regarding one of your project team members from a client, the solutions you will assess will be different based on how you define the problem.
If you choose a poor performance approach for the team member, different solutions will unfold as opposed to an approach where you give little consideration to what the client said.
After you have defined the issue, you can proceed to dig deeper and begin to determine what is causing it.
This level of analysis is important to ensure that solutions address the actual causes of the problem rather than the symptoms of the problem.
If the solution solves a symptom instead of an actual cause, in fact, the problem is likely to reoccur because it was never truly solved.
After the hard work of defining the problem and determining its causes is complete, then it is time to get creative and develop possible solutions to the problem.
Two great problem solving methods that you can use to come up with solutions are brainstorming and mind mapping.
After figuring up with several ideas that could solve the problem, one way to decide which is the best solution is a simple trade-off analysis .
We can find this analysis when performing a project feasibility study as well.
To carry out the trade-off analysis, you must first define the critical criteria for the problem that you can use to evaluate the comparison between each solution.
After having established the solution to be implemented, it’s time to take action.
If the solution requires several actions or necessitates an effort by others, it’s a good idea to make a plan and treat it as a mini-project.
Yet, problem solving as a project manager’s skill is not just limited to this tangible process for solving problems.
Let’s see what other skills are key to problem solving.
This is not just something related to artists.
Creativity is about being able to simply come up with a unique solution and thinking “outside of the box”.
This means not responding to problems with a knee-jerk reaction or a safe solution that might lead to poor results.
What creativity requires is being able to actually take a look at a problem from multiple perspectives, not just the typical one.
Stepping out of your comfort zone, thinking outside the box , going beyond. This is what creativity in problem solving is all about.
Solutions to serious problems may in fact not be found within standard processes.
Like with almost everything, nothing can be achieved without the communication skills to provide the solution to those who must solve it.
Even simple ideas are often muddied by poor rhetoric, let alone failed attempts to convey complex ones and solve problems.
And we’re not just referring to being able to clearly impart orders; it’s also important to know the right channel to deliver your message.
That message needs to reach the right people, in the right way, and get to them as quickly as possible.
Finding a solution to a problem is just one link in a larger chain.
If that solution isn’t delivered to the parties that need it to fix the problem in order for the project to move forward, then it’s all in vain.
Not all people are born great communicators, but there are ways to learn how to better communicate, especially with team members .
It takes empathy and active listening to develop trust and loyalty and without this connection, no matter how explicitly you communicate a message, it will be misinterpreted or even ignored.
All of the above may be quite fascinating, but if the project manager is not committed to their work and to improving themselves in problem solving, everything is pointless.
There are exercises you can do to master problem solving skills that help you respond better to problems and solve them quickly.
For example, there are logical reasoning tests that help you clearly organize your thoughts, analyze them, and quickly choose the best course of action.
However, all this takes willpower; the project manager must be aware of what they are doing and must want to do it.
Only in this way will it be possible to develop the best problem solving skills .
When presented with a problem, some project managers may be inclined to procrastinate or avoid the problem altogether.
However, avoiding problems is a short-term solution. It is problem solving that keeps things moving forward.
Therefore, the faster and more effectively you can solve a problem, the faster you can get the job done and successfully complete a project.
Related posts.
In the fast-paced world of Project Management Offices (PMOs), effective problem-solving is a key skill that PMO Analysts and PMO Managers must master. From aligning projects with strategic objectives to ensuring smooth operational workflows, problem-solving skills are used daily in the PMOs, in projects, and when managing portfolios. In this post, we’ll explore why it’s a critical skill for PMO managers and analysts and discuss some effective techniques and mindsets that can enhance your problem-solving capabilities.
Problem-solving in PMO goes beyond fixing immediate issues; it’s about identifying and addressing the root causes of challenges to prevent recurrence and drive continuous improvement. In a strategic sense, it ensures that projects align with the organization’s broader goals, enabling better resource allocation and risk management. And when it comes to running and operating the PMO, problem-solving skills are used to refine methodologies, improve team dynamics, and swiftly adapt to changes – crucial in today’s dynamic project and agile environments.
Here are four of our favourite, road-tested techniques for solving problems in the PMO. Too much reading? Scroll to the bottom of the page, and we have a handy video digest for you!
Quick and efficient, the STOP method stands for:
The STOP method is perfect for immediate response to unforeseen challenges in project management.
Originating from Lean methodology, the A3 process is a structured approach to problem-solving. It involves:
Learn more about A3 Analysis here: https://www.hotpmo.com/management-models/a3-analysis-a-powerful-problem-solving-tool-for-pmo-managers/
3: Fishbone Diagram (Ishikawa Diagram) :
Created by Edward de Bono, the Thinking Hat technique is great for helping everyone see a problem from the same perspective. It is also a great way of avoiding time lost in conflict. The thinking hat approach encourages everyone in the problem-solving team to wear different perspectives or hats one after the other. This method is particularly effective in group discussions and brainstorming sessions, allowing team members to shift their thinking and consider issues from multiple angles.
Understanding the problem-solving mindset.
Solving problems is more than a skill; it’s a way of thinking that enables individuals to approach challenges with confidence, creativity, and efficiency. This mindset is characterized by a proactive approach, where problems are seen as opportunities to improve and innovate rather than mere obstacles to overcome. It involves thinking ahead, anticipating potential issues, and being prepared with strategies to mitigate them. In the dynamic environment of PMO, where projects are complex and ever-changing, such a mindset is invaluable.
The importance of a problem-solving mindset cannot be overstated in PMO roles. It’s essential for aligning projects with strategic goals, ensuring efficient execution, and adapting to new challenges. This mindset allows PMO professionals to break down complex problems into manageable components, assess them logically, and devise effective solutions. It’s not just about finding any solution but about finding the right one that aligns with the project’s objectives and the organization’s strategic direction.
Those with a problem-solving mindset tend to be adaptable, resilient, and open-minded. They view challenges through a lens of curiosity, asking questions to understand the problem deeply before jumping to solutions. They are collaborative, recognizing that diverse perspectives can lead to more innovative solutions. Critical thinking is a cornerstone of this mindset; it involves evaluating situations objectively, questioning assumptions, and considering various solutions before deciding. Additionally, a problem-solving mindset is marked by a focus on continuous learning and development, understanding that skills and strategies must evolve to meet the changing demands of the project management landscape.
Developing a problem-solving mindset is a journey of personal and professional growth. It starts with a willingness to embrace challenges and a commitment to continuous learning. This means staying updated with new PMO methodologies, learning from successes and setbacks and being open to feedback. It also involves cultivating resilience so that when faced with challenges, you can recover quickly and maintain a positive, solution-focused attitude. Mindfulness and stress management techniques can help maintain clarity of thought, especially in high-pressure situations. Finally, nurturing a problem-solving mindset involves embracing collaboration and empathy and understanding that effective solutions often come from understanding the needs and perspectives of all stakeholders involved.
PMO Hothouse is a monthly magazine show we deliver in partnership with the House of PMO team. In January 2024, we discussed problem-solving in the PMO – and we recorded it for you! Check it out below:
Problem-solving is a skill that can be developed and refined over time. It’s about more than just techniques; it’s about cultivating a mindset that embraces challenges as opportunities for growth. For PMO analysts and managers alike, mastering this skill means driving project success and contributing to their organization’s strategic achievements. For PMO Administrators, this is an essential skill you will need to hone if you are pursuing a promotion to Analyst in the future. Here are your homework tasks:
Remember, in the world of PMO, every problem is an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise, adaptability, and value. Enhancing your problem-solving skills and mindset makes you a key asset in any project management scenario.
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Anyone who oversees projects is a project manager, but to become a more thoughtful manager (with a higher impact), you need to develop the right project management skills. Learn what skills are necessary to become a successful project manager and how to build them.
If you’re interested in honing and developing your project management skills, you’re in the right place. In this guide, we’ll cover 25 key skills you need to succeed as a project manager or project administrator , and how you can develop those skills over time.
Project management skills are the attributes you develop to become a more experienced project manager. Building a project management skill set includes learning technical and hard skills, such as portfolio management and project scoping, and soft skills (for example, adaptability).In honing these skills, you’re preparing yourself to more effectively perform in your role.
Project management is the practice of organizing and executing work efficiently—and helping your team do the same. For a while, project managers had to be trained and certified in complicated project management technology. Traditional project management tools were hard to set up and required constant maintenance, which is where the position “project manager” comes from.
Modern project management evolved from traditional project management in two distinct ways. As companies and teams democratized their project management processes, they needed more team members and team leads who were able to manage a process from conception to completion. In order to support those team leads, project management software has also evolved, from complex mechanisms to flexible and easy-to-use tools.
Today, any team member may be called upon to run a project and become the de-facto project manager—which is why modern project management tools are built to be flexible enough for anyone to use on any project, so you’re able to jump in and hit the ground running.
These tools, like Asana , make it easy to track, manage, and organize work—without the learning curve associated with traditional tools. With today's project management tools , you can easily implement project management best practices and bring a new level of clarity and visibility to your project team.
Project management tools do the heavy lifting when it comes to reducing silos, increasing visibility, and facilitating cross-functional collaboration. As the project manager, you can use these tools to give your team the insight they need to get their best work done. While you don’t need to learn complicated skills or tools in order to become a successful project manager , there are hard, soft, and technical skills you can develop in order to improve your management and collaboration skills.
Some of these skills might not apply to you—while others might be things you’re already seasoned in. Like everything in the five phases of project management , approach this list with flexibility and work on the skills that are most relevant to you.
Soft skills are what we call “non-technical skills,” or skills that can help you improve your quality of work—without a specific tool or technical requirement. These are also called “people skills” or “interpersonal skills” because they often help you work with and relate to others in your workspace. These 10 skills are the most important soft skills for project management:
Collaboration is the cornerstone of all project management skills. In project management, collaboration helps you get work done quickly and more efficiently. When you can coordinate across teams, you gain valuable insights into your project that you might not find within your team. If more minds are involved in the work, projects are inherently more creative and well developed.
To improve your collaboration skills, practice having conversations. Use techniques like active listening , where you stay engaged and focused when others are speaking to you. It sounds simple, but learning how to have open communication, reduce boundaries, and co-create are critical for a collaborative team.
Everyone on your team has something to bring to the table, and your team is more effective working together than they would be alone. Teamwork ensures that everyone feels welcome, valued, and they are supported to contribute.
If you’re working to boost your teamwork skills, dig deeper into team brainstorms , 1:1 conversations, and ask for feedback from your team—how can you be a better team member? Notice if there’s someone who hasn’t spoken up in a while, and be supportive when another team member has a new idea.
Miscommunications are common when you’re working with a group of people. Learning how to communicate well and avoid these will make projects run more smoothly and be more enjoyable.
To develop your communication skills, practice being open and honest with your coworkers. This requires a lot of trust between you and your team members. To build this trust, encourage your team members to bring any thoughts into a discussion—even if you disagree with them.
Time management and organization skills go hand in hand. As you become better at organizing your tasks, you’ll also have a clearer sense of everything that’s on your plate and how long your upcoming tasks are going to take.
Still, it can be hard to buckle down and prioritize your work. To improve your time management skills and reduce procrastination, try prioritizing tasks. When you’re clear on which tasks are higher priority, you can tackle them first, to make sure nothing gets left behind or falls through the cracks.
Even if you don’t think of yourself as a leader or have a role in team management, when you’re managing a project, your project team is looking to you for leadership, guidance, and support.
To develop your leadership skills, practice approaching situations with empathy and understanding. Good leaders bring everyone together and make them feel supported to foster teamwork and collaboration.
For a lot of project managers, organization is the most intimidating soft skill. You might think organization is either something you “have” or “don’t have.” But, like every other project management skill in this article, you can develop your organizational skills and become a Marie Kondo in your own right.
The best way to become a better organizer is to create (and maintain) a central source of truth for your work and your team’s work. We’re often disorganized because work is disconnected—in fact, the average employee switches between 10 tools per day . Instead of splitting your time between 10 tools, try using a digital organization tool to act as that one central source of truth for your team.
Problem solving skills are collaborative, iterative skills that help you approach a problem and, ultimately, solve it. Developing problem solving skills isn’t about always having the “right” answer to every problem—rather, people with great problem solving skills practice approaching problems from new perspectives and methodically working towards a solution.
To become a better problem solver, use data-driven decision-making frameworks or routine analyses. For example, if you need to solve for how to boost sales by 10% over your competition, you can run a competitive analysis to determine where you currently stand in the market. Then, use that information to solve the problem of lower sales. In this case, you could develop a new marketing strategy coordinated with the sales team.
Critical thinking, like problem solving, doesn’t have a “solution.” You can’t “win” at critical thinking, but you can practice approaching problems logically instead of making decisions based on your emotions. Good critical thinkers practice analyzing information in front of them and forming their own conclusions based on the facts—the way Sherlock Holmes solves a mystery.
To practice critical thinking, always take a step back and ask yourself: how did I come to this conclusion? Could there be another answer? Am I being swayed by something other than factual information? Emotional decisions aren’t necessarily bad—in fact, some of the best decisions are those we’re passionate about. But critical thinking is a helpful way to make sure you’re approaching a situation from the right perspective.
At some point, whether it’s this project or the next one, aspects of your project plan will change. Maybe your deadline or priorities shifts, and you need to adapt your workflow accordingly. Great project managers are able to pivot and adapt to new situations to continue steering their project team in the right direction.
Becoming more adaptable is all about understanding when and how to shift gears. To do this, you need to understand yourself. Developing other soft skills, such as self-awareness and mindfulness, can help you be more in touch with and manage your emotions, which are often in flux during times of change.
Inevitably, conflict will arise during the projects you manage. It could be that a stakeholder wants to change the project scope. Or maybe you missed your budget or deadline. Conflict resolution is about addressing both sides of the conflict so everyone feels heard and supported. If there are harmed parties, take the time to listen to them and try to find a solution that works for everyone. Even when that can’t happen, approaching the conversation with patience and empathy can help defuse a potentially frustrating situation and lead to a better result.
Unlike soft skills, hard skills are quantifiable abilities. While the soft skills mentioned above are applicable for many work skills, these seven hard skills are relevant specifically to project management. Developing these will help you become a more well rounded and efficient project manager.
At its core, a project plan (sometimes called a project charter) is a blueprint of the key elements your project needs to succeed. Typically a project plan will include seven things:
Goals and project objectives
Success metrics
Stakeholders and roles
Scope and budget
Milestones , deliverables , and project dependencies
Timeline and schedule
Communication plan
Some of these things, like your goals or your milestones, might already be defined in your project roadmap or brief. But your project plan is where all of these project elements come together to create a cohesive picture of your upcoming work.
A lot of planning goes into the beginning of the year for what our vision is and where we will be by the end of that particular year. Once that is done, we summarize it in a project so it's visible to everyone... Having that visual representation in Asana makes it easier to move things around.”
Project scope is the size, goals, and limitations (i.e., deadlines and resources) for your project. Your project scope will define what you can achieve within a certain timeframe and budget. Setting and defining your project scope is important in order to prevent scope creep , which is when your project deliverables outgrow your original project scope.
In order to improve your project scoping skills, practice setting project scope early and often. Once you’ve set your project scope, share it with stakeholders and surface it frequently, so everyone is on the same page about the project’s aims and limitations. Use it as a point of reference, so you know when to say no to new asks.
We have been able to reduce the number of products that we’ve oversold and the number of times we have to contact the customer to push a ship date out.”
Your project brief outlines your general project objectives and how you plan to get there. This can serve as a helpful North Star to guide planning sessions.
The most important thing to remember about your project brief is that it’s a living document. As you develop your project plan and get input from stakeholders, you can adapt and update your project brief. In general, your project brief should contain a link to your project roadmap if you created one, a list of your project stakeholders and their responsibilities (sometimes called a RACI chart), other relevant documentation or files, and any other high-level information your team might need.
Having executive oversight and insight into projects is key so we can quickly get up to speed on what is happening at any point.”
A kickoff meeting is an opportunity to align with your project stakeholders. This is your chance to clarify your project goals and scope, and share any documents you’ve already put together like your project roadmap, project brief, or supplemental documentation like a bill of materials for a marketing campaign or a creative brief for a design team.
To host a successful kickoff meeting, plan to share the documentation you have put together with project stakeholders. Then, host a brainstorming or Q&A session to align on any additional variables, like budget, resources , or final deliverables.
A project roadmap is a high-level overview of your project’s key deliverables and timeline. Project roadmaps are helpful for complex initiatives with a lot of stakeholders because they help the entire project team get on the same page before the project even starts.
Traditionally, project roadmaps are created in Gantt chart-like software , in order to display a general schedule of your project as a horizontal bar chart. To create a project roadmap, use a tool like Timeline in Asana to create a rough timeline of your project, adding key milestones or important dependencies.
Your project timeline is the order and duration of events during your project lifecycle. Knowing your project timeline helps your team track project success and deliver the right assets on time.
In order to build a great project timeline, make sure you clarify the start and end dates of your project, as well as any key milestones. As you continue building out individual tasks and deliverables, set dependencies between tasks, and clarify the start and end date of each piece of work.
Once your project is officially underway, task management refers to how well you manage your and your team’s time. The best project managers have visibility into what their team is working on in real-time, so they can help their team effectively prioritize and execute work.
But you don’t have to magically know everything that’s happening in your project—instead, use task management software. Task management software is more than a to-do list—it’s a way to get a holistic view of all of the work happening in your project. With effective task management, you can empower your team to work more productively, efficiently, and effectively.
With Asana, we can see project progress and blockers, plus feedback and action items, all in one place. We're now able to complete work more efficiently and effectively, which has become even more critical while working from home. We’d be lost without it!”
Soft skills: check. Hard skills: got it. The only thing you have left to master are technical skills!
Technical skills refer to your knowledge of specific tools and softwares within project management. These tools aren’t hard to learn—as we mentioned before, modern project management is built to be flexible and easy to use. These eight skills are aspects of project management roles you should become familiar with, so you know when and how to leverage them.
Project management software has come a long way from legacy tools that were difficult to use and required a project management professional to implement. But like any tool, even easy-to-use ones, the software you choose takes time to learn and truly master. Make sure the tool you select has a written guide and helpful videos to teach you the ins and outs of how to use it.
Gantt charts are a way to visualize your project as a horizontal bar chart, where each bar represents a piece of work and the length of each bar represents the amount of time that work will take.
Project milestones
Dependencies
Real-time project progress
Start and end dates
Traditional Gantt chart technology can be tricky to use and limited in scope, which is why, at Asana, we took the best of Gantt chart technology and created Timeline , a Gantt-chart like tool that helps you see how all of the pieces fit together.
Launching an album has so many moving parts, and Asana helps us track every detail, who’s responsible for it, and when it needs to be completed.”
Another popular type of visual project management is the Kanban board . Each column in a Kanban board represents a stage of work, like New , In progress , or Done . Individual work is represented by cards, which move through the columns until they’re completed.
Kanban boards tools are a popular visual project management tool for lean project management teams, particularly product, engineering, and software development teams. They’re an Agile methodology , designed to be adaptable and flexible to adjust to development needs in real-time.
Agile management is a lean project management methodology that’s particularly popular with product, engineering, and software development teams. Agile operates on a system of continuous improvement and incremental evolution, and it encompasses several lean methodologies, like lean portfolio management , Scrum , and Kanban .
In order to manage an Agile team, it's the project manager’s job to coordinate between team members and stay flexible. This can mean changing the project schedule, aligning with teams working on a different project, or just staying in touch with effective communication.
If you’ve managed projects before, you know how hard it is to gain clarity on who is working on what—but it doesn’t have to be. Workload management helps you measure your team’s bandwidth and make sure they aren’t over- or under-worked. It’s an interactive process that doesn’t have a beginning or end state—rather, an effective project manager will continuously monitor their team’s workload to ensure no one is burning out.
There are two steps to using workload management software . First, start by figuring out your team’s capacity, competencies, and current workload. From there, allocate resources based on individual workload, or rebalance workloads as needed.
In project management, cost management is considering how each task impacts your budget at every stage of the project. Cost management is a key part of project leadership, and an important element of whether or not your project is a success. Staying within budget is as important as hitting your project due date, and cost management can help you get there.
To manage cost effectively, good project managers define their costs and budget at the beginning of a project. Make sure project stakeholders and team members all understand the budget. Then, during the project, keep cost and budget in mind. Check in on your spending several times during the project to make sure you aren’t overshooting your budget. Once the project is completed, tally predicted cost vs. actual cost to determine how effective your cost management strategies were. This can also help you benchmark for future projects.
With project portfolio management (PMM), you can get a bird’s-eye view of your team’s work across multiple projects. Unlike traditional project management, PMM involves working on multiple projects or large-scale initiatives simultaneously. Project portfolio management tools help you get a holistic view of all of your team’s work in real-time, so you can connect strategy to execution.
Portfolios are also a key Asana feature for our team. It is a great tool for our executive team so they can see our big pieces of work all in a single place with the status, progress and ownership. Our CEO visits our portfolio daily and adds comments. He loves to be able to see what's going on in a snapshot.”
If you’ve ever rolled out a big organizational change, you’ve likely practiced change management, even if you didn’t know it. Change management is the process of introducing organizational change—like new processes or tools—over a set period of time to make them easier to adapt to.
At Asana, we use the Asana Way of Change, a six step process developed by our Customer Success team that incorporates proven change management strategies. To learn more, read our guide to change management .
The standard of our creative team, for a while, was just to react to work. But we’ll never do the best work we possibly can without a clear process.”
Twenty five skills might feel like a lot, but remember that you don’t need to master every skill in this list. Some, like Agile, are only relevant for specific teams. Others, like organization, become virtually effortless with a little focus and great tools .
Keep in mind that developing your project management skills takes practice. Challenge yourself to focus on one or two new skills for each project—whether that’s trying out a new visual form of project management like Kanban, drafting your first ever project plan, or leaning into time-management.
There are also classes you can take to develop hard and soft project management skills. Though you no longer need certifications in order to be considered a project manager, the Project Management Institute (PMI) offers courses, learning events, and their famous Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) , which was the first project management guide ever published.
Finally, once you’ve selected a project management tool , you can also take their classes to learn technical project management skills. At Asana, we’ve developed the Asana Academy and How to Asana series to help new project managers learn new soft, hard, and technical skills.
If you manage a project, you’re a project manager—and you likely already have some key project management skills. The most important thing is to be intentional, listen to your team, and collaborate with your team members. The rest will follow.
Project management doesn’t need to be complex. Asana was designed specifically to keep project manager’s organized, with tools, automations, and customizations built for collaborating and coordinating everything from a simple brainstorming session to a full-fledged product launch.
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Updated: Jun 18, 2024, 8:53am
Some people naturally possess project management skills. You know who you are. The innate ability to keep things in order and keep people on task is valuable in a team environment, and you can actually make a living out of it. To formally turn those strengths into a career as a project manager, identify and hone these 10 essential project management skills.
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You need a variety of both hard and soft skills to be a successful project manager.
The soft skills are those you can develop through any education or work experience, and they help you shape the right temperament for project management. The hard skills are those you need to learn specifically for this role, and you can learn them through formal project management training or on the job as a project manager.
You’ll also need to learn common project management techniques and tools, which you can pick up through training or work experience. We didn’t include those in the list here (but they are in the FAQs below) because the exact techniques and tools you need depend on preferences in your industry, company and team, and you have a wide variety to choose from.
Aside from learning specific project management methods and tools, these are the hard skills you can gain from formal training or on-the-job experience in project management.
The process of making conscious decisions to maximize the upsides and minimize the downsides of actions in your business is known as risk management .
As a project manager, you have to be aware of a project’s potential for profit or loss and the decisions that could lead to either. Throughout the project, you should be attuned to the stakeholders’ measures of success and how each person’s decisions and actions could contribute to—or detract from—achieving those aims.
You should understand your company’s (or the department’s) risk tolerance—do they have a budget dedicated to experimentation, or does every project need to yield a profit? With that framework, you can mediate decisions about the project’s timeline, resources and goals.
You’ll either receive a budget for a project or be tasked with presenting a cost estimate for decision makers to approve. It’s your job throughout the project to stay aware of the costs and keep the project from going over budget.
Cost in project management is one part of what’s called the “triple constraint” or the “ project management triangle ”—the three boundaries of cost, time and scope that define the project.
Managing cost includes balancing that constraint with the other two. You have to stay within budget while keeping the timeline on track and fulfilling but not exceeding the scope.
Reading comprehension and clear writing are vital skills for project managers. Strong reading and writing skills are important for just about any job, and they play a particularly prominent role in project management.
You may be tasked with reading and interpreting technical documents or legal jargon with which you have no subject matter expertise. Then you need to turn that information into briefs everyone involved with the project can follow.
One of the key roles of the project manager is creating a roadmap for the project that’ll guide all other stakeholders in their roles. Understand that different scenarios will require different project management methodologies , and you should know how to determine which is the best option for each situation.
You should have a penchant for order and organization; a quiet love for clear, measurable goals; and an understanding of tools like Gantt and PERT charts and other visual representations of project timelines and milestones.
Forecasting involves providing a prediction of project outcomes—profitability, in particular—for managers and company leadership. You have to be comfortable with data analysis so you can interpret how past projects have performed and use the information to inform the future of the current project.
You can’t learn specific processes or practices for these project management skills, but these innate strengths are important to your success in a project management role.
Though you don’t spearhead projects yourself in this role, your entire job is guiding others through a project. That requires management and leadership skills to feel comfortable doing things like facilitating meetings, holding participants accountable and enforcing constraints.
A project manager faces a particularly tough task in this role, because you have to be able to provide leadership for the project without being in a leadership or decision-making position.
Hand in hand with leadership is strong communication. You’re the point of contact for parties in a project who may have no other contact with each other, and you have to facilitate cohesive teamwork within that environment.
You should feel confident interpreting the needs of one group or department and explaining them to another.
You’ll likely also mediate conflicts among stakeholders and handle negotiations about time, cost and scope. You have to be able to understand everyone’s role and perspective while diplomatically communicating them across the project.
Project managers should be masters of written, verbal and visual communication. You’ll face instances of all three, and mastering them all lets you communicate effectively with a diverse group of project stakeholders.
In addition to learning hard skills for planning, forecasting and scheduling projects, you should possess or develop a personal strength for time management.
Do you feel comfortable juggling multiple deadlines, constraints and stakeholder needs—or do you become overwhelmed when you’re faced with too many priorities at once?
Learning to calmly and consistently manage a complex timeline and help others stay on task is a vital skill for project management. So is the innate ability to foresee complications that could derail your timeline and suggest solutions to stay on track.
This is a soft skill you can learn, but project management is probably best suited for those who have a natural tendency toward organization and order.
Being at the center of multiple teams attempting to work together toward a common goal can be rewarding—and it can be frustrating.
You’re in charge of managing disparate expectations and objectives, all while mediating conflict,communicating needs and helping everyone around you work within the constraints you’re given for a project. All of these require serious patience.
You can’t help a project achieve success if you give into frustration when challenges arise or milestones aren’t met. You can’t facilitate communication and teamwork if you absorb the frustrations or resentments boiling among teams.
Your ability to remain a calm, neutral party is vital to your success as a project manager, as well as the success of a project and the success and satisfaction of the people working on it. Your patience through challenges can inspire persistence and diffuse conflicts, while your impatience or frustration could equally demoralize and exacerbate problems.
Tools and strategies for project management are constantly evolving toward better efficiency, teamwork and communication. You should enjoy and excel at learning new programs and methods quickly and encouraging others to get on board.
A measure of tech-savviness is important because much of your role is understanding and properly using project management software like Trello , as well as other tools for things such as analytics, document creation and sharing and communication.
Soft skills like adaptability and flexibility are equally important here, too. You have to exhibit a willingness to learn and adopt new technology and techniques before you can learn the hard skills to use them. A nimble mindset sets you up for success with anything new that’ll be thrown at you, regardless of your starting level of tech know-how.
Your mindset is also important for the success of the people you work with. You need their buy-in to keep communication clear and tasks on track, and you can only get that if you’re fully onboard with new tools and methods yourself.
Key for any management role, critical thinking will come into play daily in project management. You have to be able to make quick decisions within a set of constraints, foreseeing the potential implications for the future of a project.
Critical thinking in project management supports your ability to analyze the data and information you’re given to make decisions in the planning stage then carry that knowledge throughout the project as conditions change. It helps you make calls as needed to negotiate constraints and hold stakeholders accountable.
You can hone your skills and knowledge through formal education,work experience or both.
A common route in project management is to earn your Project Management Professional (PMP) certification , which is administered by the Project Management Institute (PMI).
The certification shows you have the soft skills, technical knowledge and understanding of business strategy necessary to succeed as a project manager, including specific experience or training with the most common project management methods: agile, waterfall and hybrid.
To prepare for the exam—and learn the necessary project management skills—you must gain work experience and project management training. The required number of hours for each depends on whether you have a four-year degree or not.
You can take PMP training through PMI or other online courses, which are focused on things like project management methods, the process, tools and more.
A certification validates your skill set for potential employers, so it could make you more attractive to companies and improve your pay. But a certification isn’t required to do the job, and it’s not a guarantee you’ll find work or success in the field.
If it’s your preference to use Agile methodologies for project management, you may want to consider getting certified. Much like the PMP, being able to say that you’ve completed the coursework for Agile certifications can help you complete projects more efficiently (not to mention earn you a higher salary).
You can learn project management skills through free online courses that may or may not contribute to required training hours for PMP certification, but they will teach you the hard and soft skills needed to do the job.
Find university-led courses on project management skills, tools and techniques through sites that offer mass open online courses (MOOCs), including Coursera and edX.
You can get started as a project manager without any formal training or courses. Your natural strengths might set you up for success in the role and make it easy for you to adopt the tools and techniques you need.
To gain skills on the job, pay attention to projects you’re involved with first. Keep an eye on the project manager’s day-to-day work, and ask them questions to understand what they do. Being attuned to the process can give you great insight into the skills you need to do the job.
Then, take advantage of any opportunities in your existing role to lead projects, manage people or organize any processes or events. The skills and experience you develop in this kind of work can transfer to success in a project manager role, even if it doesn’t follow formal project management processes.
What does a project manager do on a daily basis.
A project manager’s job is to oversee the timeline, costs and scope of a project within a team or company. Day-to-day tasks vary and may include facilitating meetings, writing briefs and reports, analyzing data, communicating with stakeholders and advocating to leadership for project needs.
The five phases of project management include initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closure. A project manager’s first step on a project is initiation: Define the project and determine whether it’s feasible for the company to undertake it. If the answer is yes, you create a project charter that outlines the needs, stakeholders and business case for the project.
Project management tools should facilitate communication, task management, planning and forecasting for projects. Some of the best project management software includes Wrike, Asana, Monday, Basecamp and Jira. Which is best for your project depends on the industry and the project’s needs.
The top project management techniques are the traditional waterfall, also known as predictive or linear project management; agile or adaptive; and hybrid, which combines the two. Common tools and techniques you can use within each method include work breakdown structure (WBS) , Gantt charts , critical path method (CPM), Kanban and scrum .
Project managers should be familiar with the common project management methods and tools, including agile and waterfall. You should also have necessary soft skills needed for leadership, communication, time management, adaptation and critical thinking on projects.
Some companies require a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, which requires a four-year degree, 36 months leading projects and 35 hours of training; or a high school diploma, 60 months leading projects and 35 hours of training. You can be a project manager without the certification, however, as long as you master the hard and soft skills mentioned above.
You can become a project manager with no experience or education simply by gaining experience and knowledge in areas such as time management, task management and leadership. Hone the soft skills listed above, and look for free online training to learn the hard skills and project management methods and tools. You can also get formal training and qualify to take an exam to earn a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) credential without project management work experience.
Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® who's been writing about money management and small business operations for more than a decade. She writes the newsletter Healthy Rich about how capitalism impacts the ways we think, teach and talk about money. She's the author of YOU DON'T NEED A BUDGET (Little, Brown Spark, 2024).
Adam Hardy is a former assistant editor at Forbes Advisor, where he covered small business and tech. Previously, he was a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder, specializing in the gig economy and entrepreneurship. His work has appeared in the Asia Times, Business Insider, Creative Loafing, the Tampa Bay Times, Yahoo! Finance and other publications.
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Learn how to use a systematic approach to solve problems in your projects with five steps: define, determine, generate, select and take action. Find out which methods and tools can help you at each step, such as fishbone diagram, brainstorming, mind mapping and trade-off analysis.
Problem solving is an essential skill to handle the issues project managers encounter on a daily basis. Effective problem solving actually circles around the people element in your project management. How you relate and interact with people has a major impact on how effectively and how quickly you can solve problems.
Learn how to identify, analyze, and solve problems in project management using a structured, seven-step framework. See real-world examples of problem-solving methods and how project management software can help you.
Importance of Ongoing Problem-Solving Skills in Project Management. Ongoing problem-solving skills are essential for project managers to navigate challenges and ensure project success. By continuously improving their problem-solving capabilities, project managers can adapt to changing circumstances, mitigate risks, and deliver exceptional results.
7. Solution evaluation. 1. Problem identification. The first stage of any problem solving process is to identify the problem (s) you need to solve. This often looks like using group discussions and activities to help a group surface and effectively articulate the challenges they're facing and wish to resolve.
With the world moving at warp speed—and problems flying in from every direction—many project leaders are (understandably) looking for help: Nearly 40 percent of respondents in PMI's Pulse of the Profession ® report said enterprise-wide adoption of complex problem-solving tools and techniques was a high priority. That also means looking ...
In project management and team collaboration, problem-solving is the process of identifying and resolving issues that arise during a project. It is a crucial skill that helps fix broken processes, improve performance, and identify opportunities. Problem-solving enables project managers and team leaders to overcome challenges and achieve success ...
Choose. Now that you've analyzed the problem and understand contributing factors, identify the areas to address first. Your team likely can't address all elements of a problem at once, so they need to prioritize solutions in ways that will give the project the best ROI of energy and time. 4. Implement.
2. Analyzing the problem: Understanding the context and constraints. 3. Generating options: Brainstorming possible solutions. 4. Evaluating alternatives: Assessing the feasibility and implications of each solution. 5. Implementing the solution: Putting the chosen solution into action. 6.
Here are some potential techniques you could employ: Hold a brainstorming session with your team to identify and explore answers to the problem. Use mind mapping to focus your mind, gain clarity and quickly identify solutions. to help you identify the obstacles preventing you from achieving your goal. Once you have your list of solutions ...
Taking Action to Solve Your Problems. 1. Defining the Problem is Your First Priority. The way you look at a problem, your employees won't. Because, when they see a problem, they want you to solve it for them, as you are the project manager. So, it's important for you to define the problem in the first place.
Project Based Problem Solving and Decision Making is an essential everyday resource for professional project managers, as well as students studying project management. Dr. Kerzner is not only a world-renowned author in project management but also serves as the Senior Executive Director at the International Institute for Learning, Inc. (IIL).
Defer or suspend judgement. Focus on "Yes, and…" rather than "No, but…". According to Carella, "Creative problem solving is the mental process used for generating innovative and imaginative ideas as a solution to a problem or a challenge. Creative problem solving techniques can be pursued by individuals or groups.".
Problem Solving: Willpower. All of the above may be quite fascinating, but if the project manager is not committed to their work and to improving themselves in problem solving, everything is pointless. There are exercises you can do to master problem solving skills that help you respond better to problems and solve them quickly.
January 28, 2024. In the fast-paced world of Project Management Offices (PMOs), effective problem-solving is a key skill that PMO Analysts and PMO Managers must master. From aligning projects with strategic objectives to ensuring smooth operational workflows, problem-solving skills are used daily in the PMOs, in projects, and when managing ...
4 steps to better problem solving. While it might be tempting to dive into a problem head first, take the time to move step by step. Here's how you can effectively break down the problem-solving process with your team: 1. Identify the problem that needs to be solved. One of the easiest ways to identify a problem is to ask questions.
The 25 key skills you need to succeed as a project manager, how you can develop those project management skills over time, and a project manager toolkit. Project management careers are built off a series of technical, hard, and soft skills. ... Problem solving. Problem solving skills are collaborative, iterative skills that help you approach a ...
The apparent erosion of problem solving capability is less a cause for despair than a call to reexamine the essence of one of project management's "foundation skills." To make a foundation skill like problem solving a core competency for project managers, it requires a redeployment of these skills and processes throughout the organization.
When applying problem-solving techniques, you will be using a variation of these steps as your foundation. Takeaway: Before you can solve a problem, seek to understand it fully. ... Project management software for creatives: 10 of the best tools; Itinerary template for project management;
Here are three techniques or tools for trouble-shooting complex problems and related interdependencies on your projects, ranging from root cause analysis to structured brainstorming approaches such as affinity diagrams and mind maps. When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. This could be a problem if you're ...
Root cause analysis. A simple yet powerful process for practical problem solving, root cause analysis is a four-step methodology to identify project troubles. This tool is used to distinguish the root cause from other causal factors so that corrective actions can be determined and taken. By knowing the root cause of a fault or problem, you can ...
How Wicked Problem Solving Works. This interactive course and toolkit will teach you how to bring yourself or your team, from irresolution to resolution, using a simple, powerful, scalable approach to tackle any problem and make solutions visible. Watch quick videos, then get hands-on experience working through your problems in your companion ...
Managing cost includes balancing that constraint with the other two. You have to stay within budget while keeping the timeline on track and fulfilling but not exceeding the scope. 3. Reading and ...