Max Wideman's PM Wisdom

Max Wideman has over half a century of practicing a variety of Project Management (PM) disciplines. This site brings together a permanent record of the accumulated experience and learning that Max has gained in Project Management throughout this time.

It is for those with an interest in PM, have questions, or just want "how to" answers from our Issacons. This site has serious Papers by Max as well as by knowledgeable Guest authors. The Musings often raise issues, with a little English humor for lighter reading. Just click one of these links and start from the bottom of the page!

If you:
     • have to learn PM in a hurry — go to our cartoon series PM 101;
     • want help with a lot of typical daily PM tasks — go to Issacons;
     • like reading serious ideas on how to conduct PM — go to Papers;
     • seek to know what other PM masters think — go to Guests;
     • need a good place to start — try the paper PM 1st Principles;
     • are interested in a book on PM — take a look at PM Framework;
     • require the meaning of different PM terms — go to the PM Glossary;
     • wish to see the whole scope of this site — go to the Site Map;
     • are looking for something specific — then use our search page.

New This Month — June 2022

Guest: Shannah Henderson reminds us of Five Blunders to Avoid when starting a New Service-Based Business in project management. Example: is there a market for your intended project management activities? If so, to start with, you will probably be expected to do the work yourself. In which case, soliciting your next client while doing so will likely be frowned upon. Also, resist the temptation to offer to do the work at a discount. Don't — because that will be the standard for any future work.

Guest: Lauren Winans describes how corporate Human Resources (departments) have evolved into People Operations (services). That is, moving away from just hiring, firing, compliance, and rule setting in a very bureaucratic way. Instead, their focus is on a more people-centered approach supporting recruiting and related help for filling vacancies in specific project teams.

Project management tip of the month The professionals' professionalism principle: Real professionals are known by how they perform with their self-imposed obligations, and not by how they are regulated and defined by law.

Recent

Guest: According to María Elena González, a seasoned content writer based in Venezuela, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the entire work ecosystem. Now, almost everybody lives in different locations, with different time zones and different living costs. Hence there is a significant effect of remote work on tech salares. María explores the effects of remote work on tech salaries.

Musings: Angela Civitella is a certified business leadership coach who has written on this web site many times before. She says that if you want to stand out and get a particular job, then there are seven things you should focus on in your next interview. Read her article Smaller Details Go a Long Way to a Successful Job Interview.

Papers: Last January, I wrote a piece on the corporate staff recruiter's view of searching for project management talent. This time I want to look at it from the Job-Applicant's side namely seeking project management employment. First is how to establish what you should be looking for, then secondly, how and where to find it.

Classic: The original and only Project Management Body of Knowledge (dubbed "PMBOK") published by the Project Management Institute in 1987, is now available as a PDF document. Want a copy? See PMBOK-1987 Reborn under Other Areas and Interests. Contains valuable advice even today.

At-A-Glance

Issacons (Issues and Considerations) are sets of slides providing summary information for specific questions associated with particular PM topics. Designed to save hours of searching yet more detailed than a plain bulleted list.

PM Glossary version 5.5 is free on this site. The glossary shows how many project management terms mean different things to different people. However, for the latest version 6.1 see PM Glossary v6.1 choices.

Papers & Books are thought-provoking and valuable insights into project management and include numerous book reviews. You will also find information about books that I have written or co-authored from time to time.

Max's Musings are brief thoughts on various project management topics.

Guest Articles contain articles on particular PM topics contributed to this site by a wide range of other authors.

Click on the links above to see the most recent additions.

About Max is a brief biography outlining my professional career, some personal history, and even a little trivia about me.

P.Eng.
FCSCE, FEIC, FICE, FPMI, FCMI*

*What do these letters mean? See Recognition on this page.

Copyright — The contents of this site are protected by copyright and may not be used by commercial or non‑commercial organizations without written permission.

Disclaimer — The views expressed are those of the contributors and no responsibility is accepted for the accuracy or reliability of the content or the results of its application.

More, much more . . .
(Other areas and interests)