Psoda blog

This week’s blog isn’t strictly about project management, but about a closely related topic – customer service. Many of our roles these days do include an element of customer service, and after all, what are our stakeholders and end-users but customers? Recently, I had the (mis)fortune of having to communicate with two of our vendors ... Blog

When I was a project manager I used to hate stage or phase gate reviews. They often turned into a bit of an interrogation or bun fight. And more often than not, they ended up having to be reconvened as a decision couldn’t be made there and then! Over the years I came up with ... Blog

For this week’s blog I thought I’d do something a bit different so I came up with a fun quiz to find out which fictional project manager you are. Hopefully you enjoy trying it out.     [sc name=”quiz”]

This might sound like a stupid question but I’ve been asked in the past why was I wasting time trying to recruit project coordinators, as don’t they just do admin stuff? Knowing how hard project coordinators work and what a skilled job it is, to say I was surprised at that comment is an understatement. ... Blog

We’ve all been there… We’re working away happily on the project and a risk we’d logged and forgotten about suddenly rears its ugly head. Or something we didn’t even think about comes up and causes problems. So how do you deal with such sudden issues on your project – without losing your head or focus? ... Blog

Leading up to the 2017 PMI Conference in Christchurch, New Zealand, we created a video based on funny project management-related quotes from around the world. We hoped that it would resonate with our audience and create a talking point for attendees. The quotes we chose to illustrate are: “Project management is like dating – you ... Blog

You may think capturing requirements for a project is common sense. However, you’d be surprised at how often it’s done in a slap dash, half-hearted manner. This results in all sorts of problems – from products that don’t deliver what the customer wanted, to work taking twice as long when it needs to be re-worked. ... Blog

When you’re under the pump and working 16 to 18 hour days to deliver your project, it’s really easy to consider stopping the project catch up meeting. After all, it will free up at least an hour a week that could be spent on other things. Besides, if there is anything important or urgent, the ... Blog

Social media is one of the biggest drivers of behavioural change in recent times. It’s almost expected that everyone will be on at least one platform – especially now that most of us are near constantly glued to our smart devices. Like it or not – we’re now hardly ever disconnected unless you want to ... Blog

How do you refurbish a power station while keeping it fully operational, and keeping everyone in the team – and local wildlife – safe? These are just some of the challenges the two project managers – yes, this project needed two! – overcame in this complex and multi-faceted project by Meridian Energy, which is one ... Blog

Helping to create a new “spiritual home” for an iconic brand would be a dream mission for many project teams. To also transform a derelict coal yard site into a stunning new attraction where beer lovers could taste, touch, smell, celebrate and discover a well-loved craft brew? Pour us another and let’s get started! In ... Blog

We’re pleased to present the first in a three-part series of blog posts to highlight the finalists of the Psoda Project of the Year Award at the 2017 New Zealand Project Management Awards. The Project of the Year Award recognises the success of a project and the project team, for the superior performance and execution ... Blog