RMC Learning Solutions, Author at RMC Learning Solutions

Posted on August 14, 2021June 9, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

Leadership in Project Management

For mid-level project managers, the leap from managing schedules and deliverables to truly leading a team is both subtle and profound. Leadership in project management isn’t just about being the most organized person in the room. It’s about influence, trust, vision, and the ability to align diverse people toward a shared outcome—especially when the path is unclear.

In today’s project environments—where teams are cross-functional, often remote, and moving at speed—effective leadership is the cornerstone of sustainable delivery. This isn’t about command and control. It’s about clarity, confidence, and emotional intelligence.

From Project Coordinator to Project Leader

Many project managers reach mid-level after proving they can plan and execute reliably. They’ve learned how to build schedules, manage risk logs, facilitate meetings, and chase down blockers. But leadership begins when the PM moves beyond being the hub of communication and becomes the enabler of outcomes.

Project leaders don’t just keep the trains running. They:

Inspire accountability without micromanagement
Navigate uncertainty with calm and clarity
Make space for team members to step up
Translate vision into shared purpose

And perhaps most critically, they earn trust. In project settings, where authority is often borrowed rather than formal, trust is currency.

Leading without direct authority

Most project managers don’t manage their teams in a traditional sense. Developers, analysts, designers, and business stakeholders often report elsewhere. So how do you lead when no one has to follow you?

The answer is relational leadership. That means:

Building credibility by delivering consistently
Listening more than directing
Understanding what motivates each contributor
Adapting your communication style to your audience

Influence is built day by day, not declared. When people feel heard, respected, and supported, they begin to lean in—and that’s when leadership sticks.

Vision and Alignment in the Project Context

One of the key differences between a manager and a leader is the ability to connect the dots between tasks and meaning. As a project manager, you may not be setting the overall business vision—but you are responsible for helping your team understand how their work contributes to it.

This looks like:

Framing deliverables in the context of organizational goals
Translating complex objectives into day-to-day priorities
Reinforcing the “why” behind the “what”

When teams understand the purpose behind their work, motivation increases, silos dissolve, and decision-making improves.

Handling conflict and change like a leader

Projects bring people together—and sometimes, people clash. Competing priorities, shifting requirements, and tight timelines can fray nerves. Leadership means staying grounded when the room gets tense.

Good project leaders:

Address conflict early, without defensiveness
Create psychological safety for dissenting views
Focus on solutions, not blame

Change management is another test of leadership. When a scope shift or resource change hits, the best PMs don’t just update the Gantt chart. They re-orient the team with empathy and decisiveness.

Leadership in Agile and Hybrid environments

Leadership doesn’t look the same in every methodology. In Agile or hybrid settings, servant leadership is often the most effective model. Servant leaders:

Remove obstacles
Champion team autonomy
Coach instead of control

In these environments, your leadership might be less about command and more about facilitation—guiding the team through uncertainty and iteration while maintaining alignment with broader goals.

The Emotional Intelligence Edge

Technical proficiency will get you in the door. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is what helps you lead. Project managers with high EQ:

Read the room
Regulate their own stress
Respond with empathy
De-escalate tension before it derails progress

For mid-level PMs looking to step into more senior roles, developing emotional intelligence is one of the most valuable long-term investments.

Final Thoughts: Leading Through Delivery

Leadership in project management isn’t a separate skill set from delivery—it is delivery. Because great plans don’t execute themselves. Great teams do. And great teams thrive under leaders who:

Set direction without rigidity
Foster trust without ego
Communicate with clarity and consistency

As a mid-level project manager, the invitation is clear: go beyond managing timelines and become a catalyst for high-performing teams. The best project leaders aren’t just taskmasters—they’re motivators, connectors, and calm voices in complexity. Leadership is not about having all the answers. It’s about creating the conditions where the best answers can emerge. Lead forward.

Posted on August 4, 2021June 6, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

Project Scope Management

Project Scope Management is an important tool to improve projects. Most scope creep occurs because of lack of agreement among stakeholders, an inconsistent understanding, or lack of sufficient analysis in development of the product or solution scope.

The cornerstone to agreeing upon and managing project scope is to focus on facilitating good communication that engages your sponsor and stakeholders in conversations at appropriate phases of the project. Collaborating with business stakeholders and the technical team to create a clear scope definition helps mitigate the risk of scope creep.

So, what is scope and scope creep and why does it happen?

Managing Project Scope

What is Scope and Scope Creep?
Why Do Projects Fail?
Why Prevent Scope Creep?
How to Improve Project Scoping?
Mastering Project Scope Techniques

What is Scope and Scope Creep?

Project scope is the work the project team will do to deliver the product which is the result of the project. It also encompasses the product scope – the product deliverables, features, and functions. Project scope includes the planning, coordination, and management activities that ensure the product or service is achieved. Scope creep refers to features, functionality or requirements increasing or varying from what was planned.

Why Do Projects Fail?

There are many reasons why projects fail. Here are some common examples related to scoping:

Wrong Project occurs when someone gets an idea, and the company runs with it with very little insight, analysis, scoping, or requirements. Doing the scoping activity as early as you can helps the organization be sure about the value of the work. For example, some studies suggest that 80% of the software features in our work packages are not used regularly. That suggests we are doing some things we really don’t need to do because people aren’t using the functionality.

Wrong Solution can happen when an organization has a business problem or an opportunity, but they only focus on the first solution identified. For example, the sponsor has a new product and requests a system change to accommodate. However, the product is so different that the system change solution does not meet the product needs.

Poor Requirements are often sighted as a cause of project failure. Defining scope, whether in a scope statement, a project charter, or a diagram, becomes your first set of requirements. Here you define the scope, the boundaries, the interfaces, and who is involved.

Poor Scope Definition can happen when you tackle large, complex projects, and it is difficult to define the work. It can mean that stakeholders may be uncertain about their original need. It may also be that you don’t have a clear agreement around scope before you start or once the project starts stakeholders want to add to the project scope, as discussed earlier. Having proven tools to help define and manage project scope is essential.

Why Prevent Scope Creep?

When a team works on product features and functionality outside of the originally defined scope, it could extend the agreed upon schedule, budget, and resources. It could also lead to less time for the previously approved work. Other possible impacts could mean certain features may not get completed or the team becomes distracted by the varying scope and loses site of the intended solution. Any one of these scenarios could lead to project failure.

How To Improve Project Scoping?

Most projects start because a stakeholder or sponsor identifies a business opportunity, problem, or constraint. To improve the project scoping, a business analyst should be involved to define business value, a technical expert should be consulted about feasibility and cost of the idea and the project manager should be consulted about resources needed, risks, and expected timeframes for completion and transition before any word is funded.

At the start of a new project or initiative, Scoping and analyzing the business need involves critical thinking about current business processes, information, policies, and people. This includes:

Understanding the current environment or “context” within which the business operates and how work is being done.
Analyzing the stakeholder request, talking with the stakeholders to determine if the requesting stakeholder has identified the root cause of the problem.
Assessing the cost/benefit analysis of the request to determine if it will bring enough value to the business to outweigh the cost of getting it done.
Identifying solution options and helping the team to evaluate each option and choose the best one.
Defining a solution scope to select the best business analysis process to use. This includes understanding the number of stakeholders impacted, the complexity of the solution, the number of interfacing organizations and systems, and the involvement of outside organizations. decide how to approach the work and how formally to define deliverables.

Mastering Project Scope Techniques

The best way to manage scope is to have frequent and appropriate conversations with your stakeholders to reach consensus on scope. It is important to talk about scope and prioritization to get better agreement on the solution boundaries. The more agreement you have the less scope creep you will have later in the project.

Defining and Managing Project Requirements course gives instruction on scoping. Contact us for more details on our instructor-led class schedule. We also offer Business Analysis Fundamentals eLearning which teaches multiple scoping techniques. Finally, you can also listen to the recorded webinar Three Proven Analysis Tools to Prevent Scope Creep and earn 1 technical PDU.

Posted on August 3, 2021June 6, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

5 Tips for Qualitative Risk Analysis on Projects

Close up of two colleagues reviewing risk analysis on projects

Whether you’re an experienced project manager or just getting started, keep in mind that all projects, big or small, have risks. And these uncertainties can have a positive or negative effect on your objectives and outcomes. It is also true that risks vary by project. Therefore, understanding why and how to conduct risk analysis on projects can help you manage threats and opportunities.

For most projects, you can use effective risk management methods to efficiently identify, evaluate, categorize and manage the main risks. Let’s get started by introducing you to some tips to simplify your project qualitative risk analysis.

5 Tips for Project Qualitative Risk Analysis

Use a Probability and Impact Grid
Create the Grid in a Spreadsheet
Chose a Simple Scale and Define It
Set a Threshold of What Risks to Address
Determine a Risk Score
Facilitate a Discussion of Divergent Views

1. Use a Probability and Impact Grid

Impact and probability are the two main components of qualitative risk analysis. Probability estimates the likelihood of an event occurring. Impact estimates the relative consequences of dealing with the event. This impact is evaluating the implications for cost and schedule.

These estimates are not precise. Using a scale like the one in the image of 1-10, you can estimate the probability and impact of an event and allowing you to have a facilitated discussion with stakeholders and determine where to plot the identified risks on the chart. This grid allows for easy collaboration. This visual representation of each risk makes the interaction with stakeholders simpler and makes it easier to agree on probability and impact a particular risk.

2. Create the Grid in a Spreadsheet

The easiest way to create a probability and impact grid is to use a spreadsheet. You can graphically depict the stakeholders’ ranking which makes is easy to understand, discuss and prioritize risks with team members and other stakeholders. The grid also allows you to sort many risks quickly and to easily share in virtual meetings.

3. Chose a Simple Scale and Define It

There are many options of how you can create a scale. However, make sure you have definitions for your scale. It is important to establish and agree upon the definition of the scale so your stakeholders will not misinterpret or create their own definitions.

For example, if you are going to use a 1-10 scale, a rating of 1 may be defined as “no real impact” and 10 may be defined as project failure. It should define probability – the likelihood a risk will occur and impact – the effect a risk will have if it occurs. Also see a simpler definition for the 1-10 scale in Figure 5.4 page 127. You can use any scale that makes sense to you and your stakeholders like 1-5 or high, medium, or low.

4. Set a Threshold of What Risks to Address

When a threat is great enough that the risk becomes unacceptable or an opportunity significant enough that action should be taken to benefit the project on a predetermined scale, you need to set a threshold for what risks you will address. Risks below this threshold will be identified but not dealt with meaning there will be no contingency plans created to deal with these risks. No special action needs to be taken to prepare for these risks as the probability and impact is low enough that additional time and effort aren’t necessary. Active acceptance of risks that score above the threshold require a response strategy. The response strategies could include actions to avoid, mitigate, or transfer negative risks or exploit, enhance, share positive risks.

5. Determine a Risk Score

Defining a risk score for each risk is one way to determine your risk threshold. Your risk score is the calculation of probability times impact (P x I = Risk Score). The example in figure 5.8 shows scores for each risk and how those scores might be evaluated for setting the risk threshold.

If an organization had a risk governance rule that the threshold was 50 (on a 1-80 scale), then all risks 50 and over would need active acceptance (e.g. further actions to be taken such as setting aside contingency to offset the effect of the risk) and those under 50 would be passive acceptance (requires no action beyond documenting the decision). Risk can be detailed by high, medium, and low risk scores. For example:

Risk above the threshold, also known as high risk, must be dealt with via qualitative analysis or plan risk response. The risks that are characterized as high risks have both a high impact and likelihood of occurrence. The often require immediate strategies of avoid or exploit.
Risks with a medium score might mean considering mitigation/enhancement/transfer/share efforts or qualitative analysis. The characterization is dependent on the organizations defined threshold.
Risks with a lower score get documented or put on a risk register or watch list. The risks that are characterized as low, or very low, risks have both a low impact and likelihood of occurrence.

Figure 5.8 page 132: Example of a Risk Score Risk Management – Tricks of the Trade® for Project Managers – Third Edition

Key:

Yellow: Low risks. Simply document (low) on the Watch List.
Peach: Medium risks. Consider moving to Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis and/or Plan Risk Responses process. They needs contingency responses like mitigate, enhance, transfer and share.
Tan: High risks. Move to Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis and/or Plan Risk Responses process. Theses need responses like avoid and exploit.

6. Facilitate a Discussion of Divergent Views

When leading stakeholders in a qualitative risk analysis discussion, differences of opinions may emerge. Be prepared for the disagreement and move toward agreement and consensus on the analysis of each risk. You might have to establish ground rules for the discussion and decision making to avoid conflict.

Communicating information about risks helps keep the team and your stakeholders invested in the success of the project. Maintain open communication and intentionally ask questions. Listen to the answers to capture the views of your stakeholders and team members by documenting assumptions, concerns, and outcomes. These efforts will promote accountability, help manage expectations and improve you and your team’s efforts to manage project risk.

Build Your Qualitative Risk Analysis Project Skills

As you continue to develop and practice your risk analysis skills, consider taking RMC’s instructor-led course on Risk Management Tricks of the Trade^® for Project Managers. Simply contact us to learn more. If you prefer to study at your own pace, we also offer a Risk Management eLearning course or our book Risk Management – Tricks of the Trade® for Project Managers.

You can also listen to our recorded webinar Five Tips for Easy Qualitative Risk Analysis and earn 1 free PDU.

Sources:

https://www.projectmanagement.com/blog/blogPostingView.cfm?blogPostingID=66734&thisPageURL=/blog-post/66734/Qualitative-Risk-Analysis–Process-Overview#_=_

https://www.safran.com/blog/how-to-communicate-risk-to-project-stakeholders

Posted on July 30, 2021June 6, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

Project Management Risk Analysis

Risk analysis and management are important skills to practice. They help reduce surprises and uncertainties that can negatively impact your project’s scope, schedule, performance, or budget. Risk is not just about threats. Project management risk analysis also identifies opportunities to reduce project cost or time.

Analyzing Project Risk

A good risk management plan identifies, analyzes, manages, and closes out risks during each project phase before they become real issues. This allows you evaluate the likelihood and impact that a risk will emerge during a project.

Project Management risk analysis begins with qualitative methods to examine, rank, and score the risk events. Once identified risks are sorted and prioritized. Higher priority threats and opportunities are focused. For more detailed risk analysis requires quantitative techniques which are not discussed in this article.

What is Qualitative Risk Management?

Here is an overview of qualitative risk management:

1. Risk Tolerance: Decide the level of risk that is acceptable. The level of tolerance you have for risk will determine the amount of risk you are willing to take on in your project. Risk tolerance tends to be subjective however, in determining your risk tolerance you should consider past projects and how risks taken on during them played out.

2. Identify Opportunities and Threats: Two tools that are useful for identifying risks are Risk Categories and Risk Breakdown Structure. Risk Categories separate different risks based on their common characteristics. For example, one category could be natural disasters. Another category could be market or interprets rate fluctuations. Risk Breakdown structure is a process where large risks categories are broken down into smaller packages. To take the above example, interest rate fluctuations of 5 percentage points will require a certain risk response while a 50% change would require an entirely different response. One thing to keep in mind is that risks can also be opportunities, like a key commodity used in your project is available at a lower price thus reducing overall project cost.

3. Qualitative Risk Analysis: Qualitative analysis is a subjective analysis to estimate probability and value for each risk. One way of doing this is to use a risk matrix. The risk matrix allows you to rank each and its potential effect on the project resulting in a ranking within the context of the project. Ultimately this will allow you to determine the overall risk for the entire project. The rankings will also allow you to prioritize risks within the project.

4. Quantitative Risk Analysis: This process is optional because not all projects and not all risks need this level of analysis. Big, strategically important projects would be more likely to need quantitative risk analysis. For example, you might need the probability that there will be a concrete shortage during a road building project or a shortage of processors from a third-party country as the result of strike or factory closure. There are mathematical tools for doing this kind of risk analysis, but they are beyond the scope of this article.

5. Strategies for Higher Ranked Risks: Simply put, the higher ranked the risk, the more likely that you need a contingency plan for dealing with it.

6. Follow the Contingency Plan: If a risk occurs then the contingency plan for that risk should be followed. These contingency plans act as a roadmap for the team to follow.

7. Evaluate and Analyze if Risk Management is Working: You have to watch, evaluate and determine if the risk efforts that you planned are working. If not, you need a reassessment of the risks to identify necessary changes in your plans for the risks.

Qualitative Risk Analysis Process

Qualitative Risk Analysis allows you determine which risks warrant a response. You’ll need to establish evaluation criteria to avoid putting your energies in the wrong place. You also need to make sure that your subject matter experts that are participating in the evaluation are using the same criteria for consistency. (See item 1 below for examples and watch for our next blog for more information on the establishing these criteria.)

A common error encountered is not focusing our efforts on the highest value risks to generate the best results. Having a qualitative risk analysis process can be help, here is one you can use:

1. Subjectively evaluate the probability and impact of each risk: Using a matrix (1-5 scale, high medium, low) allows you to be able to have consistent criteria used in that evaluation.

2. Create a shorter list of risks: This allows you to create a smaller set of risks you are working on and a watch list of the ones, that if they occur, are not going to have significant impact on your schedule, budget, or resources and you can absorb that small impact to the project.

3. Determine the top or critical risks you will quantify and/or will require a response plan: This short list is prioritized by the risk’s qualitative ranking and is used to decide what to do next. For large/high priority projects, quantitative risk analysis can give further prioritization to the short list. For other projects that are smaller or are not as high in the organization’s priorities you can go directly to employing risk strategies and creating contingency plans.

4. Make a go/no-go decision: Consider creating an overall risk rating for the project to determine if the project is within acceptable risk levels for your organization. This ranking can be helpful in making a go/no-go decision. It will help answer the question: “After evaluating the risks, do you still want to do this project?”

Why Qualitative Risk Analysis is Important?

As you look at next steps and how to proceed about the risk, qualitative analysis of risk is critical to make sure that you are doing work in the right way at the right time.

You would proceed to Quantitative Risk Analysis if:

You identified all the project risks
It is worth the time and money
It has high priority or visible project
There is a low tolerance for cost or schedule overruns
You possess tools and capabilities

You would proceed to Risk Response Planning if:

The project has a smaller budget or is shorter project
You are new to risk management and have yet not developed your risk analysis skills
There are a small number of risks
The risk ratings identified warrant moving directly to response strategies

Passively Accepting Risk: Watch list

When you reach the threshold where you need to address the risks identified, using a watch list is the way of tracking the identified risks that you can passively accept.

Table 1 Risk Register Example from Rita Mulcahy’s^™ Risk Management Tricks of the Trade^® for Project Managers, 3rd Edition

Page 138, Fig 5.13

All risks will be documented in the risk register. Their score will be compared to the risk threshold and those under it will be ranked lower and will make up the watch list within the risk register. These low priority risks do not move forward in the risk management process as they do not require quantitative risk analysis or response strategies. Risks that need to be addressed will rank higher and continue through process and the additional documentation is added to the to the risk register.

Table 2: Risk Register with additional columns for documentation for short list risks. Page 138, Fig 5.13

Learn More About Project Managent Risk Analysis

Need real-world, step by step approach to using Risk Management in your current projects to help minimize the occurrence and impact of project risks?

RMC offers a variety of ways to improve your risk management skills including Rita Mulcahy’s Risk Management Tricks of the Trade for Project Managers eLearning course, Instructor-led virtual or book. You can also listen to our recorded webinar Five Tips for Easy Qualitative Risk Analysis and earn 1 free PDU.

Sources:

https://projectriskcoach.com/evaluating-risks-using-quantitative-risk-analysis/

https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_07.htm

Posted on July 20, 2021June 6, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

Agile implementation – 9 essential steps

Woman at white board working on agile implementation

Let’s face it, change is hard. Whether you’re a project manager or a CEO implementing major changes to your organization is difficult. There are usually two types of obstacles. One is institutional. Organizations have a certain momentum. Making changes requires you to slow or stop the business-as-usual mindset along with all the typical documentation and approval requirements that currently exist. The other is human, getting people who are used to doing things the same old way to accept and use new processes.

Bringing Agile to Your Organization

As project leaders and team members, we are all trying to get to the same destination on our projects —successful outcomes and happy stakeholders. However, not all projects are the same. Different projects require different methods.

That’s why Agile is a necessary skill set to have in your toolbox to stay current and deliver results. Let’s begin by focusing on the human aspects of an agile implementation and gaining acceptance.

9 Essential Steps for Agile Implementation

1. Establish the Need

Gain consensus on why the change is needed. Qualify and assess the organization. Analyze and document the current problems and shortcomings. Capture previous stakeholder complaints, issue logs, and post-Morten problems. Keep it read, but if there is a burning platform from which we must move forward, document it fairly. Determine the business benefits and describe where we are now.

2. Create a Vision

Describe a better state. Outline the goals and objectives we are aiming to create. Unite everyone with a common goal of what success would look like. Describe where we want to be.

3. Form a Change Coalition

Identify key stakeholders. Get people involved on the initial project and the advisory and review boards. Provide mechanisms for general input and information exchange. Use websites, lunch and learns, etc. Be civil, humble and nice. Do not assume or give the impression that the change team has all the answers. Ask people how we should get there.

4. Communicate the Vision

Provide a clear outline of what is going to happen. People generally need to hear things five times in five different ways to ensure it sticks. Use different formats, analogies, and styles. It is generally impossible to over-communicate a change initiative vision. Plan and promote the organizational changes.

5. Encourage Employee Participation

Make sure people are involved. Schedule follow-up sessions and speak to people about their concerns. Ask for volunteer reviewers and give praise and thanks for reviews, especially if negative. This is the opportunity to turn people around while the resistance is relatively low. Work on forming good relationships.

6. Plan For and Create Short Term Wins

Identify the initial project. Schedule some early, small victories to build momentum, demonstrate progress, and reassure sponsors. People only trust for so long. So, give them something to justify their continued support.

7. Provide Rewards and Incentives

Change on top of a regular job is a lot of extra work. Reward contributions as much as organizational norms will allow. If you can’t give bonuses, plan great food for lunch and learns. Give good mementos and freebies or arrange for time off if teams work hard on initial projects. People must see benefits in taking part, otherwise they will not bother. Goodwill, loyalty, and corporate benefits do not cut it with everyone.

8. Consolidate Improvements

Make sure the successful changes get repeated. Document the successes and spread the word. Monitor and perform mid-project retrospectives.

9. Institutionalize New Approaches

Complete and review the initial project. Measure and promote the business benefits and get the sponsors and users to promote the benefits. Identify the next project and broader roll-out plan. Make changes stick by institutionalizing them. Make them part of the standards and culture and support other groups trying to repeat the process.

Learning More About Agile Implementation

Now you have the nine steps the rest should be easy, right. Clearly that is not the case. The above is an outline of the work that has to be done to integrate agile in a workplace. The above describes the “what.” The “how” is for further posts.

Posted on July 7, 2021June 6, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

7 Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Adopting Agile Approaches

Business man talking about adopting agile

Are you thinking about adopting an Agile approach? Or are you currently using Agile on your projects? Where ever you are on your Agile journey, it is important to know the seven pitfalls organizations make when adopting agile approaches. This post, along with our post on Introducing Agile-Chance Resistance Strategies give you helpful information about adopting agile approaches. We will also introduce the five Ws (Why, Who, What, When, and Where) of introducing agile. Continue reading 7 Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Adopting Agile Approaches

Posted on July 5, 2021June 6, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

Handling Unrealistic Project Schedules

Close up of team working on unrealistic schedule

Unrealistic project schedules are one of the most persistent and stressful challenges in the world of project management. Whether you’re fresh to the field or have decades of experience, you’re likely to encounter timelines that seem to ignore reality. Deadlines might be imposed from above, shaped by ambition, optimism, or commercial pressure—and it’s your job to navigate them.

But how you approach these situations should evolve with your experience. Here, we break down strategies for handling unrealistic project schedules across three levels of project management experience: Junior, Mid-Level, and Senior.

For Junior Project Managers: Learning to Spot and Communicate Gaps

1. Understand Before You Commit
As a junior PM, it can be tempting to agree to timelines before fully understanding the scope. Instead:

Ask clarifying questions about deliverables, dependencies, and resource availability.
Request to review the work breakdown structure or, if it doesn’t exist, create a basic one.
Familiarize yourself with estimation techniques (e.g., bottom-up, analogous).

2. Know the Red Flags
Some warning signs of unrealistic timelines include:

Vague or shifting requirements
No buffer time for testing or changes
One-size-fits-all durations for tasks regardless of complexity
Assumptions of 100% resource availability

3. Use Data, Not Just Opinions
If something feels off, use historical data, past project examples, or even time-tracking records to highlight feasibility concerns. Facts lend weight to your feedback.

4. Speak Up with Tact
Learn to express concerns respectfully and constructively. For example:

“Based on what I’m seeing, it looks like we may need more time for testing. Would it be possible to revisit the timeline for that phase?”

This shows ownership and initiative without challenging senior voices aggressively.

5. Seek Support
Find a mentor, supervisor, or experienced peer who can help you validate your concerns and frame them appropriately to leadership.

For Mid-Level Project Managers: Influencing Up and Managing Across

1. Conduct a Schedule Risk Assessment
At this level, you’re expected to anticipate and mitigate risk. Assess:

The confidence level of each estimate
Known and unknown risks
Potential change impacts

Use tools like Monte Carlo simulations, if available, or simple contingency buffers.

2. Push Back Professionally
You’re now in a position to negotiate with stakeholders. Use your track record to:

Offer scenario-based timelines (e.g., optimistic vs. realistic)
Share trade-offs (“If we must hit this date, here’s what we can deliver”)
Propose phased delivery or MVP approaches

3. Leverage Your Network
Use your internal relationships with developers, testers, marketing, etc., to validate task durations and identify constraints early. This creates a more defensible schedule.

4. Manage Expectations Continuously
Don’t wait for milestones to raise alarms. Set regular check-ins and provide honest, evidence-based updates to stakeholders. Use burndown charts, dashboards, or velocity metrics to show progress and risk.

5. Document and Debrief
Make time to document project learnings and schedule-related issues. When unrealistic timelines cause problems, use retrospectives to record why—and suggest process changes for next time.

For Senior Project Managers: Driving Change and Setting the Tone

1. Advocate for a Realistic Planning Culture
Senior PMs have the influence to shape how project planning happens. Promote:

Integrated planning involving all disciplines
Bottom-up estimation with validation
Stage-gated approvals to avoid premature commitments

2. Use Portfolio-Level Leverage
Senior PMs often have a view across multiple projects. Use this vantage point to:

Flag resource conflicts or systemic schedule compression
Align delivery with business readiness, not just calendar deadlines

3. Educate Stakeholders on Trade-Offs
You have the gravitas to facilitate tough conversations:

“To meet this deadline, we’ll need to reduce scope or increase resources. Here are your options and risks.”

This empowers decision-makers with transparency, rather than accepting arbitrary dates.

4. Escalate Constructively When Needed
Sometimes pressure from above will persist. Your role is to escalate concerns clearly, with supporting data and proposed alternatives—not just complaints. Position yourself as a problem-solver.

5. Be a Role Model for Realism
Avoid promising what can’t be delivered. Lead by example and encourage your team to raise concerns early. Protecting morale and credibility is part of the senior PM’s job.

Final Thoughts: Building a Culture That Respects Reality

Unrealistic project schedules rarely stem from malice—they’re more often born from optimism, urgency, or a lack of information. But the impact is real: missed deadlines, burned-out teams, and stakeholder frustration.

No matter your level, your job isn’t just to manage a plan—it’s to manage how plans are made, communicated, and adjusted.

Key Takeaways:

Junior PMs should focus on spotting gaps, asking questions, and respectfully voicing concerns.
Mid-Level PMs must manage risk, negotiate scope, and use data to influence upward.
Senior PMs are responsible for setting a realistic planning culture and guiding strategic conversations.

The earlier you address unrealistic timelines, the more options you have. Project success doesn’t just come from hard work—it comes from working smart, setting clear expectations, and planning honestly.

Remember: realistic schedules aren’t just good project management. They’re good leadership.

Posted on July 2, 2021June 9, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

Project Management Soft Skills for Effective Leaders

Manager at white board using project management soft skills

What makes a great project manager, and what are the most important skills of a project manager? While you might be focused on getting the right certification to stand out against other job seekers in this field, it’s also wise to hone in on what are known as soft skills.

Below, we’ll cover some of the skills required for effective project management. This info can give you a better idea of what will be expected of you, whether you’re entering this career, or you want to move up to the next level by enhancing your project manager resume.

What Are Project Management Soft Skills?

When you have hard skills and soft skills, it basically means that you’re capable of combining technical skills and people skills when managing projects.

What are hard skills?

Put simply, the types of skills that you typically develop when you go through training are considered hard skills. Being able to use software and other tools to do your job, or knowing how to set up a work breakdown structure (WBS), are some examples.

What are soft skills?

Soft skills can include things like communication, collaboration, negotiation, and conflict resolution. With these, you can help people come together to accomplish a project’s goals, and you can motivate them to achieve more. Also, when it comes to complex plans or tasks, the right soft skills can help you make those topics easier to understand so your team can be ready to tackle challenges.

Project Management Soft Skills for Effective Leaders

Here are some soft skills that can help you succeed:

1. Communication and listening skills

Being able to communicate clearly is important when managing projects because you need everyone on your team to know what’s expected of them, and you also want to be able to keep your clients happy as well. Practice communicating with greater clarity and more detail to improve the way you share information with others.

Also, don’t forget about the importance of being a good listener, too, as this is a skill that can help you address your team’s and client’s needs effectively. Practice active listening to improve the way you understand what another person is trying to tell you.

2. Leadership, trust building, and motivation skills

These can help you inspire your teams to work together, and you can get them excited for the project ahead. Rather than just focusing on doling out tasks and merely managing your team, work toward being a leader they can rely on, while also making sure team members trust each other. Consider learning how to teach team building exercises to increase the amount of trust on every team you work with. Also, practice being authentic and transparent.

3. Conflict resolution and negotiation skills

Whether you’re leading a large or small team, a conflict might arise here and there. Being able to listen to both sides, understand their expectations, and come up with solutions that work for everyone is a valuable skill. So, in addition to leading by example, consider learning some conflict resolution and negotiation techniques that you can use to ensure everyone will be able to get along.

4. Organization and time management skills

As a project manager, you need to be able to organize tasks and create schedules, set up and run meetings, and make sure your team will have all of the resources they’ll need to succeed. Therefore, being highly organized and knowing how to manage time like a pro can help you excel. Practice changing the way you do things on a day-to-day basis, perhaps by implementing new tools, or try to improve the way you manage time and keep everyone organized.

Project Manager Resume Keywords and Tips

Who says you can’t put soft skills on your resume? If you want to stand out against other job seekers, showcasing these skills is a smart strategy. After all, while everyone gets the same technical education when they go into a classroom to get a degree or certification, not everyone has soft skills.

Start by writing down a list of the soft skills you have. If any of them match a job’s requirements, that’s great! But even if they don’t, it’s still worth mentioning them on your resume.

Set aside a section on your resume where you can list your skills. You can even label them hard skills vs. soft skills. An easy-to-read bulleted list is a good way to go. But you don’t want the list to be too long, so providing three to five soft skills might be sufficient.

Here are some examples of the soft skills you might list on your resume:

Active listening
Problem solving
Conflict resolution
Team building

If you’d like to go beyond merely providing a list, you can also write a sentence or two for each soft skill to discuss an instance when you used it in a professional setting.

RMC Can Help You Develop the Skills Needed for Project Management

When you’re ready to improve your project management skills, RMC is here to help.

Sources:

https://www.jobscan.co/blog/soft-skills-resume

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/project-management-skills

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/project-manager-skills-resume

Posted on June 5, 2021June 6, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

PMP Exam Prep Checklist

Taking the PMP exam can be stressful. That’s why we have created to sample checklist for you to review as you get ready for your exam. It is a chronological approach that helps describe what should you be thinking about when. This will help you to organize your “Passing the PMP Exam” project more smoothly.

How to Study for the PMP Exam

Review the PMI-isms in the PMP® Exam Prep book, and understand how they apply to the best project management practices.
Study the suggestions for taking the exam in the PMP® Exam Prep book.
Review the material three times (follow the rule of three).
Develop good study habits.
Form a study group of people taking the test at about the same time as you are.
Set a date for taking the exam with the testing provider, basing the date on a realistic schedule.
Set time each day to spend studying; you cannot retain information crammed into a single-day, eight-hour session.
Study in more depth the areas you feel uncomfortable with but be careful not to over-study; you should not need more than 40 hours of study time after taking RMC’s PMP Exam Prep class.
Use the PMP® Exam Prep book to learn, Hot Topics to keep the material fresh, and PM FASTrack® Cloud to verify you understand the material and to find your gaps.
Develop a test-taking strategy, practice it, refine it, and then use it.
Practice concentrating on the question on the screen only.
Take a four-hour practice test in a “controlled” situation (as if you were in the test center, i.e., no refrigerator runs, etc.).

The Night Before the Exam

Visualize the entire process from beginning to the successful conclusion.
Gather everything you need for the next day so it is all ready and you will not need to worry about it in the morning.
Go to bed; if you are restless, stay there and rest. Do not stress out over the lack of sleep. Get extra sleep in the few nights before the test. Normally you need a minimum of six hours of sleep to feel alert.

Day of the PMP Exam

Start with a moderate breakfast and try to avoid caffeine.
If you are going to a test center, be on time, not too early or too late. If you are taking the exam online, you will want to log in early to make sure you don’t have any technical issues.
NO frantic reviews—remember, you know the material.
Distract yourself by reading a magazine, newspaper, or book.

Before Beginning the PMP Exam

Find a location that is away from distractions and has good lighting.
Practice deep breathing.
Do your download sheet.
Ask any questions you have so you are not distracted during the test.
Bring an aggressive but realistic attitude to the test.
Remind
Remind yourself to budget your time by using the Mark for Review button. For each of the three 60-question exam sections, you should give yourself 76 minutes. Using about 1 minute per question as you have practiced will allow you 16 minutes to check the questions you have marked.

During the PMP Exam

Focus on the test. All the things you need are on the download sheet. If you encounter some hard questions, easier ones are coming.
Focus on one question at a time, totally concentrating on the one on the screen in front of you. You can go back to the others later.
Figure out the topic for each question, to put it in the proper perspective.
Remember the three-pass rule. Do not spend too much time on a question on the first pass; instead, mark it and move on.
Be sure to use the two 10-minute breaks allowed between exam sections. Get up, stretch and leave the room for a few minutes. Just be sure to be back in your seat before the 10 minutes are up.
If the test feels more difficult than you anticipated, focus on just doing your best.
There WILL be questions you cannot answer; expect it and move on.
Do not change answers without PROOF you made a mistake. Between 70 and 80 percent of the time, your first “gut feel” is correct.
Avoid worrying about time. I know this is hard with the stupid clock in the upper right-hand corner ticking away, but try to focus on the question, not the clock.
If you become anxious, visualize a calm, soothing scene, or better yet, visualize seeing “you passed” on the screen.
As you begin to reread, or if you find it difficult to concentrate, practice relaxation and stretching techniques. . Remember if you take the test remotely, your movements should be limited.
Have energy snacks available outside of your testing area to eat during your breaks. Be sure to eat them BEFORE you get tired. It takes time for them to work, so do not wait until the second break if you’re concerned about your energy.
Think of the test as a game. Do your best.

Some Key PMI-isms

Memorization is not the key; understanding is.
Identify and fill gaps using the PMP® Exam Prep book and PM FASTrack®.
You do not “figure it out as you go.” You plan ahead and make it happen correctly, according to the plan.
You must have metrics to know where you are and how far you are from the plan.
Ensure changes go through a process to make sure only approved changes make it into the plan.
Use control limits and refine them as needed.
Search for the root causes of problems.
Check your work as you go. Do not wait until the end.

You’ve Got This! RMC is Here to Help

Developing a PMP Exam prep checklist will help you feel more confident and less stressed about taking the PMP exam. Another great tool to help you prepare is Rita’s Process Chart game which is a fun, interactive way to study the process groups. You can also check out our latest Taking the PMP exam webinar. If you are still deciding whether to take the test online or in person, learn more about each option. If you have further questions, feel free to contact us to get more information.

Posted on June 5, 2021June 6, 2025 by RMC Learning Solutions

BA or BSA: What’s the Difference?

In project management, few roles cause as much confusion—and occasional overlap—as the Business Analyst (BA) and the Business Systems Analyst (BSA). On the surface, the titles sound interchangeable. Both are embedded in the requirements-gathering process. Both spend their days translating ideas into actionable plans. But scratch beneath that surface, and the differences are not only meaningful—they’re crucial to delivering successful projects.

Whether you’re managing a new software rollout, overseeing a transformation program, or running a lean Agile team, understanding how BAs and BSAs function (and how they differ) helps you structure your project team more strategically. Let’s dig into what sets them apart, where they overlap, and how you as a PM can make the most of their skills.

What is a Business Analyst (BA)?

The Business Analyst is your go-to person for understanding what the business needs and why. They:

Investigate business processes
Engage with stakeholders to uncover pain points
Document requirements and workflows
Define the value behind proposed changes

Think of BAs as fluent in “business speak.” They’re the bridge between business users and the technical team, constantly asking: “Does this solve the right problem?” and “Is this what the business really needs?”

BAs typically:

Conduct stakeholder interviews and workshops
Write functional requirements and user stories
Map current vs. future state processes
Support solution validation (e.g., during UAT)

Their sweet spot is strategy-meets-execution: understanding the wider business impact of projects and aligning proposed solutions to company goals.

What is a Business Systems Analyst (BSA)?

The Business Systems Analyst shares some DNA with the BA but skews more technical. They dive deeper into how solutions will work within existing systems. BSAs:

Analyze how proposed changes affect system architecture
Translate business requirements into technical specs
Collaborate closely with developers, architects, and IT teams

They often:

Document data flows and interface requirements
Write system use cases and technical requirement specs
Review API documentation and system integration needs
Assist in solution design and data modeling

If the BA asks “what do we need to solve?”, the BSA asks “how will it actually work in our tech stack?”

BSAs usually come with more technical training, sometimes having backgrounds in software development, systems engineering, or database management.

Key Differences at a Glance

Aspect	Business Analyst (BA)	Business Systems Analyst (BSA)
Focus	Business processes and stakeholder needs	System requirements and technical feasibility
Primary Stakeholders	Business users, sponsors, product owners	Developers, architects, IT teams
Deliverables	Functional specs, process models, user stories	Technical specs, system flow diagrams, data mappings
Tools & Techniques	SWOT, BPMN, wireframes, user story mapping	ER diagrams, SQL, interface specs, system modeling
Typical Background	Business, operations, product	IT, systems engineering, development

Where They Overlap

It’s not a tug-of-war between BA and BSA. In many cases, their roles complement each other beautifully. On large-scale or complex projects, you might find both on the team:

The BA leads stakeholder discovery sessions and defines high-level business needs.
The BSA translates those needs into system-level requirements and ensures they fit within technical constraints.

On smaller projects, one person may wear both hats—requiring them to be equally fluent in business analysis and systems design. As a PM, this matters. Understanding which skill set your project needs (or lacks) is key to avoiding requirement gaps or scope creep.

Relevance to Project Managers: Why You Should Care

As a project manager, your job is to coordinate, align, and deliver. Misunderstanding the BA vs. BSA dynamic can lead to:

Ambiguity in requirements: You get a beautiful user story, but no system spec to build it.
Misaligned expectations: Business thinks they’re getting X, tech delivers Y.
Missed timelines: Because no one mapped how the new feature integrates with existing systems.

The right analyst structure reduces friction across teams, increases stakeholder satisfaction, and minimizes rework.

Here’s what you can do:

Assess the complexity of the project: If it’s high on integration or backend dependencies, consider bringing in a BSA.
Clarify roles early: Don’t let BA and BSA responsibilities blur. Define handoffs.
Include both perspectives in planning sessions: Business needs + system feasibility = realistic planning.
Be their translator when needed: Encourage mutual understanding. Sometimes BAs and BSAs operate in silos.

Real-World Example

Let’s say you’re leading a CRM implementation. You have a BA gathering requirements from sales and marketing teams. They document:

We need custom lead scoring
Reports should show conversion by campaign
Integration with email platform is required

This is great. But how does it work?

Enter the BSA:

Analyzes if the CRM’s API can support real-time sync with your email platform
Designs the database schema to track campaign IDs and lead scores
Writes the system integration documentation for the dev team

Without both perspectives, you risk either:

A feature-rich solution that can’t be implemented technically
A technically sound solution that misses business needs

Titles Can Be Tricky

To complicate matters, job titles don’t always reflect these distinctions. In some organizations:

A BA does system analysis because there is no BSA role
A BSA is called a BA but spends all day writing API specs
A “Business Analyst” might actually be more of a product owner

Titles aside, what matters is the actual skill set and responsibilities. Clarify early. Use RACI matrices. Ask the right questions during kickoff. Don’t assume the word “analyst” means the same thing in every department.

Which Role is Evolving Faster?

Both roles are changing, but the BSA in particular is being reshaped by:

The rise of Agile and DevOps, where system requirements must evolve iteratively
Increasing demand for hybrid BA/tech skills (think: data-savvy analysts who can also model APIs)
Tools like low-code/no-code platforms, shifting where technical complexity lives

Meanwhile, BAs are seeing increased influence in product management, service design, and strategic transformation.

As PMs, it’s your job to see where your analysts fit into these trends and make sure your team composition supports project success.

Final Thoughts and Takeaways for PMs

In today’s fast-paced environments, the difference between a Business Analyst and a Business Systems Analyst isn’t just a matter of semantics—it’s a structural decision that impacts project outcomes. Understanding who does what helps project managers:

Define clearer roles
Identify skill gaps
Avoid downstream technical misfires

Key takeaways:

BAs focus on business needs and stakeholder alignment
BSAs bridge the business-to-technical gap with deep system knowledge
Both are crucial, but their contributions differ
Clear role definition upfront saves time, money, and rework
As a PM, empower each role to work in tandem, not in parallel silos

A well-deployed BA and BSA can mean the difference between building the right thing—and building the thing right.

Know the difference. Use it to your advantage. Deliver better projects.