First blog – why we’re here

So this is my first post. I called this blog, “The Useful Project Manager.” My goal – as much as possible – is to have a forum where project managers and those that don’t call themselves that but are running projects, have a place they can look to for useful, effective ideas. This comes from 20+ years in the business in managing projects, teaching project management and mentoring junior PM’s.

For the past 10 years I’ve had my own company JPStewart Associates whose goal is to do all of the above. A lot of what I’ve been doing recently – at least on the consulting side – is to work with companies that need help getting started. By that I mean they typically need someone to help them conduct a working session to – at the very least – create a schedule and risk register. And out of those sessions has come a lot of ideas brewing in my head about how to accomplish such a thing.

Now, am I the last word on this topic? No, there’s tons of project managers out there, all of whom have blogs, most of whom are very good at what they do. This is just one man’s opinion. But it is formed from what I know to have worked at customer sites, what’s worked when I run a project and what feedback I’ve gotten from students. So that’s my goal.