Sponsored content: this email is brought to you by Software Advice. 2026 Pricing Guide What does project management software really cost? A practical look at pricing models, cost ranges, and the fees nobody mentions up front. Hello Reader, If you have ever been asked to pick a project management tool, or defend the one you already use, you know the hardest part is rarely the features. It is the price. Plans are tiered, per-seat, or billed in ways that only make sense after you have signed up....

Hello Reader, I believe that some of the old comms tools aren't good enough any more. Take the communication matrix. It's a classic tool where you list out the stakeholder group, what information they need, what format you are going to provide it in, the frequency of update and the owner. Nothing is inherently wrong with it, but it describes the production and distribution of communication, not communication effectiveness. Shouldn't we be asking instead: What does the audience need to...

Hello Reader, What's the point of a gate review? It's easy to let one blur into just another status meeting on the calendar. A gate review is a control point: a go or no-go decision on whether the project should continue. It's a formal governance step, not a progress update. At a normal status meeting, you're reporting how things are going. At a gate review, the reviewers should be working from agreed criteria and evidence, and actually deciding whether the project carries on, pauses or...