I help project professionals get more done with less stress. Having been a project manager for over 20 years, I share tried-and-tested tips that work in the real world, every Tuesday. Join our community of over 15,000 project professionals (and accidental project managers too!).
The ideation technique every project team should know
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Hello Reader, Stuck for ideas? Try this technique for generating a lot of ideas, in a structured way. Lotus Blossom brainstorming works whether you are planning requirements, risk responses, solutions to a problem, and in the video below you can see me work through an example where a team needs to plan out their project communications strategy. A Lotus Blossom template works well for project management because it forces you to expand an idea systematically instead of stopping at the obvious. You start with one central concept, generate eight related themes, then expand each of those into another eight ideas. Have you used this before? Let me know! And if you haven't, it's really easy so no special facilitation skills required -- give it a go! Have a great week! best, Elizabeth P.S. Got 5 minutes? I'd love your thoughts on this please! (I'll tell you more next week.) The template in the video is available to the PM Rebels community, along with lots of other downloads, templates and slide decks. |
Calling all Rebel Project Managers!
I help project professionals get more done with less stress. Having been a project manager for over 20 years, I share tried-and-tested tips that work in the real world, every Tuesday. Join our community of over 15,000 project professionals (and accidental project managers too!).
Hello Reader, How does your PMO actually work? I don't mean what it does day to day. I mean where it sits in the organization, how it's set up, and how much say it has over projects. That's your operating model. And it's not the same as your staffing model (full-time, part-time or fractional) or your maturity level. A centralized PMO can be immature. A federated PMO can be highly capable. When you're choosing an operating model, you're really answering two questions, not one: Where does the...
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...