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PM Camp Gathering 2025 & the app “PM Elements”

Last week, I was pleasantly surprised by the PM camp scene again. After missed appointments and canceled BarCamps, there are two important topics to report.

PM Camp Gathering 2025

On the one hand, there will finally be a PM Camp again next March! A new organization team has taken a closer look at the somewhat outdated concept of the PM camp and created a PM Camp Gathering. Two days of planned lightning talks and topic workshops complement the obligatory open space.

The date should be marked in your calendar now: March 14 and 15, 2025 at the Rückersbach Seminar Center near Frankfurt am Main. Marvin and I have already registered.

The App "PM Elements"

The second surprise is the new app PM Elements. Here, two good acquaintances — Bernhard Schloß and Christian Botta – have joined forces with Johannes Plunien. The app is based on the periodic table and builds a competence table of the most important methods, concepts, models and frameworks. Depending on the target group, the terms are listed in German or English. That's how it is in project management – here, everything is somehow Denglish ;)

The browser-like app includes an overview of all elements and a list of methods and concepts. Direct access to your own favorites and a full-text search round off the concept. It is extremely easy to use. Whenever a card is displayed, it can be accessed with a single tap. It is also possible to branch deeper into related methods. An automatic breadcrumb trail appears after a long finger press on the back button in the upper left corner. Just like in a browser: a very chic solution.

The tiles themselves are all structured in the same way, so you can quickly find your way around: the colored area shows a clear qualification, then a summary, followed by related topics. The main block describes the topic, which is concluded with a short evaluation.

This brings me to the editorial content. At first, I was surprised by the lack of depth. After a few days with the app, however, I understood it. PM Elements is not meant to be a textbook. Rather, it is a reminder of the available methods and concepts. That's why the well-implemented full-text search is also important here.

Download & Purchase

The download from the App Store is free. A few methods and concepts are included. However, this is only to be understood as a demo; because a reasonable work can only work if the methods (for €19.99) and concepts (for €9.99) are activated. In combination, everything is available for a fair €24.99 in a one-time purchase. The time saved alone is worth the amount. Not to mention the time saved. So a very clear buy recommendation!

Wishes

I haven't found any big bugs or errors so far. But I haven't read all the topics yet either. Nevertheless, I already have ideas for the next version:

• I would like to add or comment on existing topics with text and URLs.
• I would like to enter my own topics.
• Of course, I would like to classify apps that use one or the other method from the element system. I have already built a tile for Merlin Project ;-)
• I would like to be able to enlarge and reduce the pages for presentations using pinch gestures.
• It would also be great if the favorites I set were synchronized with my devices.

To Bernhard, Christian & Johannes; You have created a great tool. After many (mostly) embarrassing ideas in the area of project management tools, the PM elements could be the start of a standard. Of course, there is still a lot to be done to the app and its implementation. But it's a great version 1. I'm looking forward to the updates.

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Dominar la comunicación en la gestión de proyectos para alcanzar el éxito

La comunicación eficaz impulsa el éxito de los proyectos. La gestión de la comunicación (Communications Management) en la gestión de proyectos es el arte de garantizar que todo el mundo sepa lo que necesita saber, cuándo lo necesita saber y cómo afecta a los objetivos generales del proyecto. Se trata de diseñar estrategias para que la información fluya por todo el equipo, determinar los métodos adecuados de actualización y mantener un entorno transparente en el que las partes interesadas se sientan informadas y valoradas.

Más información…

Teorías psicológicas esenciales para una gestión eficaz de los proyectos

Crear un proyecto de éxito va más allá de programar las tareas y cumplir los plazos; se trata de inspirar y capacitar a las personas. Para los gestores de proyectos, comprender la psicología que subyace a la motivación puede marcar la diferencia entre un equipo desmotivado y un grupo plenamente comprometido y productivo. Aquí es donde las teorías psicológicas desempeñan un papel crucial, ofreciendo herramientas prácticas para ayudar a motivar y gestionar equipos con eficacia. Analicemos cinco teorías clave que todo gestor de proyectos debe comprender para fomentar un equipo más eficiente, satisfecho y de alto rendimiento.

Más información…

Gestión del alcance con Merlin Project:
Cómo evitar el Scope Creep

La gestión del alcance es una disciplina fundamental en la gestión de proyectos, responsable de definir, controlar y ajustar lo que se incluye -y lo que se excluye- en un proyecto. Exploremos cómo la comprensión y el uso de prácticas eficaces de gestión del alcance, especialmente con herramientas como Merlin Project, pueden agilizar tus esfuerzos.

Más información…

Artificial Intelligence in Merlin Project

The Public Beta Phase for Version 9 Begins

The topic of AI is also central to us and Merlin Project. With the upcoming Version 9, we are launching our AI strategy.

AI-Assisted Project Start

Create new projects from a simple description using artificial intelligence. The assistant automatically generates the task structure, dependencies, and milestones, estimates efforts and risks, and assigns necessary resources. To enable this powerful new feature, Merlin Project leverages the intelligence of ChatGPT.

Merlin Project opens a window displaying the results generated by ChatGPT. The project is created automatically according to your specifications.

And the best part: we cover the costs of using ChatGPT. During the trial phase, you can generate up to ten projects per day for free.

Dynamic Baseline

Since Version 2.0, Merlin Project has enabled you to compare the current state of a project with its original plan. Previously, these planned values were determined with a clever trick: Merlin Project only calculated the project workflow as if the user hadn’t entered any real values in the current task structure. This yielded good results for most situations. However, if the scope changed significantly during a project, this technique could reach its limits.

With the new dynamic baseline, you can precisely compare the current state of your project with any previous one. Simply set a date from the past in the "Reference Date" field of the project settings. All planned fields will then contain the values expected in the prior state.

Merlin Project can dynamically retrieve these values without you needing to have set a baseline in the past. This works so seamlessly because each Merlin document already contains the entire history of a project.

Other Updates

• The user interface has a fresh look. Familiar symbols and icons appear with the same quality but in a new design.

• The old, insecure FTP protocol for automatic publishing of project content has been replaced by SFTP. If you previously used FTP, please set up a new SFTP account in the settings of Merlin Project and use it for your publications.

• We have also added a link to the templates on our website: Clicking on 'More Templates' will take you to the complete list of project templates.

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If you have questions about this blog post or would like to discuss it, we look forward to your contribution in our forum.