About SBE PM
Project management for people who never planned to be project managers.
Hi, I’m Aaron Graves
I’ve spent more than 20 years running projects and programs, mostly in IT and software development, and for the last six years in the defence industry. Along the way I’ve been a project manager, a PMO director, and a PM consultant.
I’ve set up program operations from scratch. I’ve also been called in when programs were behind schedule and over budget, sitting across the table from executives and customers to negotiate a new agreement, and helping other project managers through the worst weeks of their projects.
What those years taught me
Projects rarely fail because someone lacked talent. They fail when one of four things goes wrong:
- The wrong process. The methodology doesn’t fit the project.
- The wrong tools. The software doesn’t support how the work actually happens.
- The wrong team. People aren’t set up to be effective or motivated.
- The wrong information. Stakeholders hear too little, too late, or the wrong thing.
Get those four right, and your chances of success go up a lot. This site is built around them.
Why SBE PM
SBE stands for Simple but Effective. Most PM advice is written for people who already speak the language. Many of you were handed a project on top of your day job and told to “just make it work.” You need to know what to do on Monday, not a textbook.
Here’s what you’ll find:
- Methodologies: which approach fits your project, in plain English.
- Tools: honest comparisons of project software, so you can choose without drowning in feature lists.
- Blog: practical lessons, templates, and mistakes I’ve seen (and made).
- Templates: ready-to-use documents you can copy today.
If you’re an experienced PM, I hope you’ll also find something here to sharpen your skills, specifically within the Blog section.
