Ronald Smith has over four decades of experience as Senior PM/Program Manager. He retired from IBM having written four books and over one hundred articles on project management, and the systems development life cycle (SDLC). He’s been a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) since 1998, which has a membership of about 3 million professionals worldwide. From 2011 - 2017, Ronald had been an Adjunct Professor for a Master of Science in Technology and taught PM courses at the University of Houston’s College of Technology. Teaching from his own book, Project Management Tools and Techniques – A Practical Guide, Ronald offers a unique perspective on project management that reflects his many years of experience. Besides writing, he swims five times a week to keep in shape. Lastly in the Houston area, he has started up two Toastmasters clubs and does voluntary work at various food banks to help people facing hunger.
Discover why setting clear project direction matters more than chasing deadlines, and how compass-guided leadership delivers real value in project management.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Learn how project reserves protect your budget and schedule from unexpected risks, including when and how to use contingency, management, schedule, and cost reserves effectively.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Discover the spooky parallels between Halloween and project management, from scope creep monsters to ghosted team members, in this fun survival guide for PMs.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Discover essential best practices and tools for managing remote project teams effectively, from communication strategies to handling time zone differences.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Learn why 43% of IT projects exceed budget and discover Tom DeMarco’s four-point framework to improve cost estimation accuracy for software development projects.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Learn 9 key stakeholder roles and 8 proven engagement strategies to control expectations and drive IT project success with real-world examples.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Discover how AI is transforming project management through predictive analytics, automation, and data-driven insights that improve success rates and efficiency.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Learn how project management parallels swimming, from overcoming initial fears to continuous improvement, while mastering swim lane diagrams to enhance workflow visualization and team collaboration.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Learn how to evaluate projects with a weighted ranking matrix that compares new proposals against ongoing projects for better strategic alignment and resource management.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Learn how to evaluate and select multi-cloud service providers using objective criteria to enhance flexibility, security, and cost-efficiency for your organization.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Learn why timing and structure of project status meetings matter, with real-world insights from a Daylight Savings Time project that reveals best practices for scheduling effective team check-ins.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
Explore why project managers often shoulder blame for project failures, and discover why 76% of failure causes actually lie with executive management. Learn how creating a culture of responsibility can lead to better project outcomes and PM growth.
Ronald B. Smith, MBA, PMP
Author
