Project Management

 
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    Project Shrink

  • Be Careful With Social Media: Words Of Caution

    Bas de Baar
    1 Nov 2009 | 2:59 am
    In episode 33 of The Project Shrink Chalyce Nollsh (PM Bistro) is talking about the flip side of social media; some words of caution when using new media as a Project Manager. In this presentation, recorded at the PMI Global Congress in Orlando, she discusses the following topics: New Media Never Sleeps Without Business Value, New Media is Just More Noise Suddenly, Everyone’s an Expert We Hate Being Vulnerable Not Everyone Wants to Participate You can click here if the episode isn’t displayed below. This recording is part of a session “Why Should You Care About Social…

  • Using Yammer For Frictionless Communication

    Bas de Baar
    26 Oct 2009 | 10:22 pm
    In this episode of the Project Shrink podcast Hal Macomber explains how he and his colleagues are using Yammer at Lean Project Consulting (LPC). They are creating “frictionless communication” with this tool that is similar to Twitter. He puts the use of this tool into perspective with the other tools used and currently in use at LPC. You can click here if the episode isn’t displayed below. This recording is part of a session “Why Should You Care About Social Media?” at PMI Global Congress 2009 by the PMI New Media Council. Other parts of this session can be found…

  • Why You Should Know What You’re About

    Bas de Baar
    21 Oct 2009 | 1:55 am
    “Know thyself” – Temple of Apollo at Delphi “I thought this was a blog about Project Management… uhm … Project Leadership?” Thanks for bringing that up. Yes it is. In my view a project is nothing more than a bunch of people interacting together to achieve a certain goal. And it’s the role of the Project Manager to make sure the sum of the interactions fulfills the desired goal. So, it’s about communication, and it’s your job to make sure communication is good. If people know what you’re about, what your thing is, they know when…

  • The Real Project Shrink.

    Bas de Baar
    20 Oct 2009 | 4:02 am
    It’s weird when people know you from your blog. Conversations get strange. You’ve never met a person, yet you think you know them. You associate them with the agile crowd, the lean posse, the social media gurus or any other label in existence. And presto, you have a whole set of assumptions about your conversation partner. It’s strange, but also very powerful. You can skip the obvious stuff and dive directly into some interesting topics to discuss. You connect faster. If you are involved on the internet, you can nurture the labels put on you. At least, so we think. Yeah,…

  • Why Should You Care About Social Media?

    Bas de Baar
    18 Oct 2009 | 11:21 pm
    At the recent PMI Global Congress in Orlando I did a presentation together with Cornelius Fichtner (ThePMPodcast.com) and Josh Nankivel (pmStudent.com). We focused on demonstrating the use of new tools to manage virtual teams and allow them to collaborate. We used Skype, Vyew.com and Google Docs to show how to work effectively with virtual teams and solve problems faster by integrating “out of town” experts. You can watch our presentation in episode 31 of The Project Shrink Podcast. You can click here if the episode isn’t displayed below. This presentation was the first part…
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    Pawel Brodzinski

  • Co-location Rules!

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:44 am
    A lot of interesting discussions today. During one of them we went through co-location and its influence of team productivity.I’m lucky enough to work with all my team in one room. I’m aware of all disadvantages of grouping people doing different things in one place but I’m still saying I’m lucky.I know development requires focus. I know that grouping a bunch of people in one place generates some chit-chat which distracts people trying to focus on their tasks. I know occasional phone calls do the same. I accept the fact. Hey, have I just said I accept lower productivity of our…

  • The Kanban Story: First Issues

    3 Nov 2009 | 9:50 am
    So we were doing great, everyone was happy and we were delivering on time on budget and on scope. Except it wasn’t exactly how things really looked like.First two projects were late. Not much but still. It was expected since these were our first estimates in the team and at that time we decided not to do anything about that yet. Slips were reasonably small, which was a good sign when we talk about our developers’ estimation skills. Nothing to be worried about.Another issue however appeared to be a real pain in the ass. One of applications got stuck somewhere in the middle of first…

  • Social Project Management Bullshit

    30 Oct 2009 | 12:06 pm
    Level of buzz on using social media in project management and/or software development keeps on high levels for some time already. Social media this and social media that.Social MediaDon’t get me wrong I’m not trying to say that social media is bad in general. Since I’m a blogger I would be a hypocrite, wouldn’t I? I see a value of social media while I’m trying to build community around this blog, meet new people and get engaged in discussions. That’s why I have Twitter account even though I’m not a big fan of the tool. I don’t treat Facebook account as a place to connect with…

  • Are Fixed-Price Projects Bad?

    28 Oct 2009 | 12:22 pm
    I’ve read recently a discussion about agile approach versus fixed-price projects. Several comments from the discussion:“Doing a project on fixed-price/fixed-time basis since it’s unfavorable for a client.”“If client insisted on fixed-price I wouldn’t sign the contract.”“As long as there are companies doing crappy [fixed-price] contracts clients will insist on fixed-everything.”“We believe that fixed bids are a bad idea when it comes to software.”Whew, that was fun to read. I mean I love these kinds of strong opinions which omit plethora of real-life situations their…

  • The Kanban Story: Initial Methodology

    26 Oct 2009 | 10:48 am
    You already know how our team looked like and what concerns I had with implementing plain old Scrum. You also know we chose “take this from here and take that from there” kind of approach to running our projects. Our base method was Scrum but we were far, far away from accepting it the orthodox way.What we finally agreed on within the team can be described in several rules:1. PlanningFor each application at the beginning we were deciding what we want to see there in the next version. We were trying to limit a number of features but didn’t set any limits how long development should take.
 
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    Project Smart

  • Has Your Project Team Considered all the Key Dimensions of the Problem?

    4 Nov 2009 | 12:37 pm
    Many readers have mentioned to me that they feel that a lot of the projects they sponsor (even the successful ones) are often on "automatic pilot." This typically happens once the project teams feel that they understand the problem and have decided on what they believe to be the most appropriate direction for solving the key issues facing the project.

  • 3 Key Components of an Effective Business Case Study

    31 Oct 2009 | 5:46 am
    The primary purpose of a case study is to tell a success story, which explains its appeal as a marketing tool. The persuasiveness of a business case study depends on its credibility. This article suggests three components that help strengthen the marketing impact of a B2B case study.

  • Writing the Project Statement of Work

    30 Oct 2009 | 1:28 pm
    The Statement of Work, or SOW, is the bible for the work the project must produce. The SOW is a key governance tool whether it is being used to direct work for a vendor or contractor, or used to direct the work internally, the SOW must contain a description of all the work that is expected, so how do you go about writing one for your project?

  • The Project Scorecard

    28 Oct 2009 | 1:08 pm
    Want to have your communications to your project sponsor and project stakeholders read every time out? Try using the "scorecard" approach. This article gives you pointers and advice on putting together a scorecard for your project that will be an attention grabber.

  • Using Change Management and Change Control Within a Project

    24 Oct 2009 | 2:28 am
    Setting up a systematic and common approach to change is vital, and this article outlines the approach and steps needed for change management and hence ultimate project success. The approach taken is central to the PRINCE2 Methodology and includes a general summary drawn from PRINCE2 and several project management bodies of knowledge.
 
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    Reforming Project Management

  • Friction-Free Collaboration

    Hal
    10 Oct 2009 | 1:34 pm
    Image via CrunchBase I've just arrived at the PMI Global Congress 2009 in Orlando, FL. Tomorrow AM a number of us who are members of the PMI New Media Council will be speaking in a panel on social media and its impacts on the discipline of project management. Among other things, I'll be talking about my company's experience using Yammer. Our experience has been good. More on that later. It's great seeing a smiling colleague's faceOur company works with architects, engineers and construction firms along with the clients of those firms. We're a small consultancy…just 12 people all working…

  • Lean Projects Are Defined by Lean Behaviors

    Hal
    18 Aug 2009 | 7:19 pm
    Image via Wikipedia Ifollow numerous blogs, news groups and twitter posts on lean. I've noticed a change in the last few months from talking about lean tools to talking about lean behaviors. It's a refreshing change. Toyota made a shift early this century in the way they spoke about their approach. In essence, they started speaking about the Toyota Way vs. the Toyota Production System. Under the TPS, the two pillars were Just-in-Time production and Jidoka (autonomation). Now they speak about the two pillars of continuous improvement and respect for people. It's a shift from tools to tool…

  • Use Near-Misses to Learn about Construction Safety

    Hal
    18 Jun 2009 | 7:52 pm
    Image by Elliot Moore via Flickr Ihaven't written about construction safety in awhile. I used to write about it every Thursday. I just read an ENR editorial Analyzing Near-Misses Is Key to An Effective Safety Plan. It reminded me of how far we need to go in construction. Our industry kills about 1300 people in the US every year. Thousands of others are seriously injured. Yet, there are far more dangerous industries where people are not getting hurt at anywheres near the construction rates. Alcoa has made amazing strides to create an injuring-free workplace in their smelters. Dupont's chemical…

  • Time to Re-Th!nk Improvement

    Hal
    15 Jun 2009 | 1:10 pm
    So much of our attention in the lean community is on continuous improvement. Normally that is interpreted as "process improvement". In the project world processes are often incidental to the work we are doing to fulfill the promise of the project. In other words, the value stream goes through a series of tasks like writing software code, documenting a feature, refactoring, etc., none of which follow a repeatable step-by-step process. Architecture and construction projects are similar. The process stuff is supporting the value stream. When we make so-called improvements to process we are…

  • Project Appraisals Are Dead…Long Live Project Appraisals

    Hal
    14 Jun 2009 | 12:52 pm
    Just read the June 15 issue of Business Week. They reviewed Management Rewired. Not surprising, it was a far better review than I did in my last post. Here are two statements BW chose to emphasize: Feedback, praise, criticism — all useless. Instead, put human psychology to work for you, this book advises. As contrarian as it sounds, Jacobs says employees should set their own objectives and critique their own performance. This is a book every project leader should read.Performance reviews and project 'post mortems' are not just uncomfortable…they don't produce the kind of value…
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    The Tao of Project Management

  • 71: All the Answers

    31 Oct 2009 | 4:49 am
    The ProjectI had a nice bit of feedback this week so I must be doing something right. But it’s all down to the team effort really. I might be able to do some things right and I might even be able to ask the right questions sometime, but technically it’s the team that counts.The cabling contractors have done a very good job so far let’s hope the get it right over the weekend and everything is OK on Monday morning. I’ll be in bright and early to check so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.The WayNo one has all the answers! As Donald Rumpsfeld once proved, knowing that you don’t know…

  • 70: There is Nothing New

    23 Oct 2009 | 9:20 am
    The ProjectWe managed to get the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies upgraded this week but again hit a few problems. The cabling contractors never told us that they hadn’t finished testing the new fibre cables which delayed us for half a day. Then a mix up on the active directory print queues and people going home early meant we couldn’t get all the printers up and working but we fixed it early the following morning so everyone was happy. Then I tried to test the wireless access to find the new access points hadn’t been patched in so I had to chase up the cabling contractors again.

  • 69: A Fight

    16 Oct 2009 | 8:46 am
    I’ve just finished sorting out a trip to New Zealand for the end of January, so that’s something to look forward to. Ah well back to reality…The ProjectHaving tried to raise a project exception I was instructed by my boss’s, boss’s boss (She Who Must Be Obeyed) to muddle on through. So I am managing to muddle on through, although the budget is getting burnt up faster and faster. Hopefully we not come in too much over budget at the end of the year but I have documented the rejected change request just for the sake of it.Meanwhile I have also started to produce some draft documents…

  • 68: Opportunities

    9 Oct 2009 | 10:11 am
    The ProjectAnother heavy week, struggling through the problems and issues. The issue now is getting the groups still scheduled for upgrade this year to let us take the network down while we upgrade them. No-one wants to loose the network, even for a day. Fortunately the Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies came up trumps so we can slot them in while we sort out the asbestos in the older buildings. It’s funny how opportunities present themselves.The WayThe greatest martial arts are the gentlest. Think of Tai Chi, it allows the attacker to fall over by the defender yielding. Great generals…

  • 67: Three Leadership Qualities

    2 Oct 2009 | 6:51 am
    The ProjectFollowing the problem with asbestos in the building we were scheduled to upgrade next, we have had much chopping and changing around of the schedule to try and work around it. We need to free up some of the existing network IP addresses as we need them for other buildings. If we don’t get it sorted out the whole project might grind to a halt. So no pressure there for the poor old project manager then.The WayAlthough the single principle of how everything happens is great, those project managers who follow it know they are ordinary. Having a great ego does not make a project…
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    Gantthead: IT Project Management

  • The Global PM Challenge

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Why do organizations pursue global initiatives when they are so bad at managing the process? Global projects introduce cross-cultural and geographic elements that aren't given the right amount of respect and discernment from the start. So what are these elements and how might they be integrated into the project planning process?

  • The Web-enabled Stakeholder

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Need help in educating your stakeholders to embrace the new way of doing business? Here we look at ways that project managers can help stakeholders access the information they need in a connected world without creating huge amounts of project management overhead--or stakeholder frustration.

  • Speaking the Same Language

    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    In global projects, communication is the key. Read on to find out items that need to be in your communications framework.

  • A Monster's Guide to Project Horrors

    27 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm
    As a holiday service to monsters, we have established this useful guide to identify succulent projects ripe for tormenting. The trolls in our midst will no doubt find these instructions helpful in extracting the maximum terror with the minimum effort, while project managers may find these guidelines helpful in phantom-proofing their projects.

  • The Rime of the Ancient Project Manager

    25 Oct 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Sometimes, everything seems fated to weigh you and your project down. No sooner has one problem been fixed than another one appears. Everyone is waiting for the next mishap to occur. So, how do we know if what is hanging around our neck is an "albatross" of a project? An ancient poem may hold the answers...
 
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    Project Management Articles - PM Hut

  • The Wars Between Project Management Methodologies

    PM Hut
    6 Nov 2009 | 12:59 pm
    The Wars Between Project Management Methodologies By William R. Duncan I’ve been seeing lots of discussions lately, about “methodologies.” Most seem to have a hidden agenda … which methodology is “best”? And even more subtly … an assumption that the “best” certification will be based on the “best” methodology. Most of the posters either miss or ignore the [...]

  • Kanban - The Next Step in the Agile Evolution?

    PM Hut
    6 Nov 2009 | 7:19 am
    Kanban - The Next Step in the Agile Evolution? By Ketil Jensen The software industry has embraced agile methods. A rising number of teams is now trying to deliver value incrementally in small iterations. This is of course a good thing. Customers get new functionality more frequently out into the market, an increasingly important factor in a [...]

  • Common Mistakes in IT Portfolio Management

    PM Hut
    5 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm
    Common Mistakes in IT Portfolio Management By Vaughan Merlyn IT Portfolio Management is at the heart and soul of leveraging IT for business value. And yet most IT organizations do a poor job of managing IT investments as a portfolio. At its best, IT Portfolio Management (PfM) is a way to: Define your investment strategy for IT – [...]

  • Dealing with Difficult Conversations for Project Managers

    PM Hut
    5 Nov 2009 | 6:48 am
    Dealing with Difficult Conversations for Project Managers By Bruce McGraw Whether it’s an underperforming developer, a lazy team member, some type of inappropriate behavior, or a prima donna on the team that makes everyone angry, there are times in every project manager’s life when he or she must have a difficult conversation with employee team member. These [...]

  • Managing Project Boundaries: Stages, Phases & Milestones

    PM Hut
    4 Nov 2009 | 6:37 am
    Managing Project Boundaries: Stages, Phases & Milestones (#25 in the Hut Introduction to Project Management) By JISC infoNet A well-constructed plan with clear deliverables should make it very easy to track the progress of your project as part of an ongoing monitoring and review process. Defining key stages, phases and milestones is an essential part of this [...]
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    SantexQ - Online Project Management

  • SantexQ Online Project Management Tool: Basic Accounts vs Premium Accounts

    admin
    27 Oct 2009 | 4:26 pm
    Did you know? You can take SantexQ online project management tool for a test drive by taking advantage of our free basic account. Just sign up and you can have your first project up and running in less than 15 minutes. Once you’ve tried it, you can easily upgrade to a Premium Account with the full set of features for a flat fee of $9.95/month. Premium Accounts include unlimited users and unlimited projects plus key features including file uploads, invoice generation, a punch clock and more. See the full list of SantexQ features If you’re still searching for that perfect project…

  • 6 Reasons Why You Should Use an Online Project Management Tool

    admin
    1 Oct 2009 | 10:57 am
    Online project management tools speak for themselves. Take ten minutes with one and you’ll see how easily they can help you organize, track and report on your projects, all while keeping the important information you need right at your fingertips. Still need convincing? Here are 6 Reasons Why You Should Use an Online Project Management Tool: Constant communication: Online project management tools keep everyone on the project team informed and updated. All team members need to do is log on and they can easily view projects and tasks they are assigned to, update project information, and…

  • Lunch Break! The Great Office War

    admin
    22 Sep 2009 | 12:04 pm
    Has this ever happened in your office?

  • Top 10 Office Phrases I Will Hear in a Week

    admin
    31 Aug 2009 | 10:21 am
    Much like David Letterman’s top 10 list, I have decided to put together a top ten list of most commonly heard office phrases heard around SantexQ headquarters. Perhaps it will give you a taste of what it’s like to work here, perhaps not. The only thing I know is that our online project management tool keeps us organized amongst the chaos of office life! Without further ado, here are the top ten office phrases I will hear in a week: 10. Oh look, another ‘Space Available’ sign is up. 9. I am just going to be in here cranking away… 8. Edit Undo, Edit Undo! 7. Oh what is that on…

  • Computers + Humans = Online Project Management Success

    admin
    25 Aug 2009 | 2:32 pm
 
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    Journyx Project Management Blog

  • Managing Small Projects; The Critical Steps

    Journyx
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Small projects have unique challenges over larger ones. Because they’re small, it’s tempting to skip the planning process and start executing the work. This phenomenon is especially true if projects perform tasks similar to previous work, which in turn leads to a natural tendency to skip planning and to start doing the work. Then, essential steps are sometimes omitted, done out of order, or done later than desired. Likewise, costly mistakes can occur when risks are missed by executing too soon. A small project that isn’t planned enough can also ignore critical stakeholders,…

  • Titles and Accountabilities

    Journyx
    3 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    I have been having several conversations recently around the subjects of accountability vs. responsibility and titles vs. roles, specifically around who does what on a project and what they are really supposed to be doing. There were a lot of undercurrents in these conversations, but there are a few that are worth exploring as relevant to your effectiveness leading a project team. Keep these ideas in mind the next time you work with your team to determine who is doing what on your project. Read the entire article at ProjectConnections. Tweet This Post 

  • What Do Project Managers Value?

    Journyx
    1 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    Most project managers and project management organizations tend to shy away from the use of earned value management. If you study PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge you will find that one of the dimensions of earned value is defined in terms of cost. Some of the terms which are used are “estimated costs,” “actual budget” and “actual cost.” When we think of these terms we think of dollars (or pounds, or franks, etc.). Yet the fundamentals of this tool discuss value. Ask people what they value in their lives and they probably will not reference money (bar a few). I would…

  • Link of the Month: A Project Manager’s Facebook Feed

    Journyx
    29 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm
    Karl Richard at ProjectConnections came up with a humorous example of “A Project Manager’s Facebook Feed” that is worth checking out. Here’s a sample: Karl Richard posted a note: HEY!! I Finally PASSED THE PMP EXAM!! PDU4P: Congratulations, Hey, you only have three years to rack up those PDU’s. Better get started now. PM Fellow: Excuse me, but you seem to have forgotten that it’s PMP®, not PMP. You’ll need to correct that. Loving Wife: Does that mean we finally get you back home to do some chores? Tweet This Post 

  • “Childlike Sense of Entitlement” from our Grumpy IT Guy

    Journyx
    27 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm
    Hello, Gentle Reader. Can I ask you a question? Do you have any children? I remember when my son was 2 years old. He seemed to think that just because he wanted something, he should be able to have it. You couldn’t reason with him; he was only two. If you didn’t give him what he wanted, he would throw a temper tantrum. Sometimes his mother would give him whatever he wanted just to shut him up. That never helped. It just created a larger sense of entitlemtent for the next time, and there was no argument against it, since she had just given in. Alright, I don’t actually have a…
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    PMPort News

  • ABU DHABI'S GASCO SIGNS 4 LANDMARK CONTRACTS FOR GAS PROJECT

    3 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am
    Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd. (GASCO) has signed four landmark contracts for its Integrated Gas Development (IGD) Project that links offshore and onshore gas fields owned by ADNOC within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

  • Researchers, Collaborators Receive Award from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for Occupational Safety, Health in Construction

    3 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am
    Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release: Virginia Tech researchers and their collaborators from five other institutions will soon engage in research on new construction safety and health made possible by a recent award of more than $7 million over a five-year period from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The funding will initially support seven projects involving 19 faculty from six universities and two countries, encompassing an array of critical areas affecting safety…

  • Putting their skills to work; Professionals focus on networking, support in job search

    1 Nov 2009 | 8:00 am
    Jerome Wszalek was head of Tata Consultancy Services' training center when the company closed the Buffalo operation earlier this year. But Wszalek is not the type to sit around and wait for another opportunity to pop up. He is actively networking, making contacts and chasing down job leads, aiming to build on what his resume offers. "It's meeting the right people so that the piece of paper has a personality to it," Wszalek said.

  • Students Use Virtual Teams to Prepare for a Global Business Career October 29, 2009

    29 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am
    The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater issued the following news release: The ability to work with others from around the world has become an important skill for students to learn as the business world becomes increasingly global. A new information technology course at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is helping business students acquire the necessary skills to work internationally. Professor Andy Ciganek and his project management course is the first UW-Whitewater course to use a management program called partially distributed teams or virtual teams.

  • The plan: Get all of NH wired

    29 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am
    By CLYNTON NAMUO Union Leader Correspondent DURHAM -- The University of New Hampshire is helping to lead several grant applications seeking more than $45 million to build a fiber optic network across the state that would greatly expand broadband Internet access. The bulk of the project, which UNH officials hope to fund with a $25 million stimulus grant administered through the U.S. Department of Commerce, would include building major fiber optic lines from UNH's Durham campus to Keene State College through UNH Manchester, as well as lines from Keene up to Dartmouth College in Hanover and then…
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    PMToolBox News

  • GAO Identifies Need for EVM Improvement

    Glen B. Alleman
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:18 pm
    GAO released a report on the need to improve the application of Earned Value to manage major acquisitions. Defense was the only agency with "all black," except for training. Related posts:Questions That Need AnswersAccelerating regulatory approval for resource projects could improve Canada’s competitiveness07/24/06 Tip of the Week. Justifying an EPM tool: Tip 3 – Continuous process improvement.

  • PMLL Episode 0084 “PMLL All Member Call”

    pmlessonslearned.com - Henry Will
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:56 pm
    Notes and Podcast info from the PMlessonLearned.com Conference Call:Topic: PMLL All Member CallPMlessonsLearned.com founder and PM Best Practices host: Henry Will, PMPPresenter: Henry Will, PMPDate of Conference Call: 22Oct2009Podcast Number: 0084MP3 / Podcast: MP3 or Listen on Internet Archive or Listen on OurMedia or subscribe to our podcast on itunesIf you're studying for the PMP Exam, you may want to listen to the MP3s of past PMP Exam Study Group conference calls. They're located in our Archive (see the link on our website).PRESENTATION:Given the success of our previous “All Member”…

  • PMLL Episode 0083 “CMMI vs. Six Sigma – What’s it all about?” (PMBestPractices)

    pmlessonslearned.com - Henry Will
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:52 pm
    Notes and Podcast info from the PMlessonLearned.com Conference Call:Topic: "CMMI vs. Six Sigma – What’s it all about?” (PMBestPractices)PMlessonsLearned.com founder and PM Best Practices host: Henry Will, PMPPresenter: Marilyn Ginsberg-Finner, Defense Systems, CMMI Support, Northrop Grumman Corporation AND Douglas B. Smith, Defense Systems, Lean Six Sigma, Northrop Grumman CorporationDate of Conference Call: 15Oct2009Podcast Number: 0083MP3 / Podcast: MP3 or Listen on Internet Archive or Listen on OurMedia or subscribe to our podcast on itunesIf you're studying for the PMP Exam, you may…

  • Post Bureaucratic Organizations

    Glen B. Alleman
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:19 pm
    Pretending for the moment that we are over the issue that 2.0 processes do not start with 2.0 tools, Kailash Awati has a good post on on Post Bureaucratic Organizations. The discussion here is how to manage projects in the... Related posts:Sample code acceptance checklist for IT organizationsStarfish OrganizationsPM War Stories #18 – The Value of Project Management for Professional Service Organizations

  • SharePoint and VS 2010

    Chris Boyd
    6 Nov 2009 | 10:41 am
    Hey, If you are building Web Parts, BDC connectors and other SharePoint extensions you may want to take a look at this post from the SharePoint team blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2009/10/28/short-overview-of-sharepoint-features-in-visual-studio-2010.aspx Chris Boyd Related posts:Get Started Developing on SharePoint 2010SharePoint 2010 – Read all about it!Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft Visio 2010 and Microsoft Project 2010 Availability
 
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    The PM Podcast

  • Episode 130: Gartner's Audrey Apfel on PMO, PPM and Governance

    Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
    21 Oct 2009 | 10:53 am
    I attended the Gartner PPM & IT Governance Summit in Orlando, FL last month. During this time I got a chance to speak with Gartner's Audrey Apfel and learn more about specific findings and recommendations that Gartner has for it's clients. Unfortunately, I was 25 minutes late to our 30 minute meeting. However, Audrey was kind enough to get with me over the phone, so that we could still discuss the summit, what she sees as surprising research findings that were presented, her personal thoughts on important Project Management Office (PMO) strategies that organizations should keep in mind…

  • Episode 129: PPM Solutions Overview

    Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
    13 Oct 2009 | 11:22 pm
    Project Portfolio Management (PPM) describes a methodical approach for analyzing and collectively managing a group of current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics. And yes… you’ve heard me say this exact sentence about 2 weeks ago as I introduced the interview with Rick Moreau from Compuware. The reason why I am repeating this sentence here is because you are going to hear from 8 companies who were exhibitors at the Gartner PPM & IT Summit and learn more about 7 PPM Solutions and 1 online project management community. The original plan was that I would have a…

  • On Vacation until 31 October 2009

    Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
    5 Oct 2009 | 2:06 pm
    The Project Management Podcast™ is a trademark of OSP International LLC. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The Project Management Podcast™ and its RSS feed are copyright © by OSP International LLC 2005 - 2009. All rights reserved. This episode is sponsored by The Project Management PrepCast at http://www.pm-prepcast.com

  • New: Yearly Premium Subscription - Get 2 Months Free

    Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
    29 Sep 2009 | 3:50 pm
    We have a new premium subscription option. Instead of $5.99 per month you can get a yearly subscription at $59.99 and receive a 2 month discount. The Project Management Podcast™ is a trademark of OSP International LLC. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The Project Management Podcast™ and its RSS feed are copyright © by OSP International LLC 2005 - 2009. All rights reserved. This episode is sponsored by The Project Management PrepCast at http://www.pm-prepcast.com

  • Episode 128: PPM and Agile don't mix... right?

    Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
    27 Sep 2009 | 1:28 pm
    Project Portfolio Management (PPM) describes a methodical approach for analyzing and collectively managing a group of current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics. The fundamental objective of the PPM process is to determine the optimal mix and sequencing of proposed projects to best achieve the organization's overall goals. Oftentimes companies have implemented a rigorous process for selection, management and administration of their project portfolio. Agile software development on the other hand refers to a group of software development methodologies based on iterative…
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    No Kahuna

  • Bye bye user filtering

    16 Oct 2009 | 1:39 pm
    Sometimes the best thing the makers of a website can do is remove a feature. It’s certainly uncommon in this age of software bloat and it can be painful if some of your customers have grown accustomed to the feature.  The pain, though, is often worth it because it helps to ensure that the site stays lean and is remarkably simple to use. A few months ago, we introduced a new way to look at your tasks by allowing you to filter the tasks by user. We were thinking that the filter would simplify the view and help our customers to see only the tasks they needed to see. The reality is that my…

  • Task Sorting Just Got Better

    16 Jul 2009 | 9:21 am
    The project managers out there will certainly appreciate the improvements we’ve made to task sorting.  Previously, the task sort order was based on the category *and* the user.  So each user could see the order of their tasks for a particular category. Now, it’s only based on the category.  This allows you to sort all of the tasks in a particular category without regard for who the task is currently assigned to.  Much better!

  • We now have the ability to filter the task list by user.  This...

    16 Jul 2009 | 9:15 am
    We now have the ability to filter the task list by user.  This cuts down on the noise and helps you to only look at the stuff that really matters.

  • File Attachment Improvements

    13 Jul 2009 | 4:17 pm
    When we originally added the ability to attach files in No Kahuna, we chose to make it a separate event, it’s own thing on a task or message.  We were thinking that this made things simpler. The reality is that it confused many customers because they’re accustomed to attaching files to comments, tasks, and messages.  It’s unconventional to have a separate event for attaching things.  In addition, most folks followed up the attachment with a comment describing the attachment. Therefore, we deployed a nice adjustment today.  Now we can attach files to tasks, messages, or comments when…

  • A handy little feature went out last week - we now have events...

    12 Jun 2009 | 2:07 pm
    A handy little feature went out last week - we now have events for when project members become subscribed/unsubscribed to tasks and messages.  It’s nice to know when folks started listening in on the conversation.
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    entp hoth blog

  • It's tradition

    will
    4 Nov 2009 | 8:05 am
    Zack Hobson hard at work building his own desk at the ENTP office before he starts his first day as an ENTP'er on Wednesday. The desk building thing has become a bit of a tradition.

  • Recent updates to Tender

    rick
    2 Nov 2009 | 2:52 pm
    It’s too easy to let the little things slide by unnoticed. Bug fixes, tweaks, and additional minor functionality are pushed to Tender Support all of the time. Below are the most recent changes and additions to Tender. Now with FAQ ordering You can now tweak the order of FAQ articles. To do do this, go to the Knowledge Base / FAQ area in your admin and then select an FAQ category. In there you’ll see this small change… Just click on the arrow icons and drag the FAQ article to the location in that category where it belongs. We also added FAQ redirections. Previous FAQ ordering consisted…

  • Postmortem of Tender issues

    rick
    27 Oct 2009 | 1:43 am
    As most of you are well aware, we’ve spent the last few days troubleshooting heavy response times on Tender Support. Current status As of 4:30 p.m. PDT, the brunt of the problem appears to be behind us. In the meantime, we’re keeping a close watch on things for when traffic escalates on Tuesday morning. We’re also still going through the data to double check that nothing was lost. So far, all data has been kept intact and delivered. We would also like to formally apologize about the severity of the issue. We’re just as dependent on our support system as our users and felt their pain…

  • Tender status for Monday, Oct 26

    will
    26 Oct 2009 | 10:19 am
    After a weekend of troubleshooting in response to the Tender Support server delays on Friday, Monday has shown no mercy as usage picks back up to normal. Currently, the servers are suffering from extremely heavy response times, causing frequent timeouts and delay in email processing. Over the weekend we took extra precautions by adding additional resources to the server as well as some extra caching measures. We are currently working side by side with our host to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. You can also follow us on Twitter for continuous status updates

  • Tender Slowdown

    rick
    22 Oct 2009 | 10:34 pm
    Early this morning, I was woken up with some urgent Tender news: requests were taking an abnormally long time to run. As I logged in, some Engine Yard technicians had already checked the basics: memory usage is stable, database is happy, the filesystem is functioning, etc. Then we came across this graph in New Relic: Our application processes were being slammed with requests. The culprit? Since extending email processing in Tender to handle the spam from our public email server, we’ve been seeing a lot more email traffic. Each email is turned into a HTTP web request from our email server to…
 
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    Better Projects

  • Friday

    5 Nov 2009 | 4:47 am
    This Friday is a busy day for me. In the meantime, take a look at this.The Future Of WorkView more documents from Jeff Brenman.

  • Contracting versus Full time

    3 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm
    Alister Scott provides a simple little calcultion showing comparable full time and contract rates.  He compares an $80kpa full timer to a $60ph contractor and finds they earn about the same.If you are interested in exploring contracting this explanation may help you understand that the benefits of contracting are not all financial, and that the differences in what contractors get paid is not as large as some people assume.Read more here.

  • What _do_ we need from our professional organisations?

    3 Nov 2009 | 5:06 am
    Matt Hodgson worries about about the BA community repeating the mistakes of the project management community by taking a narrow definition of the role and formalising it.  Embedding itself in a position from which it will be challenged to evolve.His questions wrap around the ideas of community, discipline and roles.If you are interested in the ongoing formalisation of the BA (and PM) roles and are wondering/worried about the directions they are headed, read his post and offer your comments.

  • Capability is as important as Customer

    2 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm
    There’s a lot of talk about outside in thinking and design , and about transformation driven by customer problems. And this talk tends to disparage the approach of “look[ing] around at their capabilities and try[ing] to figure out how to fit them onto the market.”This strikes me as the pendulum swinging too far the other way.Yes, a sales driven approach to doing business is insufficient. But no, exclusively adopting a customer centric approach to business growth is equally silly.Back in Marketing for Projects 101 we talked about marketing being a process of creating value for both the…

  • The MBA Oath

    31 Oct 2009 | 3:00 pm
    You may have heard of a Harvard University initiative to get MBAs to sign up to an oath on responsible value creation.  I found it via Mike Clayton's blog.Here it is;THE MBA OATHAs a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can create alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in…
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    BrightHub: Project Management

  • Risk Management Checklist

    JScheid
    6 Nov 2009 | 4:32 pm
    Download and use this risk management checklist as an example and include in your risk management plan. This template is from Project Connections , where members can join for free and obtain and use free project management templates.

  • Practical Cost Estimation in Project Management

    Xintel2001
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:18 pm
    "Our sales people gave an estimate for a project and we got the contract. Unfortunately, the estimates were unrealistic and now the project has gone over-budget. We closed on the estimates way to early!" When should we finalize estimates? Introduction The Estimate Cost process kicks in after you have completed the following: Define ...

  • Phases of Value Engineering in Project Management

    Xintel2001
    5 Nov 2009 | 8:41 pm
    We’ve all heard about Win-Win situations, but not always do they exist. By practicing Value Engineering (VE), Win-Win situations will never be a far cry. Introduction VE is a systematic method for analyzing a design, product, process, project, or construction to improve performance and quality, while reducing the associated costs. Ess...

  • Use Project Cost Estimating Techniques in Projects

    Xintel2001
    5 Nov 2009 | 8:37 pm
    Projects need to be delivered on-time and on–budget. Accurate cost estimation is crucial for the latter. Otherwise, well let’s just say you won’t be heading projects for long!!! Introduction In the Tools Used to Estimate Costs in Project Management article, you learned about each cost estimation techniques recommended ...

  • Project Initiation Document

    JScheid
    5 Nov 2009 | 6:09 pm
    Use this project initiation template to help your write your own PID. This Microsoft Word document can be modified to fit your project's needs. For more information on how to use this document, please see Jean Scheid's article Creating a Project Initiation Document .
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    WordPress Tag: Project Management

  • ERP consultancy to organization

    eresourceerpinfo
    6 Nov 2009 | 11:11 pm
    Eresource Infotech renders end-to-end ERP consultancy to organization, irrespective of brands (be it SAP, oracle or any other). In the entire process, particular attention is paid to the audit role, which determines ERP feasibility to adapt business dynamics, cost Factors and compliance test. The consultancy of ERP is rendered in 5 broad areas. Selection of vendor (Including mapping of business process functionality with the Vendor software and Risk Analysis) Pre implementation approach Operational audit Post Implementation Audit and control Measuring range compatibility and ROI. Eresource…

  • Er ging übers Wasser (Foto)

    Andreas Heilwagen
    6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm
    Ja, man kann über Wasser gehen…aber man muss nicht. Ich für meinen Teil war die Woche mit einem kurzfristigen Projekt beschäftigt und bin darüber leider nicht zum Bloggen gekommen. Aber wie kam das Segel nun ins Wasser? Der Super-Trimaran von BMW Oracle, der den nächsten America’s Cup gewinnen soll, hat seinen Mast verloren. Auch darauf hat mich netterweise Sailing Anarchy gebracht. In diesem Sinne: Auch in Projekten kann vieles ermöglicht werden…man muss vor allem kreativ sein und die entscheidenden Person dafür ins Boot holen…und sei es dass man über Wasser…

  • Linear Culture, Iterative Culture

    bulldozer00
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm
    A Linear Think Technical Culture (LTTC) equates error with sin. Thus, iteration to remove errors and mistakes is “not allowed” and schedules don’t provide for slack time in between sprints to regroup, reflect and improve quality . In really bad LTTCs, errors and mistakes are covered up so that the “perpetrators” don’t get punished for being less than perfect. An Iterative Think Technical Culture (ITTC) embraces the reality that people make mistakes and encourages continuous error removal, especially on intellectually demanding tasks. The figure below shows…

  • Reflections on project failure #1

    petermsalmon
    6 Nov 2009 | 6:29 pm
    Basil Woods at Baz Practice draws attention to a report by the UK’s Public Account Committee into an appalling case of incompetence regarding a major project. The post and the report are worth reading. One thing that captured my attention was this statement by the Chairman of the Committee:- “Clearly this project was handled badly, it achieved poor value for money, many of the causes of delays and cost overruns could have been avoided. I could make some grand eloquent statement about how we never expect to see this happen again in the Civil Service but I suspect I would be wasting…

  • Finding justification

    alexmessinger
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:57 pm
    Working on: Researched efficacy of multimedia in online education for upcoming presentation. Complet
 
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    Staying on the right T.R.A.C.C

  • The car is now a first-class citizen of the cloud

    3 Nov 2009 | 2:35 pm
    The ngConnect car is a concept car created to show the potential of the next-generation connected devices, in this case, a car. Connectivity is achieved via LTE, a 4G technology being developed by leading telecommunications companies such as Alcatel-Lucent.The LTE Connected Car initative is involves partners from multiple industries, and include Alcatel-Lucent, QNX Software Systems, Toyota Motor Sales, Atlantic Records, chumby, and Kabillion all working together to develop applications and services under the ngConnect program.You can watch the full video here.It is incredible how by…

  • Leadership Principles: Reciprocal Loyalty

    19 Oct 2009 | 2:53 pm
    I am reading a book called “The 12 Leadership Principles of Dean Smith” by author David Chadwick. I found the book buried upstairs in the guest bedroom and decided to give it a read.The book is written by David Chadwick, a former student and player of basketball coach Dean Smith. Chadwick has distilled what he thinks are the 12 leadership principles that allowed Smith to be one of the most successful college basketball coaches of all time.I am currently reading the first chapter on the first leadership principle, and I can say that so far I am not super impressed. It is not that the…

  • A Tree Named Performance

    30 Sep 2009 | 1:23 pm
    What does reactive mean to you? And by reactive I mean in the situation or person sense and not in the chemical sense :)I found this great definition for reactive over at the Business Dictionary. Being reactive means:"Behavior that is not internally motivated but manifests in response to a situation or the actions of others."So is being reactive a good thing, a bad thing, or something in the middle?In some cases it is indeed a good thing. Reacting to changing and fluid situations to put the right people and processes in place to solve a problem is a good thing.Unfortunately being reactive…

  • The future of Car Infotainment

    29 Sep 2009 | 8:30 am
    QNX is up for an award at the Adobe Max conference under the "Mobile" category. You don't get much more mobile then a car. Unless your battery is dead that is, then it is not so mobile until you get a boost.The QNX CAR application platform in an all encompassing reference platform for building next generation infotainment systems and digital instrument clusters.Vote for QNX Car at Adobe Max's site today! You can also see other cool applications of Flash technology from the other finalists too.

  • Kudos to me!

    23 Sep 2009 | 8:13 am
    Yay me! My blog was added as a top project management blog to The Daily Reviewer."Congratulations! Your readers have submitted and voted for your blog at The Daily Reviewer. We compiled an exclusive list of the Top 100 project-management Blogs, and we are glad to let you know that your blog was included! You can see it at http://thedailyreviewer.com/top/project-managementThe Daily Reviewer is an an online aggregator of content similar to Alltop, which, incidental I am also on. The Daily Reviewer seems smaller, much newer, and more advertising driven then Alltop.Looking at their terms, it…
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    Project Management Tips

  • The IT Auditor’s Role in the Software Development Process

    Brad Egeland
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:40 pm
    In further examining the IT Auditor’s role in the IT project environment, I’d like to look at how the book “Information Technology Control and Audit” discusses the IT Auditor’s role in the overall software development process. Software Development Process A formal systems development process provides an environment that is conducive to successful systems development. This includes: (1) an information systems strategy that guides developers in building systems that are consistent with the organization’s technical and operational goals, (2) standards that guide in the selection of…

  • Project Management and Human Nature

    Brad Egeland
    6 Nov 2009 | 7:17 pm
    “You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around — and why his parents will always wave back.” – journalist William D. Tammeus As a father, I completely understand this quote and I’ve done this many times.It’s absolutely true.As an author and reader, I’m intrigued by it.And that I heard it on an episode of Criminal Minds this year surprises me.In fact, I posted it to my Facebook account and numerous people commented on it and ‘liked it’, but I bet they would all be surprised…

  • Detailing the Project Management Audit Process

    Brad Egeland
    5 Nov 2009 | 5:03 pm
    Diving a little deeper PM audit process as described in the book “Information Technology Control and Audit”, we will look at the audit planning, the actual PM process review, the act of working with the PM and team to identify risk, and the communications necessary to ensure that the audit process is as successful as possible. Audit Plan The audit plan will detail the objectives and the steps to fulfill the audit objectives. As in any audit, a project management audit will begin with a preliminary analysis of the control environment by reviewing existing standards and procedures. During…

  • The IT Auditor’s Role in Risk Assessment

    Brad Egeland
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm
    In continuing our discussion of the IT Auditor’s Role in the Project Management Process, we will now look at the auditor’s role in risk assessment.Much of this information comes from the book “Information Technology Control and Audit” and it identifies that the auditor’s role in assessing risk focuses on conducting an assessment of the risks associated with the processes that are being utilized in project management within the organization the risks associated with the project itself. Audit Risk Assessment Depending on the organization, auditors may not have enough time to be…

  • The IT Auditor’s Role in Project Management Process

    Brad Egeland
    4 Nov 2009 | 8:45 pm
    In larger organizations or on larger government projects, it may be recommended and even required to conduct audits of the project management processes being utilized in an organization.It may even be necessary to audit individual projects for process adherence. I have personally been involved in many large government projects and programs that required detailed auditing and the presentation of audit findings to the proper government officials.With the help of the book “Information Technology Control and Audit” (by various authors) I’d like to discuss how this IT audit process might…
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    Management House

  • Greatest Importance for Success

    Jeff Edwards
    30 Oct 2009 | 7:38 pm
    Lewis and Clark knew management. One important management principle shows up in the correspondence between Lewis and Clark as far back as 1803. American readers will remember that Lewis and Clark, with a group of frontiersmen, set out to find a water passage from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. The timing of the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-1806) seems as though President Jefferson was telling the men, “We just bought a huge chunk of land. Now go see what we just purchased.” In reality, Thomas Jefferson had pursued several ideas for…

  • Towers Perrin's Top-10 List for Employee Engagement

    Jeff Edwards
    25 Aug 2009 | 6:39 pm
    Another firm that chimes in about employee engagement is Towers Perrin. Like Accenture, Towers Perrin also has a top-10 list for employee engagement.Senior management sincerely interested in employee well-beingAbility to improve skills and capabilities Organization’s reputation for social responsibility Employees' input into decision making Quick resolution of customer concerns Setting of high personal standards Excellent career advancement opportunities Challenging work assignments that broaden skills Good relationships with supervisors Organization encourages innovative thinking Most of…

  • Accenture's Top-10 List for Employee Engagement

    Jeff Edwards
    19 Aug 2009 | 9:54 am
    I found that Accenture’s Human Performance service line has considered how employee engagement affects profit, productivity, and innovation. They have found a direct relationship between employee engagement and profit, productivity, and innovation. Accenture’s analyses have shown that the higher an organization scores on the ten areas below, the higher the employee engagement rating.Recognition and rewards must be linked to job and business performanceHr systems must provide managers with the information they needLearning opportunities for current and future positions must be…

  • Sacred PM Practices – Bottom Line

    Jeff Edwards
    3 Aug 2009 | 9:08 pm
    Most project managers, project management instructors, and publishers of project management material are spending much effort on management topics that are of little importance to the success of large IT projects, and little energy on those topics which are present in many of these successful large IT projects – leadership, ownership, trust.I am not suggesting that knowing how to create a project plan, or managing project risks are not important. I have come to believe that topics like leadership, ownership, and trust are little understood. How much time do you, or your project manager,…

  • Sacred PM Practices – Topics for Consideration

    Jeff Edwards
    22 Jul 2009 | 7:11 pm
    Traditional project management resources seem to address topics that do not necessarily support the successful execution of large IT projects. Project Management Institute claims to be the world’s leading publisher of project management information. Its books, newsletters, training courses, and seminars focus on traditional concerns such as resource estimation, risk management, and scope management.American Management Association’s books, seminars, and self-study materials focus on traditional project management activities – setting measurable project objectives, estimating project…
 
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    ThE pM sTuDeNt

  • Interview with Peter Taylor

    Josh Nankivel
    5 Nov 2009 | 3:27 am
    Peter Taylor Peter Taylor (Rugby) is the head of a Project Management Office for Siemens PLM Software, a company specialising in Product Lifecycle Management. Despite his title of ‘The Lazy Project Manager’ Peter Taylor is in fact a dynamic and commercially astute professional who has achieved notable success in project management. He is an accomplished communicator and leader and is the author of ‘The Lazy Project Manager‘. Josh: Thank you so much for sharing your background and experience with the pmStudent community Peter! How did you get your start in Project…

  • Are You Stuck in a Career Rut?

    Josh Nankivel
    4 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am
    BJ is a USA subscriber to my PM Career Newsletter and we had a great discussion.  BJ graciously permitted me to post this slightly edited version on his behalf.  I invite  you all to add your comments and share your own questions! Getting Unstuck - by Clevergrrl via Flickr Hi Josh, Thanks for the email. My primary reason for joining your site is to try and dig myself out of this career rut I’m in. I’ve worked as a Project Coordinator for the last 3 years, but my overall project experience totals close to 7 years. I can’t seem to break into the next level of Project…

  • Congratulations on Passing the PMP Exam Kevin!

    Josh Nankivel
    3 Nov 2009 | 3:01 am
    Posted on behalf of Kevin in Michigan, who passed his PMP exam recently (based on the 4th edition of the PMBOK Guide) Happy - by B Rosen via Flickr (this isn't Kevin in the photo! Josh:  Congratulations on passing your PMP exam Kevin!  Any tips for others who are preparing for it? General I memorized 40+ formulas for my brain dump sheet.  One key to success for me was to “logically” understand all of the ITTO. Having a solid understanding of the knowledge areas is beneficial. I had to know the best answer from the available list of answers. So for listed principles found in the…

  • Do Project Reports Really Give The Real Picture on Project Progress?

    Susan de Sousa
    2 Nov 2009 | 3:10 am
    Big Picture - by aloshbennett via Flickr Guest post by Susan de Sousa A project manager often holds a position of great importance within an organisation. Often the projects and programs entrusted to them, together with the large project budget which can be ill afforded will determine the future of an organisation. In return, transparent project reporting through the weekly report is not unreasonably expected, to enable senior project management stakeholders to accurately track progress. But do Organisations always get the real picture? Now there are correct and incorrect ways to fill in the…

  • Interview with Bas De Baar

    Josh Nankivel
    31 Oct 2009 | 4:05 am
    Bas de Baar discusses Project Leadership in a global and virtual world through his popular blog and video podcast “The Project Shrink”. With over a decade spent in the trenches as Software Project Manager within the publishing, financial and public sector, running multi-national teams, he has a lot to talk about. Bas holds a masters degree in Business Informatics and lives with his wife in The Netherlands. He is author of the book “Surprise! Now You’re a Software Project Manager” and is a member of The PMI New Media Council. This council brings together industry bloggers, webcasters…
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    Ron Rosenhead

  • Organisational issues that get in the way of effective project delivery

    Ron
    3 Nov 2009 | 1:49 am
    I was doing some diary planning with our company’s Administration Manager, Alison Smith. We cantered through November and December and suddenly we were into 2010; where did the year go? Finishing diary planning I started to reflect on the year so far. After a few quiet moments one aspect that came through was the obstacles companies put in the way of successful delivery of projects. They may not realise it but they are obstacles. I started to make a list: There is no project management system to speak of and people can ‘do their own thing’…and no one does Having…

  • Project branded as “A master class of misadministration”

    Ron
    26 Oct 2009 | 11:30 pm
    There have been many articles in the press and on TV and radio complaining about the Single Payment Scheme which has culminated in a damning report by National Audit Office (NAO). The report published has hit the headlines here in the UK for another poorly delivered project and suggests that: “The implementation of the single payment scheme encountered difficulties that could result in the European Commission imposing a sizeable penalty.” In addition, the main complaint from UK farmers has been they have had to wait inordinately long times to receive payments. “The…

  • The Perfect Project

    Ron
    23 Oct 2009 | 12:51 am
    The term “PERFECT PROJECT” was coined by a course participant on one of our project management training courses. He was aiming for what the title suggests and he felt that the course which had just ended would give him this. With this person’s permission, we use the words “PERFECT PROJECT” as the name of one of our courses.You can discover how to have a “PERFECT PROJECT” by coming along on our one day event in Central London. It promises to be an exciting and participative day on December 8th. You can find out more by going here If you want more…

  • Project team member breaks leg - what next?

    Ron
    21 Oct 2009 | 4:19 am
    During a recent project management training course (a refresher day) someone asked what would others do when a project team member breaks a leg and is likely to be off for at least 4 months? The person who asked the question had the luxury of bringing in a new team member and wanted advice how best to do this.  The project was one month old with 7 months to go and the full time team were functioning well. The course members developed a check list for bringing this new person on board.  each team member to brief the new team member with their view of the project  preparing files, project…

  • When a project manager has to say no.

    Ron
    14 Oct 2009 | 12:58 am
    I have often been asked by a project manager how to say no. Sometimes the demands on the manager are (in their words) so unrealistic or unachievable that they face a real dilemma; how to say no. I have often advised those on project management training courses that rather than say a direct no (which many would like to do) they ought to use some of the tools within project management to help them. So, rather than say no, what can a project manager do or say? Some suggestions are given below. However, words of caution; if you use some of the suggestions you will need to use a wide range of…
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    Karol Zielinskis Blog - all kind of stuff around the web

  • I’d like to present my new project: develway.pl

    Karol Zielinski
    5 Nov 2009 | 5:27 am
    One important thing at the beginning… it’s in Polish. Yes, I know that I didn’t want to create stricte Polish applications anymore. However… this time – it was stronger than me. We didn’t have dzone.com in Poland, so I just thought that it could be a good idea to create one. So I did it… develway.pl has been launched. What is develway? Like I said before… it’s some kind of social news website made for people to discover and share content. My main target is to reach IT specialists, programmers, web developers, server administrators,…

  • I want to offer my web-based service in multi-language mode. Ok, but what about the domain?

    Karol Zielinski
    27 Oct 2009 | 6:23 am
    Everybody wants to have the world’s number one web-based product. However… let start from the beginning… if we want to be number one – we need to have multi-language – at least – interface. Ok, sure… but after we decided, that we want to be worldwide – we need to decide about the domain name. Should I create subdomain to my existing domain, maybe buy the same domain with other extension, maybe use my existing domain, or maybe buy something else. Why do I need multi-language website? First… look at the google, look at the Yahoo!, look at…

  • How to (or not to) promote your blog

    Karol Zielinski
    23 Oct 2009 | 8:37 am
    From time to time I like to read topics like ‘how to promote your blog’, ‘how to promote your website’, ‘how to promote … (put anything you want)’. All of these rules are similar (of course we are talking about promotion of web-based ’something’), however some of them… are simply useless and could waste your time. Today I will write about some rules of promoting, based on my own experience, as well as e.g. this news. Maybe first… look at these rules. Yes, I know – this post is old. However… I don’t care. Lots…

  • The Future of Shopping

    Karol Zielinski
    19 Oct 2009 | 4:59 am
    Do you know how could shopping looks in the future? Cisco wants to tell us how. Is it really possible? When? Great idea for viral marketing among tech-geeks.

  • I won’t subscribe mashable, techcrunch and these kind of websites anymore. Thanks to tweetmeme.

    Karol Zielinski
    16 Oct 2009 | 7:15 am
    Few days, or weeks ago I turned on my RSS reader and… 400+ entries to read. Next day… 350+ entries, next day… 420+ entries. I hate it… I really hate. All of that because of mashable, techcrunch, thenextweb, etc. Come one… I have something about 40 or 50 RSS feeds in my RSS reader. So it’s nothing special when I open it after 24 hours of being out of the computer and see about 100-200 new entries to read. Most of them are from design blogs, such as behance.net, CSS Mania, One Page Love or design you trust, where one entry is one image or layout. I can simply…
 
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    Dot Connector

  • Goal Setting Worksheet and Weekly Planner Template [The One Goal Project]

    Regis Hadiaris
    27 Oct 2009 | 8:08 am
    This post is part of the One Goal Project to achieve exceptional performance at work.  Learn more. Feeling overloaded?  Try these two templates. (source: antwerpenR / CC 2.0) My team hears me say it all the time, and it always goes something like this: “We all have a hundred things on our plate, but are you working on the right things today?” Easy enough to say, but harder still to deliver on. Why? Because we are creatures of habit.  We show up (physically) on Monday morning. We check email and voice mail and then “ping pong syndrome” begins. What is “ping…

  • Business Decision Making – 3 Questions to Ask Yourself [The One Goal Project]

    Regis Hadiaris
    13 Oct 2009 | 8:04 am
    This post is part of the One Goal Project to achieve exceptional performance at work.  Learn more. Business decision making can be a maze.  Use these questions to find your way out. (source: joncampbell / CC 2.0) Better Business Decision Making – 3 Simple Questions to Ask Yourself “Be not careless in deeds, nor confused in words, nor rambling in thought.” Marcus Aurelius We all need to make decisions.  Sometimes, we make bad decisions and learn from them.  Other times we make great decisions and wonder why we even deliberated.  Some people like to make really fast decisions and…

  • Inspirational Quote about Fear

    Regis Hadiaris
    10 Oct 2009 | 5:00 am
    Courage is just fear delayed another moment. -Gen. George S. Patton See also:Inspirational Quote about Ingenuity Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what...Commitment to Success: Inspirational Quote The following “I promise…” statements were sent to me by...Inspirational Quote about Focus If you focus on results, you will never change. If...

  • 3 Lessons From My Dad [Plus: Tweet for ALS on October 1st!]

    Regis Hadiaris
    30 Sep 2009 | 8:55 am
    Take time to reflect. Source: Richard0 / CC BY 2.0 5 Years ago, I lost my Dad.  He was an honest, caring man that led a life filled with great experiences.  These experiences turned into tons of colorful stories from the Great Depression, World War II, and the rest of his long life. Through his stories, and whether he always knew it or not, he taught me many lessons about how to live my own life.  On this 5 year anniversary of his passing, here are 3 of my favorites. 1. Sometimes in life you have to sacrifice your interests to help others in need. I was taught that I had to work hard for…

  • Inspirational Quote about Differentiation

    Regis Hadiaris
    17 Sep 2009 | 8:00 am
    Just because you sell a lot of something doesn’t mean that it’s good. McDonalds sells a lot of hamburgers. Ahmet Ertegün (Atlantic Records exec) See also:Inspirational Quote about Focus If you focus on results, you will never change. If...Inspirational Quote about Persistence Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize...Inspirational Quote about Success Success doesn’t come to you, you go get it. -...
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    ThousandtyOne! - .NET, Life and Logical Thoughts By Rajiv Popat

  • TED India 2009: Experiences And Observations Of A Rogue Thinker - Part 1

    Rajiv Popat
    5 Nov 2009 | 10:56 am
    I write this from the Plush; huge and amazing campus of Infosys Bangalore where TED India 2009 is being hosted. Before I even start with this post; let it be known that I love TED and have been watching TED videos for three years. Being at a TED is an experience any creative mind should indulge in and I would highly recommend TED to anyone who as I say - aspires to make small or big dents in the universe. TED India; much like all other TEDs was an amazing experience. I have been blown away with the hospitality; arrangements and the insightful talks. But this post isn't about reporting TED…

  • Random Thoughts On Truly Remarkable Story Telling - Part 1.

    Rajiv Popat
    1 Nov 2009 | 12:52 pm
    You Might Be A Spammer And You Might Not Even Know It.  From Saving cost; increasing my IQ; getting a free degree; living a happy life to increasing my man-hood; the number of spam emails that I get on any given day is astonishing. While I am hard-wired to ignore these emails; there is yet another kind of email that is also technically spam and that I also ignore. This dear reader; is not the typical malicious spam sent with an intention of spoofing; identity theft or running a Trojan on your machine. Instead; these email include a real organization and a real marketer trying desperately…

  • Random Thoughts On Builders At Work - Part 19.

    Rajiv Popat
    31 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pm
    The Mango Warehousing Business In India. The Mango-Warehousing business in India is huge and yet very few people do it. If you were to look at the business of warehousing mangoes; you might realize that; in order to get into the mango warehousing business; all you need to do is to go stay at the Mango-Farms in remote villages in India; during the mango season; look for the best prices that you can get and stock as many Mangos in your warehouses as you can. The whole process involves some work; particularly before the mango-season in India. Usually this translates to about a month worth of…

  • Random Thoughts On Builders At Work - Part 18.

    Rajiv Popat
    28 Oct 2009 | 3:57 pm
    At one of our clients; who for the purposes of this post; we shall refer to Dip if we keep going at it. Everyone; thinks; and has been continuing to think since the last three months; that we are really close to a version that customers will love and buy. Something tells me we are nowhere close; we are just what I call --- 'lost'. I cringe as I sit there and watch people preparing to-do-lists and backlogs of features which they believe will rescue the product and get us adaption. What I am feeling right now; is what Blink; half-assed project; without any idea; maybe the industry; I cannot…

  • Random Thoughts On Builders At Work - Part 17.

    Rajiv Popat
    25 Oct 2009 | 2:03 pm
    Motivation For Your Genuine Builders. Rapid Development - Taming Wild Software Schedules describes a typical organization's approach to motivating their teams of builder; and what is wrong with the approach using the following illustration: In the same book Steve talks about the importance of having some serious story-telling revolve around your project or your product. Weave a remarkable story around your product and mean it. Show them how the story impacts them personally and aligns with their long term goals. Give them the tools to turn the story into a reality. Now; Get out of their way.
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    the Intervals Blog by Pelago

  • Why Evolution is Better than Revolution

    John Reeve
    3 Nov 2009 | 8:29 am
    “In art there are only fast or slow developments. Essentially it is a matter of evolution, not revolution.” — Béla Bartók The landscape of web-based time tracking, task management, and project management tools has become a little noisy. It seems that each month another company is throwing their app into the fray and hoping for the best. While those of us behind Intervals believe this to be a good thing, because it offers the small business more options in finding a solution that will fit them best, it has become interesting to watch how various web-based offerings…

  • A New Collaborative Web Site for Project Management Questions

    John Reeve
    2 Nov 2009 | 2:25 pm
    A new web site for helping people find answers to project management quesitons has recently launched over at AskAboutProjects. The site does a great job of allowing the community to participate without being overwhelmed by the big words and acronyms that usually go hand-in-hand with project management discussions. Go on over and participate. It would be nice to see this web site take off like its counterpart StackOverflow. Related posts Project Landscape Report (0) Periscope Report (0) Create Multiple Tasks at Once (0) Improved Email Request Queue (0) Invoice Alerts (0)

  • Project Landscape Report

    John Reeve
    28 Oct 2009 | 10:52 am
    We’ve added a new report to Intervals, the Project Landscape Report. This report is useful for comparing data across several projects at once. Whether taking a glance at how your projects are doing, or digging in deeper to view tracked time, task totals and financial balances and budgets, this report is ideal for gauging project health. The report filters enable project managers to break down the project landscape into a countless number of perspectives — view all billable projects across your company or run a history of all active and inactive projects for a specific client. The…

  • Periscope Report

    John Reeve
    28 Oct 2009 | 10:52 am
    Intervals has focused most of its features on tracking time, task and project data for making informed decisions on how to best plan and manage upcoming projects. To help make this process more complete we’ve added the Periscope Report. This new Gantt-like chart gives project managers a view of their projects along a timeline. Find out when projects are beginning and ending, and how far along each project has progressed. The timeline view empowers project managers to schedule projects according to how they will impact overall workflow. We are considering this report to be in beta…

  • Create Multiple Tasks at Once

    John Reeve
    28 Oct 2009 | 10:49 am
    Intervals now offers users the ability to create multiple tasks at once for projects and milestones. Project managers and others will find this feature useful when the need arises to quickly create several homogeneous tasks. When starting a new project it is often the case that a project manager will need to add several new tasks to get the project moving. It is also common for a project already in progress to require several similar tasks distributed among different team members to keep the momentum going. Whatever your need, creating multiple tasks at once will move projects and milestones…
 
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    Project Management 2.0

  • Why Project Management 2.0 Is a Different Ball Game

    Andrew Filev
    4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am
    At the PMI Global Congress that I attended in October, I met many project management practitioners. Some of them asked me about my views on Project Management 2.0. One of the questions was “How is Project Management 2.0  different from what many organizations have today?” I decided to summarize my answers and came up with a short list of key factors that distinguish Project Management 2.0 from traditional project management. They are: Environment. Manuel Castells, the author of "The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture" and a visiting professor in 15…

  • “Win a Book!” Series: the Collaboration Economy (Review of “Wikinomics”)

    Andrew Filev
    21 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am
    When this book was published nearly four years ago, it shook the U.S. business world with its claim that we've barely begun to imagine the ways in which the web will transform our lives as workers and consumers. Later, “Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything” was published in 26 languages and was named a finalist for the Goldman Sachs/Financial Times Business Book of the Year award. “Wikinomics” became a popular buzz word, and the ideas first pronounced by the authors of the book influenced the minds of many business people. I’m not an…

  • Elements Of Project Leadership

    Andrew Filev
    14 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am
    This is a guest post by Bas de Baar, the author of ProjectShrink.com. This article originally appeared on his blog. The ideas of this post are aligned with my personal philosophy in many ways, so I felt that you would benefit from reading it here, on the Project Management 2.0 blog. As a Project leader you are dumped in an organization you have never seen before. You get people assigned you don’t know. The organization prescribes methods and tools you don’t like. And of course, there are a gazillion of unwritten rules. Welcome to your project life. You run on partial Information,…

  • Project Management 2.0 is Nominated for the IT Blog Awards 2009

    Andrew Filev
    13 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am
    Today, I entered the IT Blog Awards 2009 held by ComputerWeekly.com. My blog is nominated in the project management category, and I hope you’ll be able to support me in this contest. This is a U.K.-based blogging competition open to blogs that are originated outside of U.K. I think the ComputerWeekly Blog Awards is a great initiative that will help professionals from IT and other industries find the best authors, sharing their real life experience and useful tips. By the way, my fellow blogger Elizabeth Harrin, the author of the PM4Girls blog, won the best IT Project Management blog…

  • What Project Management 2.0 IS and What it IS NOT (Part 2)

    Andrew Filev
    7 Oct 2009 | 12:00 am
    Having enumerated the things that Project Management IS in my previous post, I’d like to give you my take on what Project Management 2.0 IS NOT. I see the three main things here. Project Management 2.0 IS NOT: Chaos Lightweight Project Management 2.0 tools and practices bring project management into a new context. However, unleashing freeform collaboration with the help of the new technologies does not mean the loss of control. Quite the opposite is true. When people start collaborating in a freeform manner with the help of emergent structures, they create a more rational and practical…
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    Expiriance Program / Project Management Blog

  • Project Management: Art Or Science

    Jorge Dominguez, PMP
    31 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm
    Is project management art or science?Project managers are certainly both artists and scientists though not in the context in which we know these words. Project managers apply a science using art.Science comes into play when the PM acquires and embraces all the theory he/she has learned through experience, training, certification, etc. PMs use frameworks such as PMBoK or PRINCE based on time-tested methods that have been proven to be effective through years of implementation.Some science points:• Different methodologies and frameworks available (PMBoK, PRINCE, etc.)• Standard processes and…

  • Breaking The Work Breakdown Structure

    Jorge Dominguez, PMP
    30 Sep 2009 | 9:01 pm
    The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.The WBS organizes and defines the planned work tasks of the project. How detailed should it be and how many levels should it have? The obvious answer is as detailed and as low as it can be scheduled, estimated, monitored and controlled, or it won’t be effective. You can have the most detailed WBS in the world but if it cannot be managed it will not work. So, depending on the project…

  • Agile Project Management

    Jorge Dominguez, PMP
    31 Aug 2009 | 9:30 pm
    Businesses all over continue to struggle implementing the PMBOK or PRINCE as a whole or parts of them claiming that they are too complex, too involved and take from the time it takes to produce the project deliverables. Adaptive Project Framework (APF) comes to the rescue by adapting to the ever changing business environments.I read and re-read “Effective Project Management – Traditional, Adaptive, Extreme” by Robert K. Wysocki every time I get a chance. It is an excellent book that I always carry with me. This book dedicates a few chapters to APF.APF is an iterative and adaptive (and I…

  • PM Products Are Not Complete

    Jorge Dominguez, PMP
    31 Jul 2009 | 9:01 pm
    There are many tools for project management and project managers, from large companies and from small companies. Some have more functionality and others have less functionality. But all of them put together do the same thing.Don’t take me wrong but no product that I know of has any particular functionality that stands out and that no other tool has. For example, most tools have a scheduler, some do the job better than the others, and others do it easier. Some tools have a resource management module while others have a timesheet module.Does it mean we are already “there” when it comes to…

  • Few Companies Have A PMO

    Jorge Dominguez, PMP
    30 Jun 2009 | 9:01 pm
    With the maturity that project management has in this day and age there are few companies with a PMO group and I have not been able to explain the reason why even though I can think of many.The one reason that always comes to mind first is the lack of understanding out there of what the role of the PMO should be. Organizations all over ask the question: why do I need a PMO? Really, why? Is this just another administrative and bureaucratic function that brings no tangible results? More than a year ago I wrote “An Effective PMO” where I say that “…PMOs have become just another…
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    Utpal Writes

  • 12 Words You Should Eliminate From Your Vocabulary (As Per A Distinct #Author Who Can @UpbeatNow, You!)

    Utpal Vaishnav
    1 Nov 2009 | 8:46 pm
    They have the power. The power to create or destroy. Create or destroy anything. Any idea what they are? Yes? No? Maybe? I’m talking about the conversations. And, you know we are what our conversations are! One of the most influential ingredient in the conversations is our choice. Choice of the words we use. Below is an invitation for you to revisit your actions related to the below referred 12 words. Read through each of the word and the corresponding link which will take you to the source of inspiration. Luck:Unless you want to chase exceptions in life, stop chasing luck! Status…

  • Communicate Like A Genius

    Utpal Vaishnav
    28 Oct 2009 | 9:42 pm
    Your ability to communicate well is your impression in the outer world. No matter how strong your goals and your success foundation are, the essence of your ability to communicate cannot be under-estimated. Here are some of the most common things that uncommonly good communicators do: Tell stories and paint pictures through the words. Be interesting and entertaining. Exhibit sincerity and authenticity. and more here with Robin Sharma.

  • When You Feel Good About Life 7

    Utpal Vaishnav
    28 Oct 2009 | 9:20 am
    Clear road ahead: You are clear about your fundamental goal and you exactly know which target you are chasing. Executable plan: You believe that accomplishments depend on 20% of planning and 80% of execution based on the plan which you have ready. Motivation from within: You love what you do and you are excited about what you love. Yes in that, clarity of the goals and executable plans are the key. Fulfilling relationships: No matter whether it is family, friends or business. Your relationships are complete and fulfilling. Your friends take on the role of your family and your family takes on…

  • Four Causes Of Poor Performance (And What You Can Do About It)

    Utpal Vaishnav
    26 Oct 2009 | 9:45 pm
    As a manager you must have dealt with poor-performance. To do that you need to essentially identify the problem and the causes which created the problem, decide on a solution and make the solution work. Poor performance can be a result of one or more of the following: Faulty management Unsupportive organization culture Inadequate work-systems and processes Individual’s incapabilities Faulty management -  It is the manager’s responsibility to identify the correct resource, ensure he or she is available for the tasks, make the expectations clear and inspect what they expect.

  • Twenty Two Traits Of Procrastinating Software Developers (Who Should Not Be In Your Team)

    Utpal Vaishnav
    22 Oct 2009 | 8:08 am
    Photo Credit: yvescosentino's Flickr photostream Intentionally forgets some tasks. Directly or indirectly engages in organizational politics. Works for long hours just to show that she is working for long hours – effective hours are not more than 2 or 3 per day. Always talks about the problems, disasters and how a task cannot be accomplished. Thinks what she knows about the technology is the only correct way to implement it. Lack of integrity. Doesn’t honor her words. Not trustworthy. When she thinks she won’t be able to meet the scheduled release, she’ll give you 1000 excuses…
 
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