The Work Breakdown Structure is an essential tool to set the project scope. It forms the agreement between you and your client on what is included and what is not included in your end deliverable. However, to be effective, it must be simple and, more importantly, must not be confused with the project schedule that serves a different purpose in your project management plan.
Project Management
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Most Topular Stories
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Work Breakdown Structure Made Easy
Project Management Articles | Project Smart20 Mar 2012 | 5:36 pm -
Creating a Work Breakdown Structure with Microsoft Project
Project Management Articles | Project Smart6 May 2012 | 12:03 pmThe Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the project objectives into deliverable-oriented tasks that are executed by the project team to accomplish the overall project goals. The WBS forms the backbone of all the project planning activities. The WBS divides the scope of the project work into smaller, manageable work packages for maintaining better control of the project activities. As you move from the higher levels of the WBS to the lower levels, the definition of the project works gets more detailed with the upper levels representing the major phases of the… -
ZilicusPM Project Management Software Launched on Google Apps Marketplace
ZilicusPM Blog | Project Management & Collaboration10 May 2012 | 2:04 pmThe online project management and collaboration software – ZilicusPM, leaps forward with Google Apps integration. With this integration, ZilicusPM makes it more easier and collaborative to manage and deliver projects. ZilicusPM is now available to millions of Google Apps users through Google Apps Marketplace™ Houston, TX (PRWEB) May 10, 2012 Zilicus announced launch of its online project management software ZilicusPM on Google Apps Marketplace™ – an online store that offers web-applications which integrate with Google Apps. With the launch of ZilicusPM on Google Apps… -
The 12 Most Popular PMP Exam Preparation Tools
Project Accelerator News14 May 2012 | 6:18 amIf you are about to start studying for your Project Management Professional (PMP) exam, you’ll want to make sure your toolkit is bursting with things to help you on the journey to becoming a PMP. There are so many options to consider when looking at the study materials on the market that it can be difficult to know where to start. First, don’t be overwhelmed by the choice. The tools that your colleagues and classmates are using may not be the right ones for you. How do you learn best? Choose study materials that will help you prepare for PMP certification in a way that best suits your… -
7 Keys To Maximum Profitability - For Business Planners, Project Managers, And Other Successfully-Inclined Individuals
Business And Project Planning And Management12 May 2012 | 5:44 pmMaximizing profits (within ethical, legal and quality control parameters) is one of the very fundamental objectives of an for-profit enterprise. Yes, we'd like to build value for stakeholders, mitigate and contain risk, and meet other objectives -- but none of these can be attained without profit maximization. As a working tool for any professional involved in either starting, building or improving a business, I have distilled a rather extensive process into seven simple keys. While this list is by no means all-inclusive, it provides what I believe is an excellent analytic, evaluative and…
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Computerworld Project Management News
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Career advice: Careers in the cloud
7 May 2012 | 10:19 amP100 IT Leader Allan Hackney also has advice on abandoning IT, résumé writing and more. -
Prioritizing tech projects: How managers make a short list of long demands
7 May 2012 | 5:00 amIT is under pressure to get more agile in its delivery methods and pursue flexible prioritization strategies to work with, not against, the burgeoning needs of the business. -
One CIO's Answer for Improving Healthcare IT
30 Apr 2012 | 3:34 pmHow Yale New Haven Health's CIO tackled integrating three IT systems into one while keeping customer care front and center -
California's $500M state pension software system wracked by backlogs
17 Apr 2012 | 1:31 pmAn expensive and long-troubled software program for California's pension system that went live last year has stumbled out of the gate, with some areas of service dealing with significant backlogs, according to a report released by officials at the California Public Employees' Retirement System. -
Citrix buys Podio for social collaboration, project management software
11 Apr 2012 | 8:46 amCitrix said Wednesday it has acquired Podio, maker of a cloud-based software platform for project management and collaboration. Terms were not disclosed.
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The Project Shrink
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Orange.
12 May 2012 | 7:36 amI don’t like football. I am talking about the real one. The one Americans call “soccer”. And still. The European Championship is starting in Poland and Ukraine in less than a month and I am becoming chauvinistic. I am emphasizing to myself I’m Dutch and what that means. In this case it means 1) I am wearing something orange, 2) I say we are going to beat Germany, and 3) I know we’ll lose from Germany during penalties. As always. When I hear about Dutch politics on the television I try to disassociate myself as much as possible from feeling Dutch. Whatever that… -
The Set Designer And The Storyteller. Yes. You Need Them.
17 Feb 2012 | 8:29 amIf we are really serious about the importance of the environment we work in and the stories we tell, we should have a Set Designer and a Storyteller on our projects. Yes, I am totally serious. So is Daphne Depassé, an Amsterdam based solution designer. As I live 20km from Amsterdam, you could say we are neighbors. And that makes me a happy neighbor. She developed an entire method, Plan B, for running projects. A method called “Plan B”! “What’s the plan?” “B.” It’s awesome. Like. The need for a Set Designer. And a Storyteller. I want to be both. And a Project Shrink. Or. -
An Ice Skating Track And Opportunities To Start Conversations.
5 Feb 2012 | 7:12 amYes, we have snow. Like almost everybody else. The neighbors created an ice-skating track by flooding a small field. The ice is not perfect. But … it’s just perfect. People get together. The field of frozen water is just a good excuse to get out and have some fun. It’s not that if there isn’t an ice-skating track you don’t meet. But this is just such a great opportunity. And a natural one. You don’t have to plan. You just go there. Show up. That’s it. The track is a catalyst for conversations. Communities have more places like that. Libraries for example:… -
The Project Story Circle. Talking About Transitions.
12 Jan 2012 | 2:49 am“Once a photograph of the earth, taken from the outside is available, a new idea as powerful as any in history will be let loose.” – Sir Fred Hoyle in 1948. What do you draw when you are visualizing a project on a whiteboard? I draw an arrow from left to right that represents a timeline. Not always. But many times. The way you visualize, determines your focus. I’ve been playing with the simple but powerful concept of a Project Story Circle. The project is represented by a circular arrow and is divided in half with a horizontal line. The idea behind it is the following:… -
Dropping Pebbles. Facilitating Sensemaking.
8 Jan 2012 | 7:43 amWhen I enter a room to facilitate a two hour workshop, eyebrows are raised. I look like my old aunt that packed for a weekend to visit relatives. Two large suitcases full of clothing. Just in case. You never know what the weather might turn out to be. Or if we decide to go to a fancy restaurant. So. I enter a room looking like my old aunt, only because we both carry way too much luggage for such a short period of time. I carry two plastic bags with post-it notes, index cards, colored paper of different thickness, permanent markers, white board markers, color markers, and tape. Yes. I know.
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Pawel Brodzinski on Software Project Management
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Slack Time
10 May 2012 | 12:48 pmIt often comes to me as a surprise that people misunderstand different concepts or definitions that we use in our writings or presentations. Actually, it shouldn’t. I have to remind myself over and over again that I do exactly the same thing – I start playing with different ideas and only eventually learn that I misused or misunderstood some definitions. Anyway, the context that brought me to these thoughts is slack time. When talking about WIP (Work In Progress) limits we often mention slack time and usually even (vaguely) point what slack time is for. However, basing on different… -
Pitfalls of Kanban Series: Abusing WIP Limits
8 May 2012 | 12:36 pmThis is another problem that comes in different colors. It’s either simple acceptation of WIP limits violation, no matter how commonly it happens, or setting WIP limits so high that a team never gets even close. Now, I don’t say that violating WIP limits should be forbidden at all. Pretty far from that. I just say that if it is a common thing it basically means that you have no limits at all. The same is with too loose WIP limits – it means no limits at all. It’s always a matter of balance: when and why you accept to violate WIP limits. I point this issue high on my list as basically… -
The Project Portfolio Kanban Story: Better Board
1 May 2012 | 12:30 pmWhen applying Kanban on project portfolio level you’re dealing with different challenges than in case of standard Kanban implementation on a team level (if there even is such a thing). Both the flow dynamics and task granularity is very different, thus you need to focus on different aspects when designing Kanban board. This is basically why typical Kanban board design will often be suboptimal. At the same time the biggest challenge you face on project portfolio level is defining and applying WIP limits. For the time being my thoughts on a subject are that depending on a specific environment… -
Pitfalls of Kanban Series: Kanban Board Not Up To Date
26 Apr 2012 | 12:21 pmThis is something I see very often and at least in a couple of flavors. The problem can be a team member who haven’t really bought the whole thing and see little value in updating all these stickies on the board every time something changes. It can be more a whole team’s thing – Kanban implementation has its leader, or a champion, and when they have a day off suddenly the board starts to deteriorate as people don’t feel pushed or obligated to update anything. On a side note: I would put it on the same shelf in my mind as when Scrum teams don’t do daily stand-ups when a leader is… -
Pitfalls of Kanban Series
26 Apr 2012 | 12:20 pmOne of tricks I sometimes use when coaching teams that are starting with Kanban is I tell them why they shouldn’t adopt it. Challenging the team in such way helps me to indicate whether there is buy in as this is crucial thing to deal with issues the team will face. I do that knowing that, thanks to its flexibility, Kanban is pretty vulnerable and even a single team member may cripple Kanban implementation, thus vastly reducing value the whole team gets from adopting the method. Besides getting buy in having knowledge of these potential vulnerabilities can be a game-changer as then the team…
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Project Management Articles | Project Smart
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Taking Advantage of the Economic Recovery With Project Management
9 May 2012 | 2:03 pmThere's been nothing pretty about the economic recession. The business landscape has changed, established companies have disappeared and industries everywhere have been operating in safety mode, trying to avoid risks that would leave them vulnerable. Once known as retail giants, Blockbuster and Borders proved that you have to constantly innovate and be at the forefront of market trends to survive. -
PMO's Makeover From a Cost Centre to a Profit Centre
7 May 2012 | 9:25 amIn the midst of recession support departments are one of the first casualties of the CFO's cost rationalisation drive. During this mayhem, PMOs struggle to evade the cost cutting knife and are forced to cut back resources and scale down services. The purpose of this article is to outline how PMOs can be successfully transformed into profit centres during hard economic times. -
Creating a Work Breakdown Structure with Microsoft Project
6 May 2012 | 12:03 pmThe Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a hierarchical decomposition of the project objectives into deliverable-oriented tasks that are executed by the project team to accomplish the overall project goals. The WBS forms the backbone of all the project planning activities. The WBS divides the scope of the project work into smaller, manageable work packages for maintaining better control of the project activities. As you move from the higher levels of the WBS to the lower levels, the definition of the project works gets more detailed with the upper levels representing the major phases of the… -
Using Earned Value Management as a Early Warning Sign in Project Management
29 Mar 2012 | 3:37 pmAs any seasoned project manager knows, projects can be technical and challenging and even the most organised of project managers will run into some problems along the way. Adding to the complexity of project demands is the fact that many organisations are facing increasingly difficult market or trading conditions, so now more than ever the requirement for planning and control around management of projects is critical. A re-occurring theme that project managers face is the management of their projects' performance and any project's performance can be diminished due to cost overruns and time… -
Work Breakdown Structure Made Easy
20 Mar 2012 | 5:36 pmThe Work Breakdown Structure is an essential tool to set the project scope. It forms the agreement between you and your client on what is included and what is not included in your end deliverable. However, to be effective, it must be simple and, more importantly, must not be confused with the project schedule that serves a different purpose in your project management plan.
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The Tao of Project Management
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33: Inner Resources
11 May 2012 | 9:01 amTraditionally thinking about project resources has centred on the human resources, the members of the project team, including the project manager himself. But this topic is focused on the project manager’s inner resources, which is about enlightenment. Understanding how other people behave takes intelligence, but to know ourselves takes enlightenment. The poor project manager tries to use force to get the other team members to do what he wants. But to manage ourselves takes true power. The WayThe wise project manager is content with what he has. He can live simply and enjoy prosperity and… -
32: Unity
4 May 2012 | 1:05 pmIf a project team starts to split into fractions there will be infighting between them. Where rules and regulations are applied to the work there will be dissatisfaction. The poor project manager goes in for fancy theories, which distracts the team from what is happening, the process itself and it saps the energy of the team. On the other hand, where there are no prejudices to split the team into fractions, there will be unity. Where the work of the team is grounded in an obvious and natural righteousness, there will be no need for rules and regulations.The WayThe way cannot be defined, it… -
31: Intervention
27 Apr 2012 | 2:57 pmBeing of a slightly (oh all right very) leftish persuasion I have always liked this chapter of the Tao.Many years ago on a sailing holiday in the Greek Islands my wife told me that no woman like’s asking a man how to do something as the result will be like “having the tiller snatched out of your hand”. This seems to be as true of project management as it is of sailing. There is sometimes a great temptation to intervene, but intervention always causes problems.The WayA poor project manager will interfere in the work of the team and the team members will feel their work is not valued. The… -
30: Force and Conflict
20 Apr 2012 | 6:30 amSome project managers just have to interfere in their team members’ work. It might be due to insecurity or a lack of trust in their team members. Maybe they are selfish, think they know best or just want to take the credit for everything. The result is that the team members will start to react against it. If the project manager then tries to use force, conflicts and arguments will follow. The project team will begin to disintegrate and the climate will become hostile. The WayThe wise project manager understands the way, does not interfere and uses as little force as possible. He guides the… -
29: The Paradox of Pushing
13 Apr 2012 | 11:34 amIf the project manager tries to use too much pressure or force to get things done it is sure to backfire on him. By constantly intervening and interfering with the work of the team any team spirit will soon be destroyed and the quality of the work will go with it. The WayThe poor project manager tries to control the team rather than nurturing and encouraging them. By pushing the team they are blocking progress rather than encouraging it. The wise project manager stays centred and grounded and encourages the team to function well by assisting them and dealing with any issues they may…
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gantthead.com
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PMXPO 2012
16 May 2012 | 11:00 pmWelcome to PMXPO 2012! Already registered for the event? Enter here starting at 10:30 a.m. ET on Thursday! Still need to register and join? Register here! -
PMXPO 2012 Schedule
16 May 2012 | 11:00 pm10:30 a.m. ET -- PMXPO 2012 opens! 11-12:15 a.m. ET - Keynote Presentation: CSI: Projects by David Berman and Jon Wellner 12:15-12:30 ET - Keynote Sponsor: Microsoft Tools for Project Collaboration Success 12:30-12:45 ET - Booth Time 12:45-1:45 ET - Session 1: Most Valuable Certifications: A Recipe for Your Perfect Alphabet Soup 1:45-2:15 - Booth Time 2:15-3:15 ET - Session 2: Brave New World of PPM: What We Need, Why We Need It and How To Get There 3:15-3:30 ET - Session Sponsor: How Collaboration is Changing the PPM World by CA 3:30-3:45 ET - Booth Time 3:45-4:45 - Session 3: Going For… -
For Your Own Good
13 May 2012 | 11:00 pmPolitics are never fun on a project and a PM's life is always easier when they don't have to deal with them, but that's just not realistic. By recognizing that fact and counteracting "bad" politics with "good", you can go a long way to neutralizing the threat to your project. Learn how you can leverage politics to your benefit and have a significant advantage. -
The PMO in Operations
13 May 2012 | 11:00 pmThe project management office has a different role in the operational team than in project teams. In general, there are two major reasons for having a PMO as part of the operational team--and it's up to the PMO to ensure that it is supporting operations instead of hindering them. -
Who's on First?
9 May 2012 | 11:00 pmTo really understand whether or not you have the right players or even the right teams in place to complete the projects you're responsible for on time and on budget, there is a critical shift in paradigm you need to embrace. Projects aren't the only things team members are working on, and all work is not the same.
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IT Management & Trends Blogs
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Who is the biggest control freak of them all?
16 May 2012 | 1:59 amWhen it comes to computing, especially operating systems, the trend seems to reducing the amount of control the end users have over their operating system environments [stares hard at garden gnomes]. Of course with any Linux based system you can always pop the hood to access the internals however, some distributions, along with proprietary operating systems, seem intent on making it harder and harder. Things -
Retailers use SOA, APIs and Mobility to Compete - Shouldn't you?
15 May 2012 | 7:30 amThe SOA approach to multi-channel should be applied across industries; retail is just very visible with their efforts with APIs, mobile and web presences (including social). All these channels should be supported by a solid SOA foundation. -
CIO and CFO Hunger Games: The Risks and Rewards of Rapid ERP Implementations
15 May 2012 | 6:31 amERP implementations are a lot like the "Hunger Games" for CIOs, CFOs and other executives tasked with making their ERP projects successful. For those that aren’t familiar with the novel or movie, Hunger Games is predicated on a story where two children from each “district” -
CIO and CFO Hunger Games: The Risks and Rewards of Rapid ERP Implementations
15 May 2012 | 6:31 amERP implementations are a lot like the "Hunger Games" for CIOs, CFOs and other executives tasked with making their ERP projects successful. For those that aren’t familiar with the novel or movie, Hunger Games is predicated on a story where two children from each “district” -
How far can reuse go?
14 May 2012 | 8:25 amThe more we reuse software, the more productive we are and the higher the return on the development effort. How far can this go?
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Project Management Articles - PM Hut
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The Business Is the Bottleneck
16 May 2012 | 1:49 pmThe Business Is the Bottleneck By Ellen van Aken “Ellen, could you have this site up and running in about 2 weeks?” my clients often asked. “Yes, I could, but can you?” I always answered, “my experience is that the business, and that is you, is usually the bottleneck.” The client always looked a bit annoyed when I [...] -
Problem Solving and Decision Making Processes
16 May 2012 | 10:55 amProblem Solving and Decision Making Processes By Alison Wood Decisions decisions….pros and cons…is the grass greener..? As a manager, you’ll run these questions through your head quite a lot. Wouldn’t the world be awesome if when you planned your project, every stage would be implemented and executed just as you had planned it? Unfortunately, the world out there [...] -
Dealing with Conflict in Project Teams
16 May 2012 | 7:55 amDealing with Conflict in Project Teams By Michael Stanleigh Team conflict is challenging for project leaders but it is not necessarily bad. Conflict can lead to new ideas and approaches and facilitate the surfacing of important issues between team members if it is managed well. According to various research studies on team conflict, the major sources of conflict [...] -
4 Easy Questions About How to Prioritize
15 May 2012 | 1:51 pm4 Easy Questions About How to Prioritize By Preben Ormen Delivering projects is about making a lot of decision. To make good decisions, we need to know how to prioritize. Here are four easy questions to help making the right choices. It’s really all about classifications into Must Haves, Should Haves, Could Haves or Won’t Haves: Must Haves Must Haves [...] -
An Example of a Project Charter
15 May 2012 | 11:38 amAn Example of a Project Charter By Merrie Barron and Andrew R. Barron Introduction Overview of the Project Provide a simple but precise statement of the project. Example 1 Rice University is planning to create a store to sell computer supplies. Purpose of the Project Charter This Project Charter outlines the purpose, objectives, and scope of the project. The purpose of a Project [...]
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Journyx blogs
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Assemble!: What The Avengers Can Teach About Business Tools
14 May 2012 | 6:00 amSeeing as how The Avengers had the best opening weekend in history, it is clear that there is something enticing about the idea behind this film. And there is! For one thing, Marvel Comics has built up character backstories for years that people identify with either through comic books or the movies. But that is only one aspect that is appealing. The other is the interplay between these powerhouse characters and the fact that, though incredibly powerful on their own, only by combining their unique strengths can they overcome a massive, world-altering threat. It is this characteristic that… -
Get Techie On Mother's Day
11 May 2012 | 9:00 amIf you’re like us here at Journyx and are infatuated with all things tech, why not spread a little of that geeky-love to Mom this weekend? There are many high-tech presents out there that will show Mom how much you care! Consider her interests: does she spend time outside at the grandkids’ soccer practice? She’ll appreciate a solar-powered Kindle cover! Strapped for cash? No problem! There are many options that won’t cost you a penny. What about putting together an Instagram album of the most meaningful moments you’ve captured from family events? Any Mom would appreciate the… -
Lightspeed Advantages
7 May 2012 | 5:00 amCompetitive advantage. The term brings to mind long meetings spent listening to various market reports, conjectures about competitor pricing and strategy, and of course looking at the clock every five seconds wishing that the conversation was over. Long-term forecasting of the competitive landscape is not without value, yet it does have one disadvantage that is baked right in: unless competitors are handing you actual plans and numbers, you are essentially engaging in advanced guesswork. Unfortunately, those guesses can easily prove false or inapplicable. So, is there any sort of advantage… -
Growing Your Career with Mad Men
4 May 2012 | 9:00 amI’ve caught Mad Men fever. That's an Instagram of me "Draping" in the office. Really, who hasn’t been infected with this highly epicurean, uber-stylish and intelligently executed television series set in the swingin’ sixties? I've learned a few lessons from the show that might help with career life and thought I'd share them with you today. Networking is a necessity. That hasn’t changed and it never will. Business over cocktails is a regular occurrence on the series and we can definitely relate to this in our world today. There was a scene where a huge merger was initiated over… -
Startup Time!
30 Apr 2012 | 6:00 amJournyx provides efficient timesheet software for businesses large and small. We have covered many of our software's advantages in the past, from key integrations to small business advantages. One of the topics we discuss the most is the importance of building a backlog of data from which to learn, and we stand behind that. The value of a backlog of information is maximized if the business begins tracking time from the outset. However, many businesses do not realize the necessity of a robust time-tracking tool until much later, relying instead on less sophisticated paper-based methods or…
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Project, Program and Portfolio Management
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PM College to Offer Agile Project Management Training Program
7 May 2012 | 11:00 amPM College introduces a corporate Agile Project Management Training Program to prepare project teams to effectively integrate agile methods in the workplace as well as to prepare for PMI's new certification exam. -
American Workers Being Sourced for Canadian Jobs
7 May 2012 | 11:00 amHALIFAX, May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Canadian project management & industrial recruitment agencies are looking South of the border to fill requirements for upcoming industrial job sites across Canada. -
Rise of the tablet computer; Sales of $430m last year only 10% less than that for PCs
5 May 2012 | 11:00 amCONSUMERS in Singapore spent almost as much on tablet computers like iPads last year as they did on personal computers. The rise of the trendy gadget has been astonishing since the market was ignited by the arrival of the iPad in April 2010. -
4-year Old 2bProductive Blog in Top 75 List
3 May 2012 | 11:00 amDallas, TX, May 03, 2012 --(PR.com)-- In April, the business productivity and leadership blog To Be Productive (also known as 2bProductive) celebrated 4 years of posting helpful information. The blog administrator was also notified that month the blog was listed as one of the Top 75 Productivity Experts to Follow on Twitter by Evan Carmichael on his Entrepreneur blog at http://www.evancarmichael.com. -
CIOs Embrace the Innovation Initiative; Building credibility from the ground up through restructuring and core systems initiatives helps creative cultures thrive.
1 May 2012 | 11:00 amAs information businesses dependent on IT, most insurers have elevated the role of the CIO to that of a core strategic executive. The CIO's cross-functional perspective allows him or her to bring a uniquely valuable enterprise-level view to planning discussions with other senior business executives. Most insurers also rely heavily on the CIO to maintain an external perspective as well, and keep the other business leaders informed of potential changes in the broader IT landscape, from the consumerization of IT to the growth of big data. At a recent Novarica Insurance Technology Research…
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The ENTP Blog
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From idea to shipped feature in an hour
10 May 2012 | 5:16 pmSometimes the time between coming up with a kickass feature, having a “product planning meeting”, writing, coding, and shipping, is one hour — c3 (@court3nay) April 21, 2012 While we were trying to scope a new Tender feature, we accidentally stumbled across a very simple and effective UI improvement that we were able to implement, test and deploy in the space of an hour. I figured I could introduce this (very small) feature with the (very short) story of how we built and shipped it. The issue was thus: We provide per-queue notification settings for support staff. These only affect… -
New: JSONP knowledge base API.
18 Apr 2012 | 5:38 pmI’ve just added a callback parameter to our autosuggest json endpoint. This means you can now search your knowledge base from anywhere and integrate the results into your page. Furthermore, because it’s using the autosuggest, you can plug in a bunch of unrelated words and it will simply find the best match. For example, you could parse the contents of your page and automatically suggest the best results for that page from your KB in the sidebar. Here’s the URL: http://your.tenderapp.com/search/autosuggest.json?q=query&callback=function Here’s some sample code to… -
How to set up and manage your notifications
13 Apr 2012 | 2:16 pmGood day to you! When creating a new profile in Tender, the email preferences default to notifying the user of changes in the issues/discussions they have participated in (either by creating or commenting on), but you can curate your notifications for any given category or queues that you wish by signing in and going here: https://help.tenderapp.com/profile/edit Scroll mid-page where you’ll find “Email Preferences” and click as you see fit. A word to the wise: choose your notifications wisely, young Jedi. If you get click happy, you may find your email inbox quickly… -
Find all the bugs
30 Mar 2012 | 6:12 pmEven before the beginning of a pull request for Lighthouse and Tender, TATFT is enforced. Red, green, refactor as the code is written is excellent but it won’t catch everything. Scripts are vital but can sometimes lead to complacency. I believe exploratory testing is a great tool in my web application testers tool belt. Unfortunately, it’s often misunderstood. Here are three common misunderstandings of exploratory testing: 1. Testers have to find bugs. Exploratory testing is like a hunting trip and serves no purpose. The belief that testers *must* find bugs is false. My… -
Tender updates for March 27th
27 Mar 2012 | 5:50 pmHi everyone, So what have we been up to? Well for starters, we fixed the spam count: we had quite some fun with this one, and it should now accurately reflect the number of messages in your spam folder. We also added a couple of endpoints to the API, and fix a big annoyance. You can now: Delete KB articles Create and delete sections Use pagination for discussion comments (at last) We’ve added the relevant documentation as well. I know some folks have been waiting on those, so let us know how this works out for you. That’s it for today, see you next time with more goodies!
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Better Projects
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Analyzing without a License
15 May 2012 | 7:50 pmI've posted about him before, but if you're not reading Jeff Atwood's Coding Horror blog, you're really missing out. Today's post is perfect. There are several lines that really stuck with me, here is one of my favorites: Please don't advocate learning to code just for the sake of learning how to code. Or worse, because of the fat paychecks. Over a year ago, in response to one of my posts here on the site, someone told me that if I didn't like how developers did their jobs, I should go out and write the code myself. The idiocy of the statement just astounded me. Now, here is one of the… -
Project estimating: What could possibly go wrong?
15 May 2012 | 8:24 am"Are we born to be optimistic, rather than realistic? Tali Sharot shares new research that suggests our brains are wired to look on the bright side -- and how that can be both dangerous and beneficial." -
Learning, Video Games and Photoshop
9 May 2012 | 7:26 pmI regularly read Rands in Repose, and today's article was nothing short of awesome. If you're not a Rands reader, I highly recommend you become one, if for no other reasons, for bits like this: Photoshop’s goal isn’t entertaining unless you think the national pastime of bitching about Photoshop is a sport. Photoshop has no points or leaderboards because Photoshop is a tool and the perception of tools is that you must be willing to supply blood, sweat, and tears in order to acquire the skills to become any good at using them.Bullshit.Make a list. Tell me the number of… -
Join us and blog at Better Projects
9 May 2012 | 6:17 pmIt's time for us to refresh the tone and content here and so we would like to hear from people who would be interested in joining Ted, me and the occasional other to blog here. The rules are pretty simple; share what you are learning as you grow in your role. Get in touch if you are interested and we can talk more. -
Being agile; not so important after all
2 May 2012 | 6:00 pmBeing agile is not always important.The interwebs have a thing going on in recent months about the difference between doing agile and being agile.There are a bunch of agile things that correlate with positive business outcomes, but they aren’t universal are they?I work at a university. What we do in the IT Department is important but it is barely core business. Core business for universities comes in three forms; Innovation borne out of research, student experience, and subordinate but critical to that; teach experience.A side note on that topic: Research and student speak for…
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Project Management
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Theories in Total Quality Management (TQM)
7 May 2012 | 12:46 pmWhat do you know about the different theories of total quality management? Learn more about TQM, a customer based management methodology. Total Quality Management (TQM) is a quality improvement body of methodologies that are customer-based and service oriented. TQM was first developed in Japan, and then spread in popularity. However, while TQM ... -
PMP Training Programs: Classroom vs. Online
3 May 2012 | 11:03 amBefore getting your PMP certification, you must complete 35 hours of training. But where to go to get that training? Is the traditional classroom better than learning online? Here we examine the pros and cons of each method. The choice is up to you. About the Author Author Fahad Usmani, PMP, PMI-RMP is a blogger on Project Management topics... -
Writing a Scope Statement
28 Mar 2012 | 2:17 pmThis article illuminates the necessity of an effective scope statement and how to write one that will help guide a project to successful completion. The various sections of a scope statement are discussed, as well as hints on how to minimize scope creep. Where to Begin A scope statement is one of the most critical pieces of a project, and writing o... -
A Review of Three Project Management Horror Stories and the Lessons We Can Learn From Them
15 Mar 2012 | 12:33 pmSuccess in project management requires a continuous stream of successfully managed projects. But even the best companies, with the most mature project management processes can stumble. So read the following horror stories and learn a few useful lessons. Horror Story #1: EDS In June 1997, Electronic Data Systems and SHL Systemhouse started w... -
Using Excel to Create a Gantt Chart
17 Feb 2012 | 2:05 pmAlthough Excel 2007 doesn't have a built-in Gantt chart wizard like the ones found in other software products, it's still possible to create this useful project management tool within the spreadsheet application. Excel Gantt Charts The Gantt chart is a very helpful and popular tool in the field of project management. A Gantt chart is just o...
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project-management « WordPress.com Tag Feed
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Reflections from MECH 45X Capstone Design Project
13 May 2012 | 5:07 pmAround 8 months ago, myself and three others began to design and build a robotic object manipulation device for the RoboCup@Home Competition in 2013 that is able to handle a variety of household objects. My experience in this project taught me aspects to a design project that to be learned by doing. Team Formation I think this is where a lot of students struggle when things go wrong. It’s always possible to get a teammate that is hard to work with. While it is no fault of either person, the two personalities (either in values, cultural background, style of working, way of… -
Exclusive PSMJ Benefit for BQE Customers
13 May 2012 | 4:28 pmBQE Software has teamed up with Professional Services Management Journal (PSMJ), a premier source of -
What Is Event Management?
13 May 2012 | 4:09 pm(Photo credit: Sleepy Valley) Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of festivals, events and conferences. Event management involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects before actually executing the modalities of the proposed event. Post-event analysis and ensuring a return on investment have become significant drivers for the event industry. The recent growth of festivals and events as an industry around the world… -
Qualities of an Effective Leader
13 May 2012 | 3:58 pmWhat separates someone who is an average leader from an effective leader? Effective leaders are able to make tough decisions, help create the vision and strategy of the team, and develop their staff to be future leaders. These effective leaders seem to have a few qualities in common: Decision Making: The first quality of an effective leader is someone who is able to analyze a problem by collecting relevant facts and then use these facts to devise a plan to fix the problem. They also learn how to manage conflict on the team when there are differences in opinion. Strategic Planner: The second… -
Google Drive - a new kid in the cloud!
13 May 2012 | 2:00 pmCloud computing makes the productivity/efficiency part of me happy My dreams of storing, sharing and accessing data in the cloud are coming to fruition. This morning my dear friend and colleague, Ryan Thomas http://illinois.edu/ds/detail?userId=rthomas&search_type=all&search=ryan%20thomas&from_result_list=true&skinId=0 , at University of Illinois alerted me to some very exciting news. Google Apps has a new baby! It’s Google Drive. Sure is nice to be able to share and use Google Docs and also be able to store them in Drop-Box-like fashion on Google Drive. Before I…
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Project Management Tips || Project Management, Collaboration and Knowledge Management Blog
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Avoiding the Missed Deadline Problem – Part 2
15 May 2012 | 2:56 pmIn Part 1 of this two-part series, we began to look at missed project deadlines and the affects they can have on the project and more importantly, the customer’s perception of how well you and your team are performing on the project. Missed deadlines can very quickly start to affect the customer’s satisfaction with your team’s performance as well as your ability to deliver a final, usable solution in a timely manner. We discussed how unreasonable deadlines can come about. In this final segment, well consider three more potential causes of missed project deadlines. The need for… -
Avoiding the Missed Deadline Problem – Part 1
14 May 2012 | 1:00 pmIn Part 1 of this two-part series on missed project deadlines we will start to discuss what causes them and how you can react. Ever had a project with no missed deadlines? Seriously now…be honest. It’s the nature of the beast that project deadlines get missed. You can’t build slack time into every task and on some brutal projects you may not have the opportunity to build ANY slack time into ANY tasks. But for the most part, a couple of missed deadlines are not normally a sign of a project in extreme danger. It’s just part of the process – but they can be warning signs. And… -
When Your Project Client Wants to Hire You – Part 2
9 May 2012 | 1:47 pmIn Part 1 of this two-part series on things to consider when you are consulting for a client on a project and that client indicates an interest in hiring you, we looked at the consideration of potentially clashing personalities. This is especially critical for me as I am often consulting for SMBs and working directly with the leadership of the organization – the real entrepreneurial spirit behind the company. I have ideas of my own so I have to be careful to take something like this into consideration and avoid walking into a situation that simply will never turn out well. Below are two… -
Why are PMOs disbanded?
9 May 2012 | 12:45 amResults from a new research study by ESI International show that company restructuring is the top reason why PMOs are disbanded. The benchmarking survey, entitled The State of the Project Management Office: On the Road to the Next Generation, investigates the current role of the Project/Programme Management Office (PMO), its development to full-blown maturity and value for the overall business. Based on responses from over 3,000 respondents in more than 17 industries on six continents, the research shows that PMOs are still facing a difficult time justifying their existence. The number of… -
When Your Project Client Wants to Hire You – Part 1
8 May 2012 | 5:16 pmFor those of us who are consulting independently as project managers, there are always lots of interesting, conflicting, and possibly career-changing events that can take place on any consulting engagement. We can’t prepare for all of them, but we can learn to share ideas and advice with each other along the way so we are as prepared as possible to deal with these topics as they come up on our projects. For this two-part series, I’d like to consider the following – what do you do when your project client indicates that they would like you to come on board as a full time employee?
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ThE pM sTuDeNt
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How To Create Project Documentation That Doesn’t Suck
16 May 2012 | 8:11 amA discussion on management plans started by my friend on Govloop recently about management plans got me going. My thinking on the topic of documentation in general has matured over the last few years. I don’t think I know everything though, far from it. What Makes Project Documentation Suck? There are several common problems people fall prey to when it comes to project documentation. All text, very little visuals Documents are longer than most short books In the weeds – over reaching the intended scope Assumes the person reading the documentation is a chimpanzee Describes a… -
Your Resume Has 6 Seconds To Live
10 May 2012 | 8:22 amHow much time do recruiters or hiring managers spend reviewing your resume, on average? Studies have previously come out with results of 4-5 minutes, when you ask hiring managers how much time they spend. That’s self-report data. Is it reality? It’s BS A recent eye-tracking study found something a bit different. That’s right. Especially when there are tons of candidates, you’d better not be under the delusion that the fine points of your work experience buried deep in a paragraph are going to be noticed. They are not. Formatting Matters This is the reason why… -
How To Impress Hiring Managers
2 May 2012 | 6:58 amHow do you make a great impression on a hiring manager? A question I saw recently on a message board asked what to do when you are able to network effectively enough to take someone out for coffee, someone who could potentially hire you in the future for their organization. There were some great answers about how to display your knowledge, skills, and accomplishments. Those are good things that you should be prepared to be able to demonstrate to a potential employer, whether out for coffee or in an interview setting. They are necessary, but not sufficient. Trading Places Imagine you are a… -
PMP Eligibility Requirements Changed on April 17, 2012
26 Apr 2012 | 8:04 amThere has been a change made to the PMP Handbook. The handbook was last updated on April 17, 2012. Dr. Paul Giammalvo alerted me to the change. I still have a communication from PMI I’m expecting back soon, but in the meantime I’ll share what changed with you and my initial thoughts. Interpretation I have had many spirited debates on the topic about what the PMP eligibility requirements truly mean. My interpretation has not been shared by all. I have always interpreted the phrase “leading and directing project tasks” as managing projects. It’s true that this… -
Walking for Autism Research – How You Can Help
21 Apr 2012 | 2:23 pmThis is a departure from my usual writing about project management, but I’d like to tell you about something else I’m doing. You may not know I’m active in advocating for people with disabilities. I volunteer often for different organizations and was appointed by the Governor of my state to our state’s Council on Developmental Disabilities. I’m also graduating next weekend from South Dakota Partners in Policymaking, a wonderful program that has been both educational and exhausting at the same time. My wife Tamara and I are also walking on June 9, 2012 to raise…
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Keeping the Peace
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Authenticity, Self-Awareness and Courage
14 May 2012 | 8:56 amQuick, think of someone who you consider to be truly authentic. Now why is it that you call them authentic? I bet they have the courage to be themselves. How do they do that? -
Don’t Fight City Hall
14 May 2012 | 7:10 am“Sorry, we can’t do that, we do everything here by the book.” “But we have always done it this way.” Those are both phrases that can make your blood run cold. Or at least give you a raging headache. Ouch, you just slammed into the brick wall of bureaucracy. There are plenty of good reasons to have established procedures. Don’t you want procedures to ensure safety and security? Don’t you want a paper trail when money is involved? Of course you expect project managers to follow a clearly defined methodology. Do you ever suspect that some people use the rules as an excuse to avoid… -
Understanding and Managing Conflict in Projects
7 May 2012 | 11:55 amI would love to share with you an interesting interview with Samad Aidane of Guerrilla Project Management.com. We shared some insights on why understanding and managing conflict is a critical skill for project managers and offers practical strategies for resolving conflict in projects. http://www.guerrillaprojectmanagement.com/understanding-managing-conflict-projects Enjoy and I would love to know your thoughts! If you enjoyed this blog posting, then you may enjoy our bi-weekly ezine Turning Point for FREE tips and insights to discover A Path to Peace……! Name Email -
Causing a Scene
4 May 2012 | 10:04 amEvery day you have the opportunity to be the director of your own ‘Life of a Team Member’ movie. Is this a drama, a comedy or a tragedy or an action adventure film? You write the script with your behaviors – you tell me! -
Principled Negotiations
30 Apr 2012 | 12:24 pmSo much of your life is a negotiation. At home you negotiate your children’s bed times, what time dinner will be ready, whose family you visit for the holidays and many other items. At work you negotiate difficult deadlines, impossible budgets and over-allocated resources (including your own over-allocation). When you use a soft negotiation approach you place more value on being nice and maintaining a friendship. There is nothing wrong with being nice, except that if you place being nice over choosing the best approach, you will be taken advantage of and you will resent it. When you use…
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Ron Rosenhead
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How do you motivate people?
10 May 2012 | 5:27 amMy daughter came home last week. She was bubbly and jubilant. She has one week to go in her current job and in advance of the new job, the company sent her a huge hamper with all of the food products she will be ‘selling.’ There was lots of food, (her words) lots of wine and a card signed by … Read More > -
Can you keep a promise?
8 May 2012 | 5:29 amBy Alison Smith, Project Agency Last Thursday, the people of London where Project Agency are based, voted in the Mayoral elections. This year is a key election year as Boris Johnson, who was elected on Thursday will make his mark in history as the Mayor of London during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and also for the London 2012 Olympics … Read More > -
How good is your project monitoring and control? What effect does it have on your projects?
1 May 2012 | 4:51 amOver the years I have seen a lot of negativity from participants on our project management courses. However, I noticed last year that when we spoke about project monitoring and control within companies the level of cynicism seemed to increase. So, I decided turn the cynicism into something that course participants could go away and do something about. I introduced … Read More > -
Where’s your project & programe management strategy
24 Apr 2012 | 2:40 amThis morning’s news was full of criticism of the UK Government for its lack strategic thinking is leading to a “patch and mend” approach. The Public Administration Committee said an absence of national strategy was leading to “mistakes” such as those following the recent Budget. Now, there is NO way that I am going to get into a debate about … Read More > -
Crossing the line and learning from it
23 Apr 2012 | 9:13 amBy Alison Smith, Project Agency I managed to see the recent Formula 1 Grand Prix from China. The teams spent the winter months (when not racing) redesigning their cars and making adjustments according to the new rules in place. They tested the cars in wind tunnels, and on tracks at both their factories and all over the world, to ensure … Read More >
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Dot Connector
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Inspirational Quote about Success [via David Brinkley]
13 May 2012 | 7:00 am“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” - David Brinkley -
Inspirational Quote about Getting Results [via W. Somerset Maugham]
6 May 2012 | 7:00 am“It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it.” - W. Somerset Maugham -
Inspirational Quote about Persuasion [via Dean Rusk]
29 Apr 2012 | 7:00 am“The best way to persuade people is with your ears, by listening to them.” - Dean Rusk -
Inspirational Quote about Will [via Peter F. Drucker]
22 Apr 2012 | 7:00 am“What you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that’s another matter.” - Peter F. Drucker -
Inspirational Quote about Change [via John F. Kennedy]
15 Apr 2012 | 7:00 am“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. “ - John F. Kennedy
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the Intervals Blog by Pelago
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Tracking Team Velocity for Agile Web Development
9 May 2012 | 11:11 amVelocity is one of the key components necessary for managing successful Agile Web development sprints. The ability to precisely calculate and track a team’s velocity will make the process of planning and managing a sprint a more pleasant and efficient experience for both the project manager and the Web design and development team. What exactly is velocity? Simply [...] -
A Design Primer for Web-based Startups
23 Apr 2012 | 12:52 pm© Wells Riley If you’ve ever tried to start your own online business, you probably know that one of the most difficult challenges is making it look good. The Web app we are developing needs a clean look and an intuitive interface. Design is what really ties the Web app together. Wells Riley, a UI/UX designer based [...] -
Recent Intervals ImprovementsImport Basecamp™ Data, Invoice by Task Status and More
20 Apr 2012 | 3:47 pmThe Intervals team has another round of fresh updates and improvements we’re excited to share. The Basecamp™ import utility is officially in Beta, invoices can now be generated by task status, and the Weekly Trends report has been reworked. All these recent updates can be taken for a spin on your Intervals account. Just login to try [...] -
How Our Customers are Helping to Protect the Planet
5 Apr 2012 | 1:19 pmWhat does protecting the planet have to do with online project management software? Nothing. The two aren’t even remotely related. At least, that’s what we thought when we launched Intervals in 2006. Us three founders share a mutual passion for technology and the environment. Our love of technology is what brought us together to form [...] -
Tracking Web Design and Development Retainer Agreements Using Intervals
28 Mar 2012 | 4:40 pmIt is a common practice for Web designers and developers to accept payment up front for work yet to be specified by the client. Known as a Retainer Agreement, this type of contract is useful for doing repeat work with good-standing clients. The agreement usually specifies that the work to be performed will be deducted [...]
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Utpal Writes
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Alternate Point of View for Achieving the Goals
10 May 2012 | 10:58 pmEasily achievable goals are often a self-justifying prediction. We shield ourselves from failure, don’t work as intense, look for what’s not good and often get it. Unachievable goals, on the flip side, will unavoidably lead to discontent. Keep hovering what you expect and sooner or later such goals won’t be achieved. A good result that’s less than what you were hoping feels like a flop-show. Perhaps it’s worth considering no goals. Just concentrated effort. What you get in return is pure outcome that you deserve. Maybe, the time spent worrying about unachievable goals if used in… -
How to Become a Middle Manager Who Rocks
3 May 2012 | 12:13 pmTypically a middle manager would have quite a big responsibility for making it happen. It depends upon the type of organization and the way top management expects the results. So how to rock as a middle manager? Well, Here are some tips: Demand clear, specific goals from your boss. Pull the work that matters. Ask your boss tough questions which challenge dominating premises. Do your best to fulfill those goals. If your boss guides you about ‘how’ to achieve the goal but you have a different idea, insist. Brainstorm and conclude. But once concluded, commit to it. Define clear, specific… -
Some Random Thoughts on Software Application Development
21 Apr 2012 | 10:42 pmWhat should our software application offer? How can we provide that amazing experience to our customers? It’s about creating that awesome user experience. Actually, It’s about creating value, isn’t it? Oh.. and ROI too. Need to do something that we haven’t offered, let’s make an iPhone app! What do customers want? …but, do they know? …perhaps not, did anybody know how would an iPhone work? Why outperform competition, can we NOT make it irrelevant? How about a offering huge discounts this summer? It should work. What about attending that trade show? -
Be a Better Professional 7
21 Apr 2012 | 5:41 amUnderstand and leverage the constraints that apply to your work. Know that pragmatism is nourishing; Negativism is exhaustive. Even if you’re a part of a cost centre, ensure that you’re a wise investment. Don’t talk how much time it will take, show the value it will create. Over-communicate – priorities change, decision makers expect something totally different than what they were expecting a week ago, be on the same page. Don’t make promises that you cannot keep. Don’t do different work, do work differently. See Also: Software Professional, Are You Developing Yourself As An… -
When do you know my product will be perfect?
16 Apr 2012 | 2:52 pmCertainly it is not perfect. It can still be improved. That’s an incorrect question. The correct question is: when can I ship it? It can be shipped when it is adequate. But it’s not perfect. We cannot… Well, it is not. Actually, the efforts put in making it perfect beyond what’s adequate are waste. It’s okay if you like to change the definition of what’s ‘adequate’ but that should be your goal. If your goal is to ship your product after it’s perfect, then, one day you might reach the goal but there might not be any need for that product to be shipped. See Also: Two…
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Project Management Templates
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Using Project Risk Management
14 May 2012 | 5:00 amBy using project risk management in the appropriate manner, you can save your project and the team many of the headaches involved in running a project when they are impacted by a risk. By already have a plan of action in place; you can also help prevent the costly delays of trying to figure out just how to deal with the impacted risks. The project risk management plan is like a set of instructions that will help guide you just what to do when any of the risks that were expected to possibly impact your project have occurred. The reason there is a path to follow is because the most common risks… -
Project Planning and Management Guidance
7 May 2012 | 5:00 amProject planning and management guidance are two things that must be coordinated so the goals and scope of your business venture are realized. This sounds like it would work together naturally, but there can be problems that arise over the course of time that could interfere with your organization. To make project planning and management work together in the most productive manner will take an effort by project manager, their team and the management representative responsible for the project. In many instances this will be the project manager, but not with every organization. To help… -
Using a Risk Plan
30 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amBy using a risk plan in an effective manner, you will be able to achieve a greater number of successful projects in a short allotment of time. To create this plan to reduce the impact of risks on your project, a project management tool called the risk management template is used more often than any other tool today. The risk plan template is a preformatted document that will assist the project manager in creating a professionally looking plan that will follow a set path for the best possible path to resolving the issues of risk impact on your project. This will begin with the listing of all… -
A Supply Agreement is no Longer a Handshake
23 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amA supply agreement is no longer a handshake made between two businesses since most of the transactions are now done online or with the use of the phone. This is one of the many ways the global market place has impacted the business world. There are still agreements made between two parties, but it is mostly just verbal or in text format today. The use of the term supply agreement is in reference to an informal acknowledgement between two parties in what is needed by one of them with the other having the ability to provide it. This can be with supplies, raw materials or manpower. What needs to… -
RFP Template for Consistent Results
16 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amThe use of a RFP template will help your organization to have consistent results for this important document. This is one of the few documents in your project plan that will discuss money and payments to a third party. For that reason alone, no ambiguity should exist in the document. By using a RFP template, your request for proposal can be created faster and easier with more detail repeatedly. This task has to be done each time a new raw material or supplier of goods is needed for your project. By using the template you will not only save time in its construction, but you will be sending a…
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Project Manager Tips and Hints
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Time Management Plan
14 May 2012 | 5:00 amThe time management plan is one of the best tools a project manager can use to deal with this finite resource in the best possible manner. Since time cannot be stopped or regained once it is gone, it is essential that the manager makes the most out of time they are allotted for their project by the manpower they have at their disposal. Your time management plan has to be thought about and drawn up while the project is still in the planning stage of its project lifecycle. This allows for the time to make the right decision and not a rush because the project is underway and time is of the… -
Using Time Management Software
7 May 2012 | 5:00 amBy using time management software as an integral part of your organizations daily business routine, you will make the most of this finite resource. Time is precious and by taking steps to avoid wasting it, will make you and your staff more effeicent in how it is used to increase the productivity in your company. The time management software will include many different programs you can make use of from the first day you integrate this into your company network. The first one utilized in most instances is the online time sheets. This allows for your entire project team to have a place so they… -
Using Task Software
30 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amWhen a project manager is using task software as part of their daily business routine when a project is underway, time and money is saved. This is the reason this particular type of programming was designed to accomplish. With simple intuitive programming, the users can create a task list, make associations and schedule the necessary resources to supply what is needed where it is needed in their project. The task software was designed for ease of use. This is not a cumbersome program that requires a great deal of input from the user to accomplish the goals intended for it. With the simple… -
Gantt Charts
23 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amThe Gantt charts have been a project management tool for over 100 years now. This, by some is also considered the very first one that helped the project manager stay informed on the progression of their project during its execution phase of its project lifecycle. In the past the Gantt charts were constructed on paper that had to be physically updated by adding sections to the bar graphs manually. This was done with ink or pencils in order for the charts to reflect the current conditions of the project. This is no longer the most viable option for a project manager to use. Today there is… -
Using Project Tracking Software
16 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amBy using project tracking software to coordinate your daily activities with your project is the best way to avoid delays and mistakes that can occur during the execution phase of its project lifecycle. What is new about this programming is that you can actually track the progress of your project from anywhere, anytime with its online tracking capabilities. With the abilities of the project tracking software in your control, you can always be in the know about the statue of your project. This is extremely handily for those projects that do not follow the conventional 9 to 5 working day. This…
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Project Management Methodologies
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To Write a Methodology that is Custom Made for You
14 May 2012 | 5:00 amTo write a methodology that is custom made for your particular organization is easier than most would commonly think. Today’s modern business community is using project management tools to their advantage like never before. One of these tools is the methodology creator. This software programs allow you to take the best and most applicable parts of any current methodology and formulate into one that fits the needs and resources of your organization. It is possible to write a methodology with this type of software for any size company for any scale project. Because you are custom fitting the… -
Using a Project Solution
7 May 2012 | 5:00 amIf you are using a project solution, that generally means there was a problem to begin with that needed to be solved. To avoid this type of situation, the use of the proper methodology for your project could be the answer. This solves many of the problems that have occurred in the past when a business undertakes a business venture without a set path to follow. By using a methodology for your project solution, a description of all the tasks that will be involved in your project will be documented so all your project team has to do is follow them. It is like having a set of instruction on how… -
The PMO Checklist
30 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amWhen it comes time to set up your PMO, the use of an all inclusive checklist will be very beneficial. This is an internal project that will be very complex and have specific needs that have to be met for this department to operate as planned. This set up has to be complete from the start so all of the tasks that will be required of this group will be possible. The very first thing needed to be done to create the PMO department is to decide on the optimum location for it. This has to be a secure location because of the work that is to be done by the staff working in this department. It is true… -
How to use Project Management Case Studies to Benefit your Organization
23 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amHow to use project management case studies to benefit your organization is an important concept to know. Just like with anything that has a history, there is information and data that can be acquired so mistakes of the past can be known and prevented in the future. This alone will increase the percentage of your projects that will become successful. By studying project management case studies of the past within your own organization, you will be able to find things that went wrong. This can be in one of the 9 process a project contains or as part of the production of your deliverable. The… -
Project Management Consultant
16 Apr 2012 | 5:00 amWith all of the outsourcing being done today the project management consultant is in demand. The requirements for someone to fill this position will vary from organization to organization, but the basics will remain constant for each business sector. Because of the variety of project this consultant will encounter to be employed is great, their training and knowledge base should be greater than the average project manager that is tied to a specific company. The experience a project management consultant has acquired over their career is generally sufficient to qualify them for this type of…
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Perspectives on Project Management from Learning Tree International
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Companies Are Grooming More Women for the Corner Office
7 May 2012 | 12:22 pm“Companies are grooming more women for the corner office.” So says the Wall Street Journal in a recent article about the success and the future of women CEOs here in the US. That’s great news for women in leadership roles today or young women aspiring to lead a company of any size on the road to success. Women in leadership and executive positions are on the rise like never before. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if my granddaughter decides that her career goal is to be CEO of a Fortune 100 company. The great news is that goal is achievable, whether she wants to start her own company or… -
Project Leadership Training is Not a Luxury
1 May 2012 | 8:15 amI believe that “homegrown” is better when it comes to hiring project leaders. I do not believe it is effective to hire from “without” when you can hire from “within.” Over the years, I’ve seen many project leaders hired. They are expected to be a bright shining star from Day One. Guess what? It doesn’t happen! The hiring people have forgotten the idea that you have to invest a lot of time and energy to develop project leaders who “fit in.” You’ve seen it before–the new project leader possesses all the basics: an MSTM degree, right personality for the company,… -
Looking for a Program Management Method? Consider MSP®.
30 Apr 2012 | 12:54 pmFor folks looking for a program management approach that successfully navigates them through the program life cycle while focusing on the program manager’s role in delivering measurable benefits to the business, let me recommend Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®). MSP is a structured, non-proprietary program management method. Based upon proven principles, MSP provides a road map for effective program management in any organization and for programs of many types. This enables organizations to integrate the MSP method with their particular types of programs to build a flexible… -
Five Project Leadership Ideas Worth Learning
30 Apr 2012 | 8:36 amHere are some ideas about the kind of culture project leaders need to create–the internally generated project team values that can help projects succeed. #1. Make the decision-making process more transparent. Have a weekly meeting with the project team where all of the issues of the project are discussed. Have an open staff meeting once a month where stakeholders worldwide can listen in and share information. The idea is to share with the project management team as much information as you can, reducing the level of secrecy within the project team and thereby reducing the degree to which… -
The Seven Qualities Most in Demand for Project Members
26 Apr 2012 | 10:08 amEvery project leader has needs that are not yet satisfied. Every project leader has problems that are not yet solved. Every project represents an opportunity for you to be a successful project team member. In many cases, project leaders will actually create a position for a project member who can help satisfy needs and solve problems. Every project leader has had a certain amount of experience with both good and bad project members. For this reason every project leader has a pretty good idea of what he or she wants more of. Here are the big seven: 1. The first quality that project leaders…
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AtTask Blog
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3 Keys to Working With Virtual Teams
16 May 2012 | 10:34 am“Go West, young man,” wrote Horace Greeley. I live in the west. Smack dab in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. I don’t tote around a six-shooter, but I do drive a Jeep, like to go camping, often wave a fly in the air trying to catch fish and otherwise enjoy playing in the mountains or the high deserts of Southern Utah. After you escape the bigger cities and get off the Interstate, there’s a lot of wide-open country—towns are about thirty miles apart. It’s the distance a buggy or a horse and rider could travel in a day (and the distance I can cover in my Jeep in… -
Integrity Matters
15 May 2012 | 7:12 am“Yahoo confirmed in a Sunday afternoon press release that CEO Scott Thompson will step down, effective immediately,” writes Catherine Smith for the Huffington Post. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States and supreme commander of the Allied forces during World War II, said, “The supreme quality of leadership is unquestionable integrity. Without it, no real success is possible.” About a week ago I wrote about Thompson and how he falsified his background on his resume. Although I’m convinced that we have a flawed system for hiring talent by… -
Apply for a New Job, Get a Project?
14 May 2012 | 8:28 amI couldn’t help but smile when I saw Michael Schrage’s recent post: Projects Are the New Job Interviews, on HBR.com. “Resumes are dead. Interviews are largely ineffectual. Linkedin is good. Portfolios are useful,” says the research fellow at MIT Sloan School’s center for Digital Business. “But projects are the real future of hiring, especially knowledge worker hiring. No matter how wonderful your references or how well you do on those too-clever-by-half Microsoft/Google brainteasers, serious firms will increasingly ask serious candidates to do serious work… -
Employee Loyalty: A Casualty of the New Normal?
11 May 2012 | 7:42 amAccording to Knowlege@Wharton, MetLife’s recent 10th annual survey of employee benefits, trends and attitudes released a few months back shows employee loyalty at a seven year low. “One in three employees,the survey says, plans to leave his or her job by the end of the year.” What’s more, “According to a 2011 Careerbuilder.com report, 76% of full-time workers, while not actively looking for a new job, would leave their current workplace if the right opportunity came along. Other studies show that each year, the average company loses anywhere from 20% to 50% of… -
Strategically Thinking About Managing Work in the Cloud
10 May 2012 | 8:59 amThere’s a lot of talk about working in the “cloud” these days. If you’re like me, you have some personal storage in the cloud, a handful of the apps you use every day are in the cloud and your company is always looking for new ways to work in the cloud. Earlier this month, Mark Thiele suggested, “As an IT community we are still stuck in the past relative to the strategic nature of cloud. Many of us are looking at the adoption of cloud as just another technology, and are leaving the decisions on how to adopt, own, and manage the cloud up to engineers.”…
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Project and Portfolio Management
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Integrity Matters
15 May 2012 | 3:31 am"Yahoo confirmed in a Sunday afternoon press release that CEO Scott Thompson will step down, effective immediately," writes Catherine Smith for the Huffington Post. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States and supreme commander of the Allied forces during World War II, said, "The supreme quality of leadership is... -
How far can reuse go?
14 May 2012 | 8:25 amThe more we reuse software, the more productive we are and the higher the return on the development effort. How far can this go? -
Apply for a New Job, Get a Project?
14 May 2012 | 5:00 amI couldn't help but smile when I saw Michael Schrage's recent post: Projects Are the New Job Interviews, on HBR.com. "Resumes are dead. Interviews are largely ineffectual. Linkedin is good. Portfolios are useful," says... -
Understanding and Managing Conflict in Projects
14 May 2012 | 3:18 amI would love to share with you an interesting interview with Samad Aidane of Guerrilla Project Management.com. We shared some insights on why understanding and managing conflict is a critical skill for project managers and offers practical strategies for resolving conflict in projects. -
Employee Loyalty: A Casualty of the New Normal?
11 May 2012 | 4:38 amAccording to Knowlege@Wharton, MetLife's recent 10th annual survey of employee benefits, trends and attitudes released a few months back shows employee loyalty at a seven year low. "One in three employees...
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projectsatwork.com
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Don't Be Anti-Social
15 May 2012 | 11:00 pmWhen it comes to leveraging social media techniques on projects, the most important place to start is frame of mind. It's not about mimicking Facebook in the workplace, but rather removing barriers to communication and information-sharing. Project leaders who do will improve team camaraderie and productivity. -
Defining Risk Types
14 May 2012 | 11:00 pmRisk matters because it has the potential to affect the achievement of objectives. By linking risks to objectives, we can distinguish a variety of risks at the organizational, project and personal level, from the strategic to the technical and so on. -
Better than Good Enough
14 May 2012 | 11:00 pmTime-tracking solutions can help you uncover hidden opportunities to maximize your project's value, from more efficient resource allocation to more accurate estimating and bidding. Here's a closer look at how better time management produces more successful projects. -
Agile Code Reviews
8 May 2012 | 11:00 pmCode reviews are not typically viewed as part of a pure Agile process, but some of the technique's benefits, such as collective ownership, are in line with the Agile philosophy, and they can be conducted without slowing your project down. Here are some suggestions for adapting code reviews to work in an agile environment. -
Deploying Social Media Tools
8 May 2012 | 11:00 pmHarnessing the power of social media tools can greatly improve the communication and collaboration on your projects. But a test drive is prudent, and you must take into account team skills and location, among other considerations, before you dive in. Here are five pre-requisites for a successful social media deployment.
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Nonprofit Capacity Building by
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Tips on How to Conduct Interviews for Program Evaluation (Part 2) by Priya Small
8 May 2012 | 7:08 amTip #3: Use trained interviewers who are able to build rapport Effective interviewing is both an art and a science and takes training and lots of practice! As I mentioned in my previous post, interviewers need to think quickly on their feet. This is important because they need to “go with the flow” so it seems more like a friendly conversation than an interrogation and still manage to cover all the major questions. If resources are very tight, consider networking to find a highly motivated graduate student or professional who is a stay-at-home parent who may be willing to… -
Polish Your Communication and Fundraising Skills with Your Strategic Plan by Marion Conway
4 May 2012 | 7:00 amRecently I wrote an article on my blog, Marion Conway – Consultant to Nonprofits entitled “Rethink…Energize…Action! Connect Your Strategic Plan and Fundraising.” I announced the post in the LinkedIn groups Strategic Planning for Nonprofits and Boardsource with the question, “If you lead a strategic planning process do you connect it with an organization’s fundraising process?” The question is still generating some thoughtful responses and this article shares the comments added by experts to my original article. In the original article I talked about how when you develop a… -
Tips on How to Conduct Interviews for Program Evaluation (part 1) by Priya Small
10 Apr 2012 | 12:19 pmInterviews are a way to collect useful data for program evaluation. They provide qualitative data, which is more text-based–for example: quotes, stories, descriptions– versus the quantitative or numbers-based data that written surveys (also known as questionnaires) provide. I recently interviewed people for a program evaluation and gained a new and fresh appreciation for the following tips: Tip #1: Decide beforehand whether interviews are the most effective and efficient way of collecting the data you need. Weigh the pros and cons of interviews: Pros of interviews:… -
High Net Worth Individual Philanthropy – Especially Women by Marion Conway
28 Mar 2012 | 12:53 pmSince 2006, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch has been sponsoring surveys of High Net Worth Individuals to gain insight about their philantropy. I have reported on their findings in the past. This year the study, released in December 2011 and conducted by the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University, is focused on women’s philanthropy. At my blog, MarionConway.com I’ve posted a companion piece, Role of Community Engagement, Volunteering and Giving by High Net Worth Women versus Men which discusses the particular findings of these issues and women’s philanthropy. In this article I… -
A Guide to Navigating the Evaluation Maze: “A Framework for Evaluation” from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Part 2 by Priya Small
8 Mar 2012 | 7:26 amThis is part 2 of a previous post on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) evaluation model. The goal of these posts is not to give an exhaustive description of this model but to whet your appetite for further study, to refer you to other sources and to share with you some related topics that have been percolating in my head. In the last post, we covered steps 1-3 of the CDC’s evaluation depicted below: A Framework for Evaluation. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Office of the Associate Director for Program (OADPG) Step 4: Gather…
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Best Practices of Online Project Management
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Make Sure It’s Right the First Time – Part 1
14 May 2012 | 10:06 amCustomer confidence. Where does it start? When does it go all wrong? And what do we do in between that either keeps it on track or screws it all up? Sometimes we see the train wreck coming and sometimes it sneaks up on us. But since we’re the project managers, we don’t have an excuse…we can’t. Well, we can, but that’s like telling your wife that you didn’t take out the trash because you didn’t have time. Bottom line is…the kitchen still stinks, it was your responsibility to take out the trash so it’s still you fault…even if you were on a… -
Four Ways to Keep Your Customer Engaged
7 May 2012 | 10:29 amProject customers can be fickle…no question about it. Many are focused on the project throughout the engagement with a project sponsor who is assigned to this project and it is his life, his work, his every thought 24/7 for the duration. This customer knows exactly what tasks come next in the project management software schedule. And then there are others who are tasked to lead the project on the customer side, but they are only marginally involved….only marginally care. Obviously, these are the ones whose next raise – or even future with the company – isn’t… -
Manage Each Project Like You’re Building the Taj Mahal
30 Apr 2012 | 10:27 amThis is an interesting concept that may be intrinsic to some or all of us…or maybe not. But I came across it by accident the other day and thought it might make for good discussion. Let me first set up the background…My wife is a professional photographer – probably the best you’ve never heard of because she’s not actually seeking clients at the moment…too busy right now with our small children which we have a few of…and that’s a happy place for both of us. I was sitting in my wife’s office working on my stuff while she was working on her stuff. At the moment she… -
Being Tough with Scope Management
23 Apr 2012 | 11:52 amNo project manager ever became successful by turning a blind eye to unplanned work. No project was ever brought in on budget by allowing the project team and customer to run amok with development work that fell outside the scope of the original project statement of work and documented requirements. It just doesn’t happen. At some point the project manager decides if they are going to be a push over and allow the customer to bend and shape the course of the work on the project by continually requesting tweaks and freebies and add-ons for no additional costs or if they are… -
What if Your Customer Isn’t Interested?
17 Apr 2012 | 9:53 amWow…ever had one of those projects where you wish the customer was invisible? Where you wish they would just step aside and let you and your team get to the business of running the project and implementing their solution. No floating requirements, no questions and constant oversight….just smooth sailing till deployment. It could be glorious. It would more likely be disastrous though wouldn’t it? Think about it...yes it would be nice to not have the customer meddling in your work. It would be nice if they’d stop asking for changes or tweaking requirements…
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Fear No Project - A Project Management Blog
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Part 3: If projects are like gasoline – Project Management Tools for Medium-Sized Projects
11 May 2012 | 6:03 pmManaging medium-sized development projects requires project management tools that are more specialized and capable than the Microsoft Office tools recommended for use on small projects, as discussed last week. These are the regular octane or plus tools. Because more people are involved in execution of standard or medium-sized projects, and because they often have a [...] -
Part 2: If projects are like gasoline – Project Management Tools for Small Projects
4 May 2012 | 3:35 pmLast week I talked about gasoline octane ratings as a metaphor for the relative performance and capability required of project management tools. According to Wikipedia, the octane rating is a standard measure of the performance of motor or aviation fuel. The higher the octane number –the higher the performance. Or, in the case of PM [...] -
If Projects are like cars and gasoline – what octane level of tools do you need?
26 Apr 2012 | 7:47 amRecently I had the opportunity to present at a conference of business professionals about project management tools. Unlike professional project managers, who have a background that encompasses many of the tools available to facilitate project management, this audience included practitioners across a wide spectrum of business areas. So, for that presentation, I wanted to talk [...] -
Becoming a Logical Listener
21 Apr 2012 | 12:18 pmApril 2012 is going down in my project management record book as the busiest and most intense work weeks for as long as I can remember — and that is a good thing. To accommodate my over-flowing task schedule, I have asked a fellow PM and writer, Barbara Brown, to create this week’s post. Thank [...] -
Research Findings on the Characteristics of Successful Teams
12 Apr 2012 | 6:13 pmIf you are like me, you are an avid reader and always trying to learn from, others. For example, I have found that often the advice on the characteristics of a successful team relies on observation and anecdotal evidence. So, I was interested in a recent article in Harvard Business Review that applied research [...]
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PM Power
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Managing Your Project Budget
12 May 2012 | 5:31 pmReblogged from My Life as ...:After you’ve successfully computed and proposed an accurate budget, the complicated task of managing your budget begins. The following four strategies can be employed for effective project budget management. Recalculate and re-evaluate your budget periodically to make sure that it stays on track and avoid missing crucial oversights. Monitor the company’s usage of resources that include manpower, equipment, facilities, etc. This will not only assure you that their use is being maximized, but that enough resources are being allocated for an acceptable rate of… -
Need for PM Training & Certifications
29 Apr 2012 | 1:54 amTraditional learning model Despite the fact that here is a lot of buzz in business about importance of project management skills in resources aligned in delivery of projects, the trend of formally trained individuals is quite small or insignificant. Few years before (when PMP or Prince2 credentials were not as sought after as today) professionals as well as organizations did not feel the need to have formal training for PM professionals. Rather it was more likely that these resources gained ‘hands on’ knowledge and skills while performing the jobs in their day today work life & going… -
Resolving project team disputes effectively
16 Mar 2012 | 1:50 amWe all know how frequently a small disagreement within the team members can flash-over into a full conflagration in no time, scorching you and your colleagues in minutes. What it means is that you as the leader of the project team need to think on your feet and take a quick decision to douse the flames before they have any significant negative effects on the team and project outcome. Conflict resolution does have some trusted and tested techniques that can be used as per the specific situation. These techniques are listed as below; Confronting: A resolution technique that involves face to… -
Why Managing Critical Path is Critical!
23 Feb 2012 | 12:15 amPracticing PMs should review their schedules on a regular basis to gauge if their project is on track or need some active management to correct any schedule deviation. If there is any deviation, there are a number of project management techniques that can be used to bring it back on schedule. This is where critical path method technique comes for the rescue! The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) defines the critical path method or more commonly termed critical path as “the sequence of schedule activities that determines the duration of the project.” Project managers can also… -
Evolving role of Enterprise PMO
2 Feb 2012 | 6:29 pmIn recent years, with general adoption of IT Governance practices, Enterprise Project Management has become more critical than ever before as it is widely recognized that a project co-exists with many other projects in the enterprise, or are part of one or more programs. While the initial mandate for PMOs was to only plan and track the existing set of projects and aimed for helping project professionals, envisaged more in the lines of functional department. However, given the strategic value of PMOs in today’s fast paced enterprises, they are not necessarily limited by that original…
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TeamLab Blog
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TeamLab: What will the future bring?
26 Apr 2012 | 3:35 amAs you may already know, we constantly gather all TeamLab users’ suggestions in our special feedback form to understand your needs and expectations. Today’s post illustrates two points: the value and importance of your feedback and our determination to be truly client-oriented company developing TeamLab according to your requests. But no more lyrics, let’s pass to the facts. So, what are we going to implement from the features you’ve suggested? Let’s start with the Projects section. The good news is that it will be essentially revised this month. We’ve… -
Importing Data from Google Apps into TeamLab
20 Apr 2012 | 9:08 amHello to everyone, The topic of my today’s post is data transfer from Google Apps to your TeamLab portal. Let’s stipulate at the very beginning what exactly you can import: contacts from your Google account as TeamLab portal users, your documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, and forms from Google Docs, your calendars from Google Calendar. Importing Contacts as TeamLab Portal Users Being a portal administrator and having the contacts you need for your business at your Google account, you can import them to your TeamLab portal as users. To do that, please proceed through… -
TeamLab user success story: “TeamLab offers every features necessary, without jumping back and forth with different applications”
5 Apr 2012 | 10:55 amAs you know, we generally ask TeamLab users to share their opinion on TeamLab use, its pros and cons. Today we publish the case study of Steven Ma, the Founder / Executive Director of Intrinsic. His story illustrates that TeamLab can replace a whole bunch of different online and desktop applications providing all the necessary functionality and satisfying all business needs. 1. Please tell us about you and your company, its specifics and size. Intrinsic is a small startup company that seeks to transform impoverished communities in Africa by providing jobs. Local artisans are paid a fair wage… -
Trying out the Mass Mailing Feature at TeamLab
30 Mar 2012 | 9:24 amAs someone of you already knows, an important feature was added into the CRM module with the latest release and I would like to lay our cards on the table. The option I’m telling you about is mass mailing and it’s available in beta version only. Reading this post, you will learn how to access, use and enjoy it forgetting any other email marketing services. Let’s stipulate at the very beginning that only portal administrators have the right to all these advantages! From now on you can generate a recipient list and use any third-party emailing program or try out sending emails… -
How to Gain More Prospective Customers Effortlessly
21 Mar 2012 | 5:00 pmHi to everyone, Today I’ll tell you about an effective way of getting new leads with practically no effort introducing you a new feature of the CRM module – website contact form. It lets you generate the source code of a contact form with custom number of fields which you can embed into your website. Filling in the form in the Internet, your prospective customers will provide you with their contact details that will be automatically added into the contact list of your CRM system on the TeamLab portal constantly enriching your client database. There’s no secret that the goal of…
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MARTIN WEBSTER, ESQ.
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Priorities for Life
15 May 2012 | 4:23 pmA few weeks ago I wrote about life balance and setting priorities. Today I thought I’d share the advantages of setting the right priorities. Knowing your priorities is empowering. Our heath, well-being, focus and enthusiasm benefit. To recap, my priorities are: Self Family Work Friends Everything else If you’re one of my regular readers you’ll know that I started a new job earlier this year. I’m accountable for a new business function. Understandably this requires much commitment and extra work. Nonetheless, I relish the challenge. However, to get through periods of… -
What Happened?
10 May 2012 | 5:45 pmWhat has happened? Most of my visitors come via Google. Overnight the number of visitors dropped by more than half. That was three weeks ago. I’ve googled Google. But I can’t find a definitive reason for this. In March 2012 I decided to self host this Web site after two good year with WordPress.com. I had used domain mapping for more than a year so the switch over was straightforward. I only had to change my name servers. Google Analytics At the same time I gave Martin Webster, Esq. a face-lift. A new theme and menu plus more content added every week. The number of visitors… -
Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on an HP Mini 5012
6 May 2012 | 2:09 pmI’m running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin with the GNOME Shell on my HP Mini 5102 netbook. This post explains – in brief – how to install Ubuntu with support for hibernation and the GNOME Shell. Whilst Ubuntu has an upgrade option I suggest you do a clean install. This is particularly important if you use non-standard package archives (PPAs.) To keep your data and settings safe make use of the wide range of cloud services available. The HP Mini 5102 netbook has a 64 bit architecture. However, I recommend you use the 32 bit edition of Ubuntu since the most memory… -
There Is No Right Point of View
6 May 2012 | 9:21 amThere is no right point of view. There is my point of view. And there is your point of view. Most of us like a person who comes right out and says what he thinks — especially when he thinks what we think. But there is no right point of view. There is a popular point of view. A point of view that most share. There is a minority point of view. A point of view few share. But there is no right point of view. We are always right. We are always wrong. It all depends on how you look at things. Advances are made in every discipline by people with a small or personal point of view . Image:… -
Leadership and Friendship
2 May 2012 | 5:31 pmToday I complete a short series of posts influenced by the London 2012 Olympics and look at the third Olympic value: Celebrating friendship. Eight years ago Dwain Chambers tested positive for banned substances. He received a two-year athletics ban for cheating by using THG. His life-time Olympics ban was lifted this week. But I’m not interested in Chambers. No. I want to focus on Christian Malcolm (featured image) and his friendship with Chambers. What can leaders learn from this? What Is Friendship? Friendship is a relationship between friends. Friends care for one another, yet…
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Vertabase Blog
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Vertabase 5.1 Release Notes
10 May 2012 | 12:12 pmNew features of 5.1 include: Improved Project Schedule Usability by adding • New functionality directly on the project schedule pages, • Re-organizing the schedule action columns, • One-click task adding, • Custom and default schedule filter views and • Improved highlighting for better visibility when working with a project schedule; Faster Resource and Personnel Management with a • Redesigned user account page • One click to add someone to all projects • One click to remove someone from all projects • Easy access for… -
Products Are Hard
30 Apr 2012 | 10:37 amI just learned about this conference focused on people who make things and had to pass it along. Products Are Hard The focus is on the craft of product creation… What a great idea -product makers unite! -
Technology Hurts Communication
24 Apr 2012 | 2:19 pmThat was the resounding conclusion from an informal survey of roughly 180 people who attended my session today at the PMI GLC Spring Symposium. Technology gets in the way of people interacting. And what’s worse, since technology makes it easy for anyone to publish information/communication and republish/forward it, technology actually makes it harder for people to communicate by raising the level of background “noise.” Considering that a large chunk of “meaning” in a communication comes from context, this extra background noise degrades the value of any… -
New Pricing Plans for Vertabase Project Management Software
16 Mar 2012 | 12:48 pmVertabase is happy to announce the release of our newly revamped price packages. We have 4 easy pricing plans starting at $150/month for 5 users with 500MB of storage space. There is a package for everyone. And the great thing about each package is that you have access to the full suite of features that makes Vertabase a comprehensive tool set for non-technical and technical users. The pricing applies across all user levels, eliminating the need to figure out license types. You can customize permissions and people’s roles directly to fit your workflow using our popular, flexible user… -
Let Technology Help, and Not Hinder, Effective Communication
8 Mar 2012 | 8:08 amTechnology is an integral component of the modern, distributed project team. But it can be a double-edged sword. It makes distributed teams possible, on the one hand. While on the other, it can get in the way of true, effective communication –especially across cultural boundaries. I am giving a presentation at the Spring Symposium of the PMI Great Lakes Chapter on this topic. The presentation will give real-world, hands-on information on how to use technology to improve communication and avoid the pitfalls of using technology for communication. It is geared for project managers and…
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Project Management Professional Mentor-www.ritetracconsult.com.ng
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PMBOK 5th Edition- Checklist of some key changes
14 May 2012 | 4:46 pmPMBOK 5th Edition-Checklist of some key changes PMI –Project Management Institute USA has constantly over the years reviewed their PMBOK(Project Management Body Of Knowledge) which is the reference book for the institute's PMP Certification Credentials. This Post is to enlighten you on some of the key changes going forward. Please Note: This post is in regards to the Project Management Institute's exposure draft of the Project Management Body of Knowledge, Fifth Edition early this year. PMBOK Version 5 won't be out till the 4th Quarter of 2012; and new restructured PMP exam test will… -
FAQs about the PMP Exams
7 May 2012 | 5:24 amFAQ-Frequently Asked Questions Project Management what is it about? Project Management is a management concept/principle applied to manage change, increase organisational efficiency, improve productivity, and increased returns on investment using standardised techniques, methods, tools and processes. How relevant is project management? Relevant in all fields of endeavour. Infact the western world-multinational corporations, blue-chip companies, government agencies and private companies drive their processes using project management processes and techniques. Is project management of any… -
What are the Five Conflict Resolution Modes? And which one do you use most often?
2 May 2012 | 4:33 pmWhat are the Five Conflict Resolution Modes? And which one do you use most often? When you understand how you handle conflict, you can begin to understand when your approach is effective and when it is not. Then you can learn to adapt your behavior and draw from different conflict resolutions styles as-needed. There are five conflict handling modes and one of these is your preferred mode. These five modes come from the TKI or Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. What is the TKI? The TKI is a questionnaire designed to measure how you tend to handle inter-personal conflict. This is… -
Nigerian Graduates and CAPM
23 Apr 2012 | 10:45 amNigerian Graduates and CAPM Nigerian graduates must be proactive in adding value to their resume as early as possible in their career. One of the relevant certifications that stands out is the CAPM stands for: Certified Associate Project Management from Project Management Institute,(PMI) USA. This certification is accepted worldwide as proof of project management competency. Having a CAPM certification proves that the candidate has project management knowledge of industry best practices, as well as capability to study any environment with vision of enhancing problems regarding projects. It is… -
Must watch Project Management Blogs
2 Mar 2012 | 8:41 amMust watch Project Management Blogs (0-5 year old)*Add Value, Learn and Share with your colleagues www.thelazyprojectmanager.com…
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Deep Fried Brain Project - PMP and CAPM Certification Exam Prep Blog
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The Holes in your PMBOK Guide
13 May 2012 | 9:16 amThe PMBOK Guide is the bible for the PMP exam. But is it really perfect? Many project management experts have done research on this subject and highlighted issues, both from practical and academic... -
BrainBOK ITTO Explorer - Process Interactions and Data Flow Mapping
28 Apr 2012 | 10:59 amBrainBOK ITTO Explorer is an innovative and unique tool that aims to bring the entire PMBOK Guide to just one screen. Since its launch on Dec 25, 2010, nearly 13,000 PMP and CAPM aspirants around the... -
BrainBOK ITTO Explorer - Inspiration, Idea and Need for Improvement
28 Apr 2012 | 4:48 amRecently I came across an extremely talented and skilled professional, who was preparing for PMP certification. He came across as a very unique individual, a person with a very visually-oriented... -
Certified ScrumMaster Training - Review and Feedback
28 Apr 2012 | 3:40 amAs I mentioned in the previous two posts, I attended a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) class in Singapore, last week. The course was conducted by GoodAgile, and offered by ISS, NUS. One of my colleagues... -
Scrum - from a Skeptic's Point of View
20 Apr 2012 | 9:22 amThree days of training and a certification exam later, I'm now officially a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). The 3 days spent in the class was time well-spent. It was a good and refreshing experience...
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BradEgeland.com - Blog
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What Workflow Management Should Be
11 May 2012 | 12:34 amThink workflow management? What comes to mind? Wikipedia defines a workflow management system as this… “A workflow management system is a computer system that manages and defines a series of tasks within an organization to produce a final outcome or outcomes. Workflow management systems allow the user to define different workflows for different types of jobs or processes.” Blah, blah, blah. Sounds mundane and it is. Let’s consider what we should be able to expect now, in 2012, from workflow management software. It should be web-based. It… -
SMBs: Do You Need Social Media?
5 May 2012 | 7:30 pmSocial media is out there and it isn’t going away. It’s not just Facebook either. I’m not going to even mention Myspace….sorry Justin Timberlake…it’s not relevant anymore and never will be again. What about Twitter? What about LinkedIn? Facebook Facebook is for friends and family. It can be about business – but not so much in corporate environments…except possibly for closed groups allowing collaboration among team members. And yes, it’s for Red Lobster reaching out to you with couplons for your… -
Reinventing the Spreadsheet for Project Management
4 May 2012 | 5:14 pmThere are literally thousands of Project Management tools on the market. THOUSANDS. While so many choices may seem like a dream, it can quickly become a nightmare. Each product comes with its own methodology, UI, structure, and functionality which makes finding, learning and using the ideal one for your project and team difficult.It’s also why most people, after they search for their ideal purpose-built tool, return to old standby: the trusty spreadsheet. Outside of power users who rely on tools such as Microsoft Project, spreadsheets are the dominant tool of choice (along with email)… -
Issue Management Part 5 - Using Consistent Terminology
20 Apr 2012 | 3:40 pmAs with any project, program, methodology, or system the terminology you and your team use must be consistent in order to breed understanding and productivity. Have you ever gone to work for a new organization or taken on a project in a new industry and wished someone had published a glossary of terminology and acronyms? I know I have…I’ve even go so far as to create my own along the way and offered to share them with whoever was interested...and there was always interest because there were always those who didn’t know all the terminology but figured they should… -
How Tupac Shakur Inspired Me Toward Greener Business Practices
17 Apr 2012 | 9:33 pmYes, this is an odd one. I'm no fan of rap. I'm no fan of Tupac, dead or alive. And I certainly don't approve of his lyrics. However, his recent post-mortem appearance (lyric/language content warning) rapping two songs - including one with Snoop Dogg - at the Coachella music festival in California a few days ago was nothing short of amazing. First described as a hologram costing millions of dollars it turns out it was actually a $400,000 CGI (computer-generated imagery). Still, it was cool, and it got me thinking.Actually, I've had…
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Jama Software Blog
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How to Align Agile Development with Business Priorities
10 May 2012 | 1:33 pmJoin us next Wednesday - May 16, 2012 – for our new webinar on Agile Planning. What you’ll learn: Businesses choose Agile to speed time to market of their products and stay nimble and responsive to constantly changing customer needs. As development cycles accelerate, it is more important than ever for project teams to ensure [...] -
Social Traceability with Derwyn Harris
2 May 2012 | 4:45 pmToday, the Sticky ToolLook newsletter from Stickyminds.com featured Jama Contour and conducted a short Q&A with Derwyn Harris, co-founder and senior solutions architect at Jama Software. In the interview he discusses “social traceability” in software development. - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - Sticky tool look: Would [...] -
TEDx Portland: No project is too daring if you’re passionate about it.
2 May 2012 | 10:13 amOn April 21, a few of us attended the Portland TEDx session, which brought in speakers like Hideshi Hamaguchi, Sahar Alnouri, and David Terry. Per the typical TED: Ideas worth spreading format, each speaker was given about 12 minutes to talk about this year’s topic: uncharted territory. Topics ranged from innovative design philosophies in architecture, restorative ecological [...] -
Health Information Exchange – Creating Member Transparency, Collaboration & Socialization
25 Apr 2012 | 3:13 pmThis week Regence received recognition from Forrester Research related to myRegence.com for cracking “the transparency code.” MyRegence.com has been around since 2005 to support members in searching for doctors, nearby providers, comparison tools, treatment cost estimates, and socializing with other members looking for the same information. Although Regence isn’t the only payer providing such a [...] -
Book Review: The Social Organization: How to Tap the Collective Genius of your Customers and Employees
23 Apr 2012 | 3:24 pmHello! I’m Morgan, a newbie at Jama (just had my two month “Jamanniversary!”). I’ve just finished The Social Organization: How to Tap the Collective Genius of your Customers and Employees by Anthony Bradley and Mark McDonald and I’d like to share what I think are the significant take-aways. The book is dense with information about social [...]
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Strategic PPM
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VIDEO – The Danger of Trusting Experts
16 May 2012 | 6:30 amInteresting talk from Noreena Hertz on the dangers of trusting experts, and the implications for how our brains work and decision making. When I watch the video I think of the estimation processes for projects and how they are likely subject to the same errors and biases. -
What Project Managers Can Learn From Advertisers
17 Apr 2012 | 9:01 amAdvertising briefs are a specific type of project with three characteristics: 1. Extreme creativity. The goal with any advertising work is to come up with something sufficiently original to break through all the clutter. 2. Reliance on client management. It is not enough to merely come up with a great ad, but to make sure the client believes in it too. 3. Ongoing iteration. This reflects the creative process where the goal is to sift through ideas to find the highest quality solution before the deadline. The Creative Process Illustrated by Glenn Griffin and Deborah Morrison, interview… -
Interesting Ideas For Managing Conflict
21 Mar 2012 | 6:01 amFrom Jason Fried’s article in Inc some interesting suggestions on dealing with “conflict” or more generally situations where people can’t agree. Consider trading the decision. If it’s relatively small, consider saying “Ok you win this time, but I’ll take the next decision.” Determine who wants it more. Let the person with greater passion behind their view take the decision. This is the difference between counting votes and weighing them. Clearly, for larger decisions these tactics risk worsening the outcome, but for smaller issues, these… -
Modelling Change Management
7 Feb 2012 | 6:20 amFor such a complex process, change management can be modeled mathematically using basic and remarkably simple assumptions, or rules. The Nobel prize winner, Thomas Schelling as done so. The sequence below shows segregation occurring where each red and blue dot is a “person” and they each want to live next to at least 2 neighboring dots of the same color out of their 4 total neighbors, the result of the simple and apparently moderate rule is total segregation after a period of time. What’s fascinating is that an apparently minor rule or constraint leads to this level of… -
The Winner’s Curse And How To Solve It
16 Jan 2012 | 7:30 amThe winner’s curse comes out of economic theory, but is very relevant to any project manager outsourcing work to vendors. Essentially if you are bidding out work where: The costs are uncertain You are going to pick the lowest bidder Then there’s a good chance the vendor you pick won’t make any money out of the contract. This is because if the cost of the work is uncertain, all vendors are essentially guessing at the cost, and that’s fine. The problem is that in picking the cheapest vendor you are choosing the one who’s guessed lowest. However, based on the wisdom…
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Kelly's Contemplation
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The 3 Phases of an Agile Project
16 May 2012 | 5:00 amAgile is a great buzzword in project management these days. It is rare to find a job description without it listed as a requirement and at least every other client asks for an agile methodology. As popular as it has come, so many Waterfall PMs don't know where to start. This post will provide a basic overview of how an agile project might flow. -
Does ‘Manager’ Really Belong in the Title Project Manager?
10 Apr 2012 | 11:02 amDoes Manager really belong in the title Project Manager? Isn't Project Management a stripped down version of 'real' management? Join the discussion! -
3 Things to Know About Agile
21 Mar 2012 | 9:54 amAs a traditional waterfall project manager, I am now engulfed in the ways of Agile and wanted to share a few thoughts that every newbie must keep in mind as they move to the other side of the tracks. -
A Day In The Life of a Project Manager (Okay, 2 days)
7 Mar 2012 | 7:19 amWhile Project Management does require strong communications, budgeting, and so on; there are several days in which the PM is pushing through some very basic blocking and tackling. In this post, I share insight into a few days of my life as a PM. -
A Cast Away Returns
2 Mar 2012 | 5:02 pmIt has been a long time (really long) since I last posted. I promise to get back to my weekly posts. In the meantime, I have a challenge for the PM Community.
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Project Management Tips || Project Management, Collaboration and Knowledge Management Blog
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Avoiding the Missed Deadline Problem – Part 2
15 May 2012 | 2:56 pmIn Part 1 of this two-part series, we began to look at missed project deadlines and the affects they can have on the project and more importantly, the customer’s perception of how well you and your team are performing on the project. Missed deadlines can very quickly start to affect the customer’s satisfaction with your team’s performance as well as your ability to deliver a final, usable solution in a timely manner. We discussed how unreasonable deadlines can come about. In this final segment, well consider three more potential causes of missed project deadlines. The need for… -
Avoiding the Missed Deadline Problem – Part 1
14 May 2012 | 1:00 pmIn Part 1 of this two-part series on missed project deadlines we will start to discuss what causes them and how you can react. Ever had a project with no missed deadlines? Seriously now…be honest. It’s the nature of the beast that project deadlines get missed. You can’t build slack time into every task and on some brutal projects you may not have the opportunity to build ANY slack time into ANY tasks. But for the most part, a couple of missed deadlines are not normally a sign of a project in extreme danger. It’s just part of the process – but they can be warning signs. And… -
When Your Project Client Wants to Hire You – Part 2
9 May 2012 | 1:47 pmIn Part 1 of this two-part series on things to consider when you are consulting for a client on a project and that client indicates an interest in hiring you, we looked at the consideration of potentially clashing personalities. This is especially critical for me as I am often consulting for SMBs and working directly with the leadership of the organization – the real entrepreneurial spirit behind the company. I have ideas of my own so I have to be careful to take something like this into consideration and avoid walking into a situation that simply will never turn out well. Below are two… -
Why are PMOs disbanded?
9 May 2012 | 12:45 amResults from a new research study by ESI International show that company restructuring is the top reason why PMOs are disbanded. The benchmarking survey, entitled The State of the Project Management Office: On the Road to the Next Generation, investigates the current role of the Project/Programme Management Office (PMO), its development to full-blown maturity and value for the overall business. Based on responses from over 3,000 respondents in more than 17 industries on six continents, the research shows that PMOs are still facing a difficult time justifying their existence. The number of… -
When Your Project Client Wants to Hire You – Part 1
8 May 2012 | 5:16 pmFor those of us who are consulting independently as project managers, there are always lots of interesting, conflicting, and possibly career-changing events that can take place on any consulting engagement. We can’t prepare for all of them, but we can learn to share ideas and advice with each other along the way so we are as prepared as possible to deal with these topics as they come up on our projects. For this two-part series, I’d like to consider the following – what do you do when your project client indicates that they would like you to come on board as a full time employee?
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Business And Project Planning And Management
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7 Keys To Maximum Profitability - For Business Planners, Project Managers, And Other Successfully-Inclined Individuals
12 May 2012 | 5:44 pmMaximizing profits (within ethical, legal and quality control parameters) is one of the very fundamental objectives of an for-profit enterprise. Yes, we'd like to build value for stakeholders, mitigate and contain risk, and meet other objectives -- but none of these can be attained without profit maximization. As a working tool for any professional involved in either starting, building or improving a business, I have distilled a rather extensive process into seven simple keys. While this list is by no means all-inclusive, it provides what I believe is an excellent analytic, evaluative and… -
S.W.O.T. Analysis - Made Simple
24 Apr 2012 | 4:13 pmIf you are preparing a business or project plan, it is likely that you will be requested to perform some type of S.W.O.T. analysis, which is a very simple, subjective and qualitative analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to which your business, strategy, project or team shall be subject. You may also perform a periodic self-SWOT analysis on a personal level, wherein you evaluate yourself as a leader or performer. If you know your own SWOT, it can be a fabulous self-education tool. While its use in presentations to outside parties is principally as an additional… -
Austerity Never Works; But Cost Containment Does. Know The Difference.
4 Apr 2012 | 1:42 pmWe recently discussed the notion of Breakeven Analysis, and actions of increasing contribution margin (price less variable costs) per unit; increasing the number of units sold, and trying to reduce fixed costs (our minimum hurdle) without injuring the profit-producing mechanism. Nonproductive fixed costs are purely wasteful and they accumulate in the business budget like dust over time. Productive fixed costs (those costs which are in some form or fashion related to or necessary to the production of revenues and/or the production of the business' product or service have to be separated from… -
Breakeven Analysis: Your Tipping Point -- The Checklist.
27 Mar 2012 | 11:25 amYour business is said to break even at that precise point where your net profits [your price per unit less your variable cost per unit] x [your total volume of units sold] equals your fixed costs in total. If you don't breakeven, you will incur a loss, and eventually have to go out of business or play golf with the right politician or lobbyist so you can be subsidized as your continue to fail. Bailouts? No such thing. They're really subsidized, prolonged losses. From an "Economic Darwinism" point of view, they are bad for any business (eventually), and terribly bad for any nation's economy. -
Sensitivity Analysis: Your Stress Test - [Note: A More Detailed Re-Posting]
17 Mar 2012 | 3:58 pmDuring the course these three next articles (starting with this one) on The Business And Project Planning And Management Blog, we will cover three crucial topics. Each one is essential to thorough business planning, project planning and risk assessment. They are: 1) Sensitivity Analysis -- Your Business' "Stress Test"; 2) Breakeven Analysis -- Your Business' "Tipping Point"; 3) Variance Analysis -- Your Business' "Marksmanship". Sensitivity Analysis (your business' 'stress test') is one of the most useful analytic and planning tools ever invented and it is dramatically underutilized. It is an…
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Ron Rosenhead
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How do you motivate people?
10 May 2012 | 5:27 amMy daughter came home last week. She was bubbly and jubilant. She has one week to go in her current job and in advance of the new job, the company sent her a huge hamper with all of the food products she will be ‘selling.’ There was lots of food, (her words) lots of wine and a card signed by … Read More > -
Can you keep a promise?
8 May 2012 | 5:29 amBy Alison Smith, Project Agency Last Thursday, the people of London where Project Agency are based, voted in the Mayoral elections. This year is a key election year as Boris Johnson, who was elected on Thursday will make his mark in history as the Mayor of London during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and also for the London 2012 Olympics … Read More > -
How good is your project monitoring and control? What effect does it have on your projects?
1 May 2012 | 4:51 amOver the years I have seen a lot of negativity from participants on our project management courses. However, I noticed last year that when we spoke about project monitoring and control within companies the level of cynicism seemed to increase. So, I decided turn the cynicism into something that course participants could go away and do something about. I introduced … Read More > -
Where’s your project & programe management strategy
24 Apr 2012 | 2:40 amThis morning’s news was full of criticism of the UK Government for its lack strategic thinking is leading to a “patch and mend” approach. The Public Administration Committee said an absence of national strategy was leading to “mistakes” such as those following the recent Budget. Now, there is NO way that I am going to get into a debate about … Read More > -
Crossing the line and learning from it
23 Apr 2012 | 9:13 amBy Alison Smith, Project Agency I managed to see the recent Formula 1 Grand Prix from China. The teams spent the winter months (when not racing) redesigning their cars and making adjustments according to the new rules in place. They tested the cars in wind tunnels, and on tracks at both their factories and all over the world, to ensure … Read More >
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manage well
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Seek new assignments for things you have not done before & develop deep expertise in one area…
16 May 2012 | 8:28 amSamir interviewed me for his wonderful blog Future of Project Management. It is all about my perspectives on how one can seek new assignments for things that one has never done before and develop deep expertise in one area to create an enriching and satisfying career. -
How to establish credibility in a democratic workplace?
5 Mar 2012 | 11:45 amFlattening of organizations is an oft-repeated phrase that means different things to different people. My favorite connotation is what I call as ‘democratization of management’, which essentially means a more symmetric power distribution between erstwhile ‘management’ and the erstwhile ‘worker’- if at all such words make sense anymore. While there are serious advantages of such ...more -
Role of Integrative Thinking in Project Management
24 Feb 2012 | 9:11 amThe conventional wisdom is to try to find a via media but that is perhaps meekly surrendering to complexity by taking a short-cut to a suboptimal solution. He argues that the some of the most exceptional leaders do not succumb to the obvious “either/or” thinking but rather work patiently towards synthesizing the best from both of these opposing views to create a best-of-breed solution that is far superior to either of these. He calls it “integrative thinking”. -
Time to throw away your Talent Pyramid
25 Jan 2012 | 11:24 amAsk any HR Manager on talent profile for their organization and you will get a ‘talent pyramid’ – an odd-looking ‘pyramid’ that is supposed to reflect the talent profile of the organization. Ask them further – what is the measure of ‘talent’ in this pyramid, and chances are 9 on 10 that the answer will be ‘experience’. This experience is typically the number of years of (supposedly relevant) experience in the workforce, and pretty much determines how roles, and consequently the compensation are derived out of it. Question is – is that the right measure of talent? -
Inexperience is the new Competency?
19 Dec 2011 | 8:44 pmPast experience is often considered to be a proxy for future performance. After all, when there is no single perfect way to forecast someone’s future performance, the best you can do is to look at the past track record and extrapolate it! However, experience will only tell that if the given person were to undergo similar experience once again, would they achieve similar results? But, how do you know that experience is not really getting in the way of future success?
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Project Management That Works!
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Effective Waste Management: Curb the Ego's and Meetings!
7 May 2012 | 9:47 amIt amazes me how much time and money companies and organizations can simply throw away to satisfy various egos. There are so many examples to pull from: - Executives having outrageous demands and systems just to see information "their way." There are companies out there that will take information from a system of record, massage it in a variety of tools to present to the executive team. The executive team will question the data or make adjustments and then another team will adjust the data in the system of record. When asked why not just look at the system of… -
Turning Around Failing Projects (Excerpt)
11 Apr 2012 | 8:50 amA couple of people have asked me about my Turning Around Failing Projects speeches. Here is a small excerpt from my book Project Management That Works (a best seller published by AMACOM in 2008)The statistics are staggering. The propensity for project failure is enormous. The general accepted failure rates range from as low as 59% to an unbelievable 94% of projects failing to meet their goals. When studying project failure, the survey questions try to determine if the project met the desired scope, timeframe, or met all of the requirements that the project set out to complete. … -
My Next Big Thing!
26 Mar 2012 | 9:52 amFor my many followers and fans, we have exciting news. We are getting very close to launching the next big endeavor for me. Many of you responded to a request for an endorsement of my speaking and seminars. I am now one of the most recommended people on LinkedIn. You can view my profile here and if you haven't recommended me yet, I would appreciate your endorsement. Now to the subject at hand; I have finally found the question that I need to ask and to answer. That question is, "What Do I Stand For?" Think about that question. Think about your answer. Do you know? Do you know… -
My Travel Pet Peeves!
27 Feb 2012 | 8:27 amWhen you travel as much as I do, you begin to see patterns and things that begin to rub you the wrong way. Here are a few things that absolutely drive me crazy when I travel (in no particular order).1) Using your cell phone on speaker phone mode in the gate area. Why do you people do that? Do you think we care about the conversation? I recently joined into one. A lady was talking about how bad her man was treating her to a girlfriend. It would be one thing if this was being done in a corner somewhere. Instead, I was sitting in a chair in the gate and she sat down right… -
How to Complete a Project Audit
14 Feb 2012 | 8:55 amThe great and oft-quoted philosopher Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." A great project manager may tell you, "The unexamined project is not worth doing." In order for a project team to assess, refine and improve its process, that process must be comprehensively and critically evaluated. Toward that end, the project audit is an invaluable tool.Project audits are conducted to discover and then examine any issues or challenges that arise as a team works to complete its assigned task. The practical application of this fact-finding is of course to learn from experience…
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The Critical Path by Derek Huether
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Hawthorne Effect Coaching Dilemma
11 May 2012 | 10:21 amThe Hawthorne Effect is something I wrote about over a year ago. Previously as a Project Management Adviser and now as an Enterprise Agile Coach, I’ve seen it numerous times. To all those currently advising or coaching, do you tend to see clients trying to impress you? The Hawthorne Effect refers to the tendency of some people to modify their behavior, when they know they are being watched, due to the attention they are receiving from researchers, auditors, or coaches. This effect was first discovered and named by researchers at Harvard University who were studying the… -
Epics, User Stories and Tasks
6 May 2012 | 7:42 amI was working with a client this last week and I overheard one team member trying to explain the difference between Epics, User Stories, and Tasks. He finally offered an analogy. The Analogy Epics are to User Stories are to Tasks as Rocks are to Pebbles are to Sand. I thought it was a clever description of comparing relative size and complexity of work. But would it pass muster with the Agile Community? I figured I would send it out to the Twitter-verse and see if any conversations would result. The result was an excellent conversation with David Koontz. The Conversation Though I will… -
PMI Eating its Own Dogfood
4 May 2012 | 6:48 pmI am happy to report that the PMI-ACP Community Guide project is off and running. Each day, I see new content being added. I wonder if this is how Jimmy Wales felt in the early days of Wikipedia. Our first measure of success is to get the content of each page of The Guide as close to the vision of the ACP Steering Committee as quickly as possible. Our second measure of success is to reach a tipping point, whereby the community (not the support team) is maintaining the guide. Remember, future versions of the ACP exam will be based on this Guide. Community Guide To reaffirm, there… -
Free Agile PDU List
25 Apr 2012 | 10:20 amI was juggling some ideas on how I could list some free “Agile” PMI-ACP or PDUs for people. I think there is a crazy amount of free resources for PMP PDUs. Because of that, I think there needs to be more giving for the Agile contact hours or PDUs. So, without getting too spamming and self-promoting, please feel free to list some places you know of that have free PDUs or contact hours to offer. Make sure you list which PMI PDU category it is applicable to. I will add them as well. I’m going to be a little self-promoting here. If you would like some Category… -
ACP Community Guide vs AgileBOK
24 Apr 2012 | 2:52 pmThe Community Guide of the PMI-ACP (login required) is an initiative of the PMI Agile Community of Practice to provide ongoing support for the PMI-ACP agile certification. PMI Today recently highlighted the importance of community volunteers to create the certification, so it only follows that our community be the ones to mature it into the future. What about the AgileBOK? There will be no Agile Body of Knowledge (AgileBOK) supported by PMI. PMI does not own, maintain, or support ANY web presence that lives outside of PMI.org. There is not, and never should be an authoritative standard…
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all pro
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Amazon Kindle Fire Snags Absolute Majority of Android Tablet Market
27 Apr 2012 | 9:59 amAmazon has rushed to the top of the Android Tablet competition with its Kindle Fire, which took an absolute majority of the Android tablet market. The Kindle Fire, which began shipping on November 15, 2011, represented 54.4 percent of all Android tablets sold in the U.S., according to a new report from comScore, a data and analytics firm. The entire Samsung Galaxy Tab lineup came in second place, with a 15.4 percent market share. All other Android tablets came in at less than 10 percent: Google’s Motorola Zoom stopped at seven percent; Sony’s Tablet S got 0.7 percent. Compared to… -
Referral Business Becomes More Important Than Ever
25 Apr 2012 | 11:04 amConsumers are influenced more by what their friends say than what ads are online, at least according to recent Nielsen research. The Global Trust in Advertising report shows that 92% percent of consumers trust what their friends or family recommends more than any other form of advertising. With consumer confidence in more traditional forms of advertising on the decline and a huge growth in the likelihood that people are going to ask each other about a business or service, it leaves a lot of us wondering how can we be sure we’re getting recommended? The research from Neilson isn’t… -
Staying WiFi Connected While Airborne – Gogo’s IPO Filing
25 Apr 2012 | 10:04 amGogo, the industry leader for in-flight WiFi, recently filed for its initial public offering, in which it hopes to raise $100 million. The S-1 filing, sent in December 2011, highlights the opportunity for Gogo’s in-flight WiFi, and it also gives insight into the future of this freshly pioneered market–Internet connected flights. Gogo launched in 2008 with 30 Internet-connected commercial aircraft. By September of 2010, it had connected 1,177 planes to Gogo Connectivity, the company’s in-flight WiFi service. This represented about 85% of all internet-enabled North American… -
Narrative Science Computers Write Articles Without Humans
18 Apr 2012 | 12:04 pmFeed a set of data to the computers at Narrative Science and they will detect significance and write a story, complete with turns of phrase, based on the facts. A story, in other words, written entirely by computers. Narrative Science, a Chicago-based firm, generated its first story in early 2010 by taking the stat sheets from a Northwestern Wildcats baseball game and feeding them to their computer. The computer took the data, framed it out into a narrative structure, and cranked out a grammatically correct, readable story. Wherever there is data, according to the company’s founders,… -
Arlington Tornado Teaches Social Media Lessons
17 Apr 2012 | 8:35 amImage Credit - Sent from a FriendOur business is located in Fort Worth, Texas, so naturally we know what’s going on in our local communities. Many of us commute from different areas of the metropolis into our fair offices. Last week, a few of those commuters watched with the rest of the nation as tornadoes moved through the neighborhoods of Lancaster and Arlington. The Arlington residents here (myself included) in the office froze in shock as an EF2 tornado ripped through highly populated districts. I want to first say that I have never been more proud to be a resident of Arlington,…
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Project Accelerator News
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Senior banking sector figures to speak at APM Conference
16 May 2012 | 8:23 amMore influential speakers have been added to the line-up at the APM Project Management Conference on Wednesday 27th June 2012. Two senior figures from the banking sector will be speaking alongside the selection of prominent speakers already confirmed by APM. Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez (pictured right), head of transversal portfolio management at BNP Paribas Fortis, and Andrew Holmes, business implementation director with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), will be taking to the speaker platform at the Art of the Possible themed conference at the new venue of 8 Northumberland Avenue in London. Antonio… -
12 Easy Ways to Earn PDUs
16 May 2012 | 7:17 amPDUs we need and PDUs we want. Professional Development Units (PDUs) dominate our minds, our conversations, and our spare time in the last quarter before our Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR) deadline. With a little proactive planning we can all make the PDU procurement process much easier. The bottom line is that we want the fast and consistent path to our PDUs… and we want them now! How do we accomplish this? By just ‘doing’ what ‘you do’. The easiest way to earn PDUs is to leverage what you currently do. Here is a short list of PDU eligible activities that might already… -
National Trust Launch Project Management Training Programme with Parallel Project Training
15 May 2012 | 11:44 amThe National Trust, Europe’s largest conservation organisation, has partnered with Parallel Project Training to develop a training programme that allies with the objectives of the National Trust and provides a complete training for associates that is cost-effective. The training will focus on developing the individuals within the organisation at all skill levels. The National Trust is a charitable organisation who relies on its supporters and the 4 million members to continue its work preserving historical landmarks and land of exceptional beauty throughout the UK. It sustains museums… -
The 12 Most Popular PMP Exam Preparation Tools
14 May 2012 | 6:18 amIf you are about to start studying for your Project Management Professional (PMP) exam, you’ll want to make sure your toolkit is bursting with things to help you on the journey to becoming a PMP. There are so many options to consider when looking at the study materials on the market that it can be difficult to know where to start. First, don’t be overwhelmed by the choice. The tools that your colleagues and classmates are using may not be the right ones for you. How do you learn best? Choose study materials that will help you prepare for PMP certification in a way that best suits your… -
New Survey Reveals Emergence of the Next-Generation Project Management Office
10 May 2012 | 6:21 amESI International, the world’s leading project management training company, today unveiled the findings of its latest annual benchmarking survey, “The State of the PMO: On the Road to the Next Generation.” The survey, which investigates the current role of the Project/Programme Management Office (PMO), its development to full-blown maturity and value for the overall business, reveals the emergence of a new kind of Project/Programme Management Office that ESI has identified as the “Next-Gen PMO.” What is considered a Next-Gen PMO? Based on responses from over 3,000 respondents…
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The Project Box
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Stop Focusing On Tasks! Build Effective Relationships And Lead!
11 May 2012 | 1:00 amEvery Summer we kick of our Summer Series and to launch this year’s series, I am pleased to bring you a guest post by Susanne Madsen, Author of ‘The Project Management Coaching Workbook – Six Steps to Unleashing your Potential’ She’s a seasoned Project Manager and has written a great book that provides easy-to-follow steps that anyone can use. The exercises and comprehensive insights will help anyone interested in learning about project management. Anyone considering Project Management should really consider getting her book. I have actively managed projects for over 15… -
Meet The Experts Tv – PMI
20 Apr 2012 | 6:06 amFull Episode Available Now Register Free To View VideoRegister This episode: Rory McCorkle and Priya Sethuraman Insights into Project Management Institute Certifications Rory McCorkle is a Product Manager of Credentials at the Project Management Institute (PMI), Rory is responsible for the Project Management Professional (PMP) credential, the most recognized project management certification in the world with over 460,000 credential holders in more than 180 countries. In this role, Rory supports the adoption of the credential by practitioners and organizations, while being… -
Importance of Training in Project Management
13 Apr 2012 | 1:00 amHave you ever walked into an auto parts shop trying to find the exact part(s) it takes to fix something on your car and the sales representative is not knowledgeable enough to answer your questions and provide you with good customer service to fix your vehicle? Not only may they not be able to provide you with the parts necessary, but most likely they cannot answer any questions that you may have on how to install the parts? The majority of these workers are becoming more computer dependent, as they cannot think or act without an input from the computer. This lack of training is becoming a… -
Podcast #1008 | Understanding Group Dynamics
6 Apr 2012 | 1:00 amIn this episode of The Project Box Podcast, Bernardo Tirado covers provides and in-depth look into Group Dynamics and shares the 3 areas to focus when forming a new team. Copyright © 2012 The Project Box, LLC This feed is for personal, non-commercial use only. The use of this feed on other websites breaches copyright. If this content is not in your news reader, it makes the page you are viewing an infringement of the copyright. (Digital Fingerprint: ) -
Meet The Experts Tv – Lindsay Scott
23 Mar 2012 | 10:13 amNow Available Register Free To View VideoRegister This episode: Lindsay Scott Insights on Project Management Recruiting Lindsay Scott, co-founded of Arras People – a UK based firm that specializes in project management recruitment, shares her insights on what project managers can do to land their next role. Previously, Lindsay had a progressive and successful career within the Consulting Division of Hewlett-Packard and was the PMO Manager for the European markets. Lindsay is an active member of the project management community in the UK and is the careers expert for…
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ZilicusPM Blog | Project Management & Collaboration
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ZilicusPM Project Management Software Launched on Google Apps Marketplace
10 May 2012 | 2:04 pmThe online project management and collaboration software – ZilicusPM, leaps forward with Google Apps integration. With this integration, ZilicusPM makes it more easier and collaborative to manage and deliver projects. ZilicusPM is now available to millions of Google Apps users through Google Apps Marketplace™ Houston, TX (PRWEB) May 10, 2012 Zilicus announced launch of its online project management software ZilicusPM on Google Apps Marketplace™ – an online store that offers web-applications which integrate with Google Apps. With the launch of ZilicusPM on Google Apps… -
Back To Basics – Project Planning (Part-VIII): Communication Plan
28 Apr 2012 | 5:51 amIn previous post we briefly touched how to planning risks of projects, in this post we will look at planning of project communications. You can jump to Project Planning | Project Scope | Delivery Schedule Planning | Resource Planning | Cost Planning | Quality Planning | Risk Planning | Communication Planning of the series. Communication Plan Projects get successfully delivery only when people work together. Project team can work together only when they know what they should do and they would know this, only when they are informed about it. That’s the precise reason why organizations should… -
Back To Basics – Project Planning (Part-VII): Risk Management
23 Apr 2012 | 8:50 amIn previous post we briefly touched the quality planning aspect of projects, in this post we will look at Risk Planning & Management. You can jump to Project Planning | Project Scope | Delivery Schedule Planning | Resource Planning | Cost Planning | Quality Planning | Risk Planning | Communication Planning parts of this series. Risk Management Plan Assuming you are responsible for setting up of a power plant and in the wake of recent mishaps occurred in some other country, government has enforced stringent compliance requirement of fail-safe mechanisms at every possible stages of power… -
Back To Basics – Project Planning (Part-VI): Quality Management
17 Apr 2012 | 3:35 amIn previous post we got a glimpse of cost planning, in this post we will look at quality planning. You can jump to Project Planning | Project Scope | Delivery Schedule Planning | Resource Planning | Cost Planning | Quality Planning | Risk Planning | Communication Planning parts of this series. Project Quality Planning There are various known approaches to ensure project quality – some of these are Six Sigma (6 σ) Cost of Quality (CoQ) Total Quality Management (TQM) Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) International Organization for Standardization 9001, etc. All of these approaches… -
Back To Basics – Project Planning (Part-V): Cost Planning
10 Apr 2012 | 1:30 pmIn previous posts, we looked at project planning in terms of resource management aspects. In this post, we are going to briefly look at another vital aspect of project planning – i.e. costs – budgeting. You can jump to Project Planning | Project Scope | Delivery Schedule Planning | Resource Planning | Cost Planning | Quality Planning | Risk Planning | Communication Planning parts of this series. Project Cost Planning Cost planning exercise helps to baseline the overall project budget in terms of money so that project sponsors & project steering committee can agree on project…
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PM Study Circle - Helping you for your PMP Exam preparation.
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Estimate To Complete (ETC) – An Another Project Forecasting Tool
14 May 2012 | 1:41 amEstimate To Complete (ETC) is an another Forecasting Tool in Project Cost Management. It is the expected amount of money that you will spend to complete the remaining work. For example, let us say that you have a project and about 30% of project is completed and 70% has to be completed. In this case, ...Read the Rest -
Estimate At Completion (EAC) – A Project Forecasting Tool
10 May 2012 | 11:52 amEstimate At Completion (EAC) is the project’s forecast value when the project finishes. It is only an indicator that how much it may cost you to complete the project. As you know that the projects are executed in real world. And in real world things do not always go in text-book way. There will be ...Read the Rest -
Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost Performance Index (CPI)
8 May 2012 | 5:48 amIn this blog I’m going to discuss Performance Indexes in Project Cost Management; i.e. Schedule Performance Index (SPI) and Cost Performance Index (CPI) Please note that, this is the fourth blog post for Earned Value Management (EVM) concepts. If you’re directly coming here through any search result or referral, then please go through my previous ...Read the Rest -
Schedule Variance (SV) & Cost Variance (CV) in Project Cost Management
6 May 2012 | 5:47 amIn my previous two blog posts, I have discussed about Earned Value Management (EVM) and its three basic elements; i.e. Planned Value (PV), Earned Value (EV) and Actual Cost (AC). In this blog post, we will move little further from previous articles. Please make sure that you understand the Earned Value Management (EVM) and its ...Read the Rest -
What is the PMP Exam Fee Refund Policy of PMI?
5 May 2012 | 12:24 amPMI’s PMP Exam refund policy says- If you have applied for the PMP Certification Exam, your application is approved, exam fee is deposited and you decide not to go ahead with the PMP Exam Certification process. In this case you can get your money back. To get the refund, you have to submit a written ...Read the Rest
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Ron Rosenhead
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How do you motivate people?
10 May 2012 | 5:27 amMy daughter came home last week. She was bubbly and jubilant. She has one week to go in her current job and in advance of the new job, the company sent her a huge hamper with all of the food products she will be ‘selling.’ There was lots of food, (her words) lots of wine and a card signed by … Read More > -
Can you keep a promise?
8 May 2012 | 5:29 amBy Alison Smith, Project Agency Last Thursday, the people of London where Project Agency are based, voted in the Mayoral elections. This year is a key election year as Boris Johnson, who was elected on Thursday will make his mark in history as the Mayor of London during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and also for the London 2012 Olympics … Read More > -
How good is your project monitoring and control? What effect does it have on your projects?
1 May 2012 | 4:51 amOver the years I have seen a lot of negativity from participants on our project management courses. However, I noticed last year that when we spoke about project monitoring and control within companies the level of cynicism seemed to increase. So, I decided turn the cynicism into something that course participants could go away and do something about. I introduced … Read More > -
Where’s your project & programe management strategy
24 Apr 2012 | 2:40 amThis morning’s news was full of criticism of the UK Government for its lack strategic thinking is leading to a “patch and mend” approach. The Public Administration Committee said an absence of national strategy was leading to “mistakes” such as those following the recent Budget. Now, there is NO way that I am going to get into a debate about … Read More > -
Crossing the line and learning from it
23 Apr 2012 | 9:13 amBy Alison Smith, Project Agency I managed to see the recent Formula 1 Grand Prix from China. The teams spent the winter months (when not racing) redesigning their cars and making adjustments according to the new rules in place. They tested the cars in wind tunnels, and on tracks at both their factories and all over the world, to ensure … Read More >
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PMORACLES
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Calm in the Eye of the Storm
12 May 2012 | 7:03 amStorm chasers are professionals (or should be) who watch for tornados and hurricanes during the summer months in the southern and Midwestern United States. Their goal is to get close enough to a storm to photograph and video it without incurring any harm to themselves. Some do it for the thrill, while others chase storms for legitimate research purposes. Though most are trained and experienced in what they do, they can in no way control the direction the storm will take (without warning, storms can often veer off in a new direction). One way to view the situation is as a high-stakes… -
Were the Three Stooges Really Good Project Managers?
24 Apr 2012 | 11:33 amBy Gareth Byatt, Gary Hamilton, and Jeff Hodgkinson with Eric Lamond (Larry Fine’s grandson) Background: For those of you not familiar with the Three Stooges, they were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: “Moe, Larry, and Curly” and “Moe, Larry, and Shemp,” among others. The film trio was originally composed of Moe Howard, brother Shemp Howard and Larry Fine.
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SaaS Project Management
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What are project deliverables?
3 May 2012 | 6:39 pmA deliverable describes a tangible or intangible object produced during a project with the intent of being delivered to the customer. Some Examples A deliverable is usually in the form of some sort of document, or other media file; but, a deliverable can also represent the completion of a task, such as installing a new piece of computer hardware. All deliverable should be tracked by your web based project management solution. The types of deliverables included will differ greatly between different types of projects. For example, a software company project may include some of… -
Best eBooks on Project Management
12 Jan 2012 | 6:33 pmSaaS, SaaS Project Management – Best eBooks on Project Management Busy professionals often do not have time to actually sit down and read a book. While an actual book is always nice to have, ebooks are often much more convenient. An eReader can often hold thousands of books and this can allow you to have a large library without having to find a spot for all those books. You can also easily take your books with you to work or lunch without breaking your back. Here are some of the best ebooks for SaaS project management. 1. A User’s Manual to the PMBOK Guide – This book is a… -
What is a PM Worth? Project Managers Salaries
2 Jan 2012 | 3:57 pmWhat is a PM Worth? Project Managers Salaries SaaS project management may seem like it would be a simple job. After all, all you have to do is keep a project running, right? In reality, it is a very difficult job that requires you to plan, organize, work with a team, and take an idea from a scribble on a piece of paper to the final product. A project may be something as simple as coming up with a new company logo or it could even be managing how a city would react to a natural disaster. You need certification for SaaS project management and project managers are paid according to what they are… -
Project Management Tips for Creative Professionals
28 Dec 2011 | 3:17 pmSaaS, SaaS project management – Project Management Tips for Creative Professionals Creative professionals are usually not very good at staying on task. This is not an insult to them. Their minds are busy creating and coming up with amazing ideas. Yet for anyone who works in SaaS project management or as any kind of freelancer, this can prove to be a very difficult challenge. If a freelancer is working on a project then they have to be the sales and support teams, the accountant, and the manager while still getting all of the work done. This may be even more challenging than managing a… -
How to Refine Your Project Management Skills
22 Nov 2011 | 12:00 amMore companies are recognizing the how important the role of their project manager is. The success of project managers cannot be achieved simply with technical skills alone. While, they are important in the project manager’s role, excellent soft skills are also required. Strong Communication Skills If you are nodding your head at this point, saying, “I know, but what else,” then you will want to read on. A project manager needs to be technically strong, highly motivated, and driven to succeed. These skills can always be improved upon and refined. Knowing how to…
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the view from here
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What can we learn about managing stress from a cheesy Hollywood comedy?
15 May 2012 | 5:27 amOne man’s cheese is another man’s treasure. For the last little while we have been writing about and discussing a variety of topics around here based on the 4 principles of this site (learn, share, accept and act) and thanks to a lot of you we have had the opportunity to enjoy some healthy engagement. … Continue reading » -
How do a lion, its pride and the need for validation influence our success?
11 May 2012 | 5:00 amDo you ever get the feeling you deserve more? Let me ask you, are you a lion? In the pride the alpha rules the pride, doesn’t he? He’s king. Has he worked hard to get there or was he born into the position? It doesn’t much matter how he got there, he’s there. One thing is … Continue reading » -
Ask a Leader: A quick hit on Productivity in the Creative Process
8 May 2012 | 5:30 amHow does this productivity thing affect your work as a design professional? In the business of design, regardless of the type of design you do, the creative process is a key component to the success of your deliverables, their viability and your ability to remain competitive. As design professionals we continually explore ways to improve … Continue reading » -
What are the 4 things management can do to help you keep your suit clean?
4 May 2012 | 4:57 amWhy do seagulls always get the bums rush? There are upwards of 70 breeds of gulls out there in North America alone and it doesn’t seem to matter what type they are or where you are they always seem to be the albatross of the waterfront bird. Cursed. Is the gull so hated because of … Continue reading » -
What 3 ideas Jim Collins suggests leaders use to {avoid} motivate {ing} people.
1 May 2012 | 4:59 amWe are going to try something a little different today. We are inviting Jim Collins into theviewfromhere today as a guest speaker. How did we get him? Well, without asking him, of course. He’s far, far too busy to make time for us little guys but nonetheless we are still impressed with his attitude for … Continue reading »
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Project Management Book Club
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The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management
13 May 2012 | 7:12 amThe Project Management Book Club is pleased to announce the upcoming online study of The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management with author Eric Verzuh! This has been called “the most practical book in project management!” Find out why The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management has been a top-seller for over a decade. The 4th edition (2012) covers all the bases, including new content on Agile and Portfolio Management. You’ll also hear how the author’s successful writing strategy can be applied to communication within your project. Establish the relevance. Explain the… -
Project Management Communications Bible
8 May 2012 | 6:53 amThe Project Management Book Club is pleased to announce the upcoming online study of Project Management Communications Bible with authors William Dow, PMP and Bruce Taylor! Order Your Copy! Communication is a critical, but often overlooked, component of successful project management. The Project Management Communications Bible is your one-stop guide to becoming a better communicator. Using the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) as a framework, this essential guide provides all the tools, techniques, and best practices you need to successfully… -
Green Project Management
31 Mar 2012 | 9:34 amThe Project Management Book Club is pleased to announce the upcoming online study of Green Project Management with authors Richard Maltzman and David Shirley! Winner of PMI’s 2011 David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award Detailing cutting-edge green techniques and methods, this book teaches project managers how to maximize resources and get the most out of limited budgets. It supplies proven techniques and best practices in green project management, including risk and opportunity assessments. With illustrative case studies and insights from acknowledged leaders in… -
Rescue the Problem Project
7 Mar 2012 | 6:31 amThe Project Management Book Club is pleased to announce the upcoming online study of Rescue the Problem Project: A Complete Guide to Identifying, Preventing, and Recovering from Project Failure with author Todd C. Williams!Back from the brink: presenting the first fail-safe recovery plan for turning around your most troubled projects!When budgets are evaporating, deadlines passing unmet, and tempers flaring, the project team must do more than point fingers of blame. With up to 65% of projects failing to meet goals and of those 25% canceled outright, what is needed is an objective process for… -
Information Technology Project Management
1 Mar 2012 | 11:37 amThe Project Management Book Club is pleased to announce the upcoming online study of Information Technology Project Management with best-selling author Kathy Schwalbe!Information Technology Project Management, Revised Sixth Edition, is the leading textbook on this topic, with over 250,000 copies sold in five different languages. Although project management has been an established field for many years, managing information technology requires ideas and information that go beyond standard project management. By weaving together theory and practice, this text presents an understandable,…
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Focus on Training Blog
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ITIL & Six Sigma – Service Management & Continuous Improvement
8 May 2012 | 9:55 amITIL and Six Sigma are not always thought of as being complementary – but they definitely can be. ITIL is all about optimisation of services to meet business requirements – and the latest versions of ITIL have explicitly embedded continuous service impovement as a central element . One theme at the recent Service Desk show in London was the need to “stop thinking like an IT Department and start delivering services like a business”. Roy Illsey of Ovum made the link between ITIL and “Lean”. This reminded us of a good paper prepared a couple of years ago which… -
ITIL Expert Training – New Course Options
4 May 2012 | 6:28 amIncreasing numbers of IT Service Management professionals are now working towards ITIL Expert certification. They will be helped by new fast track ITIL Intermediate training course options which provide 2 modules (and 6 credits) in just 5 days. The ITIL qualification structure is complex. Once you have passed Foundation you are faced with a wide range of course options which each involves an exam – and each allows you to earn credits. The ITIL Foundation certificate provides 2 credits. At least 15 credits must be earned at the Intermediate level. Then candidates take the Managing… -
Leadership & Management Skills – Mind the Gap!
3 May 2012 | 8:59 amThe need for leadership and management training is brought into sharp focus by a fascinating survey undertaken for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). In previous studies over 70% of employers reported a deficit of leadership and management skills. The latest research shows that many managers simply don’t know how bad they are at managing people. Ben Willmott of the CIPD claims that: “Too many employees are promoted into people management roles because they have good technical skills, then receive inadequate training and have little idea of how their… -
New MoR Management of Risk Exam Formats
3 Apr 2012 | 10:57 amMoR is the best practice guidance for risk management which sits alongside PRINCE2 and MSP. From 14 April a new format for the MoR exams will be introduced. MoR Foundation Exam Format – Multiple Choice; Closed Book Duration – 1 hour Questions – 75 Pass Mark – 50% MoR Practitioner Exam Format – Open Book (only MoR guidance allowed) Duration – 3 hours Questions – 4 Pass Mark – 50% MoR Re-registration Exam Format – Objective Testing (ie graduated multiple choice); Open Book Duration – 1.5 hours Questions – 2 Pass Mark – 50% MoR training courses follow a similar… -
VMware vSphere – Changing the IT Landscape
3 Apr 2012 | 10:30 amVMware revenues soar by a third as the proportion of major IT applications running on “virtual machines” edges towards 50%. The economics and the extra flexibility are compelling. There is strong demand for professionals equipped with VCP certification – familiar with how to administer the vSphere 5 software. The rise and rise of VMware is evidence of a rapidly changing IT landscape which is not fully recognised either by the general public – or by those working within it. The company recently reported that year on year revenues were up 32%. Perhaps more telling is the measure of…
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Applicom blogs
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News from Apollo: improved file uploads, improved bulk edit of time entries, and categories for logged time
15 May 2012 | 2:42 amIf you used Apollo for a while, reading the title is probably enough to go "Oh wow, that's good news". If you are reading it much later than May 2012, then you are probably reading old news... but still worthwhile knowing! read more -
Bulk editing of time entries in Apollo!
4 May 2012 | 4:13 amYes, Apollo finally supports bulk editing of time entries. You can now go to the project area, click on "time", run a detailed time report, and edit several entries at the same time (or, delete them): As you can see from the screenshot, you can change the status of your entries after ticking the right ones. You can also select them all. read more -
Log time, and report time, on a contact with Apollo
5 Apr 2012 | 7:53 amTime reports is one of the top feature requests in Apollo. While we can assure you that we are working on bulk actions on time reports (so that you can mark several of them as billed, for example), we are also enhancing the time reporting abilities in Apollo. read more -
What's new in Apollo: several small improvements
17 Mar 2012 | 8:08 pmAlthough development efforts have been focusing on upgrading Apollo's foundation libraries, we still worked towards improving our users' experience. So, if you used Apollo in the last few weeks, you probably noticed some small improvements that made it into it. Here is a quick list: Configurable project name in email subjects With the reply-by-mail feature, we discovered that Gmail would ignore anything in brackets when deciding where to file your email. This meant that two tasks with the same name, but belonging to two different projects, ended up in the same conversation. read more -
Billable time entries in Apollo
6 Mar 2012 | 11:47 pmIf you are an Apollo user, you probably already know that we really listen. One of the requests we receive often is to strengthen the time tracking abilities within Apollo. So, the latest feature that made it into Apollo is the "status" field for time entries. This will expand the possible use of timers, in terms of billing — which will be improved further over time. read more
