http://www.projectteamblog.com A project management blog for project professionals and consultants. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:33:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Whether you are a project manager planning for a smooth implementation of a plan or a project sponsor on whose decisions a project depends, you cannot escape from the fact that project estimation is essential to its success. In the first place, there are three basic requirements that a project ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=170 Knowledge management professionals must keep in mind that KM's explicit end-goal is profitability while its implicit purpose is to empower participants through intellectual platforms and processes that promote learning and practical knowledge. Knowledge, without a doubt, plays an important role in the success of any organization. In fact, in order to ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=169 Scrum burndown charts, or project history charts, as they are called in Standard Time help managers see the time remaining for projects in a line chart.  An example is shown below.  As many know, Standard Time is more than a timesheet.  It contains many project management features like task linking, ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=168 Bear with me...  Vicarious Goal Completion is a pretty obscure title, but there's logic to it.  :) Psychologists have observed a strange human peculiarity.  And it relates directly to project management.  It's called Vicarious Goal Completion.  Researchers first encountered it while studying fast food menus.  Can I get you to bite? When ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=167 Bare-bones hardware and software, and all things virtual dictate the game of computing in a slow economy. A recent advertisement by Microsoft caused a stir among the Mac-loving community of tech workers. The ad shows a flame-haired Lauren looking for a 17-inch laptop for under $1,000. The challenge is that if ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=166 A certain thing happens in product development...  (It used to bug me to death, until I got used to it.)  Your product development team just finishes a great new feature.  Everybody rejoices.  Good feelings, pride, and celebrations.  All that...  The new release is posted on the web, and you start to get ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=165 Customer-driven project management uses the voice of the client as a guide at every turn of the project's life cycle to achieve optimum quality. Project teams that put the interest of their clients are assured of repeat businesses and long-term relationships. They know that at the end of the day, their ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=164 My definition of "default behavior" is: doing what 90% of the world's population does, when faced with a new or unfamiliar situation.  Panic and give up.  Let me explain. The "average guy on the street" almost always acts the same way when faced with something new or unfamiliar.  He throws up his ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=163 As business needs help set IT’s priorities, how IT departments align their solutions with business objectives hinge on a number of success factors. The most pressing issue among CIOs, according to a 2008 survey by Society for Information Management (SIM) is the alignment—or misalignment—of IT with business. As IT departments need ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=162 Consider this dilemma...  The IT department is backed up for six months.  It can't take on any new projects for that time.  Not even a little 4 - 8 hour database installation.  With a log jam like that, they can't get anything new in. Management comes along with a new product evaluation.  Problem ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=160 eWeek did a little editorial on "IT Snow Days."  (See link below.)  Anybody out there read eWeek?  It sure is collapsing slowly - down to 42 pages, and no more Spencer Katt.  The competitor InfoWorld went out about a year back.  Now, I suspect eWeek will follow.  I guess it's ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=159 Here's a small piece of advice registering as a user on this (or any other blog).  Don't look like a spammer.  Because your account will get deleted for sure.  We won't even ask first. What do I mean by that?  Make sure you provide a little personal information about yourself.  Nothing ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=158 Forward-looking project managers realize that to avoid failure, they should build the business case for their projects by getting intimately knowledgeable about the reasons why sponsors approved their projects. Too many projects get the axe because of the lack of business cases that justify their existence. When project sponsors begin to ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=157 I'm taking the first day back from vacation to survey my open projects.  I've got a video script to write.  And then the video recording, and producing.  The voice-over will occur later.  There's a product update that includes nothing but maintenance bug fixes.  And a few web site updates.  That's ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=155 Studies show that most successful projects were those that followed agile principles, proving that model-driven methods are not always the best when it came to managing changes, fast-paced project implementation, or even meeting market demands. The concept of agile development is not new. However, many technologists still stick to the age-old ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=154 I talked with an IT professional over the weekend.  This person lamented over their constantly late projects.  I told them about Standard Time®, and how it tracks project time.  They loved the idea!  But continued the lament, claiming they would never use such a product. I just stood there stunned.  Why ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=153 Whatever the economic realities may be, technology is an integral part of majority of business operations the world over. How do you maintain your tech-reliant operations in the midst of a challenging business climate? Most global businesses depend on technology and business partners to run their operations smoothly while improving margins. ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=152 Some time ago I created a list of different styles of project management (I should have added “don’t try that at home” disclaimer there). Anyway, recently I witnessed yet another flavor, which I'll call: "we’ll make it project management." Luckily I view the "stunning" details from a safe distance. The recipe is simple: no matter what ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=151 The following text is an interview with Warren Peacock of Scoutwest, Inc.  They are the developers of Standard Time® and Standard Issue® – two leading project management products.  Project Team Blog wanted to hear from an authority regarding the status quo of enterprise project tracking and management, and learn what ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=149 Service orientation is the successful combination of technology, business processes, and methodologies. Service orientation is especially important to outsourcing firms because it allows them to adjust not only the methodologies that they adopt in producing technologies, as well as the way they run operations. Service orientation is a way for ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=150 Project management advice: People don't like to be led, especially professionals with clear responsibilities.  Nobody likes "a person who knows" to tell them what to do next.  All the time.  It's demeaning and annoying.  So what's a project manager to do? Clearly, project managers and leads need to stay a few ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=148 When undertaking a software development project, an effectively designed closure plan serves as an outline of required tasks that must be carried out appropriately in order to result in successful project delivery, and adequate preparation is one significant element when it comes to ensuring a smooth transition to implementation. The ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=147 The company I work for is located in Colorado.  And for recreation, we climb mountains.  While climbing one, it occurred to me that you can't always see what's over the next one.  There are plenty of obstacles to block your view.  Maybe the next one will be easy.  Or maybe it will ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=146 While SaaS has been gaining popularity recently, it is remarkably noticeable that its popularity is still limited mostly to small and medium-size businesses. Larger enterprises are still reluctant to embrace hosted application for their IT needs. According to a recent Forrester Research paper, “The Truth about Software as a Service,” which ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=145 Yes, there's actually a "day" for project managers: November 6th, 2008.  See the link below for more information.  Here's a little teaser quote from the web site. http://www.internationalpmday.org/ The international project management day is intended to encourage project based organizations worldwide or organizations who utilize project management methodologies to schedule some type ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=144 CIO Insight did an article listing the top 10 ways to retain IT workers.  The link to that article and results are listed below.  It's pretty interesting, but appeals strictly to the least-common-denominator or employment.  The results could apply to a landscaping firm. http://www.cioinsight.com/c/a/Management/How-to-Retain-Top-IT-Workers/   They rated each criteria from 1 to 3, with ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=142 Why SaaS may be the next wave in enterprise computing. Much has been said lately about Software as a Service (SaaS), which is often interchangeably referred to as “cloud computing”. While pundits may disagree on whether SaaS is cloud computing, its primary feature is application provided as a service to customers ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=143 A programmer friend of mine told me that his ongoing maintenance projects didn't really require the Agile Method.  He said that he liked the idea, but his small team was just working on short, simple updates to an existing program.  He didn't need a methodology to assist him on that. We discussed ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=140 Has your company developed entirely new software or added to software already in use throughout the organization and found the process cumbersome, frustrating, and sometimes not living up to expectations or meeting organizational goals?  If so, the solution to a smooth and effective development program may be as easy as ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=139 Last night I attended a party at an old friend's house.  After small-talking my way around the deck, I hooked up with some old acquaintances, with whom I had participated in a software project.  The gig we shared had taken place back in 1999, in Atlanta.  It was one of those 90's love-fest ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=138 I once read a bizarre statement, written by an overloaded IT manager.  He was complaining about the heavy workload his executive management was throwing on him.  Here is what he said: When a new project request comes down, I just ignore it.  I ignore it until management makes it clear my ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=137 Some of the most common reasons why change requests are made. Change requests alter the course of a project and working within the constraints of time, budget and quality more challenging. If change requests are not handled properly, the project will overshoot its schedule and accumulate costs that are beyond the ... http://www.projectteamblog.com/?p=136