The principles of effective project management are potentially applicable to any project type across different industries. It has been established that the basis of these principles have been designed so as to accommodate variety of tasks and industries but still fine tuning is required during the course of certain projects (Papers4you.com, 2006). According to Davidson (2002), the origin of project management can be traced back to the post World War II era in which new efficient developments started taking place across the triad i.e. the US, Europe and Japan.Projects are formally defined by Cleland and Gareis (1994), as the process that transforms and unsatisfactory state of affairs into better state within certain time and resources limit. The literature within the domain of this subject has accepted the fact that orientation towards project based approach is concentrated within few industries due to their inherent characteristics. Drawing upon Krezner (2001), it can be elaborated that those industries that are project-driven like construction and aerospace, needs more rigorous project specifications. The evolution of PM process has started from such industries and has permeated into others with differing levels (Papers4you.com, 2006). Its applications, concepts and methods have been broadened for its uses for all the industries.

The development of standardized procedures for project management has been the centre of discussion for many years and in today’s world there are many well known such standards. Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and Projects in Controlled Environments (PRINCE), are two of the most widely used standards applicable to any nature of project in any industry (Meredith & Mantel, 1995). At the same time there has been constructive work in the development of industry specific project management processes and methodologies so as the particular needs of each industry can be taken care of.

The role of project manager is seen central to the process of project management but it has been established in literature that it should not be regarded as one man task since it requires other individuals and their competencies that are grouped together and who are dedicated to achieving the particular objectives of the project (Pinkerton, 2003). One of the criticisms on project management literature development is its concentration and focus towards the ‘hard’ aspects of the change while neglecting the ‘soft’ aspects. The school of thought that believes in blending both hard and soft issues to build upon project management techniques is growing.

It can be concluded that project management skills and process although are generalized for any type of project within any industry but these are more appropriate for some than others. Levine (2002) has suggested that weather an organization is involved in managing projects or not in the traditional sense, but it requires the management of its assets and PM provides overall process and skills needed to achieve any change objectives.

References:

Cleland, D.I., Gareis, R. (Eds) (1994), “Global Project Management Handbook”, McGraw-Hill International Editions

Davidson, Frame, (2002), “Tools for an age of rapid change, complexity and other business realities”, San Francisco, California: Wiley & Sons, Inc. (US)

Kerzner, Harold, (2001), “A systems approach to planning, scheduling and controlling”, New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc. (US)

Levine, Harvey, (2002), “Practical project management, tips, tactics and tools”, New York: Wiley & Sons, Inc

Meredith, J.R., Mantel, S.J. (1995), “Project Management: A Managerial Approach”, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY

Papers For You (2006) “P/M/400. Project management in theory and in practice”, Available from http://www.coursework4you.co.uk/sprtmgt7.htm [22/06/2006]

Papers For You (2006) “P/M/365. Dissertation. Project management and development of Information Systems”, Available from Papers4you.com [21/06/2006]

Pinkerton, William, (2003), “Achieving project bottom-line success”, New York: Mc Graw Hill

Project management software exists in many different levels of sofistication and variety of prices. This article aims to help project managers realize what kind of project management software tools they need and find out how computers can help them in everyday routine.Before choosing some particular tool you should have a look at the different kinds of projects to manage and corresponding PM skills. It is very important to pick a project management software tool appropriate for you and your organization. The following types of projects and project management software should cover the field broadly, though any categorization is very relative.

Project management software for small projects, usually in single functional area

At this level project managers usually plan and schedule only durations of project subtasks rather than resource capacity or work estimates. They do not need to track a project budget and their project status reports contain only completion date tracking.

Project management software in this situation helps project managers to automate such basic routines like

* planning project flow

* occasional status reports preparing

* producing Gantt charts

If your project management tasks are not intended to grow and such functionality is enough, you should not spend a lot of money nor waste your time on long learning curve about features you’ll never use.

Project management software for managing larger projects

Project budget is very important now, therefore we need a project management tool to give us the capability to estimate resources and money at every stage of the project. As more people are getting involved in the project, software should provide the ability to create numerous status reports – from simple total project cost to more sophisticated ones.

As the size of the project grows, the number of project management techniques increases. Requirements for project management software change accordingly. At this level project management software must be able to work not only with the static representation of start and finish dates for each project subroutines, but it needs to be powerful enough to simulate the project and reschedule it every time something changes in project flow.

Project management software for huge multi-project environment

At this high-end level we need project management software that meets a lot of additional requirements. Now we need to roll-up multiple projects and require consistent information for decision-makers. Among the features they need are:

* material resources allocating (including finances)

* scheduling and tracking a pool of human resources

* sharing resources between multiple projects

* sophisticated risk assessment tools

* detailed project performance tracking

* creating a detailed project budget. This brings project management software closer to the company’s accounting system

If you need a lot, you have to spend a lot. Project management software for this purpose costs from $400 up to $3000 and even more. Such packages usually have network versions and team communication capabilities.

Categorization above was rather comprehensive over the last years. But modern project management reality changes constantly, therefore we can talk about one more project management software category.

Project management software for managing multiple projects in small and mid-size businesses

It often happens that project managers face the need to manage multiple projects simultaneously, using resources that can be shared between them. But they do not need a huge and extremely expensive project management software tool with thousands of not really needed features. What should they choose? ConceptDraw Project can be the answer. It is a cross-platform (Mac OS X and Windows) project management software tool that allows the project manager to automate project routines – from planning and assigning resources to powerful report generating capabilities.

Oooh – project management. Everyone talks about project management but what is it? Isn’t project management just organizing your little work to get the big work done? Isn’t project management really just a series of events to create some thing, by some point, way off in some hazy future? Not really.To define what project management is we first need to define what projects are. A project, technically, is a short-term endeavor to create a unique product or service. A project, in practical terms, is an assignment or undertaking to create a deliverable that satisfies the mission of the project customers.

A project is a set of activities to create something that is outside of your day-to-day operations. A project creates a unique deliverable. For example, if your organization develops game software the actual creation and development of the code is a project. The manufacturing of the CDs, the Internet delivery, and the technical support you provide to your customers is part of maintenance and operations.

The difference is that one set of activities creates a unique deliverable while the other centers on organizational process, day-to-day business, and support of the organization’s mission. This is true in disciplines other than IT: consider designing a car versus manufacturing a car. Consider writing a book versus printing a book. Consider building a skyscraper versus maintaining a skyscraper.

Projects have budgets, deadlines, and an agreed set of requirements for the deliverable to be accepted by the customer.

The United States of Project Management

In my project management seminars I like to say that this point in the room represent our current state; this is where our organization is today. We have some opportunity that we’d like to seize. We have some problem that we’d like to solve. Or there’s technology that has leapfrogged our current equipment so we need to improve our technical attributes. Where we are now is our current state.

Then I’ll stroll to a distant part of the room. This new location represents where we want our organization to get to. This describes our desired future state. Can you imagine how great our organization would be once we reach this destination? Can you imagination the problem solved, the seized opportunity, or the new technology and how it makes our business better? This spot represent our desired future state.

The only way we can get from right here, our current state, to our desired future state, which is way over there, is through project management. Project management is about planning, doing, and ensuring that we’ve followed our plan. Here’s a key thought: the only way we can do project management, effective project management, is to know where our desired future state exists.

Effective project management is built on a solid foundation of planning. Then the project team must execute the work according to plan. And the project manager must control the work to ensure that the project plan was followed. Plan. Do. Check. React. Project management, quite simply, is knowing where we’re going, planning on how we’ll get there, and then delivering on the promises within the plan.

Projects, all projects, have constraints. Have you every inherited a project that had to be done by a given deadline? Remember the Y2K scare that turned out to be the Y2-OK yawn a few years ago? It was real tough to move that deadline. January 1, 2000 was coming ready or not.

Or have you ever managed a project that had a preset budget? Regardless of how long it took your project could not, must not, spend more than $750,000. Or else. A pre-set budget may be calculated on how much cash is in the bank account, the expected return on the project investment, or some other magic formula like the time value of money. The point is, a pre-set budget is constraint.

Finally, you may have faced a project that had some very steep requirements. Are you a public company? Then you’ve dealt with the Sarbane-Oxley Act. Or if you’re in health care you’ve dealt with HIPAA. Or the regulations you may have to follow in pharmaceutical, construction, manufacturing, and countless other industries.

You may also have worked with a customer that said, “I don’t care how much it costs or how long it takes. I need the product to do this.” (Those are my favorite kinds of customers, by the way.) These steep requirements are part of the project scope and in order for the project to be successful the project scope has to be met.

You’ve just read about the triple constraints of project management: time, cost, and scope. The triple constraints of project management are collectively called “The Iron Triangle.” Imagine an equilateral triangle. If you don’t want to imagine take a look at Figure 1. The bottom of the triangle represents scope, another side represents cost, and the last side represents time.

In order for the project to be successful the project must remain an equilateral triangle. In other words, you can have a gigantic scope, and puny budget, or a weak schedule. For a project to be successful each side of the Iron Triangle must remain in proportion to the other sides. If your customer wants a scope that’s so big (hold your arms out real wide). And their budget is only this big (now bring your arms in real close together). A big ol’ scope and tiny little budget means just one thing: it ain’t gonna happen.

The same is true with the schedule. There must be enough time to plan and execute the project in order to achieve the project’s scope. Unrealistic expectations on the schedule usually leads to waste, rework, frustrations, and a decline in morale. In some instances this may also lead to cheap tequila.

Capturing The Picture

I like photography. I like to look at pictures, take pictures, and mess with filters, lenses, and light meters. In order to really capture a good photo, I’ve learned, you have to see the developed photo in your mind’s eye. You have to look at your environment and see how it’d look once the film’s been developed or the image is printed on your color laser printer. You have to see into the future in order to capture the present in your camera. You must have vision.

Being a project manager really isn’t that different. A project manager must have vision for what the project is to create. The project manager inherits the vision from the key stakeholders, the project sponsor, or even management. In order to plan for the project work the project manager must envision what the end result of the project will be. Like taking a photo, a good photo, the project manager has to study, observe, and see the end result of the efforts before the work begins.

Another way to look at your new friend the Iron Triangle is to imagine the photographer’s tripod. If you’ve ever worked with a tripod (hopefully with a camera on top) you know the secret is to have the tripod balanced and level. In fact, some camera tripods have a level built into the head so you know when it is level. A level tripod ensures that the photo’s horizon is flat; it makes a goofy picture when the ocean is slipping down to South America.

Now imagine that one leg of the tripod equates to scope, another to time, and the last is cost. We agree that the tripod has to be balanced to take a good picture, just like a project has to have balance to be successful. If any leg of the tripod is extended more than the others the tripod is off-balance – just like your projects.

Some tripods are nice and heavy. A heavy tripod helps when you’ve taking a photo in the middle of a river or you’re fighting a wind storm. The trouble with heavy tripods is someone has to carry them. What some photographers do is carry a light tripod and then suspend their camera bag under the tripod to fend off any shakes. A neat trick.

In project management what’s keeping your project sturdy? Imagine that the area within the three legs of the tripod represents quality. If any leg of the tripod is out of balance then quality is likely to suffer. Quality is in proportion to the amount of time, cost, and scope available for the project deliverables. When one angle of the project suffers so does quality.

What good is a project’s deliverable if the project is finished on time, but the product or service doesn’t work as promised? Or if the project manager has spent all of the money but didn’t create all the promised deliverables? Quality is affected by the balance of time, cost, and scope.

Following this snappy analogy of photography, what kind of camera would you like to put on top of your tripod? If you’re like me, I bet you’d like a digital SLR, capable of 12 megapixels, and a few gigs of memory for your digital photos. Of you could rely on a manual 35mm camera, with slide film, and a nice set of filters.

But wouldn’t you have better photos with the 12 megapixel digital camera? Not necessarily. Just because you have a fantastic camera doesn’t mean your photos will be fantastic. It’s not the camera that takes the pictures – it’s the photographer.

The camera, in our project management analogy, are the mechanics of project management. The person behind the camera is the project manager. Just as the photographer has to know how to adjust the camera to capture the perfect photo, so does the project manager adjust the controls within project management to deliver on the project’s demands.

Good photographers and good project managers have much in common: experience, a foundation in the fundamentals, and a willingness to learn. At the core, I believe, is an ability to capture a vision – and then process that vision for others to see.

Projects Tell a Story

If you don’t like photography maybe you’ll like stories.

Projects, like a good story, have a beginning, a middle, and a satisfying end. Think back to any project you’ve managed or worked on. Can you recall the beginning, middle, and a Hollywood ending?

The story for all projects is that they move through five process groups to get from start to finish. Within each process group there are key activities which help a project move along. Figure 2 demonstrates the flow of a project through the five process groups.

Initiate a project

This process group starts all the fun. In this group the business need for the project is identified, some initial solutions may be proposed, and the project manager is selected.

The most important document to come out of this group is the project charter. The project charter authorizes the project work and assigns the project manager the power to complete the project on behalf of the project sponsor. The project sponsor is typically someone high enough in the organizational hierarchy to have power over the resources that need to be involved in the project. (Having a weak sponsor for your project can also, unfortunately, lead to cheap tequila.)

Planning the project

In order to plan the project manager must know what the project will create. The project manager and the project stakeholders – the people that have a stake in the project outcome – have to determine what the desired future state is. A dreamy wish list won’t work. The project demands exact requirements. If you don’t know what the project should create how will you ever get there?

Once the project requirements have been agreed upon then the project manager, the project team, and in some instances the project stakeholders will create a plan on how to achieve the project objectives. This isn’t a one-time process. Planning is an iterative process that happens throughout the project duration. Planning is a cornerstone of project management – skip planning or do it half-heartedly and the project is doomed.

Executing the Project

Ever hear the quip, “Plan your work and then work your plan?” This is the working part. The executing process group is the project team executing the project work according to plan — and the project manager working with any vendors that may be in involved in the execution or support of the deliverables needed for the project completion.

Controlling the Project

Control freaks need not apply. Controlling isn’t about micromanaging – it’s about compliance with the project plan. As you can see in Figure 2, there’s balance between execution and control. The project manager works with the project team, not over them, to ensure that they’re doing the work as it was planned. And if not? Then the project manager makes corrective actions to get the project back in alignment with the project plan.

Controlling is also about balancing the time, cost, and scope constraints as the project moves along. The project manager has to measure, compare, and adjust controls within the project to ensure project success. If we do not measure we cannot improve.

Closing the Project

Aaah – closing. This process group centers on closing out the project accounts, completing final, formal acceptance of the project deliverables, finalizing any time, cost, or quality reports, completing the project’s lessons learned documentation, and finalizing any financial or procurement audits. The project manager may have to complete a review of each team member, a review of the vendors, and a review of their own actions in the project.

Project closure also involves some rewards and recognition. For some, this means bonuses, vacation time, or other rewards. If this isn’t appropriate or available in your organization the project manager should at least verbally reward the project team for their hard work and a job well-done (assuming the project was done well).

Putting it all Together

As you know projects are short-term endeavors to create a unique product or service. Projects are out of the normal duties you do as part of your operations. Projects are constrained by time, cost, and scope — and other constraints such as regulations, resources, or even vendors.

The Iron Triangle of project management posits that all projects are constrained by time, cost, and scope. If one angle of the project is out whack the whole project suffers.

Projects, and technically even project phases, move through five process groups: initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing. Each process group has key activities that lend to a successful project. I believe the most important group is planning. Without planning the project is destined for failure.

What we’ve discussed in this intro to project management is a good foundation for how projects are to operate, their constraints, and a some challenges every project manager faces. On top of this strong foundation there are nine knowledge areas which also affect a project’s success:

1. Project Scope Management

2. Project Time Management

3. Project Cost Management

4. Project Quality Management

5. Human Resources Management

6. Communications Management

7. Project Risk Management

8. Project Procurement Management

9. Project Integration Management

For each of these knowledge areas I’ve written an article which explains their characteristics and how they contribute to your projects.

For now know this: projects are successful based on the ability of the project manager to lead, manage, and motivate the project team to complete the project plan. The project plan supports the vision the project manager has inherited from the project stakeholders. If the project manager and the project stakeholder don’t have the same vision of the desired future state the project is doomed.

Projects fail at the beginning, not the end.

Project management is one area of business that is undoubtedly valuable for any enterprise. As such project management courses abound just about everywhere, including via the Internet, all seeking to fill the need for the training of project managers who handle various initiatives for their organizations. However, the question is whether these project management courses, especially those found online, are enough to prepare participants to handle demanding projects that truly adds value to the business.In part, successful projects define the forward motion of a business. Aside from the achievements of day-to-day operations, the success rate of individual projects within the organization determines the capabilities of the business organization. Good project management can add prestige as well as revenue to any business.

By definition, all projects are bound by time. They are not continuous activities but are set at specific timeframes. Some projects are recurring or periodic but nevertheless these projects last only for a short period, maybe weeks or months or a just a few years. To add to that restriction, resources may also be defined and inflexible. Thus the role of the project manager is to work with these restrictions and still achieve the objectives set for the projects.

Project management courses are therefore invaluable in training project managers to handle the complexities of each project. However, are investments into web-based project management courses sufficient for the needs of a business?

General Review of Online Project Management Courses

A quick online search on project management courses will yield millions of websites. A good proportion of this number are distance learning course offerings that are conducted using the Web. There are basic courses in project management and there are also advanced courses. The difference is in the course content with the advanced topics ranging from organizational culture, conflict management, risk management, contracts administration, critical chain, event chain and other such aspects and concepts of a full-blown enterprise project. A module on software-based project management is usually included for such courses and may also be provided in detail as a separate course.

The main drawback of some of these online courses is that it mainly leans onto technology related project management. It is almost always assumed that the course learnings will be applied on either a software development project or some other technical engineering type of endeavor. Nevertheless, there are other project management courses that are applicable to a wider range of business scenarios.

Getting Certified

Another area of online courses in project management that needs attention is with regards to certification. The better investment logically is a course that is university-certified or at least recognized by an appropriate professional board as providing equivalent education or fulfills examination requirements for their standards. Online courses that are not certifiable are best left to new project managers who just need a refresher or quick skills upgrade on project management.

Project management courses are indispensable in equipping your project leaders to gain success in your business projects. Online project management courses in particular are very convenient. However, ensure that the course content is appropriate to your particular industry or project goals and that certification is provided when applicable.

Steve Twine asked:


Choosing the Best Project Management Training

To be successful in today’s competitive world, managers must manage change effectively, and also deliver results on time and within budget. Project management gives you the structure and tools to do this

If you want to add project management skills to your skill set, or you want to move into project management, you will want to know which is the best training to get you started in project management?

You may also want to achieve a recognized project management qualification at the same time

Listed here are introductory courses for project management which are suitable if you are:

• New to project management • Have some experience and want to understand the principles • Are looking to move into project management • Have worked on projects but haven’t received any formal training

Find more details on project management training at the Focus website

On all courses, no previous knowledge of project management is required



1-day and 2-day Introduction Courses

These courses typically introduce the concepts and approaches of project management, and touch on the main project techniques such as planning, risk and quality management



APM Introductory Certificate (2 days)

This training course was developed by the Association of Project Management, the largest independent professional body for project management in Europe.

The course is designed for anyone looking to start a career in project management or wanting to understand the principles of project management, and covers topics such as planning, communications, quality management, resources and risk management

No previous knowledge in project management is needed, and courses include a 1-hour multiple-choice examination

PRINCE2 Foundation Certificate (3 days)

PRINCE2 is the most widely used project management methodology worldwide. PRINCE2 provides a structured method which can be applied to any type of project in any business sector. PRINCE2 can be used on a huge range of project sizes, from small projects such as office relocation up large projects such as major construction or infrastructure projects.

PRINCE2 provides improved delivery of objectives and greater project control through a common project structure and terminology.

The PRINCE2 Foundation course teaches the principles and terminology of PRINCE2 and also provides a recognised qualification. It will enable you to take part in a project team using the PRINCE2 method

There are no formal pre-requisites; however some exposure to project management would be helpful

Good luck in starting on your project management career!



Contents provided by Blog Kiem Tien

Herry Hendarto PMP asked:


People Issues in Project Management

Project managers are often assigned as proposal managers and asked to plan and put an estimate to arrive at an acceptable proposal during the project proposal stage; and upon winning the project to manage the projects with little or no authority, dictated time frames and deliverables, and essentially told to just get the project done! The reality to remember is that project executions rarely fail due to technical problems but rather because of people problems.

Conflicting priorities, unclear expectations and roles, poor leadership, conflicts of interests, poor teamwork or lack of it, and little and no motivation all lead to project failure. Addressing the people management problems we all face as project managers and the best way to do it will require us to at least understand the many types of people we potentially meet and engage in project execution in the work place.

More and more focus is made to understand human work behavior and human personality these days simply because individual character types may be complementary but potentially conflicting to one another too. Most teams must work together to a lesser or greater extent collaboratively in any project execution, organizations, and in work place. If the team organization and operating practices can be constructed taking into consideration each individual’s strengths and weaknesses, this will have a positive influence on the project team with good chances for success.

Also interesting to note here is the result of a research I read which indicates that an ‘Apollo Team’ defined as the best and most talented people, when assembled in a project execution team will not be the best team you can expect in a project team simply because of the strong ego each team member tends to have and the strong likelihood that such team may compete rather than collaborate and support each other.

In my view, we will never have a perfect project team nor should we dream of one, and in fact in most organizations that I have worked with and the many projects I have had privilege to handle, the project teams have almost always been assembled and planned during project proposal preparation stage. Though I may have some say for replacement to those who are no longer available for the project, I still think my only chance to influence the project team is to build one, and together with the team, find a common identity sooner rather than later so I can cultivate the team work culture for all to collaborate to the same and aligned project objectives.

What I also managed to find out and observed in many instances is that nothing causes more friction between project management and line management than poor forward forecasting of the project resource needs. Starting resource requirement has the benefit of time to prepare ahead during and after the proposal prior to start of project execution. But the many turns of events during project execution and the changes in project scope can be an unexpected surprise to meet projects resource requirements.

In order to avoid unnecessary conflict, the project manager and his team must clearly specify their particular resource requirements to the line management at the outset, and keep functional management abreast of changes as they occur. In order to do this, they must develop a manpower loading chart and resource mobilization plan in some detail at the beginning of the project and the follow on updates during project execution, and must clearly spell out any other resources that they will potentially need along the way to project completion.

Even with those efforts there is always a conflict of interest especially when the company is executing multiple projects and when new proposals preparation needs pop up out of blue, now and then along project execution, and or simultaneously. Particularly at the end of a project, it is essential that the project manager clearly defines well in advance when the team members are likely to be released and the functional management is equally informed. It is never acceptable for the project manager to retain his team on a week-by-week basis or in ‘Just in Case’ mode.

Article by Herry Hendarto PMP,

A project management mentor and coach, promoting good project management practices through www.projectmanagement-mentoring.com at HEROLIAN International.

Herry has over 25 years of working experience in the capacity as president, vice president, technical resource management, and in project management roles in a number of multi national companies in engineering, procurement, and construction of oil & gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, and refineries in the Asia Pacific region.

Email: herolian@projectmanagement-mentoring.com



Contents provided by Blog Kiem Tien

John Reiling asked:


There are a number of project management certifications available worldwide. Here is a quick summary of what they are about, and links to learn more.

prince2.com is the de facto standard used extensively by the UK Government and is widely recognized and used in the private sector, both in the UK and internationally.

aipm.com.au/ Australian Institute of Project Management – This project management certification – there are several levels – is primarily geared toward Australian professionals and organizations, although it is based on international standards and best practices.

certification.comptia.org/project/default.aspx is inexpensive, has no prerequisites, requires no continuing education, and there is no application, but there is a test based on international standards.

pmi.org Project Management Institute – PMP and CAPM The PMP and CAPM Project Management Certifications he Project Management Professional (PMP) is the most widely known and accepted worldwide. The Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) is entry level and does not require experience.

ipma.ch/Pages/IPMA.aspx IPMA – International Project Management Association This Swiss organization – the oldest in the project management profession – is primarily comprised of national project management associations worldwide.

iil.com/apmc/ APMC – Advanced Project Management Certification – This is a specialized advanced certification for senior project managers who complete “The Kerzner Approach to Best Practices”.

projectmanagementcertification.org AAPM – American Academy of Project Management MPM™ Master Project Manager, CIPM ™ Certified International Project Manager ™ or PME ™ Project Manager E-Business ™ certifications are by application base upon completion of approved education, which looks to be exclusively by education institutions, and not private businesses.

brainbench.com/xml/bb/common/testcenter/taketest.xml?testId=2309 The test is based on the PMI’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). What is unique about BrainBench is that they specialize in “Delivering easy-to-use assessment products that predict success on the job.”

You can see all of these at: PMcrunch.



Contents provided by Blog Kiem Tien

Prince 2 courses:Prince 2 stands for Projects in Controlled Environments. This is a project management method covering the organisation, management and control of projects. PRINCE 2 was first developed by the Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), now part of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), in 1989 as a UK Government standard for IT project management. It is aimed at enabling you to successfully deliver the right products, on time and within budget. As a Project manager you can apply the principles of PRINCE2 and the associated training to any type of project. It will help you to manage risk, control quality and change effectively, as well as make the most of challenging situations and opportunities that arise within a project.

APM course

The main objectives for the APM course are to develop and promote project management across all sectors of industry and beyond. The APM certification will provide you with the knowledge to be able to apply a ‘framework’ to managing projects. This will lead to a more formal approach to Project Management. This may be the way forward if you work for an organisation that operates within the UK and has little process formality in managing projects.

PMI course

A PMI certificate will provide you with the knowledge you need to enable you to apply a ‘framework’ to managing projects. This will then lead you to a more formal approach to Project Management. This course may be a suitable for you if you work for a global organisation with presence throughout the world where you will need to communicate in a common language when managing Projects.

MSP course

MSP means: Managing Successful Programmes. This course is a best-practice guide from the OGC, describing a structured approach for managing programmes. It has been developed using the collective expertise and practical experience of some of the leading practitioners in the field. This means that it not only reflects best practice, but is also an accessible, workable technique that has been tested by those working in the real world.

It is always useful for new and existing project managers to learn new Project Management skills and techniques. With Project Management Professional you will find a range of useful Project Management information to improve your knowledge and understanding of everything from program and Portfolio Management to Financial Management.

projectmanuk asked:


Managing a project can be daunting. Whether planning your wedding, developing a new website or building your dream house by the sea, you need to employ project management techniques to help you succeed. I’ll summarise the top 7 best practices at the heart of good project management which can help you to achieve project success.

Define the scope and objectives

Firstly, understand the project objectives. Suppose your boss asks you to organise a blood donor campaign, is the objective to get as much blood donated as possible? Or, is it to raise the local company profile? Deciding the real objectives will help you plan the project.

Scope defines the boundary of the project. Is the organisation of transport to take staff to the blood bank within scope? Or, should staff make their own way there? Deciding what’s in or out of scope will determine the amount of work which needs performing.

Understand who the stakeholders are, what they expect to be delivered and enlist their support. Once you’ve defined the scope and objectives, get the stakeholders to review and agree to them.

Define the deliverables

You must define what will be delivered by the project. If your project is an advertising campaign for a new chocolate bar, then one deliverable might be the artwork for an advertisement. So, decide what tangible things will be delivered and document them in enough detail to enable someone else to produce them correctly and effectively.

Key stakeholders must review the definition of deliverables and must agree they accurately reflect what must be delivered.

Project planning

Planning requires that the project manager decides which people, resources and budget are required to complete the project.

You must define what activities are required to produce the deliverables using techniques such as Work Breakdown Structures. You must estimate the time and effort required for each activity, dependencies between activities and decide a realistic schedule to complete them. Involve the project team in estimating how long activities will take. Set milestones which indicate critical dates during the project. Write this into the project plan. Get the key stakeholders to review and agree to the plan.

Communication

Project plans are useless unless they’ve been communicated effectively to the project team. Every team member needs to know their responsibilities. I once worked on a project where the project manager sat in his office surrounded by huge paper schedules. The problem was, nobody on his team knew what the tasks and milestones were because he hadn’t shared the plan with them. The project hit all kinds of problems with people doing activities which they deemed important rather than doing the activities assigned by the project manager.

Tracking and reporting project progress

Once your project is underway you must monitor and compare the actual progress with the planned progress. You will need progress reports from project team members. You should record variations between the actual and planned cost, schedule and scope. You should report variations to your manager and key stakeholders and take corrective actions if variations get too large.

You can adjust the plan in many ways to get the project back on track but you will always end up juggling cost, scope and schedule. If the project manager changes one of these, then one or both of the other elements will inevitably need changing. It is juggling these three elements – known as the project triangle – that typically causes a project manager the most headaches!

Change management

Stakeholders often change their mind about what must be delivered. Sometimes the business environment changes after the project starts, so assumptions made at the beginning of the project may no longer be valid. This often means the scope or deliverables of the project need changing. If a project manager accepted all changes into the project, the project would inevitably go over budget, be late and might never be completed.

By managing changes, the project manager can make decisions about whether or not to incorporate the changes immediately or in the future, or to reject them. This increases the chances of project success because the project manager controls how the changes are incorporated, can allocate resources accordingly and can plan when and how the changes are made. Not managing changes effectively is often a reason why projects fail.

Risk management

Risks are events which can adversely affect the successful outcome of the project. I’ve worked on projects where risks have included: staff lacking the technical skills to perform the work, hardware not being delivered on time, the control room at risk of flooding and many others. Risks will vary for each project but the main risks to a project must be identified as soon as possible. Plans must be made to avoid the risk, or, if the risk cannot be avoided, to mitigate the risk to lessen its impact if it occurs. This is known as risk management.

You don’t manage all risks because there could be too many and not all risks have the same impact. So, identify all risks, estimate the likelihood of each risk occurring (1 = not likely, 2 = maybe likely, 3 = very likely). Estimate its impact on the project (1 – low, 2 – medium, 3 – high), then multiply the two numbers together to give the risk factor. High risk factors indicate the severest risks. Manage the ten with the highest risk factors. Constantly review risks and lookout for new ones since they have a habit of occurring at any moment.

Not managing risks effectively is a common reason why projects fail.

Summary

Following these best practices cannot guarantee a successful project but they will provide a better chance of success. Disregarding these best practices will almost certainly lead to project failure.

 



Contents provided by Blog Kiem Tien

Rob Llewellyn asked:


Many Project Managers believe that to enjoy total project management success, you need to manage projects using a formal project management methodology. They say it helps give you direction, it saves you time and it improves the quality of your deliverables. But does it?

Most good managers use a methodology of sorts, whether it be written on post-it notes stuck to their screen, documented in a stack of procedures on their desk, or included in software that they have bought. Regardless of the type of methodology used, there is one common theme – that it typically helps them to manage projects and therefore improve their project success.

What is a Methodology? A methodology is “a set of methods, processes and practices that are repeatedly carried out to deliver projects”. The key concept is that you repeat the same steps for every project you undertake, and by doing that, you will gain efficiencies in your approach.

What is a Standard? So what is the difference between a methodology and a standard? A standard is “a collection of knowledge areas that are generally accepted as best practice in the industry”.

Standards give you industry guidance, whereas methodologies give you practical processes for managing projects. Standards are not methodologies, and vice versa. The two most popular standards are PMBOK and Prince2.

What should be included?

When you buy a project methodology, it should give you:

A core set of processes to follow for delivering projects; A set of templates to help you build deliverables quickly; A suite of case studies to help you learn from past projects; An option for customizing the methodology provided; The ability to import your existing processes into it.

 

MPMM is one of the few methodologies that provides all of these features

What will it not do?

A Methodology is not a silver bullet. It will not fix projects by itself or guarantee success. It is fair to say that no methodology “out-of-the-box” will be 100% applicable to every type of project. So you will need to customise any methodology you purchase to ensure that it perfectly fits your project management environment.

Why use a Methodology?

While a methodology is not a silver bullet for projects, it should help you by giving you a clear process for managing projects. After you have customised it to perfectly fit your environment, your methodology should tell your team what has to be completed to deliver your project, how it should be done, in which order and by when.

Using a methodology you can:

Create a project roadmap; Monitor time, cost and quality; Control change and scope; Minimise risks and issues; Manage staff and suppliers.

 

Of course, you will need to use the elements of the methodology that are most suitable to each project you undertake. For instance, when managing smaller projects, you will only want to apply lightweight processes to your project. When managing large projects, you should apply the heavyweight processes to monitor and control every element of your project in depth.

But if you can manage every project you undertake in the same way, then you will gain efficiencies with your approach, work smarter and reduce your stress. You will also give your team a clear understanding of what you expect from them and boost your chances of success.

If you want a methodology to help improve the way you manage projects, you are likely to want:

A core set of processes to follow for delivering projects; A set of templates to help you build deliverables quickly; A suite of case studies to help you learn from past projects; An option for customising the methodology provided; The ability to import your existing processes into it.

 

You can discover more about project management methodologies at www.llewellyn-group.com



Contents provided by Blog Kiem Tien