PLEASE CLICK ON THE ICONS BELOW TO VISIT OUR SPONSORS WEB SITES
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Volume XI - Issue I - January 2009
PM Tips and Techniques
Are You Spending Too Much Time on Project Administration? By James T. Brown, PhD Project administration functions are different than project management functions. By administration functions I mean inputting the project parameters into the project management software, scheduling meetings, issuing minutes, compiling and expediting all the documentation and deliverables for the project, and providing the obligatory “courteous” follow-up on late tasks and deliverables. I would never burden a great PM with administration functions. When project managers have to manage projects and do administrative functions, it is a very tough task, because the amount of work involved in administrative functions can be overwhelming. The non-administrative project management functions are much more important. Thus, project managers who must do both tend to fall behind, or often they ignore or do not perform administrative functions, especially since the consequences of doing so are delayed. Read complete paper in English
Cutting Costs with a Scalpel, Not a Chainsaw By Curt Finch, CEO of Journyx, Inc From 1945 to 1965, the financial market in the U.S. moved upward. It then moved sideways until 1982, and up again until 2000. Right now, we are engaged in another great sideways movement. It could continue for another decade or so, and as businesses fail and members of congress pound their fists, it is natural to fear for the future. These types of fears can be especially dangerous for businesses, as management often makes unwise decisions out of panic. For example, they might cut employees or reduce spending on various programs that are good for the company. Consequently, many companies that slash costs in response to an economic recession find themselves unable to achieve top-line growth when the recession ends. Read complete paper in English
Risk in Projects
Risk Management and a Return to the Roots By Glenn R. Koller, PhD Faithful followers of this series know that in the first two articles I focused primarily on the necessity of changing behaviors and the attendant challenges. The following three articles mainly delineated aspects of risk assessment. In this article, in order to address aspects of risk management, I will have to “return to my roots” – that is, I will revert a bit to the discussion of human behaviors and the complexities of organizations. As you probably have noticed, I am a “splitter” rather than a “lumper” when it comes to considering risk. I make a distinction between risk assessment and risk management. I closed the previous article with a diatribe about needing to get across a yard in which there is a vicious dog. I’m sure your sides are still aching from laughing at that humorous rendering, so I won’t repeat it here. The story attempts to make the point that before we can manage something – including a risk – we must first have assessed the beast. The steps we might take in management depend almost entirely on a concise and accurate assessment. Read complete paper in English
Drive a Tight Agenda! Don’t Let It Drive You! * By Lonnie Pacelli A colleague of mine was responsible for running a bi-weekly two-hour team meeting. He took great care to develop a very full, detailed agenda. As we would get into the meeting, it would only take us getting to agenda item one before the meeting was behind schedule. During the entire time that my colleague ran these meetings, we never got more than halfway through the agenda before adjourning. The team got so used to not making it through the agenda that there wasn’t even an attempt to try to stay on schedule. The agenda and associated times were completely unrealistic and were worthless as a meeting management tool. *Excerpted from The Truth about Getting Your Point Across…and Nothing But the Truth http://www.project-management-books.com/truth Read complete paper in English
Managing and Leading Technical Teams in IT Projects :
By Melvyn Lee A lack of a coherent understanding on the makeup of a technical team will put a Project Manager on a difficult path to manage them across different phases of a project. Therefore in the last two parts of this series, I have shed some light on the “biodata” of technical team. Because Project Managers can easily get into a tangle of issues and conflicts during their project lifecycle, it is essential for them to know the anatomy of a technical team – who they are and how they fit in with the rest in a project. As Project Managers, we do not want to be wrestling with holograms but to be equipped with some foreknowledge as tools to help cut through the heart of matter in order to resolve team challenges and issues more realistically Read complete paper in English
Management by Fear: Does It Really Work? (Originally for ExecutiveBrief) By Wilf Voge Will it help to have your staff just a little afraid so they take you seriously? Learn the differences between ‘healthy’ and ‘unhealthy’ fear. Management is not a popularity contest. We’re hired to meet targets and expand markets—and that includes cracking down on inefficiencies and making sure standards, deadlines, and budgets are kept. Experienced executives say that it helps to have your staff just a little afraid, just so they take your directives darn seriously. “I refuse to waste management time begging people to meet their deadlines,” says Boots, a creative director of a global advertising agency. “When I say I need something at 3 pm tomorrow, I expect it on my desk by 2:45.” Boots himself was trained by tough bosses. “I learned the most in jobs where I was forced to deliver under tough circumstances—when there was no excuse to fail.” Read complete paper in English
|
PM World Today™ is a trademark of pmforum Inc.
PMWT™ is a trademark of pmforum Inc.
The information on this web site was checked for accuracy and authenticity when last updated. If there is any accidental infringement of copyright, the publisher of this site apologize for their actions, and would like to be notified. In addition, the publisher of this site cannot bear responsibility for the actions or the results of action of individuals or companies arising from use of information and advice contained within it.
PM World Today Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions.
© Copyright 2008 PM World Today