Volume IX - Issue V - May 2007
Viewpoints
Penny Wise and Pound Foolish: Realistic Resource Scheduling
by Harvey A. Levine
There is a four hundred year old English saying: “Penny Wise and Pound Foolish.” We are all guilty, at some time, of this tendency to mind things in painstaking detail and let larger things get by with much less scrutiny or care.
I was reminded of this at a recent presentation in the Netherlands, when faced once again with the question: “At what level of detail should I assign and control resources?”
This led to a heated discussion, as there was a considerable range of opinions in this matter. Frankly, during my 45 years of PM practice, I have done a complete about-face on this issue.
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About the Author:
 
Harvey A. Levine
Mr. Harvey Levine, PMI Fellow, is a well-known project management (PM) author, consultant, and authority on the subjects of PM software, technology, earned value, project portfolio management and general PM practices. He has nearly 45 years of PM experience, including 24 years with the General Electric Company. Since 1986, Harvey is a Principal with The Project Knowledge Group, a PM consultancy based in New York and California that specializes in building PM competencies and providing guidance, training and services related to PM software selection, evaluation & implementation. He is also a leading advocate and mentor in the expanding field of Project Portfolio Management. One of the leading consultants to the PM software industry in the USA, he has provided advice and services to many of the leading vendors in this field. Harvey has also been recognized as a PM software industry watchdog, and a PM software “guru” for his knowledge, understanding, and insights regarding both vendor and user issues. Mr. Levine is the author of three books: "Project Portfolio Management: A Practical Guide to Selecting Projects, Managing Portfolios, and Maximizing Benefits" (recently published by Jossey-Bass); "Practical Project Management: Tips, Tactics, and Tools" (John Wiley & Sons 2002); and "Project Management using Microcomputers" (Osborne/ McGraw-Hill 1986). Former editor of the PM Software Forum in PMI’s Project Management Network magazine for 13 years, he has published over 240 articles and whitepapers on PM in the past 15 years. Mr. Levine served as President and Chairman of the Board of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) during 1985-86, received PMI's Distinguished Contribution to Project Management award in 1989, and was elected a Fellow of PMI in 1998. He was named a Global Advisor for PMForum.org and PM World Today in December 2006. Harvey can be contacted at halevine@earthlink.net. Additional information about Harvey Levine can be found at http://www.pmforum.org/pm%20forum%20team/index.htm#3
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Tottering Quality Management
By J. Ajith Kumar
The concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) took the corporate world by storm almost two decades ago. There were many reasons for it, but the most important one being European Union’s move to allow imports only from companies with ISO certification. International Standards Organisation (ISO) rose from anonymity to become a household name in the corporate world in no time. All types of business and organisations started looking for certification of their goods and services to keep up their exports. Until then ‘quality’ was at best considered a desirable attribute and only Japanese companies paid any attention to it as a policy. But the rush for ISO certification changed all that. Many good changes resulted but many more unwanted tendencies surfaced. Two decades down the lane it may be a useful exercise to retrospect on the issue. Did ISO certification bring about any desirable change? Is it necessary to continue with it in its present form? TQM is tottering and drastic steps (by ISO) are required if the good effects of quality movement are to survive.
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About the Author:
Ajith Kumar
J. Ajith Kumar is a graduate in Chemical engineering from Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, India and has over 25 years experience in various Project Management roles with many reputed engineering consultants like FEDO, Belleli, ILF, Parsons and WorleyParsons. Presently he heads the Project Services Department for WorleyParsons in the Sultanate of Oman. He can be reached at jajithkumar@hotmail.com
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