That's a sign I'd very much like to see!

Here's the hard truth of it: many of the people sponsoring our projects are unqualified to do so - some aren't experienced enough to be effective sponsors, and even if they are, most haven't been taught how to be an effective sponsor, and what being an effective sponsor means.

At their best, many sponsors can be well meaning, but also be less than helpful. At their worst, they can be downright dangerous to you and your project.

Typically, an organization begins the methodology/maturity progression process.

with the formation of a small Project Management Office (PMO) whose first task is to formulate the organization's PM methodology and associated tools, forms and templates. In the engineering/capital project management industry, the methodology typically will be a Stage Gated or Phased model. Typical phases are:

Are you baselining? I know, it sounds like some drug-related crime, doesn't it? It's actually one of the most fundamental aspects of modern project management and a stunning percentage of project managers don't do it. So this month I thought I'd dedicate the column to the elusive art of baselining.

Ever start a project without a stable foundation for scope? How did it go? To ensure project success, it is essential that scope be unambiguous and carefully managed. This can be accomplished with the Scope Management Process, which provides a formal set of procedures for planning, executing, monitoring and controlling scope.

Envision a corporation where project management is a core skill. Where certified and fully competent project managers successfully execute technical and business strategic initiatives alike while managing large and complex teams. In today's economy delivering effectively on strategic initiatives to gain business results and competitive advantage is not only a survival move but will help a company thrive.

The Technical Support Project

Now that you have a new and improved technical support team in place, you need to let people know. This includes departments within your company and external customers, both of whom need different types of marketing. This article will outline some ideas on how to spread the good word.

Any study on project failure will list poor stakeholder communication as one of the top three reasons for a project's demise. This brief case study discusses the steps I took to revive project stakeholder communications and move a group of stakeholders from intense distrust to frequent (and pleasant) collaboration.

Background: This web application redesign project for the military had petered to a low level grind, characterized by tersely worded emails, accusations and entrenched opinions. Project status meetings were held monthly, and sometimes skipped. There were no other recurring communications.Following please find key steps I used to shift this group to collaboration.

Companies that sell services to other businesses-project management, data management, software development or IT consultancies, for example-often track time in order to automate invoicing, but they may be overlooking the other benefits these systems can provide. Real-time access to relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as 'percent billable' and 'completed vs. estimated' can give early warnings of project problems and lead your company to faster growth and more profitability. I would first like to explain what KPIs are, and then show you how to use some simple ones to improve your business or rate of project success that can be calculated from any time and data labor source.

Delegation is one of the most important skills. Technical professionals, team and business leaders, project managers, and executives all need to develop good delegation skills. There are many rules and techniques that help people to delegate. Good delegation saves money, time, builds people and team skills, grooms successors and motivates people. Poor delegation causes frustration, demotivates and confuses people and teams. Ask any employee!

The M247 "Sergeant York" Story

In late seventies the US Department of Defense (DOD) outsourced the development of the self-propelled anti-aircraft (AA) weapon which featured twin radar-directed 40 mm rapid-fire guns to Ford Aerospace. The project was assigned the name of "Sergeant York", after the World War I US army hero, who undoubtedly would not have appreciated this dubious honor had he been alive in 1979. The weapon was intended to replace the M163 Vulcan Air Defense System and fight alongside the M1 Abrams and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles in the U.S. Army, and was similar in concept to successful Soviet and European systems such as the ZSU-23-4 and Gepard.

"How do you pronounce 'EPM'?" I asked one of our consultants recently.

"Enterprise Project Management?" he replied.

"No," I said. "You pronounce it P-M-O."

The Technical Support Project. Part 2.

Staffing is the most critical part of creating a winning technical support team. If you make mistakes with the steps discussed in my first article but excel at hiring and managing your people, you will succeed in the end. If, however, you do well with the mechanics and make mistakes with staffing, you will certainly fail.

Solid planning and implementation methodologies prepare business for the process of managed projects, improved processes and established change with measurable results. Doing it Right relates to the business objectives, the process and work discipline required to successfully achieve a change within an organization.

How to Create a Winning Team. Part 1.

I have been manager of technical support at my company, Journyx, for seven years, and as such, I can say that creating a winning team was one of the most significant projects I have ever had to complete. When I started, we had disgruntled customers in all different directions, but no more. I learned a lot along the way, and in retrospect, I see things that should have been done sooner, as well as things that shouldn't have been done at all. Consequently, in this three-part series I will outline effective methods for change and improvement within your technical support department.

The idea for building a colossal dam in the southern part of Egypt had been considered by the country's president Gamal Abdel Nasser since the mid-fifties. There was a number of reasons why he and the rest of the Egyptian government thought it would be a great benefit to their country: the desire to come up with an impressive deed after defeats in the war with Israel and the Suez crisis, the need to maintain steady levels of the Nile throughout the year and the aspiration to produce more electricity to support the increase in production of cane sugar, cottons, maize, fertilizer, steel and textiles.

It's a trend that has been increasing for the last decade: more clients want fixed-price contracts, especially for longer term engagements. But fixed price contracts are more risky than cost-plus contracts for service providers and need more attention to control both scope and costs.

With roots dating back fewer than 100 years, the project management discipline has evolved during one of the most spirited periods of innovation and technology advancement the world has seen. These days, work is underway worldwide bringing this applied science into its sharpest focus yet through the development of a new project management standard called ISO 21500.

Many of us will find ourselves assigned to a new manager over the next 12 months, if we haven't already. For many project managers, used to working with different teams under different team leaders, some of the advice offered here might be familiar. However, times, bosses and team leaders change, and there may well be some new and helpful pointers here.

Introduction

Factual and anecdotal evidence confirms that IT investments are inherently risky. On average, about 70% of all IT related projects fail to meet their on-time, on-budget objectives or to produce the expected business results. In one KPMG survey, 67% of the companies who participated said that their program/project management function was in need of improvement. Why? A number of leading factors for project failure were suggested by the survey, including the "usual suspects": unreasonable project timelines, poorly defined requirements, poor scope management, and unclear project objectives. Granted, all of these factors can play a role in project success.

When project management software is presented by their vendors these days, we tend to hear the 'core' subjects: critical scheduling, portfolio analysis, resource capacity planning, risk analysis, inter-project reporting and so on.  If you've not been in one of these demonstrations before, you're missing something.  They're a sight to behold.  The software sits up on its hind legs, barks and then runs out to get you a cappuccino.  Ok, maybe not quite.  But these enterprise project management system presentations are pretty impressive.

With the uncertain economic environment, many organizations are challenged by having to align shrinking budgets with their training and development needs.  While professional development remains an essential part of organizational health, it can be costly, too. Despite the economic crisis, or perhaps because of it, chief learning officers (CLO) are looking for a better cost-savings approach to learning. The virtual classroom and other e-learning opportunities provide just the solution.

How much do project managers need to know about the procurement process in the organization? It depends upon whether they handle most of the procurement, some of the procurement, or none of the procurement related to projects. In some cases, the organization's purchasing or contracting department deals with most of the procurement.

Human beings are genetically programmed to look for facial and behavioral cues and to quickly understand their meaning. We see someone gesture and automatically make a judgment about the intention of that gesture. The gesture and our interpretation of its meaning can profoundly affect team dynamics.

And we've been making these judgments for a long, long time. As a species, we knew how to win friends and influence people - or avoid/placate/confront those we couldn't befriend - long before we knew how to use words.

Companies translate their business plans into a series of projects. Some of the projects are relatively simple and others quite complex and involve multiple departments, activities and suppliers. But all need to be led and managed. Most companies have project managers to head up these projects. Actually, what is really needed to lead teams and manage projects are project leaders. Leaders who have the responsibility to make the team effective in delivering the objective of the project, solving the problem that has been identified and delivering the results that compensate for the expenditure of human and financial resources. Leaders!!!

We are currently facing a challenging economic climate which is forcing many companies to cut costs in order to survive.  There are different ways of doing this, and unfortunately, a popular one is slashing employees, projects and even entire departments.  Consequently, almost everyone in the business world is now looking for a way to justify their work to upper management and other stakeholders in order to be spared.

Building a Bridge between Strategic Planning and Project Management

With the economy in crisis, businesses are scrambling to stay afloat. Many are abandoning their strategic, long term objectives for quick fixes and short-sighted survival tactics. Some of today's most popular business books from The Tipping Point to Freakonomics feature companies that have stumbled upon greatness without an ounce of strategic planning involved. And with the rapid evolution of real-time media, virtual offices and globalization, companies seemingly have to change their game plans on a daily basis to keep up.

Fifty years ago, Peter Drucker - widely considered the father of "modern management" - coined the term "knowledge worker." Today that term is frequently attributed to software engineering and quality professionals, whose mission is to infuse their knowledge of a particular domain into creating today's modern computer software. Software is what puts the smarts into today's smart devices, whether they are iPhones or Blackberries, GPS navigation systems, or supermarket scanners and the like. Without smart software, hardware is mostly dumb.

Ever wondered why your project team isn’t working together as effectively as you had hoped? Perhaps it’s the people mix. About 10% of the typical workforce is classified as falling into the Difficult People category. Some people are surprised it's so small. Sometimes it feels like they’re everywhere! What is a difficult person? Perhaps the better question is: what is a difficult person for you? Perhaps it's someone who is disruptive. On the other hand, it might be someone who is too quiet and hard to draw out; not a good listener and always interrupts; someone who bullies and is very abrupt.

Projects play an essential role in the growth and survival of organizations today. It is through projects that we create value in the form of improved business processes and new products and services in response to changes in the business environment. Since data and information are the lifeblood of virtually all business practices, projects with significant IT components are often the key mechanism used to turn an organization’s vision and strategy into reality. Executives have their eye on the project portfolio to ensure that they: (1) invest in the right mix of projects, (2) optimize their resources, (3) develop expert capabilities to deliver flawlessly, and ultimately, (4) capture the expected added value to the business. In the 21^st century we are bombarded with constant change brought about by the Internet, the global economy and the prevalent use of technology. As a result, there appears to be a never-ending demand for new business solutions supported by IT products and services. Executives across the spectrum are adopting the practices of superior project management and business analysis to increase the value projects bring to their organizations.

When economic conditions get tough, CIOs must focus on two simple priorities: how to produce value and how to cut cost. Pushed by economic and competitive pressures, IT organizations need to organize their project and application lists as an aggregate collection of expense buckets that they then attempt to balance against priorities, budgets, and available resources.

Including 10 Ways to Use Project Management to Change Your World

As I watched the last few months of news, filled with the Presidential campaigns bantering back and forth and the doomsday headlines about the financial crisis, I had to shake my head and wonder – why can’t our government and the financial giants on Wall Street and around the world use the principles of project management to be effective?

The close of the year tends to make one reflect on the past and ponder the future. Here we ponder some trends in the business analysis and project management fields for 2009. We invite you to read some of these trends and ponder for yourself our views about what project professionals can do about them.

Today’s businesses are pushed and pulled in many directions. Strategy execution has been recognized as critical by leaders and organizations to give the edge and competitive advantage over competitors, and is needed even more in the turbulent times we face. And yet, statistics and results indicate that most organizations do not execute strategy successfully – in fact less than 34% of corporate strategy is ever executed and many initiatives fail to deliver the expected and necessary results. Common challenges include: introducing and managing change, rapidly changing landscapes and markets, and the effective use of human capital.

In recent months our headlines and the world’s attention have been directed towards two things, the US Presidential Election and the drastic downturn in the economy. These issues are both separate and related.

Applying Complexity Thinking to Manage Project Complexity Dimensions

“For every complex problem there is a simple solution. And it is wrong:”
H. L. Mencken, journalist and satirist

Traditional project management, system engineering, and business analysis practices are often insufficient when applied to complex projects that behave dynamically. In the case of complex projects, leadership is the critical component that can make the difference. This fourth article in the series on managing project complexity presents practical techniques for project leaders faced with challenging complex initiatives. We estimate that putting these techniques into practice can reduce project rework by 30 to 50 percent, thus eliminating excessive time and cost overruns. For detailed information about the complexity management techniques presented here, refer to the book: Managing Complex Projects: A New Model.

Pick a Non-Profit and Watch Yourself Grow

As a PMP and project manager, I see volunteerism as the perfect win-win. You get to stretch your wings and grow in a low-risk environment, gain experience that is relevant in the private sector, network and meet new people, and give back to a cause that you care about.

Developing Leaders of Complex Projects

This is the second article in the series describing the unique nature of complex projects and proposing an approach to manage project complexities. The first article described the characteristics of highly complex projects. A new model, the Project Complexity Model, was introduced. The model is used to diagnose the level of complexity of a particular project, or projects, within a program. Once the project complexity profile is determined, project leaders are urged to apply complexity thinking to make managerial decisions about the project.

The Nature of Project Complexity

“The parts that make [project] complexity difficult to assess are in the two areas hardest to measure: People and their abilities, and work environment.”
Johanna Rothman, consultant, speaker, and author

Editor's Comments

In this Project Times we take a look at a wide range of projects and examine some of the difficulties and complexities involved in different projects. Happily, our contributors offer good advice for solving some of the project problems we’re likely to stumble on. Our bloggers take a look at risk management and whether the PM needs to be onsite to be effective. You might also want to visit the Project Times Bookstore and check our Calendar for upcoming events.

• Recovering Distressed Projects (part 1 of 2). Contributor, Tom Flynn, is concerned that more and more he hears the word “distressed” in connection with projects. To recover the project, he says, it must be assessed without prejudgment or bias
• From Small Projects, Large Projects Grow. Chris Vandersluis notes the fascination people have with large projects – the larger the better. He wonders if down-sizing from a giant project to a number of smaller ones doesn’t make sense
• Where will BA/PM Professionals Come from? Next Steps. This is the final article in Bob Wysock’s seven part series in which he suggested that it might make sense to blend the BA and PM roles into one. See if you and Bob agree in this final piece
• Where Risk Management Trumps Quality Principles. In this month’s blog, Mike Lecky takes the recent tainted meat tragedy and questions some of the testing practices in the industry. He asks project managers to see if there is a lesson to be learned in developing a project quality plan
• Is Project Management an Everyday Job? Andrew Miller questions why so much importance is put on the PM always being onsite. He says it can lead to interference rather than leadership and can often just be in the way. He points out that with today’s technology, the PM need never be far away

We hope you find this latest issue of Project Times useful and informative. Please give us your thoughts about this one and what you would like to see in future issues.

• Projects Run into Trouble and Does Anyone Care? Leroy Ward takes a close look at the failed project situation. He reviews the findings of various research projects and offers his thoughts on what can be done.
• Leveraging Project Portfolio Management to Implement an Effective IT Governance Strategy. With a focus on IT Keith Carlson reminds us that governance is not just about compliance but also ensuring that it has the best possible impact on business. It’s about producing value and managing risk.
• A Second Look under the Hood of the BA/PM Position Family. In this episode of Bob Wysocki’s series of articles about the relationship between the Business Analyst and Project Manager, he takes a closer look at where they overlap.
• The Rules of Lean Project Management; Part III. Claude Emond, just back from a trip to the Far East gets back to the blog subject he was discussing before his travels. In this issue: The Expanded Management Team.
• Now Stop Wasting People’s Time! Wasting no time, Ilya Bogorad races to the point of his blog. In very quick order he gives us five tips to help get the job done and “stop wasting time!”
• Managing Expectations; the Key to Your Success. In his blog, David Barrett talks about the importance of setting objectives, communicating them, and keeping an eye on the target.
• Leadership Skills for the Technical Professional. “Over 70% of all technical professionals have to be leaders,” says Richard Lannon in his Webinar.

Along with these articles and blogs and the first of our Webinar series, you’ll find many other features in this Project Times. We hope you’ll check them out and let us know what you think. Contact us at editor@projecttimes.com.

This is the sixth article in the series. In the previous article (A First Look under the Hood of the BA/PM Position Family) I defined the BA/PM position family and the career path sequence. Then I wrote the generic position descriptions of the six-position family. The structure and ordering of the six positions in the BA/PM landscape is now defined at the generic level. Each of the 36 cells in the BA/PM landscape has now been generically defined with respect to the BA/PM position family.

IT Governance

The discipline of IT Governance, a key aspect of overall corporate governance, has received increased attention over the last 10 years. This attention has been fueled by Y2K initiatives, the awareness that technology is core to every business, and the impact of the Enron collapse in 2000 with the resulting Sarbanes-Oxley legislation that mandated compliance requirements.

"Over 70 percent of all technical professionals have to be leaders. This is today's business world reality.”Richard Lannon of BraveWorld Inc.

You are a successful technical professional. Now you need to make the transition from technical specialist to leader. That transition can be a real challenge. You must be a communicator, motivator, organizer, evaluator, and builder of people and teams. Our business lives require us to be leaders and to build our skills. Our people and teams need us and we need them. “Leadership Skills for the Technical Professional” is about building the skills that you need to succeed.

Editor

Editor’s Comments

As usual, we have an eclectic mix of articles and blogs, some from foreign parts, which we hope will fill you in on some of the ideas that are circulating in the project management community. We hope you’ll find them interesting and be able to apply some of them to your own upcoming projects.

• Keeping Project Scope Creep under Control. Bruce Beer looks at the very negative impact that scope creep can have on a project and provides some thoughts to minimize it.
• Project Success Factors and Value Contracts. George Konstantopoulos writes about the important tools that help keep a project on track and that can also help recognize the PM’s efforts at the conclusion of a successful project.
• Hug a Business Analyst Today! David Barrett uses his blog, en route between Australia and New Zealand, to sing the praises of business analysts without whom, he says, the project manager’s job is much more difficult.
• From Good to Bloody Excellent – Part 2 (How). In his monthly blog, Ilya Bogorad continues his series in which he outlines his views and the five key factors in establishing an effective project management office.
• I SEE YOU …or the Power of True Sponsorship. Regular blogger, Claude Emond is also on the road and shares with us some of the lessons and observations from his travel “project” through Asia, and relates them to effective project management in business.
• A First Pass at Defining the BA/PM Position Family. In this episode of the ongoing series that first appeared in Business Analyst Times, Bob Wysocki considers what skills and knowledge might be required in a role that combines both BA and PM responsibilities.

Also, don’t forget to check out our events calendar and some of the reactions other readers have posted in response to recent articles. And let us know what you think of this issue.

What issue consistently appears in the top ten causes of project failure, and what is the easiest and arguably most effective measure a Project Manager can take to virtually eliminate that issue?

The answers are “Scope Creep”, and “Change Management”, respectively.

Editor’s Comments

Here we are already with the second Summer ProjectTimes and, as usual, we have some articles and blogs that we feel sure will give you food for thought and plenty to discuss with colleagues.

• What is Your Rate? In his monthly blog, Andrew Miller is concerned that a PM’s hourly rates are viewed as being more important than skills and ability and he’s worried that this focus will affect project outcomes.
• The Right Amount of Documentation in our Projects. Our other blogger, Mike Lecky, discusses the balance between properly documenting activities of the project and delivering on time, on budget, and on scope.
• Project Management is Free! Wayne Brantley takes a whimsical look at projects. Then he does the math and, taking everything into account, maybe the idea isn’t quite as whimsical as it at first seems.
• EPM in a Foreclosure Economy. Chris Vandersluis muses about how the project management industry responds in a recession vs. a boom economy. He’s been through a few booms and busts and he considers the outcomes in this issue
• An Examination of BA and PM Skills Profiles. In this article we continue with Bob Wysocki’s thoughtful series about the roles of the PM and BA and how they interlink. These articles first appeared in BusinessAnalystTimes.

We hope you enjoy this new batch of articles and blogs, and that you’ll also take time to listen in to some of our podcasts. As always, please give us your input so we can do better in the future.

If I say “Project Management is Free” every CFO is saying I am either crazy or lying. But I am here to prove them wrong.

Let’s look at a fictitious company; we’ll call them Larger than Life Industries (LTTI). PM Miracle International (PMMI) has had a one year engagement for consulting and training at LTTI. The CFO at LTTI, Joe Carter has called a meeting with the Vice President of Client Services for PMMI, Thurman Munson.

This article first appeared in the May 1, 2008 Business Analyst Times

My life as a project manager (PM) began in 1963 at Texas Instruments at about the time IBM announced System 360. It was a landmark event in the history of computing and little did I know at the time but it was also the wakeup call that a revolution was about to take place. It was a revolution that we weren’t ready for. If I remember correctly I ran projects but was called a systems consultant. I don’t recall anyone in my industry carrying the title project manager.

As financial services companies diversify their product and service offerings, the technology systems that support these endeavors often remain as independent silos, with little or no cohesive integration. While some companies focus on ripping out older systems, this can result in exorbitant costs. Others are seeking more pragmatic approaches, like service oriented architecture (SOA).

Such was the case for Landesbank Baden-W

Editor’s Comments

The ability of both humans and animals to adapt to changing environments is well known. In today’s private and public sectors, adaptive management or ”learning by doing” has become a recognized process of continuing improvement by learning from decisions previously taken. In Adaptive Project Management, Lev Virine takes an in-depth look at how project management is adapting. In Top Three Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Estimating, Jamal Moustafaev considers the different ramifications involved in estimating project costs and timing. He investigates what’s wrong with our estimates and what can we do to improve them by finding the root causes and providing some tips to help avoid common problems. In Staying Power, Sandra Lavoy, reviews a survey that outlines some ideas about how to retain good IT staff.

Our bloggers have some interesting comments on communication both in running projects and on a keynote speakers they’ve been exposed to recently. As usual, we hope you enjoy the ideas and views were presenting in this issue of Project Times and that you’ll share your views with us. We use them to help plan future issues.

To view a slideshow of photos from ProjectWorld * BusinessAnalystWorld 2008 Toronto event, click here.

Whenever I have a chance to teach a project management course at BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) or in corporate environments, I usually start my class by presenting my students with the following scenario:

”Imagine, that I walk into the most upscale and exclusive car dealership in your city and ask for the latest model of a Ferrari with a number of custom features. I also specify that I will need a car by tomorrow and that I am willing to pay $5,000 for it. What do you think would be the reaction of the salesperson?”

Editor’s Comments

“Don’t assume” is advice that, over the years, has been handed out by those who have “been there” to those who haven’t yet been there. It’s advice well worth considering because many of these assumptions turn into traps. In Unquestioned Assumptions: Costly Mistakes, Don Wessels discusses how assumptions, often mistaken as standard business practices, go unquestioned during project manager selection, often with very negative consequences.

Regular contributor, Chris Vandersluis, revisits a subject he’s talked about here a number of times in the past. He says they have become a fact of life for senior management and, in Dashboarding Redux, he takes a look at the different types of dashboards available and how they can provide an onscreen view of key performance indicators, with your choice of how and what to display. But, he says, beware of possible pitfalls.

Blogger Andrew Miller, questions the need for budgeting in running a project, but acknowledges that budgets are important as long as their sensibly set and approved. Mike Lecky weighs in with some thoughts on the ongoing discussion about the PMO.

If you’re reading this during ProjectWorld in Toronto, we hope you’re finding your visit rewarding and that you’ll drop by our booth to say hello. Wherever you are, we hope you find this a thought-provoking issue of Project Times and that you’ll share your thoughts with us.

Editor’s Comments

“Don’t assume” is advice that, over the years, has been handed out by those who have “been there” to those who haven’t yet been there. It’s advice well worth considering because many of these assumptions turn into traps. In Unquestioned Assumptions: Costly Mistakes, Don Wessels discusses how assumptions, often mistaken as standard business practices, go unquestioned during project manager selection, often with very negative consequences.

Regular contributor, Chris Vandersluis, revisits a subject he’s talked about here a number of times in the past. He says they have become a fact of life for senior management and, in Dashboarding Redux, he takes a look at the different types of dashboards available and how they can provide an onscreen view of key performance indicators, with your choice of how and what to display. But, he says, beware of possible pitfalls.

Blogger Andrew Miller, questions the need for budgeting in running a project, but acknowledges that budgets are important as long as their sensibly set and approved. Mike Lecky weighs in with some thoughts on the ongoing discussion about the PMO.

If you’re reading this during ProjectWorld in Toronto, we hope you’re finding your visit rewarding and that you’ll drop by our booth to say hello. Wherever you are, we hope you find this a thought-provoking issue of Project Times and that you’ll share your thoughts with us.

Editor’s Comments

It may be the rough state the economy is in or it could be pure coincidence, but in this issue of Project Times we feature two articles focusing on the financial and value aspects of projects. Then again it’s an area that’s always worth taking a look at, especially since we all want our projects to be successful and on budget. Right?

In EVM: Project Management with the Lights On!, Brian Egan makes the point that project managers should be aware of the progress and status of their projects at all times. He also maintains that a benefit of Earned Value Management (EVM) is that it is basic cost accounting that extracts valuable information from work you’re routinely doing, so there are no major additional costs.

The importance of tracking actual costs and resource usage on a project depends upon the project, according to Tom Clark. In Why Track Actual Costs and Resource Usage on Projects, he says that in some cases tracking the actuals is not worth the effort involved. In other cases, however, he believes tracking actual costs and resource usage is an essential component of the project control function.

Our bloggers are back with their own distinctive views. Agree or disagree, your opinion matters to us, the bloggers and your fellow readers. Please share them through commenting at the bottom of each blog. Also place your vote with this issue’s poll question regarding PM education.

And finally, please enjoy this edition of Project Times.

Project managers are expected to know the progress of their project at all times. Are you meeting expectations? Staying within budget? Staying on schedule? These can be tough questions to answer without the use of Earned Value Management (EVM).

Fortunately, EVM doesn’t require a different approach to project planning and management. Rather, it extracts useful information from planning work that you’re routinely doing.

Overview of the Challenge

What approach should be taken by a PMO to successfully introduce new processes and tools and have them accepted by the client group?

Editor’s Comments

It’s that time again in the PMO. The previous year has been reviewed at length and resolutions have been made for and by the PMO but, as Terry Doerscher suggests in Last of the 2008 New Year’s Resolutions, it’s time to take a look at what resolutions the PMO manager might make that would benefit the rest of the PMO team in the coming year.

The California Gold Rush caught the world’s attention in the middle of the 19th century. It made many rich but shattered the dreams of many more. From those dreams sprang the modern city of Roseville with a population today of more than 104,000 citizens. As Demien Entrekin points out in Former Gold Rush City Has Big Plans for the Future, the city now has over 180 IT projects underway in its project portfolio.

Blogger Andrew Miller talks about the problems in being brought in to run somebody else’s project after the contract has been signed. And David Barrett discusses the importance of that critical soft skill – effective communication. Visit our Forums and give us your views and tell us what you think about the PMP designation in our Poll Question.

We hope you enjoy this second 2008 posting of Project Times and please take the time to email us with your thoughts and suggestions.

The Challenge

Roseville, Calif., is a progressive city with its eye on the future. What started as a town developed by disappointed miners from the famed Gold Rush has blossomed into a thoroughly developed, independent city boasting an estimated population of 104,655 residents. Approaching its 100-year anniversary, Roseville is a charter city operating under a City Manager-Council form of government. Out of 199 cities in the United States with greater than 100,000 citizens, 112 use this form of government, where the council focuses on the community's goals, major projects, and such long-term considerations as community growth, land use development, capital improvement plans, capital financing, and strategic planning.

What is a Project Management Office?

The Project Management Institute (PMI) states that a Project Office may operate on a continuum from providing support functions to project managers in the form of training, software, templates, etc., to actually being responsible for the results of projects. Project Management Office (PMO) is one name used for this business function. Other names include:

• Project Office (PO), 
• Project Control Office (PCO), 
• Central Project Office (CPO), and 
• Project Support Office (PSO).

Editor’s Comments

In Let’s Take off Our Blinkers! Ruchira Chatterjee, uses an equestrian analogy to warn of the danger of too narrow a focus on the success of a particular project, to the exclusion of other corporate priorities. She points out that the success of a project can’t always be judged on the fact that it came in on time and on budget. She says that today’s project success criteria are much broader.

How to Start a Project Management Company without an IT Professional by Curt Finch addresses the idea of having a project management with no, or very few servers. His point is that by having the servers outside the company, the IT professionals within the company can focus on serving customers instead of worrying about solving internal IT problems.

Our bloggers are back with their take on the many issues that project managers have to face every day. Also, please take a look at our forums and give us your views on the important project management issues that our readers are discussing.

And, as always, we’d like to hear what you think of this issue and what you want to see in the future.

Editor’s Comments

Sometimes, after a hectic day of crises, panics, deadline pressures and all the other stress factors that make up the workday, we can feel a lot older than we really are. But, no matter how we feel, we all fit into what Adwoa Buahene and Giselle Kovary refer to as “generational cohorts.” In their article Leading a Multigenerational Team, they point out that each of the four cohorts they define, has unique, values, characteristics and skills based on its life experience. The challenge for the project manager is to engage all team members, and direct the intergenerational skills to the success of the project.

No matter what cohort you belong to, the ability to make sound decisions is critical to the success of the project and, very likely, your success as a project manager in a very competitive field. Sean Best and Tamara Best stress the importance of finding and trusting your data and focusing your attention for the greatest gain. In their article, Decision Making: Trusting Your Data, they discuss how to turn ‘information’ into ‘data.’

After reading the National Association of Colleges and Employers Job Outlook 2007 survey, Michelle LaBrosse realized that the qualities and skills that employers rated most highly paralleled those inherent in project management. In 10 Ways Project Management Skills Can Help Your Career, Michelle discusses something she’s believed for years: Project management skills are a career accelerator, no matter what career you’re pursuing.

To many, television is about glamour, adventure and excitement. To others, it’s the task of making sure that everything runs smoothly. TVOntario, Canada’s equivalent to PBS, needed a solution to manage projects involving input from multiple team members, many of them off-site. In Creating and Delivering Great Television Programming, Cynthia West tells us how the problem was solved.

And our regular bloggers, Claude Emond, Andrew Miller, David Barrett are back with their take on what’s going on in the world of project management. We would also like to welcome a new member to the team, Mike Lecky, who will share his views on different aspects of project management each month.

That’s an overview of the September 2007 Project Times. As usual we hope you find it informative and helpful. We also look forward to your comments, because they go along way towards helping us get better with each issue.

Project managers that can create strong, collaborative work environments will achieve more significant project results – be that time, scope or budget. Today’s PM has a role beyond project deliverables; your role is also to get, keep and grow your team members. To do so, it is critical to understand your employee groups; who they are, how they differ from one another and what they expect from you as a project manager. PMs need to create an engaged relationship with all team members to achieve a win-win outcome for the team members and the project stakeholder.

Editor's Comments

Catherine Daw is president of SPM group, a leading management consultancy focusing on strategic project management, so when she decided it was time to undertake one of her life list goals, she put her project management skills to work. The project was to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, in North-East Tanzania. After seven months of preparation and training, they set off and a combination of determination and project management skills helped them reach the summit of one of the world’s highest peaks. She tells the story in Everything You Ever Needed to Know about Running a Project, You Could Learn by Climbing a Mountain.

Michael Mah continues his two-part article, Easy As Implementing a Package, by discussing the frustrations that so many CIOs and CTOs go through with large IT package implementations, especially with cost and schedule overruns. He cites seven reasons why companies have such a struggle with project implementation. They’re worth noting.

But Ilya Bogorad, in his piece The Real Costs of Failed Projects, cites a study that tells us that only 21% of organizations regarded completing projects on time and 9% felt coming in on budget was important. He also points out that project performance is often based on assessments by people closely involved in the projects, and wonders what affect human nature has on their objectivity and the general definition of project failure.

In Maximizing Project Value: Developing a Project Business Case, Jeff Berman explains why developing a project business case is so important. He believes it’s an important part of laying the groundwork for project success by ensuring that top management is onside and buying in to the project. The important point here is getting the time, resources and funding to do the job properly.

Chris Vandersluis has given this month’s piece a light summery title, Chocolate or Vanilla. His subject matter is neither light nor summery, as he wrestles with Requests for Proposals seemingly written by committees that are very much at odds about what it is they really need or want. In many cases they want chocolate, vanilla or just about any other flavor under the sun.

Finally, More Top 10 Tips for Project Management Success from Claudia Bacca are well worth noting, no matter whether you’re a seasoned project manager or just starting out in your chosen career. It always helps to go through some fundamentals from time to time.

So, welcome to the August Project Times. We hope you enjoy what we have for you and that you’ll let us know what you think – positive or negative!

In 1975 a mighty clue bat was unleashed on the software world. In The Mythical Man-Month, Fred Brooks reminded us there are finite limits to our ability to compress the development process. Moreover, throwing people onto troubled projects often backfires. These insights should not have surprised us; after all, time and effort are hardly fungible commodities. Even with the best tools and methods, nine women still can’t deliver a baby in one month.

Earned Value (EV) has grown in popularity over the last several years. With over 75% of projects failing, project management and control systems must be utilized to ensure project success.  The purpose of this article is to outline a simplified approach to understanding earned value.  Earned value shows a "three dimensional" view of project progress. Earned value is an early indicator and forecaster of project progress. We'll examine how earned value links to the work breakdown structure, the schedule, and the budget.  You will see the potential for implementing earned value on your projects -  starting now!

So you're perfectly happy with Microsoft Project 2003 and you can't think of any good reason to splurge on an upgrade to Microsoft Project 2007. You may want to give it a little more thought because, according to Special Edition: Using Microsoft Project 2007 (ISBN 0-7897-3652-7) by QuantumPM, LLC (Que Publishing), there are seven new features that might make Microsoft Project 2007 worth your money: