Practical Project Management

Editorial

Hi Loyal Readers,

In the past PROJECTmagazine has been published periodically like a magazine usually is.
However, we’re going to change that.

And it's official!

We're listed in the Top 100 Project Management Blogs How neat is that. Thanks Nicole.

Good luck to you all for the New Year, the new decade, your life,

Jeb Riordan
Editor, PROJECTmagazine

Find the top web hosting site to host your business website

Author: peter Taylor, PMP
130 approx pages
Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-906821-13-5

“Productive laziness is all about success, but success with far less effort….” So begins the introduction of Peter Taylor’s first book in which he explains his approach to managing projects.

I was initially discouraged by the ‘lazy’ in the title because for me it has negative connotations but according to the author, being a lazy project manager is all about being focused and concentrating your efforts where it really matters, where they make the most impact.

For sure the book is not a training manual. Nor does it prepare the reader for any formal examination in project management. And the author is very clear that that is not its intention.

His references to Sun Tzu, Generalfeldmarschall Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke, and Baloo, the bear from The Jungle Book justify his reasonings on managing projects and the book contains many personal anecdotes that give credence to his theories.

The Programme & Project Support Office Specialist Interest Group (PPSOSIG) will host their first conference of the new decade this March.

The PMO focused group’s one day conference, entitled “PPSO Competence and Competencies: High Level Performance”, will take place 19th March at the Open University, Milton Keynes , UK. from 9.30am – 4.30pm. Details and information on booking a spot at the conference are available below.

The 17th conference from the PPSOSIG is focused on competency and how competencies affect careers within the PMO. The conference features peer consultations, presentations and interactive sessions combined with networking and discussion groups on key topics such as competence frameworks for the PMO, role profiles in the PMO and how competence and competencies are viewed and used in the real world. Each delegate will receive their own individual competence assessment and a copy of the APM Competence Framework. Feedback and discussion from the completed assessments will also be on offer during the conference.

Start 2010 with sound investment decisions.

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Document templates - the project manager's 'Tools of the Trade.'
"What can we do without them?" Some ask. Others ask "What do we do with them?"
Well the answer maybe the project management template suite from Method123. 

Book review: Project Management of Complex and Embedded Systems: Ensuring Product Integrity and Program Quality

 Authors: Kim H Pries, Jon M Quigley

Approx 340 pages
ISBN 978-1-4200-7205-1 (hardcover)

This book is a refreshing look at how generally accepted project management processes are deployed in the development of embedded systems in the automotive industry.

As if there isn’t enough project management ‘models’, the authors, Pries and Quigley, introduce their own ‘QP Model’ of project management. They assert that project management in the automotive industry is a ‘control process’ and done effectively these processes should be self-regulating. The QP Model promotes this idea and that the recommended planning activities and organisational procedures define the feedback and control loops. 

Either you have been missing something, or nothing has really been going on.

Welcome back to the world of ‘Productive Laziness’, a world that will help you focus on what really matters and still deliver the results that you and your sponsor demands.
Here we explore the often forgotten part of the project, the very end, that point in time that is usually rushed or ignored in favour of far more attractive offerings in the shape of ‘the next big project’.

But this is a point in time for one last effort, to make life easier in the future.

The Lazy Project Manager’s Theory of Projects, from a Productive Laziness aspect states:
'All projects are thick at one end, much, much thinner in the middle and then thick again at the far end.'

Now is not the time to declare the project a success and rush off for a Bloody Mary  at the bar. ¹
No, now is the time that you can apply a small and final amount of effort but gain enormous amounts of knowledge so that future projects are likely to be even more successful and potentially with even less effort. And by less effort we know that means so much more time in the ‘comfy chair’ being lazy but in a productive way.

‘The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.’ Ivy Baker Priest

Okay, so maybe you have the large projects nailed in Microsoft Project, but what about the smaller ones that, in reality, make up the bulk of your portfolio?  Are you just "winging" those, using status emails and Excel spreadsheets to manage them?  If so, you could be making a great mistake.

Small projects, while often overlooked, are still crucial to a company's success.  Since they might not involve large sums of money, many companies do not worry as much about them, but all of these small projects can add up to some major costs if managed improperly.

Communication is one of the most significant manageable risks in any project – large or small. KPMG research shows that 20% of projects fail due to poor communication.

Other studies and experience show that failure to communicate effectively - internally, with suppliers, the community and customers will affect the both the outcomes of projects and the bottom line of companies.

Project communication is an all-encompassing discipline, but communication specialists are a relatively new addition to project teams. In part this is because communication is so fundamental that project leaders have taken it as a given. People talk to each other all the time, send e-mails, memos and reports, while notice boards are festooned with important stuff. In many projects, most of this just seemed to happen.

Everyone uses sports analogies at times. FedEx even ran a series of TV commercials poking fun at football analogies in business. This article takes the analogy process a step or two farther (admittedly farther into the absurd at times), and takes a somewhat lighthearted look at how project management is like a number of sports. Some are pretty obvious (like relating the PM to a quarterback) and some are a stretch. While this isn’t a serious comparison, there are grains of truth scattered throughout and might even give you something to think about.