Brutal Realities of Project Management

At Baseline, they recently presented the 10 Brutal Realities of Project Management.

They are:
1. Lack of commercial paper
2. The stakes are higher
3. Smaller staffs
4. Cloud of layoff looms
5. Training dollars disappear
6. Morale is low
7. Best practices may no longer apply
8. No room for radical approaches
9. 'Good enough' syndrome
10. Uncertainty and ambiguity are killing planning

For their explanations, read watch the presentation.

How to Kill an IT Project

Steven Levy and Bruce Webster seem to have differing views on the correct way to kill an IT project.

Steven's view

Bruce's view

Their main disaggreement stems from the use of informing and engaging people about the change. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts.

Project management offices critical even in recession

Midmarket CIO News recently reported that project management offices are critical to businesses even in the current recession. They offer companies IT governance and a way to align IT projects with corporate goals. These PMOs can provide a way for companies to reel in projects that have fallen by the wayside, as well as find new ways to meet challenging business needs while increasing efficiency. For more on how they are thriving, read here.

Project Management Life Cycle Released

According to MarketWire, new software has been release to help Project Managers to undertake all of the phases, activities and tasks in the Project Management Life Cycle. It helps people deliver projects successfully because it tells them what needs to be done to complete their project, how and by when. Most software in the market facilitates the delivery of projects, but this new software suite actually tells managers how to complete projects on time and under budget. Pretty nifty. If you've used this, let us know your thoughts.

What's your New Year's resolution?

Rich Maltzman, PMP, of the Scope crepe blog hopes it has to do with furthering your knowledge in project management! He recently received a book from Lucidus Management entitled 50 Lucid Thoughts that focus around five main topics.

Maltzman categorized them this way:

ONE: What you know and applying it in the real project world

TWO: The positives from old-school project management - things that worked then and still should now

THREE: Re-tooling some of the basic, older tools of PM

FOUR: Decision-making and risk

FIVE: Collaboration and the human element in Project Management

You can read them here at Lucid Consulting.

Cloud Computing: What Business Technology Managers Should Know

If you're familiar with cloud computing, you know the pros and cons with this new development in technology. If you haven't had a chance to check out how it can work for your organization, then check out this great analytics study from Informationweek.com. "How To Plug Into the Cloud" is a clearly laid out interpretation of how cloud computing can work for business technology managers. In addition to understanding how it can work for business tech, this paper is so easy to use that managers in all tech arenas should check it out. Read it over and get back to us with your thoughts.

Project managers and tightening budgets

Projects@Work looks at how you as a project manager can start finding ways to monitor your current spending for your projects. First, you should be able to define these three key numbers: budget to date, actual to date, and estimate to complete. You should also be tracking your spending. If you're not, take a trip to the finance department and set up a quick spreadsheet so you can begin.

Other ways to begin stretching your budget: Review estimates, Get number savvy, Share costs with other projects, Cut back on travel, Review who does what, Manage risk better, Negotiate a contingency fund, Share the numbers, and Do less. For more information, read the article at Projects @ Work.