5 Ways to Profit from Project Management Passion

Michelle LaBrosse reports on ITWorld,

Top Five Ways to Profit from your PM Passion

1. Create goals with gusto.
2. Track time and dollars spent with exacting enthusiasm.
3. Get that deadline buzz.
4. Become a project archaeologist.
5. Create a consistent and standardized approach to Project Management.

Do you have any more to add? How about a 6th, Stay Focused.

Tips for better project management

CIO recently took a look at how important project management is to a company. It's critical projects are in order, especially in times now when it is hard to make revenue. Project management can contribute to achieving the goals of the organization and keeping the organization proactive. Read the complete article here.

What software do you use for project management?

Over at the Web Designer Depot, they recently listed some of the best software online to help project managers. Just a few examples are Project Pier, Collabtive, Liferay, OpenGoo, and Clocking IT. What software do you use? Do you use another software on the list that got let out?

Project Manager Podcast

Stumbled upon this great site that provides free and paid podcasts for budding project managers or those looking to spruce up their skills. The PM Podcast offers free, regular episodes in the format of a traditional radio program that can be delivered to your iPod or computer.

Have you checked it out? What other digital resources are out there for project managers looking to sharpen their skills? Ideas appreciated!

Are you doing a project pre-check?

Projects@Work recently suggested incorporating a project pre-check during the expression of interest stage in project management.

Steven Hawald, Robbins-Gioia's Process Refinement and Optimization Practice had this to say about the way pre-check is used in his company:

"Programs in which key business changes are implemented have been, and will continue to be, medium- to high-risk adventures. This is because they involve getting large organizations ready for large change. Project Pre-Check is an approach that helps you understand the deeper internal and external components of a proposed project before work begins."

The process uses 100 to 150 questions to look at what a new project will be for a company, including an evaluation of the complexity and risk of the new or ongoing project.

Project Management 2.0

Andrew Filev writes, E-mail is still the most popular project communication tool. An employee on an average project gets between 30 and 100 e-mails per day. The majority of these e-mails contain tasks, change requests and discussions, so it’s hard to overestimate the knowledge buried in e-mail inboxes every day. This knowledge often bypasses project management tools like Microsoft Project. Filev offers insight into a new way that project managers can do their job, more efficiently by integrating Project 2.0 which relies upon the same processes at Enterprise 2.0. Filev goes on to say that Project Management 2.0 practices and supportive tools eliminate the need for extra meetings, phone calls, and e-mails, thus saving you time and letting you focus on getting things done. To find out more about Project 2.0, check out Filev's post here.

Organization could help project management

At the Voices on Project Management blog, Kelley Hunsberger talks about how organization could improve during this financially difficult time. The blog shares a white paper called Driving High-Performance Projects Despite Shrinking Budgets: Three Keys to Increasing Productivity and Reducing Costs Across the Enterprise. Take a look at it here.

The blog highlights the three main objectives to improving your organization:

1. Make sure your organization has access to accurate information.
2. Focus on bottom-line activities.
3. Make the organization's vision accessible to everyone.

Networking Project Management

Greg Schaffer's piece in networkworld.com, outlines the processes that networking project managers must face for successful implementation of the project. According to Schaffer, managing network projects does not have to be an exercise in fortune telling. When digested down to the core components, network projects are just like any other project, IT or otherwise: There is an objective, a time line, a budget and expectations of those who will benefit from the network once it is completed. Also illustrated in Schaffer's article, the so-called "triple constraints" rule: projects are subject to cost, schedule and performance parameters. Changing one will affect at least one of the remaining two.

What do you think of Schaffer's thoughts on this arena of project management?

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.