Go Ahead, Manage

In honor of International Project Management Day: Sponsor Buy-in

Karine — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:53:00 GMT

Today is International Project Management Day. I bet there will be quite a few posts on project management as a profession and a methodology.

I would like to talk about something that is to often forgotten in projects: the importance of the sponsor in the project.

No project without the sponsor

If no one wants the product or end results of the project, there will be no project. The sponsor is not only the initiator of the project, she is the reason for the project to exist. The sponsor is not just the flag-waver in the race to deliver the project on time and under budget. The sponsor must be involved with the project at many levels:

At project kick-off. It's a communication issue that is too often glossed over: the project team should understand who is initiating the project, and why it's being done. This should be learned from the project sponsor directly. The project manager saying "the sponsor told me" just doesn't have the same value, or the same credibility for that matter.
For all major changes to the project. It's up to the sponsor and the change control committee to decided on major scope, delays or budget changes in the project. Giving the project sponsor this visibility helps the project manager from developing image problems with the team.
At major deliveries or milestones. Connecting the team with the sponsor at key project events such as deliveries helps the team and the sponsor understand each other, instead of constantly communicating through the project manager.
At project closure. It's up to the project sponsor to sign off on the project.

No authority without the sponsor either

I have seen the situation first hand, where the project manager was not supported by the sponsor publicly. Without the support of the sponsor, the project manager may not be perceived positively by the team, which will affect the project itself quite negatively.

As a project manager, I've learned to make sure that the project sponsor is involved in the projects, if only to communicate to the team what is required of them and of the project.

How do you deal with your projects' sponsors?

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Project Management is a craft

Karine — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:53:00 GMT

Jorge Domingez asked the question: is project management science or art?

I agree with Jorge that project management cannot be reduced to only art or only science. Rather, I see project management as a craft .

Wikipedia defines craft as "a skill, especially involving practical arts. It may refer to a trade or particular art."

Project management is about skills

Project management is being able to put people together, to organize work and to motivate the team to achieve the objective. While some are from the art world and some from the science side, these are all skills.

Project management is about the practical world

Project management is about achieving a defined goal. Projects are not theoretical endeavors.

Project managers are craftsmen and wormen

Project managers must bring together skills from different, almost opposite worlds (art and science) and work with their team to deliver something tangible at the end of the project.

What do you think?

Do you see project management as a craft?

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

An Underestimated Collaboration Tool in AceProject - The Discussion Forum

Sylvain — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:36:00 GMT

Nowadays, we hear more about wikis, blogs and tweets than forums. Actually, forums are not as "Web 2.0" as these collaboration tools. Nevertheless, discussion forums are incredibly useful in a project management application, from a collaboration standpoint.

Everybody's talking about Twitter and how cool it is to post 140-character messages. I definitely agree with that. However, let's not forget that a forum enables you to post both short and long messages. With Twitter, if you have a lot to say, you'll have to post several short messages, which is not always convenient and interesting to read. A forum still remains the best of both worlds.

In AceProject, there's a comment thread at the task level and a discussion forum at the project level. Both empower involved users to share ideas, knowledge, tips or any other useful information. The discussion forum is more powerful however. In addition to general discussion, it permits creating topics. Messages are then posted in a specific topic and replies to these messages can be posted thereafter. Hence, collaboration capabilities using this feature abound. From building a knowledgebase to simulating a helpdesk, the discussion forum is much more than a simple conversation tool.

Here are a few practical examples of how the discussion forum can be used in a project:

Build a knowledgebase that can be used for troubleshooting. Users can easily search for keywords using "Text-to-Search", which helps them find answers to their questions in a flash.
Create a wishlist (gather customer requests, potential enhancements, etc.).
Simulate a helpdesk system (allow customers to post messages when they encounter issues and have every issue handled by your support staff). Thanks to the email notification feature, the customer can get notified when their issue gets fixed.
Use it as a blog (why not?)
Discuss issues
Share knowledge
Build a FAQ
And more...

Here's a video that highlights the discussion forum feature in AceProject.

Connect with Sylvain Traversy and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Managing expectations

Karine — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:43:00 GMT

I love our product, AceProject. I have unwavering faith in the system as it is now, and its potential in the future. When the whole gang here sit down to have lunch, I really like to dream up the future's AceProject together. To share our vision of what AceProject could be in five years.

And it's all good.

Because the team and I know what can really be done, and how much of our dreaming is just dreams. When we sit on the next version planning meeting, things get more practical: what CAN we do? True, we could recode the entire system, but that would mean no new features for our users for a long time. That would make our users unhappy.

We need to balance both the expectations of people who use AceProject everyday, and the expectations of the visionaries we have on the team. Our clients expect us to release new features at least twice a year. Our dreamers on the team (and I am one of them) expect AceProject to kick butt.

The thing is, AceProject can be great and be updated often. We simply need to manage expectations on both sides that push development.

How do you manage expectations in your project?

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The new quiet revolution?

Karine — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:54:00 GMT

Webcom in Montreal today was a very stimulating conference. While the last one, in May, was all about being open (APIs, OpenID, etc), this one seems to be all about 2.0. The revolution in marketing, medias, products and doing business in the modern world.

In the spirit of the conference, I decided to use Google Wave to document the conferences I was going to attend during the day. A few participants joined me in my documentation of the wave. I’ve had a Google Wave account (and the envy of more than a few of my peers) for a few weeks now, but I hadn’t had a chance to really use it.

With Webcom, everyone was taking notes and sharing their impressions of Webcom. While I was more inclined to summarize what was being said, others we adding context and reference links. The result is a rather complete document of the talks. It was more than a wiki (no coding required) and it was more than simple collaboration (everyone is in the same document and types without affecting everyone else).

Here are some screenshots of what it looks like:

Anyway, back to Webcom

As I wrote earlier, the theme was definitely change. How social media is changing everything: how we do business, how we work together, how we market our products, how we manage our projects. Social media could very well be our generation’s quiet revolution.

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Live Google Wave at Webcom today

Karine — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:29:00 GMT

Today I am at Webcom 2009 in Montreal. I've decided to use Google Wave to take notes from the presenters. So far it's going really well! I'll tell you more about my experience later this week.

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Have you ever tried to nail jello to the wall?

Karine — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:21:00 GMT

How about fitting a square peg in a round hole? Or attracting bees with vinegar?

With these examples, it's obvious that the wrong approach is used. It could be the wrong tool, the wrong strategy or just the wrong idea.

Why do we keep doing it then?

We like our tools. Even if they don't work. We like them because we're used to them and we've learned to work around their shortcomings. Even when our tools have big problems, we tolerate them because at least we know what the problems are.

Alas, it comes a time where we must move on from our old, clunky, comfortable tools to shiny new ones.

Understand it's time for a change

Before we can start looking for a new tool, we should make the case against the old one.

Focus on the pain points of the tool. Get a list of the tool's shortcomings, and explain them in a way that sounds as neutral as possible.
Stay away from blaming the people using the tool. We must remember that people like familiarity and making them feel bad about a tool they like is not the best way to bring them over to our side.
Look forward. By asking people what more they would like from a tool, we can focus them away from the past.

Selling the new tool

When changing from a broken tool to a new tool, selling it right is very important. Knowing our crowd is essential.

Find a solution that fixes most (if not all) of the pain points. There has to be benefit to the new tool.
Under promise, over deliver. Buy-in will be faster if the system is better than promised. Not the other way around.
Involve the end users. Empowering people makes a big difference in getting them to accept the new tool.

After-sales service

Once the tool is in place, we have to keep selling it to our team. If team members feel abandoned when they have questions about the tool, they may start blaming the tool or even stop using it altogether. As the champion for the new tool, it's our responsibility to be there for the people we convinced to adopt it.

Get feedback. Don't expect people to provide their unsolicited opinion about the tool. Ask for it, and ask for it frequently.
Own up. If the tool has issues, acknowledge it.
Fix it. Whatever problems arise should be addressed quickly.

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Something to think about: the project's impact on our planet

Karine — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:57:00 GMT

Can our project management style affect the environment? Most of us would say yes, as long as we're working on a type of project that is physical in nature. For example, if we're building a bridge or a building, it's obvious that the project has an environmental impact. It's also obvious that the building style and practices chosen will have an impact.

But we don't think about the environmental impact of office work. Beyond telecommuting to reduce our carbon footprint, here are three areas where we can affect climate change in our project management practices.

The paper-free office is not a dream. As project managers, we have an impact on how we produce our status reports and other documentation to support the project. We have a choice on the media we use to distribute this information. Let's keep this in mind when we have a choice between printing and emailing a PDF file!
Kick-off and team building activities with the planet in mind. Even if it's only choosing reusable glasses and mugs, our project team's carbon footprint reduction, however small, counts.
Repair VS replace. Whenever possible, let's try to repair equipment instead of just buying a replacement. It's often less expensive and we are slowing the accumulation at the landfill sites.

What can each of us do to reduce humanity's adverse impact on the planet?

I wrote this post today to support Blog Action Day. The theme this year was climate change.

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Nobody likes having a rash

Karine — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:55:00 GMT

If we wear an ill-fitted shoe, there will be friction between our foot and the shoe. If left unchecked, this friction will turn into a painful blister. Afterward, we will be unwilling to wear the shoe again because of the pain that friction cause our poor foot.

The same process happens if there is friction in our projects. If friction prevents someone from doing their job on the project, they will associate these negative impressions with the project as a whole.

This is why we should work hard at removing friction and making things easy for the project team, internal and external.

It should be easy

It should be easy for the stakeholder to request changes
It should be easy to a member of your team to raise a flag about an issue with the project
It should be easy to the sponsor to know how the project is going.
It should be easy for everyone involved with the project to know what's the next step

How easy are these things in your project?

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Using AceProject for document check in/check out

Sylvain — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:25:00 GMT

Document management is a very convenient feature in AceProject. Documents can be associated with a task or a project. AceProject’s document management features include: Versioning, Locking and Public/Private Availability. Locking a document doesn’t hide it. Actually, anyone who can view the document can see it even when it’s locked. It’s simply put in read-only mode.

One might be interested in document management for storage, archiving and collaboration, among other things. Today, I’d like to focus on version control (a.k.a. check in/check out) which can be achieved using the locking feature in AceProject.

Locking a document protects it against deletion and overwriting. Several scenarios can require locking documents. Here are a two examples:

Set in stone documents and document templates

Documents that should not be altered by anyone should be locked. For instance, final/approved versions, legal documents, quotes, invoices, documents from clients, etc. All templates that users start from should be locked as well. It may be forms, invoices, quotes, web pages or any other relevant source that is used over and over again in your organization.

Prevent conflicts when several users collaborate on the same document

Document like web pages can involve many collaborators (e.g. an HTML programmer, a .NET programmer, a graphic designer and a writer). To prevent conflicts, it’s advisable that a collaborator locks the document while he’s working on it. Hence, all other collaborators can’t update that actual version. They will have to either upload a new version (which is not often a good idea) or wait until the document gets unlocked.

Here's a video that gives an accurate overview of document management in AceProject:

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Connect with Sylvain Traversy and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

PMBOK changes: it's in the details

Karine — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:42:00 GMT

This week Josh from pmstudent.com contacted me to update a study help Excel sheet I built back when I was studying for my PMP exam. With the PMBOK update, the spreadsheet was obsolete.

As I was updating the processes, inputs and outputs, I noticed that while the processes themselves hadn't changed much, the inputs and outputs terminology has changed quite a bit - and for the better! For example, instead of listing all the management plans (human resources management plan, comminucations management plan, quality management plan, etc.), the PMBOK nos simply lists "project documents." A much simpler term.

I saw two new things in the inputs and outputs:

Requirements traceability matrix. It's a table designed to link requirements with their origin, like a business need or a project objective.
Stakeholder register. Similar to a risk register, it's a document where information about the stakeholders is kept. This is useful to make sure all stakeholders are involved in the project at the proper level.

Download the study helper: Excel 2000-2003 2007

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

AceProject 4.7 Source Code edition is now available!

Karine — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:15:00 GMT

When we release a new version of AceProject, we first make it available for hosted accounts, where it's easy for us to fix bugs. We'll wait a few weeks to make sure the system is stable, then make the release available to our Source Code customers.

AceProject Source Code installs on a Web server. Ends users still use a Web browser to access AceProject, but the data resides on the customer's server instead of our servers.

Why buy the Source Code edition?

There are a few reasons why our customers who choose to purchase AceProject Source Code:

One-time payment. Since the Source Code is installed on the customer's own web server, there is no recurring payment.
Unlimited projects, tasks, and file space. AceProject Source Code licenses are based on users only. For groups that complete a high number of projects, it may be more cost-effective to purchase AceProject Source Code.
Complete control over the system. The customer chooses where to install AceProject Source Code, how to maintain that server and - most importantly - how to secure it. Organizations in the health, finance and legal sectors tend to choose AceProject Source Code for this reasons.
Independence from Internet availability. Customers who are in areas where Internet access is unreliable install AceProject Source Code on an Intranet server to make sure the system is always available.

How does the upgrade work?

If you already have upgrades banked (email us if you don't know), simply email customer service and request the upgrade. We'll send you the download link within about one business day. If you don't have any upgrades banked, you can purchase an upgrade here. Once we receive your payment, we'll send you the download link within about one business day. You can install the upgrade by simply unzipping the files in your AceProject directory on your server. It takes about 1 minute.

What's new in AceProject 4.7?

Improved task dependencies, improved workload report that shows overallocations, flexible mail server configurations, and much more. See the full release notes here.

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Video: version 4.7 overview

Sylvain — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:53:00 GMT

We officially released the Source Code version of AceProject 4.7 today. The Hosted version was released several weeks ago, so we got plenty of time to fix issues we hadn't found during our testing process (thank you Hosted customers :-)). As a result, we're glad to offer a stable Source Code package.

Improvements in version 4.7 have been discussed quite a few times on this blog already. Now, here's a video presentation of those improvements.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiCpJzn2mo0

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Finding the productivity sinkholes in your day

Karine — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:32:00 GMT

As we go through our day, we tend to repeat the same gestures or tasks over and over without realizing it. If we have enough of those repetitive tasks in our day, they take over and we feel we have no time for anything else! Unfrotunately, because they're the kind of thing that evolves on and creeps up on us, we don't realize their importance until they become productivity sinkholes.

Productivity sinkholes steal time from us. They force us to do and redo the same thing many times. Why? Just because we never planned on these tasks to be required so often. Or because we feel it's faster to do the task than figure out a way to automate it.

And we're right: automating a task can be longer than doing it once. But if afterward it cuts the time to perform the task in half, we will be saving a lot more time down the road.

Here's an example. We used to create our quote by hand, in Microsoft Word. We had a basic template, but it required a lot of customization and there was a big checklist to use before we could send it. However, it didn't take that long to create the quotes, so we learned to live with it. That is, until we started getting more and more quotation requests. That's when we started feeling overwhelmed by the work required to put out the quotes. The problem needed to be fixed. Of course, building the quotation module took about as much time as creating 30 quotations with the old system. But now, 18 months later, it takes under 2 minutes to create a quote and send it. Everything is automated: pricing, contract clauses, etc.

This has 2 benefits for us:

We save a lot time and aggravation when creating a quote.
Less specialized knowledge it required to create the quotes. Thus, we can spread the work amongst ourselves.

What about you?

Which productivity sinkholes do you struggle against every day?

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Is sales a dirty word in your organization?

Karine — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:02:00 GMT

In most of the places where I've worked, the sales team was never seen positively. It seemed working in sales made you a worse person for it.

It seems sales is seen as a manipulation effort to extract money from people, barely above theft.

It's time to adjust our perspectives, no?

I was once travelling with a sales rep and he told me "you know, sales is the team that goes and gets the money for your paycheck. It's great that I get to sell a product that works so well." There is the symbiosis. We need sales to develop relationships with our clients and we need a great product and great service to keep the client coming back.

Sales is really only pre-sales customer service.

Connect with Karine Simard and the AceProject team via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.