PMThink! Project Management Thought Leadership

Project Manager's are Motivators

2009-11-20T00:01:00.008-05:00

Many times you may need to be the team’s top motivator. Projects are hard. They all have their challenges. So, here is a lesson from history in persistence. Feel free to share with your team members who need it…"He failed in business in ’31. He was defeated for state legislator in ’32. He started another business in ’33. It failed. His fiancée died in ’35. He had a

SpinOff and Divestitute IT Projects

2009-11-19T20:12:00.004-05:00

Not all IT projects are growth, efficiency, or talent enablers. Periodically, IT needs to support divestiture or spin-offs. These types of projects often can involve segmenting / securing the divested business in the existing enterprise systems, so that temporary IT services can be extended for a grace period. At some point, the divested business is fully separated from the systems. These

IT Project TCO Perspectives

2009-11-18T21:51:00.008-05:00

Dell and the London School of Economics are collaborating to study practices and perceptions of IT decision-makers on creating enterprise efficiency. One of the findings brings emphasis on the impact that project investments have on on-going operating budgets and the need to minimize that impact, so that "run the business" operating costs do not balloon over time and threaten an enterprise's

IT Project Business Impact

2009-11-17T19:54:00.003-05:00

IT project failure makes list of business slayers along with poor customer service and lack of business evolution. ...... "Make a mess of a major IT project. I have seen companies hit the rocks because they spent fortunes on computer systems that did not function properly. " ...Via Financial Times: Murder a business

People - Love'em or Hate'em?

2009-11-16T22:05:00.008-05:00

Are you the type of person that comments on a regular basis, “you know, I really can’t stand people!” Perhaps you should consider whether or not this view impacts your success as a project manager and/or leader. I argue that it does. I was just checking out Pete DeYoe’s blog and he has two recent entries that led me to this post. In his entry titled “Flock or Fleece”, he quotes:

Military IT Project Cycle Times

2009-11-15T22:17:00.004-05:00

IT systems purchasing and development integrated with weapons system procurement processes results in glacial cycle times for solution delivery in the military technology space. Defense leaders are considering actions for improvement, but organizational complexity could be an insurmountable barrier. ...... "Lynn said that it is unacceptable that, on average, it takes 81 months from the time a

What if there were no PM's?

2009-11-11T20:37:00.004-05:00

Jerry, you posted some great questions on 20 October! They really did get me thinking.Here are my thoughts regarding #1 -What if there were no project managers, and instead teams had to figure out how to achieve the objectives and please the customer? What impact would that have on accountability?Unfortunately some of us have experienced an "effort" without a project manager. We all probably

Agile Governance Structures

2009-11-10T21:16:00.005-05:00

World class IT organizations are both highly efficient and effective. To become more effective in the application of information technology to business success, governance of enterprise architecture must look forward to ensure that the tactical decisions will holistically integrate in the future. ...... "It allows the organization to create new capabilities with long-term focus and to respond

Virtual Desktop Pilot

2009-11-08T22:22:00.003-05:00

Education application of virtual desktops shows positive results. ...... "They've actually been using Netbooks and VDI for a proof of concept project in the classroom. Kids and teachers like it, and she says the financial models are pretty compelling. " ...Via InformationWeek: VDI And Netbooks

Agile Project Stakeholder Engagement

2009-11-04T21:54:00.007-05:00

With its speed and frequency of product builds, agile projects can offer a more engaging stakeholder process through greater frequency of touch-points, faster incorporation of stakeholder feedback, and sustained engagement over the project lifecycle. ...... "Agile methods, by definition provide improved engagement for these stakeholders using two simple mechanisms: visibility and frequency of

Project Oversight Minimum

2009-11-02T20:09:00.004-05:00

While every project should be managed well, there will be problems that require the project manager, a steering team, and a project portfolio oversight role to understand the truth about status and provide transparency to leadership. In this case, systemic cultural barriers makes governance even more challenging. ...... "A culture of over-optimism held sway, the committee found, and financial

Software Mashup Unifies Project Management Intelligence

2009-10-28T17:07:00.005-05:00

Creative application of mashup brings insight to integrated project engineering information. ...... "AMEC Paragon uses IBM Mashup Center as a way to unify all key project management information and take action on items all in one place. Paragon's mashup solution includes blending structured data with Enterprise Content Management and IBM FileNet content along with information from various SaaS

Agile Next-Gen IT Project Managers

2009-10-26T21:18:00.005-05:00

Latest research from Forrester notes that next-generation project managers have adapted to flexible, agile methods. ...... "they need to be flexible and focused on business value; and they increasingly need to be familiar with Agile software development methodologies ... " ...Via ITBusiness: Project manager skills

Project Turnaround

2009-10-24T09:41:00.004-05:00

Focused Green IT Benefits

2009-10-21T10:10:00.008-05:00

Leave high-level measures to the enterprise sustainability initiative and focus the IT organization on metrics that are in their path of control. ...... "To sustain focus and support for a green IT strategy, CIOs must select granular performance metrics that enable comparison and prioritisation, such as percentage of equipment entered into recycling programs and power usage efficiency (PUE) or

Project Management Questions: 10 Questions to Get You Thinking

2009-10-20T10:17:00.002-05:00

Since we're called PMThink, I thought I'd pose ten questions to ponder. These aren't proposals but simply questions to get you thinking.Whether you are for, against, or indifferent to these issues, I encourage you to take the questions literally and think through them. You never know what ideas they may spur on...What if there were no project managers, and instead teams had to figure out how to

Project Manager to Police the Street

2009-10-19T21:17:00.003-05:00

Nice career move for technology project manager with financial and fraud experience ...... "Storch has a strong background in technology systems and project management, Khuzami said in a statement. He will help to make us more efficient and nimble, and permit us to put more of our investigators on the front lines to detect and stop fraud ... " ...Via New York Times: COO of SEC Enforcement

Scrum Values Framework Rules

2009-10-17T21:48:00.002-05:00

Insight into Info Tech Market Performance

2009-10-14T18:04:00.004-05:00

Unit volume improvements provide a glimmer of positive improvement for the information technology market moving forward. Global PC shipments are up 2.3% year over year for the 3rd quarter of 2009. ...... "Global shipments totaled 78.1 million units in the July-September period, IDC said, with all regions except Japan either meeting or surpassing expectations. " ...Via Reuters: Global PC

Data Center Efficiency Project Targets Cooling System

2009-10-13T16:46:00.004-05:00

IBM leverages measurement tools from its Research Division to identify and implement energy savings opportunities in the cooling system of Toyota's California data center. Electricity provider, Southern California Edison, created a baseline and validated power demand decrease. ...... "IBM also piloted an extension of MMT which includes real-time sensors that are distributed in strategic

Business Disruption Costs in Project Business Case

2009-10-11T20:16:00.006-05:00

Emerson's CIO shares insights into the company's application portfolio, enterprise architecture, and IT project philosophy. As he points out, the business case financials should show the cost of business involvement in the IT project, so that a more realistic ROI can be understood. ...... "People don't go and look at the real total cost of the IT project. Probably the biggest thing - and also

Project Oversight, an Essential Ingredient

2009-10-08T15:54:00.003-05:00

CFO has skin in the game, vendor contract has penalty clauses, and oversight / steering team is asking questions. Positioned for success if executed well. ...... "Tuesday's hearing was the first for the Legislature's IT oversight committee since March 2008. " ...Via Forbes: CFO's $81M IT project

Strategy Execution through Well-Defined Projects

2009-10-07T19:17:00.004-05:00

A fair amount of the IT strategy is made up of the portfolio of discretionary investment projects that will drive business growth and/or efficiency. Rightsizing those projects with your team and delivering to your schedules will set the tone with executive leadership. There will be times when you have to push back and reframe the project to continue your track record of success. Don't miss

Exploring the Gray Areas: Decision-Making Lessons from Harvard

2009-10-06T17:19:00.002-05:00

For fans of my Managing the Gray Areas book, you may be interested in this free online course and discussion group from Harvard University. The course, Justice with Michael Sandel examines moral dilemmas and offers some amazing case studies, resources, and tools for opening your mind. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to increase their ability to manage difficult dilemmas and operate in

FDNY IT Projects

2009-10-05T21:15:00.004-05:00

Remember that saying about drinking from the firehose of information ... Well, you will be if the wrong firehouse is closed based on recommendations from your optimization program. ...... "Another FDNY IT project under development is designed to help the department determine whether it should relocate, and possibly consolidate, city firehouses to better accommodate New York's shifting