Project Management Work

WBS builder in Visio

Brad Holt — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 16:38:07 +0000

http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/visio/HA102255691033.aspx

Here is a cool tool that is an add in for Visio. A WBS builder for Visio. This is a long time coming, as many people use Visio to graqhically show project information. A good tool.

A gantt chart for Microsoft would be nice. Has anyone seen that tempalte yet, post a comment.

Hypnotic Outlook Management

Brad Holt — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 18:55:37 +0000

Email has taken over the lives of business people today. With everyone using email to send updates, applications sending updates, and using email to chat. Our inboxes are becoming over crowded. I have heard many people declare email bankruptcy. This is where they delete all emails in the inbox and start over. The purpose of this article is to help you not get in the position to begin with. Speaking too many of my project manager friends, most of them only use the Outlook rules on a limited bases. They think that it takes too long to set up and the benefit does not justify the time needed to set up the rules. I am here to say that the time spent up front to set up rules will reduce the number of emails that you see in your inbox safely filing away the emails that you really do not need to see for future review in the future.

Three things to consider when setting up rules

1. What type of email do you not want to see in your inbox? Barring Junk Mail. Is it the CC’s, is it the Application update emails, is it the Reply to all emails. Those are the emails that are prime candidates to have a rule applied to them.

2. Where do you want the emails to go when they have been identified by a rule? Another folder, send it to another email address, Delete it.

3. Do you want to see an indication attached to the email? A category can be assigned to it so that it is easy for your to identify, Flag it to be done and add it to your to do list, or do you want to see a message pop up to let you know that you need to do something right away.

With these three things identified, most emails that come in to an inbox can be filtered and handled on their own; without any interactions from the inbox owner.

I used to have an inbox that had over 400 messages. I believed since there was so many emails in there that I must be important. I learned I was not good at managing my email. I have many rules set up and I set up new ones each time I get a new project. Here is a list of a few email rules that you can implement now.

1. If my email is on the CC line, I move that email to my CC inbox. Generally if you are on the CC line, there are no actions for you; the sender is just adding you for your information. Review this folder daily as some senders do not use the CC line correctly.

2. If there is an email that comes from an application that is giving an update on where a request is or something, look for a set of words in the subject line. Use that to filter these and move them to a folder on your computer. This rule gets rid of as many as 25 emails a day. You can use this idea for any Out of Office replies that you may get.

3. When a project stakeholder sends me an email I want to be notified of it immediately. So I set up a rule that when an email comes in to display a message on my desktop that prompts me to look at it right now. Then I can file it.

I encourage you to review your rules and set up some new one to make sure that your inbox stays clean. This will free up your time to concentrate on more important work items to get the project completed on time and under budget.

Networking Truths

Brad Holt — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:15:06 +0000

Over the last five years working for Dell, I have learned a lot about networking. As with anything else that I do, I read about understand it and practice it. In Networking, I have found several truths that I would like to share.

You should be networking all the time – by this I mean that every new person that you meet is a potential networking moment. Meeting new people all the time, getting to know them, keeping that communication channel open allows you to use your network when you need it, instead of building it when you need it.
Increase the breath of your network – Your network is like knowledge, you have a depth of knowledge and a breath of knowledge. The depth of your network is the number of people you know in a specific field of study or industry. Your breath of your network is how many people you know across multiple fields of study or industry.
Keep the lines of communication open. – This does not mean pick up the phone every day and call everyone in your network. Send out Birthday ecards, send out Christmas or Holiday cards, Send out New Years Cards. These are all easy to do with ecard services through email addresses. The name of the game is not who you know, but who knows you.

With these three ideas in mind I challenge each of you to go out and find three new people in your network add them to your rolodex as that is really who you are. Go to www.bradrholt.com if you want to become part of my network.

Project Management and Selling

Brad Holt — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 14:24:22 +0000

In my experience project managers that can have the hard conversations with customers are the project managers that are friends with their customers in the beginning. A Project Manager must become the customer’s friend, advocate, and their most trusted advisor before the customer can buy or work with the project manager. It is important to KNOW the customer. It is important for the customers to know who the project manager is as well. This way a foundation of friendship can be established. It is easier for a friend to have hard conversations with a friend than with just a customer. There are many similarities between sales people and project managers. Here is a list of attributes that are common between selling and being a project manager.

Project Managers and sales people must build relationships with the customer – a good sales person builds a bond between the customer and themselves. The reason is that when the customer thinks about the product they sell, they should think of the sales person. If that sales person is liked, they will generally get the call. The same holds true with a project manager. Building that relationship and bond with a customer allows the project manager to not only help sell the product or service, but also allows the customer to have a great customer experience during the project.
Project Managers and sales people must understand the issues – Both sales and project managers must understand the issues the customer is having before a solution can be offered. Understanding the customer pain point and issues the solutions developed by the project manager or the sales person should increase the customer experience. The best way to figure this out is to listen to the customer.
Project Managers and sales people should always look to sell its services – Both groups must be cognoscente in the fact that a customer that is happy will buy from us again. Knowing the customers situation level and keeping it high will allow the project manager and the sales person to offer solutions and make a sale.

Below are some books that I have read in the past that have this element in them. I believe that all things come down to building a relationship and selling. We are not just selling products; we are selling a brand, a customer experience, a service, and a way of life to that customer. A Project Manager should be familiar with how to sell, build a relationship, and speak directly to a customer; conveying the good as well as the not so good information to them in a way that they can still continue on with the project and create a positive customer experience.

Selling To VITO (The Very Important Top Officer) (Paperback) by Anthony Parinello (Author) “WELCOME TO THE NEW ECONOMY…” (more)
Secrets of VITO: Think and Sell Like a CEO by Anthony Parinello (Paperback – Aug 22, 2006)
Little Green Book of Getting Your Way: How to Speak, Write, Present, Persuade, Influence, and Sell Your Point of View to Others by Jeffrey Gitomer (Hardcover – April 4, 2007)
Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude: How to Find, Build and Keep a YES! Attitude for a Lifetime of SUCCESS by Jeffrey Gitomer (Hardcover – Dec 6, 2006)
Customer Satisfaction Is Worthless, Customer Loyalty Is Priceless: How to Make Customers Love You, Keep Them Coming Back and Tell Everyone They Know by Jeffrey Gitomer (Hardcover – Aug 25, 1998)

Difference between Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and Testing?

Brad Holt — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 21:10:00 +0000

Many people and organizations are confused about the difference between quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), and testing. They are closely related, but they are different concepts.

But all these three are useful to manage risks of developing and managing software.

Quality Assurance: A set of activities designed to ensure that the development and/or maintenance process is adequate to ensure a system will meet its objectives.
Quality Control: A set of activities designed to evaluate a developed work product.
Testing: The process of executing a system with the intent of finding defects. (Note that the “process of executing a system” includes test planning prior to the execution of the test cases.)

QA activities ensure that the process is defined and appropriate. Methodology and standards development are examples of QA activities. A QA review would focus on the process elements of a project – e.g., are requirements being defined at the proper level of detail.

QC activities focus on finding defects in specific deliverables – e.g., are the defined requirements the right requirements

Testing is one example of a QC activity, but there are others such as inspections

The difference is that QA is process oriented and QC is product oriented.

Testing therefore is product oriented and thus is in the QC domain. Testing for quality isn’t assuring quality, it’s controlling it.

Quality Assurance makes sure you are doing the right things, the right way.

Quality Control makes sure the results of what you’ve done are what you expected.

Source:

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?QualityAssuranceIsNotQualityControl

http://www.mosaicinc.com/mosaicinc/rmThisMonth.asp

Meeting Minutes

Brad Holt — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 19:05:00 +0000

Meeting Minutes

Do your hands cramp up at the thought of recording meeting minutes? Do you question what information you should record and what you should leave out? You’re not alone. Most of us have sat through a meeting madly scribbling what we thought were minutes only to find out later that we’ve missed essential information or that the notes were never used.

Why Meeting Minutes Matter

Don’t give up, meeting minutes are important. They capture the essential information of a meeting – decisions and assigned actions. They keep attendees on track by reminding them of their role in a project and clearly define what happened in a group session. How many times have your colleagues been confused or in disagreement about what happened in a meeting? With minutes to refer to, everyone is clear.

What most people don’t know is that meeting minutes shouldn’t be an exact recording of everything that happened during a session. Minutes are meant to record basic information such as the actions assigned and decisions made. Then, they can be saved and used for reference or background material for future meetings relating to the same topic.

After the Meeting

Review the notes and add additional comments, or clarify what you didn’t understand right after the meeting. Do this while the information is fresh in everyone’s mind. Type your notes out in the template below – this will make the notes easier for everyone to read and use.

When you’re writing out your notes, use the following tips from the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP).

Focus on action items, not discussion. The purpose of minutes is to define decisions made and to record what actions are to be taken, by whom and when.

Avoid inflammatory or personal observations. The fewer adjectives or adverbs you use, the better. Dull writing is the key to appropriate minutes.

If you need to refer to other documents, attach them in an appendix or indicate where they may be found. Don’t rewrite their intent or try to summarize them.

When you finish typing the minutes, ask the meeting lead to review the document for errors. Send the final copy of the minutes to attendees right away. Keep a copy of the notes (and the template) for yourself in case someone wants to review them later.

Recording meeting minutes ensures that the decisions and actions resulting from a meeting aren’t lost or forgotten. By taking the time to record proper meeting notes you’ll make sure the time and effort that goes into a meeting isn’t wasted.

Dr. Kerzner’s 16 Points to Project Management Maturity

Brad Holt — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 16:50:00 +0000

I found this in Dr. Kerzner’s new text book. Take at look at each of these points, see how your organization puts them into practice. I especially like #7.

Project Management Maturity

1. Adopt a project management methodology and use it consistently.

2. Implement a philosophy that drives the company toward project management maturity and communicate it to everyone.

3. Commit to developing effective plans at the beginning of each project.

4. Minimize scope changes by committing to realistic objectives.

5. Recognize that cost and schedule management are inseparable.

6. Select the right person as the project manager.

7. Provide executives with project sponsor information, not project management information.

8. Strengthen involvement and support of line management.

9. Focus on deliverables rather than resources.

10. Cultivate effective communication, cooperation, and trust to achieve rapid project management maturity.

11. Share recognition for project success with the entire project team and line management.

12. Eliminate nonproductive meetings.

13. Focus on identifying and solving problems early, quickly, and cost effectively.

14. Measure progress periodically.

15. Use project management software as a tool—not as a substitute for effective planning or interpersonal skills.

16. Institute an all-employee training program with periodic updates based upon documented lessons learned.

Mavericks at work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win

Brad Holt — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:49:00 +0000

Book Description

In Mavericks at Work, Fast Company cofounder William C. Taylor and Polly LaBarre, a longtime editor at the magazine, give you an inside look at the “most original minds in business” wherever they find them: from Procter & Gamble to Pixar, from gold mines to funky sandwich shops. Want to stop doing business as usual? Then take some lessons from the 32 maverick companies Taylor and LaBarre profile.

I found this book so captivating that I decided to begin my book blog with this book. This book explored several companies to show how original thinking can win over cost cutting measures. I especially liked the section on open-source activities in the work place. Collaborating in this style is the future in my opinion. More and more I read about strong leaders using open source techniques to collaborate on many different types of projects.

I encourage all to read this book soon and apply one or two ideas in their current work place.

This is an interesting story about “False Assumptions”

Brad Holt — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:14:00 +0000

I ran across this short story in a book. I hope you enjoy and gleam the message it sends.

False Assumptions “The Necklace”

SHE TOOK OFF HER WRAPS in front of the mirror, for the sake of one last glance at herself in all her glory. But suddenly she uttered a cry. The diamonds were no longer round her neck. . . .

She turned to her husband in horror. “I . . . I’ve . . . lost Madame Forestier’s necklace.” . . .

Loisel had eighteen thousand francs left to him by his father. The balance of the sum he proposed to borrow. He raised loans in all quarters, a thousand francs from one man, five hundred from another, five louis here, three louis there. He gave promissory notes, agreed to exorbitant terms, had dealings with usurers, and with all the money-lending hordes. He compromised his whole future, and had to risk his signature, hardly knowing if he would be able to honour it. . . . At the end of ten years, they had paid off everything to the last penny. . . .

One Sunday Madame Loisel went for a stroll in the Champs-Élysées and caught sight of Madame Forestier. . . . Now that the debt was paid, why should she not tell her the whole story? . . .

Madame Forestier stopped dead. “You mean to say that you bought a diamond necklace to replace mine?

. . . Oh, my poor, dear Mathilde! Why, mine was only imitation. At the most it was worth five hundred francs!”

Source: From “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant

A Wiki Philosophy

Brad Holt — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 03:00:00 +0000

Installing Wiki type collaboration requires a fundamental change in how teams collaborate. It is good to understand what a wiki is. Here are the basic characteristics of a Wiki

Wikis allow people to collaborate, create, and maintain content in an organic way.
Wikis let people share unfinished content early, which leads to better content because more brains are involved early.
Wikis empower people to make a difference in an organization based on what they know, instead of explicit authority.
Wikis make pockets of knowledge available to the whole organization, providing the foundation for a smarter company which should lead to a competitive advantage.
Wikis increase the accountability and sense of responsibility among staff members.

Simply throwing a wiki at an organization is not going to work. There is an educational process that must take place. There must be some sort of organization in which employees gradually shift from email traffic into a wiki. This allows the maintenance of part of the intranet from the webmaster to the members that use the web. There are many roles associated with a successful wiki.

Vendors provide an open source or closed source software for the wiki to be hosted on.

Extension builders are people that enhance the wiki. They can create plug ins, skins, and add-ons.

A wiki Administrator installs configures and manages a wiki. Teams generally deploy their own wiki in a grassroots manor. One person generally functions as the Wiki Administrator The administrator generally is concerned about software updates, backups and system availability. The person generally does not manage the content.

A wiki champion is a person that who understands the process of the work for the project and the business and how to best use wikis. The Wiki champion is primarily concerned about the content of the wiki, how it is structured to make it easy for users to find the right data. Basically the Wiki champion helps automate the business process.

Contributors, the writers, use the Wiki as a whiteboard or a blank sheet of paper where the information is created and started. Each page can have many contributors. Templates can be made to reduce the choices on how to get started. The contributors are the people that make the content.

Consumers are people that are primarily concerned about finding the information they need for their work.

Many times a person takes on more than one role at a time.

Introduce Wikis slowly and organized. Have a purpose for the documents that are created. Use wikis to help manage the business or project process. The less structure mandated, the more information will be captured.