Intellectuals

Change Management Process

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:08:00 +0000

The basis of change management is to have a clear process which everyone understands. It need not be bureaucratic or cumbersome but it should be applied universally and without fear of favour.

The basic elements of a change process are:

What is under change control and what is excluded ?
How are changes requested ?
Who has the authority to approve or reject changes ?
How are decisions upon approval or rejection are documented and disseminated ?
How changes are implemented and their implementation recorded ?

The process should be widely understood and accepted and should be effective without being bureaucratic or prescriptive. It is important for the project team to be seen to be responsive to client needs and nothing can hurt this more than an overly-officious change control process. Change is inevitable in a project and while you need to control it you do not want to stifle it.

A typical process might be as minimal as the following:

Once a project document has been signed-off by stakeholders, a change to it requires a mandatory change request to be logged via email. The request will include the nature of the change, the reason for the change and an assessment of the urgency of the change.
A “change control board” consisting of the development manager, test lead and a product manager will assess the issue and approve or reject each request for change. Should more information be required a member of the change control board will be assigned to research the request and report back.
No change request should be outstanding for more than a week.
Important or urgent requests should be escalated through the nearest member of the change control board.
Each change which is accepted will be discussed at the weekly development meeting and a course of action decided by the group. Members of the development team will then be assigned to implement changes in their respective areas of responsibility.

If you have a flexible change request process team members can be encouraged to use it to seek additional information or clarification where they feel it would be useful to communicate issues to the whole project team.

Change Management - Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:07:00 +0000

By Nick Jenkins

A project of any significant length will necessarily deviate from its original plan in response to circumstances. This is fine as long as the change is understood. If the change is not managed but is happens at a whim, it is no longer a project, it’s anarchy!

Change management is a way of assessing the implications of potential changes and managing the impact on your project. For example a change in client requirements might mean a minor fix or it might mean a complete re-write of the design. Change management gives you a process to evaluate this and introduce the change in a controlled fashion.

Since change is inevitable you need a fluid way to handle the inputs to your project. It is important that the inputs to your project, your requirements and your design, are able to handle change and evolve over time. If your inputs are static, unchangeable documents then you are going to be hamstrung by their inability to keep pace with changing circumstances in your project.

The most important aspect of change control is to actually be able to know what has changed. On one product I worked with 30 or more programmers and there was no real change control. Every day the programmers would check in changes to the software and every night we used to run mammoth automated tests, processing 1.5 million data files and producing about 500 lines of test reports.

One day we’d come in and find that our results had improved 10-20% overnight. The next day we’d come back to find the product had crashed after the first thirty minutes and was unusable. The problem was we didn’t know who or what was responsible, there was no change control. Eventually we implemented a system and were able to make solid progress towards our goals.

Change Management - Tracking Change

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:57:00 +0000

By Nick Jenkins

To make change management easy you need a simple method of tracking, evaluating and recording changes. This can be a simple database or log but in large projects it has evolved into an customised information system in its own right.

As such the system needs to be able to handle:

Logging requests for changes against products and documentation
Recording and managing the priority of a particular change
Logging the decision of a change management authority
Recording the method and implementation of change
Tracking implemented changes against a particular version of the product or document

The more structured a system the more secure the change control process, but obviously the more overhead. A balance must be struck between the enforcement of proper procedure and responsiveness of the system.

Change management systems are useful for managing everyone’s expectations too. Often decisions are requested by stakeholders or clients and if proper consultation is not entered into they can sometimes assume they will automatically be included (just because they asked for it). If the volume of change requests is particularly high (as it often is) communicating what’s in and what’s out manually can be difficult. A simple, well understood change management system can often be directly used by stakeholders to log, track and review changes and their approval. This is particularly true for projects that span disparate geographical locations where meetings may not be possible.

In many projects the change management system can be linked to (or is part of) a defect tracking system. Since resolution of a defect is, in effect, a request for change both can often be handled by he same system. The change and defect tracking system can also be linked with version control software to form what is commonly known as a Software Configuration Management (SCM) system. This integrated system directly references changes in the software against specific versions of the product or system as contained in its version control system. The direct one-to-one reference cuts down on management overhead and maintenance and allows the enforcement of strict security on allowable

Procurement Management in Project Management

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:56:00 +0000

By Joseph Phillips

I know lots of people who like to go shopping. One person (who shall remain nameless, but her initials are LISA) plans her vacations based on the shopping malls in the vicinity of her hotel. She buys an extra seat for the flight home, just to carry all of her new shoes and fancy outfits.

As a project manager, you can’t go project shopping just because shoes are on sale. While sales are good, they don’t always help the project to acquire the things it needs to reach project closure.

There’s nothing better than finding a sale on the hardware or software that your project needs, but you and I know that’s just not the way technology and procurement usually works. We have to shop, compare, evaluate, and eventually cough up the cash to get what our projects need.

But here’s some Econ 101 for you: Prices are affected by supply and demand, pending changes, and other factors, from government regulations to the economy as a whole.

Generally, three specific conditions affect how much you pay for the things your project needs:

Sole source. In this condition, you’ll likely pay big bucks. Sole source means there is only one qualified seller in the market. This is supply and demand at its finest. If your project needs a Cisco CCIE-certified consultant who must also know how to program in COBOL, speak Spanish, and cook spaghetti for up to forty people, and must live local to your firm, those are some high requirements—you’ll likely have to pay a higher dollar for this expert than for your average spaghetti-cooking hack.
Single source. You’re in love. When there’s a single source provider, your organization prefers to work with this provider even though other providers may be less costly or more qualified. The danger is that your single source provider may know your attachment and take advantage of the situation. Or get lax in their commitment to quality. Or go out of business.
Oligopoly. This market condition means that there are so few providers of the particular good or service that the events, actions, or circumstances of one seller affect the events, actions, or circumstances of the other sellers. Examples: Airline fares; oil prices; hardware costs; or possibly availability of spaghetti-cooking, COBOL-programming CCIEs who live in your neighborhood.

Parents' income, education affect kids' health

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:59:00 +0000

It’s no surprise that children born to poor and uneducated parents are more likely to be in bad health and die as infants than children of the wealthy and educated. But a new study released Tuesday (Oct. 7) says parents’ income and education are so linked to their children’s health that there’s even a significant difference between the health of middle-class children versus that of their wealthier counterparts.

“The public should not be shocked that children in poor families have worse health than children in better-off families…However, it will be startling to most people to learn that children in middle-class families have worse health than children in wealthier families,” said Paula Braveman, one of the authors of the report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission to Build a Healthier America.

“It vividly illustrates how much parents’ income and education levels matter when it comes to children’s health,” she said. “They matter a lot.”

The health of American children is a matter of concern, made worse by the disparities that exist between poor kids and rich kids, the report found.

The authors warned that the sources of health disparities are so entrenched that a major expansion of health care alone would not close the gap. They said in a conference call to discuss the findings that although policymakers, including the presidential candidates, are focused on improving health care, the problem needs to be tackled by changing underlying social conditions.

“Even if we had equal access to health care, we’d still have disparities and shortfalls in health,” said David Williams, the commission's staff director. “It’s not just access to health care, it’s where you live, learn, work, play and worship.”

For example, the report authors said, children in unsafe neighborhoods have less access to parks and other recreational centers, and grocery stories in poor neighborhoods probably don’t sell healthy foods like fresh fruit. Children born to less-educated parents also are more likely to be pick up unhealthy habits and be exposed to secondhand smoke.

The report looked at infant mortality and children’s health. Nationwide, 6.5 out of 1,000 infants die before their first birthdays, a problem that is worst in Mississippi, which has the highest overall infant mortality rates: 9.9 deaths every 1,000 live births. Massachusetts has the lowest level, 4.6 deaths per 1,000 infants.

The report also correlated these rates to how many years of schooling the mother completed. In Tennessee, for example, the infant mortality rate for mothers with less than a high school education was 11.7 deaths per 1,000 infants; that rate fell to 4.9 deaths for mothers who at least had a bachelor’s degree.

The report also compared numbers of children with “optimal” health — based on parents’ assessment of whether their children’s health ranged from “excellent” to “poor” — with family incomes ranging from the federal poverty level to those making more than four times as much. (The report authors said using parents’ assessments highly correlates with more objective measures of health.)

Nationwide, 15.9 percent of children aren’t at optimal health. Among the states, Texas has the biggest percentage of children with less-than-optimal health — 22.8 percent — followed closely by California (22.5 percent) and Nevada (20.4 percent).

Once income is considered, the three states also have the largest percentages of poor kids with less than good health: 44.1 percent of poor Texan children, 43.5 percent of Nevadans and 41 percent of poor Californian kids have less-than-perfect health.

This results in some of the biggest “health gaps” between the percentage of poor and rich children with imperfect health, according to the report. In Texas, 44.1 percent of poor children have less-than-optimal health, while only 6.7 percent of children in high-income families are at that level.

The states with the biggest health gaps comprise a wide swath of the South and Southwest. States in the upper Midwest, northern Great Plains and Northeast have the smallest gaps between poor and rich kids when it comes to health.

In Vermont, only 6.9 percent of children are considered not healthy, followed by New Hampshire (8.3 percent), Maine (9.1 percent) and North Dakota (9.2 percent).

Celebrating higher education day

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:58:00 +0000

State officials are offering Wisconsin students several events outlining the benefits of higher education, how to save money for college and what is important about financial aid programs throughout today.

This is the third annual “Higher Education Day,” declared by State Treasurer Dawn Sass who said in a statement this day would encourage students of all ages to take advantage of the higher education opportunities available throughout Wisconsin.

Secretary of State Doug La Follete will visit three Madison high schools to discuss the significance of higher education and how students can best access resources to help overcome challenges posed in today’s competitive world.

Megan Perkins, director of EdVest, Wisconsin’s college savings plan, said state officials are in a “lucky position” because they can bring things that are “important in our state” to the attention of citizens.

“They sign the proclamation every year. … They have a voice that people really listen to, so it’s sort of their obligation to help show the amazing programs that already exist and bring awareness to the things we need to work on,” Perkins said.

Events will also be held throughout the University of Wisconsin System, outlining how receiving an upper-level education is a benefit, as well as how it profits the community as a whole, Perkins added.

Conrad Clifton, professor of higher education and educational leadership at UW, said due to higher education, Wisconsin is a much “richer state” and citizens are more committed to the common good rather than solely the good of the marketplace. People are more invested in their civic responsibilities and, in turn, are less likely to cause trouble in society, Clifton said.

“We underestimate the societal benefits of having more educated citizenry and overlook the invisible benefits to the individuals who clearly lead richer and more robust lives due to their higher education,” Clifton said.

The program will draw more attention to benefits beyond being caught up in the corporate aspect of the university, he added.

Clifton said creating a designated “Higher Education Day” draws attention to how community members are able to contribute to the quality of life in Wisconsin. The events aim to highlight how a post-secondary education will help shape students into future leaders and successful workers in society.

A higher level of education provides students with essential learning skills that lay the foundation for a future successful career, and receiving an upper-level education provides students with access to more and better jobs, Clifton said.

“Our universities do some very special things, and this whole project is aimed at helping parents, teachers, students and business leaders understand that our students come out of their university education with the skills they need to be effective in the real world,” said Elaine Klein, assistant dean at the UW College of Letters and Science.

The UW Financial Aid office will host an all-day open house in the office lobby and a table at fountain plaza to distribute candy and discuss financial aid programs.

A Financial Aid 101 program will be held at the Financial Aid Education Center at 2300 S. Park St. to talk about different types of financial aid, how to apply and the value of student loans.

Project Management - How to Avoid Dead Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:56:00 +0000

I visit many different organizations over the course of the year. As I begin working with a client, inevitably someone whispers to me, “Can you help kill my project?” I don’t normally kill projects, but some folks are so desperate to stop working on already-dead projects, they think a consultant can help. These people can see the misalignment in their organization — between the projects the organization requires and the funded projects — but they think they need outside help to stop working on hopeless projects.

You can identify the already-dead projects yourself, by asking some questions.

When is this project due? Can I ship this project in time to meet its release date?
If you haven’t started a project in time to meet its release date, you are creating a dead project. If you can’t meet a project’s release date, don’t start it. At least, don’t start it under no-win conditions. Make sure the project environment (staffing, tools, and other resources) will support the release date.

If you can’t release this project in time to meet its due date, have you explained when you can release the project, given its current state? Come to think of it, have you explained what it will take to release the project at all?

If you can’t figure out a way to make the project succeed, it will become an already-dead project.
Is the project feasible? Does anyone have the technical knowledge to do the project?

If you haven’t done all the necessary investigation, you don’t really know whether the project is do-able. It’s a good idea to go back and look at when the project was funded and under what circumstances. You may want to talk to those people and ask what made them fund the project. It may be that your project goal should be to do more research, not to release a usable product.

If the project is not feasible (an “otherworld” project), see if you can figure out how to bring it back down to earth, to what is feasible. This is also a good time to ask for help. Chances are good no one else in your organization knows what to do either. If you don’t ask for help, you will continue to work on a dead project.
Will the final project meet the needs of the customers?

If you don’t know who your customers are, or you haven’t talked to them in six months, you will not deliver what your customers want. This is a slow, but sure, way to create a dead project.

Find out who your customers are, and keep talking to them. Involve them in the user interface development, in the attributes of the system (how fast, how much load the system can sustain, how reliable it needs to be, and so on), and what the system will provide.

To avoid creating or working on dead projects, make sure you

can accomplish your project in the allotted time,
can perform the project work (or know someone who can), and
know who your customer is and what she or he wants.

Managing an Outsourced Project - what are the issues?

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:54:00 +0000

Outsourcing of project work is more common today than ever. However, even though you outsource the work, you cannot completely outsource your obligation to make sure the project is progressing smoothly. If all goes well with the outsourcer, you do not have much work to do. Unfortunately, in many instances, the outsourcing vendor does not perform against expectations. If that happens, you want to know about it as soon as possible. For the purposes of this discussion, let us assume that your company has outsourced a project, or a portion of a project. Your company has also asked you to manage the relationship to ensure the vendor performs as expected.

Many people are not sure what they should be doing when they are asked to manage an outsourcing relationship. Part of the uncertainty is because some of the project roles are reversed when you outsource work to a third-party. On a normal internal project, the project manager assigns the work and manages issues, scope, risk, quality, etc. The project manager makes sure work is done on time and the project is progressing as it should. He is held accountable for the success of the project. Other people perform a quality assurance role to make sure things are progressing as they should.

With an outsourced project, the vendor takes on the direct management of the outsourced work. The client project manager is now the one that has to ask the quality assurance questions to make sure the vendor project is progressing as it should. Some of the up-front questions to ask include:

*

Is there a contractual agreement that spells out the expectations of both parties in terms of deliverables to be produced, deadlines, payment schedule, completeness and correctness criteria, etc?
*

Has a comprehensive project schedule been created?
*

What is the Project Management Plan the vendor will use to control the project?
*

Has the vendor been clear on what resources will be needed from your company and when they will be needed?
*

Have a number of agreed-upon milestones been established to review progress so far and validate that the project is on-track for completion?

Ongoing Questions

As the project is progressing, you must continue to ask questions to determine the current state of the work. You may have status meetings weekly, but there should be a formal quality assurance check at the end of every agreed-upon milestone. The types of questions you would ask at every milestone include:

*

Have the deliverables specified in the Project Charter been completed up to this point?
*

Have the appropriate deliverables been agreed to and approved by the company?
*

If the vendor has met expectations up to this point, have any interim payments been released?
*

Can the vendor clearly explain where the project is vs. where it should be at this time?
*

Will all the future deliverables specified in the Project Charter be completed?
*

Are issues, scope, and risks being managed as stated in the Project Management Plan?
*

Should the contract or Project Charter be updated to reflect any major changes to the project?

Once you understand your role on the project, it is easier to ask the right questions to make sure that everything is progressing as it should.

From: www.TenStepGlobalPartners.com

Muslims were using Nano-Technology 400 years ago

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 06:55:00 +0000

In medieval times, crusading Christian knights cut a swathe through the Middle East in an attempt to reclaim Jerusalem from the Muslims. The Muslims in turn cut through the invaders using a very special type of sword, which quickly gained a mythical reputation among the Europeans. These 'Damascus blades' were extraordinarily strong, but still flexible enough to bend from hilt to tip. And they were reputedly so sharp that they could cleave a silk scarf floating to the ground, just as readily as a knight's body.

They were superlative weapons that gave the Muslims a great advantage, and their blacksmiths carefully guarded the secret to their manufacture. The secret eventually died out in the eighteenth century and no European smith was able to fully reproduce their method.

Two years ago, Marianne Reibold and colleagues from the University of Dresden uncovered the extraordinary secret of Damascus steel - carbon nanotubes. The smiths of old were inadvertently using nanotechnology.

Damascus blades were forged from small cakes of steel from India called 'wootz'. All steel is made by allowing iron with carbon to harden the resulting metal. The problem with steel manufacture is that high carbon contents of 1-2% certainly make the material harder, but also render it brittle. This is useless for sword steel since the blade would shatter upon impact with a shield or another sword. Wootz, with its especially high carbon content of about 1.5%, should have been useless for sword-making. Nonetheless, the resulting sabres showed a seemingly impossible combination of hardness and malleability.

Reibold's team solved this paradox by analysing a Damascus sabre created by the famous blacksmith Assad Ullah in the seventeenth century, and graciously donated by the Berne Historical Museum in Switzerland. They dissolved part of the weapon in hydrochloric acid and studied it under an electron microscope. Amazingly, they found that the steel contained carbon nanotubes, each one just slightly larger than half a nanometre. Ten million could fit side by side on the head of a thumbtack.

Carbon nanotubes are cylinders made of hexagonally-arranged carbon atoms. They are among the strongest materials known and have great elasticity and tensile strength. In Reibold's analysis, the nanotubes were protecting nanowires of cementite (Fe₃C), a hard and brittle compound formed by the iron and carbon of the steel. That is the answer to the steel's special properties - it is a composite material at a nanometre level. The malleability of the carbon nanotubes makes up for the brittle nature of the cementite formed by the high-carbon wootz cakes.

It isn't clear how ancient blacksmiths produced these nanotubes, but the researchers believe that the key to this process lay with small traces of metals in the wootz including vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt and nickel. Alternating hot and cold phases during manufacture caused these impurities to segregate out into planes. From there, they would have acted as catalysts for the formation of the carbon nanotubes, which in turn would have promoted the formation of the cementite nanowires. These structures formed along the planes set out by the impurities, explaining the characteristic wavy bands, or damask (see image at top), that patterns Damascus blades.

By gradually refining their blade-making skills, these blacksmiths of centuries past were using nanotechnology at least 400 years before it became the scientific buzzword of the twenty-first century. The ore used to produce wootz came from Indian mines that were depleted in the eighteenth century. As the particular combination of metal impurities became unavailable, the ability to manufacture Damascus swords was lost. Now, thanks to modern science, we may eventually be able how to replicate these superb weapons and more importantly, the unique steel they were shaped from.

Via

Project Management For Dummies

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:36:00 +0000

For Dummies » PDF » English » 5.91 MB » 411 Pages

More than two thirds of American companies use teams to execute their most important projects, making project management a highly valuable skill for advancing your career. Project Management For Dummies, Second Edition introduces you to the principles of successful project management and shows you how to motivate any team to gain maximum productivity. You’ll find out how to:

* Define your project and what you intend to accomplish
* Identify project stakeholders and their expectations
* Develop a project plan
* Establish project schedules and timetables
* Determine which skill sets and resources the project requires
* Choose team members and define their roles
* Launch you project and track its progress
* Encourage peak performance
* Conclude your project successfully

Complete with helpful tips on delegating, shortening schedules, and optimizing your own performance Project Management for Dummies, help you get your project, and your career, off the ground in no time

Table of Contents

Introduction.

Part I: Understanding Expectations (The Who, What, and Why of Your Project).

Chapter 1: Project Management: The Key to Achieving Results.
Chapter 2: Clarifying What You’re Trying to Accomplish — and Why.
Chapter 3: Knowing Your Project’s Audience: Involving the Right People.
Chapter 4: Developing Your Game Plan: Getting from Here to There.

Part II: Determining When and How Much.
Chapter 5: You Want This Project Done When?
Chapter 6: Establishing Whom You Need, How Much, and When.
Chapter 7: Planning for Other Resources and Developing the Budget.
Chapter 8: Dealing with Risk and Uncertainty.

Part III: Putting Your Team Together.
Chapter 9: Aligning the Key Players for Your Project.
Chapter 10: Defining Team Members’ Roles and Responsibilities.
Chapter 11: Starting Your Team Off on the Right Foot.

Part IV: Steering the Ship: ManagingYour Project to Success.
Chapter 12: Tracking Progress and Maintaining Control.
Chapter 13: Keeping Everyone Informed.
Chapter 14: Encouraging Peak Performance by Providing Effective Leadership.
Chapter 15: Bringing Your Project to Closure.

Part V: Taking Your Project Management to the Next Level.
Chapter 16: Managing Multiple Projects.
Chapter 17: Using Technology to Up Your Game.
Chapter 18: Improving Individual and Organizational Skills and Practices.
Chapter 19: Monitoring Project Performance with Earned Value Management.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.
Chapter 20: Ten Questions to Help You Plan Your Project.
Chapter 21: Ten Tips for Being a Better Project Manager.

Appendix A: Glossary.

Appendix B: Combining the Techniques into Smooth Flowing Processes.

Index.

Download the Free Ebook Project Management For Dummies

Management lessons

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:35:00 +0000

Management lessons learned from the US presidential campaign

What is the first thing comes to mind when the current US presidential camping is mentioned? I think most readers will agree with me that the first thing come to mind is the personal attacks that each candidate is waging and the time each candidate is spending on finding the faults of his opponent. What benefits the voters will gain from this?

If I were to vote, I don’t know yet which candidate to vote for, I cant tell which candidate is better for the country. Both candidates spend considerable amount of time on attacking each rather then spending time on telling the voters about their plans to lead the country for the next four years.

If your company were in the process to change the management team, what would you want to hear from the new (potential) managers? Would you want to waste your time listening to each candidate for the job talk about how bad the other applicants are or would you want all the applicants talk about how they will provide better management plans than the previous management team?

In the last few months, I have been working with one of our major contractors, our contract with them was up and it come to a renew, the renewal process included a bid that we had to submit (with other bidders) to win another year with them.

Throughout the bidding process, all bidders were submitting their proposals that showed their ability to do the job, no bidder wasted their time telling the customer how bad the other bidders were, they all focused on showing the customer that they were fit for the job.

Don’t waste my time telling me how bad the other guy is, tell me how good you are.

Six Common Reasons IT Projects Fail

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:33:00 +0000

Many outsourcing companies have created beneficial outsourcing relationships with vendors. Unfortunately, there are the occasional projects that fail to meet deadlines or criteria set forth by the outsourcers. When a project does fail, there are usually numerous reasons and not just one underlying cause.

Lack of outsourcing strategy
The outsourcing company must take the time to formulate a strategy for handling outsourced projects. Working with vendors in other countries can create even more complications, which just shows the importance of having a plan. Managers must consider how the process will be managed and must set expectations for the projects. Sometimes outsourcing companies do not adequately prepare for the administration of projects. Management should clarify how global sourcing will be implemented and effectively communicate the strategy to the internal IT department and the vendor.

Miscalculated time involved
Outsourcing companies often do not realize the amount of time it will take to get a project in operation with a vendor. Some outsourcers take a "hands off" approach, meaning they do not feel that they have to be involved once the project is sent to the vendor. That thought process can be damaging to the project. It takes time and effort to transfer technical and business knowledge to the vendor. Once the transfer is made, hours will be spent maintaining the business relationship. The outsourcing company and the vendor will also have to coordinate between the team members to ensure that everyone understands project specifications and deadlines.

Cost-reduction expectation was not realistic
One of the most common reasons that companies look to outsourcing is to reduce costs. Although outsourcing does provide cost reduction, outsourcing companies frequently have unrealistic expectations regarding the initial savings. Even though labor costs may be lower, there are other hidden costs that can cause a project to go over budget. The longer the outsourcing relationship continues, the higher the savings. However, most outsourcers do not realize this fact. Consequently, a project can be unsuccessful if an accurate budget was not put in place.

Communication barriers
Communication is more than just language. Global sourcing can be complex as outsourcers and vendors face issues of time zones and locations. These challenges can make it very difficult to communicate crucial information in a timely manner. Communication barriers are frequently to blame when it comes to a project 's failure. If team members can not effectively communicate the project status, concerns or ask questions, it can negatively impact an IT project. A communication plan can overcome this obstacle.

The vendor was incompetent
Various criteria should be considered when choosing a vendor. If price is the main motivating factor, there is a risk of choosing the wrong one. A low-cost vendor most likely will not provide the same quality of work as another vendor who may charge more. That is why cost should not be the only consideration when choosing a service provider. A vendor should be evaluated on multiple areas, such as trained personnel, technology and processes. A thorough analysis of the vendor will allow the outsourcer to have a good sense of what to expect.

Differences in culture
Cultural differences can impact a project. If the outsourcer is unfamiliar with the culture of the vendor, potential problems and miscommunication can occur. Cultural differences include religion, mode of dress, social activities and work ethic. Even the way a question is answered can differ depending on the culture. Cultural obstacles can be overcome by taking measures to clearly outline project specifications and encourage feedback from the vendor.

A project can fail for a combination of reasons. However, by understanding why projects fail, outsourcers can plan ahead to avoid potential problems.

What type of Project Management tool is appropriate?

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:02:00 +0000

by Peter Campbell

It seems like every month or two, I happen across a forum thread about project management tools. What works? Can you do it with a wiki? Are they necessary at all? Often, there are a slew of recommendations (Basecamp, Central Desktop, MS Project) accompanied by some heartfelt recommendations to stay away from all of them. All of these recommendations are correct, and incorrect.

Project software naysayers make a very apt point: Tools won't plan a project for you. If you think that buying and setting up the tool is all that you need to do to successfully complete a complex project, you're probably doomed to fail. So what are the things that will truly facilitate a project-oriented approach, regardless of tools?

Healthy Communication. The team on the project has to be comfortably and consistently engaged in project status and decisions

Accountability. Team members need to know what their roles are, what deliverables they're accountable for and when, and deliver them.

Clarity, Oversight and Buy-In. Executives, Boards, Backers all have to be completely behind the project and the implementation team.

With that in place, Project Management tools can facilitate and streamline things, and the proper tools will be the ones that best address the complexity of the project, the make-up of the team, and the culture of the team and organization.

Traditional Project Management applications, exemplified by MS Project, tie your project schedule and resources together, applying resource percentages to timeline tasks. So, if your CEO is involved in promoting the plan and acting as a high level sponsor, then she will
be assigned, perhaps, as five percent of the project's total resources, and her five percent will be sub-allocated to the tasks that she is assigned to. They track dependencies, and allow you to shift a whole schedule based on the delay of one piece of the plan. If task 37 is
"order widget" and that order is delayed, then all actions that depend on deployment of the widget can be rescheduled with a drag and drop action. This is all very powerful, but there is a significant cost to defiing the plan, initially inputting it, and then maintaining the information. There's a simple rule of thumb to apply: If your project requires this level of
tracking, then it requires a full-time Project Manager to track it. If your budget doesn't support that, as is often the case, then you shouldn't even try to use a tool this complex. It will only waste your time.

Without a dedicated Project Manager, the goal is to find tools that will enhance communication; keep team members aware of deadlines and milestones; report clearly on project status; and provide graphical and summary reporting to stakeholders. If your team is spread out geographically, or comprised of people both inside and outside of your organization, such as consultants and vendors, all the better if the tool is web-based. Centralized plan, calendar, and contacts are a given. Online forums can be useful if your culture supports it. Most people aren't big on online discussions outside of email, so you shouldn't put up a forum if it won't be used by all members. The key is to provide a big schedule that drills down to task lists, and maintain a constant record of task status and potential impacts on the overall plan. Gantt Charts allow you to note key dependencies - actions that must be completed before other actions can begin -- and provide a visual reporting tool that is clear and readable for your constituents, from the project sponsors to the public. Basecamp, Central Desktop, and a slue of web-based options provide these components.

If this is still overkill - the project isn't that complex, or the team is too small and constricted to learn and manage the tools, then scale down even further. Make good use of the task list and calendar functions that your email system provides, and put up a wiki to facilitate project-related communication.

What makes this topic so popular is that there is no such thing as a one size fits all answer, and the quick answer ("Use Project") can be deadly for all but the most complex projects. Understand your goals, understand your team, and choose tools that support them.

Manage your Projects – a Shortcut to Success

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 04:58:00 +0000

A SHORTCUT TO PROJECT SUCCESS

Speak to an experienced project manager, and they can give you a wealth of good advice on the do’s and don’ts to successfully manage any project. All this advice, in a nutshell, would be about how to manage the people doing the work (that includes you too), to deliver their results on time and to a budget, while keeping the risk of failure to a minimum.

It really doesn’t sound that difficult to do, but for some reason, many people think that project management is a massive overhead to any project. I often hear phrases like “oh, don’t waste your time planning the work, just do it!” or “why are you wasting your time writing the objectives, we all know what needs to be done!”.

So the number one key to successfully manage any project is:

“Understand the few essential brief documents you need to create and regularly review during the life of your project.”

DOCUMENT #1 - THE PROJECT CHARTER

For example, at the beginning of your project, you need to create a one-page document called the Project Charter. This document will make sure that you and your customer understand the general goals of the project. After all, if you don’t know where you are going, how are you going to get there? Remember, you could also be your own customer!

To get this information, have a meeting with your customer and ask the following 3 essential questions:

1. What are the objectives of your project?

2. What do you want to produce or deliver?

3. What is the business reason for doing this project?

After the meeting write the answers to these questions in your Project Charter and email this back to your customer and ask them for their approval.

You have now successfully completed the most important aspect of any project, and that is to understand and agree with your customer where you are going with this project.

If you look at the time spent to achieve this important step in a project, you are looking at one or two meetings and about 30 minutes to write up the information, say 2 hours in total for a small project. Not a big overhead at all.

DOCUMENT #2 - THE PLAN

You can now get on and create the second document call the plan. This will include a list of the work that needs to be done (also referred to as the scope of work), who will do it, the cost and time to do this work, and finally a simple review of what will go wrong (known as a risk assessment).

DOCUMENT #3 - THE PROGRESS REPORT

On a regular basis, anything from weekly to monthly, you need to create a progress report and deliver this to your customer. They want to know what work was done, when, and how much was spent. They also want to know if you need their help to solve any problems. Your major challenge is just collecting this information so that you can create your regular progress report.

A FINAL THOUGHT

I have described the absolute minimum information you need to manage any project, and the key to success is understanding the few essential brief documents you need to create with this information - the Project Charter, the Plan and the Progress Report. I hope it leads you to success in your projects.

Visit www.itcentre.com for more help on managing your projects and claim your free project management newsletter

© 2007 Dr Sam Elbeik. All rights reserved

the Secret to the Success of Online Business

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 04:56:00 +0000

Online business has become the preferred choice of today’s entrepreneurs. With the help of search engine optimization you could increase the search engine ranking of your website. This includes modification of the sites web pages which on the other hand depends on the search engine algorithm or search engine ranking formulae, which time & again gets modified. To survive the competition of the web world regular updating is required. Search engine optimization makes use of certain tools & techniques to optimize your website. By doing so quality traffic could be directed to your site thus popularizing your site. SEO UK company has the proficiency as well as the capability of performing these SEO techniques. They play a pivotal role in aiding any company which takes the assistance any SEO UK company, to rank up high in the search engines.

SEO is a tedious & lengthy process and it takes time for the optimizers to optimize your website so that it might get top ranking in your website. Being a smaller market as compared to global and US market, search engine optimization services have benefited the local E-business entrepreneurs substantially by ranking up their website for particular keywords. The specified keywords are long tailed and by mentioning the location in the keywords the search is made anytime more easy for e.g. instead of using the keyword ‘sports’, using “sports UK” would constrict your search. SEO services including directory submission in UK is more localized & are better targeted. Various SEO UK services like keyword analysis, link building, article writing, directory submission etc offered in UK are anytime more beneficial because of their high standards as well as cost effectiveness.

To ensure success in your online business web promotion is necessary, which could be made possible with the help of internet marketing. With increasing demand of internet marketing, it has become mandatory to choose a relevant & good SEO UK company. Though there a number of SEO UK companies offering their services, still locating a good SEO company in the UK is not an easy job. The businesses in the UK have realized the importance of selecting a good SEO company which offers assured visibility & targeted traffic & that too cost effective and affordable. For a UK Company to rank high in the search engines it might take some time & usually depends on the viability as well as the relevance of the keywords & phrases.

Key to Successful Management

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:54:00 +0000

Is the Key to Successful Management Just Plain Old Management Training?

However, they will not necessarily help you to improve your skills and be a successful manager. While a great deal can be learned from others, if you wish to be truly successful then it is equally important to focus on developing and correcting your own weaknesses.

For example, it is probably easier to understand how your own behaviour and approach can demotivate your team and to do something about it, rather than learning a totally new approach, which incidentally might not fit with your natural style. In extreme cases others may see you as ‘faking it’ as your behaviour is not true to yourself.

Frequently managers de-motivate their employees by failing to understand the basics of human motivation. The most common failings are:

* Acting without integrity, by failing to do the things that have been promised.

* Being too aggressive and task orientated, disregarding individuals needs and work-life balance.

* Over controlling peoples work and taking away their personal responsibility.

* Making unfair decisions about work routines, pay and reward.

* Failing to engage people creatively by asking them to do meaningless work.

* Being incomplete or inconsistent in communications.

* Failing to get the involvement of others when making decisions that affect them.

* Continually being in ‘tell’ mode and not listening to others.

The role of management training should be to help managers to understand how their behaviour can de-motivate others, rather than simply showing them new role models to mimic. Management training should provide facilities for constructive feedback, and make room for, informal discussions, and peer coaching to help participants to change their behaviour.

Tips For Becoming A Successful Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 04:48:00 +0000

Good managers are not born - they are made. They learn what works and what doesn’t through trial and error, and it is that experience that makes them invaluable.

While a college education can provide the knowledge to help with finances and marketing, job experience provides on hand training that aids with real world training. A great manager usually has both of those qualities and also knows how to direct subordinates.

The tips that follow can be used to help those who are new to management.

Leadership Qualities

Successful managers are leaders and not followers. A good manager knows how to get subordinate to work for them and for the team. Being a successful manager does not mean you abuse your employees or rule with an iron fist.

It does mean, however, that you understand the talents of each employee and use them to the benefit the company. The bottom line is: you get things done right.

Have A Vision

Great managers can direct projects, increase the bottom line, and cut costs. You should be able to improve employee morale which thereby reduces unexcused absences.

Successful managers know how to get others to work for them and value their ideas.

Networking With People

Good managers understand that networking is vital to the survival of the business. It is important to build lasting relationships with those in similar industries, as they can provide valuable services in the future.

It will also help build your own business, as good service spreads by word of mouth.

Be A Continuous Learner

A successful manager adjusts to changes that apply to their industry and guide the company to make seamless changes. You should always continue your education and learn from the mistakes of other businesses.

Staying abreast of the latest technological changes is also vital.

Listen

It is important to not always do all of the talking and really listen. The simple act of listening tells your employees that you value their ideas and concerns and will go a long way.

How your employees feel they are valued within an organization can determine how productive that company will be. Listen to their complaints and incorporate some of their suggestions into company policy when feasible.

Culture

As a manager, you will need to have a basic understanding to domestic and international affairs. Being sensitive to cultural differences will help you to bridge the gap between all kinds of businesses.

This is particularly important as your business attempts to expand to new markets.

Changing Times

Market trends are very important to all businesses so as a manager you must understand those trends. Seminars and networking are tools that you should use to help yourself in this area.

Results

As a manager, you will be responsible for producing results. To be really successful, you will need to make the most of even the worst situations. You have to find ways to be successful - and you will ultimately responsible for success and failure.

The bottom line: great managers are ACCOUNTABLE.

Be Disciplined

Success is constantly a work in progress. Have a clear vision and a good plan to help you meet your goals and deadlines. Good communication is also necessary. Have a goal and a plan to stay focused on the big picture.

Being a successful manager isn’t rocket science, but it does take hard work, diligence and determination. Follow the tips above and you will be well on your way!

100% Successful Management

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 04:46:00 +0000

- The Ten Winning Behaviours
Management is all about being the one who facilitates business or organisational success. Delivering the required results. It can be daunting, yet with these ten simple ideas, it might not be the impossible challenge…

Business is complicated. Organisations are horribly complicated. Yet within that there are people who manage, who have ‘cracked the code’ for success. Success for themselves, their people and overall, the organisations they run.

So if there are just 10 actions a great manager takes to deliver the excellence way above the rest, what might they be?

Here are some ideas. The use and implementation of them is up to you…

1.Talk to your people

Top of the list is always how you relate to your people. Regular, easy-going interactions (we call them conversations and chats), make for relationships that work. Talk to and above all listen to them. And respond to what you hear. You will find great information which will help you develop them for the future.

2.Have Clear Expectations

Every one of your people is desperate to please and be seen to be doing a great job. To do this you need to ensure that they are all very clear indeed about what you want them to do. Some need more help with this than others.

3.Build Trust

Trust falls in many ways. Doing what you said you would; treating everyone fairly; being consistent; keeping criticism private; creating confidential time for those who need it; behaving yourself how you expect your people to; being as open as possible; taking personal responsibility for your actions. Invaluable.

4.Focus on Value

Management is about results. So whatever steps or actions you take must always be measured against their contribution to the results you want. If the action is not value creating, then it’s not required. Sometimes you might have to take a risk with an investment, especially in time or people. And that’s OK

5.Go Customer Crazy!

Whatever you do, you will manage the delivery of products or services. Your customers are your lifeblood. So make it easiest for your customer-facing people by giving them licence to delight! Challenge every process or system rigorously to check the customer offer is perfection. You will not succeed unless you get this right. Remember internal customer colleagues too!

6.Deliver Great Product

Your customers are waiting to receive. They want to buy from you with their readies in their hot little hands. So have an excellence of product or service and buying experience for them - have it available when they want it and make easy for them to get it. And don’t overpromise.

7.Test Yourself Regularly

By setting in place checks and measures that you are delivering excellent products or services, when your customers want it, with fabulous people, you are continuously improving. There is no ceiling on what you can achieve - no ‘we’re done!’ Once you are satisfied, get twitchy and up the stakes. You and your people will love it!

8.Lead a Top Team

Teams run organisations. Not a top leader. But you need to be that leader to manage your Top Team. Recognising the qualities and strengths of every single one of your people in a most constructive and creative way, makes for excellent leverage. You drive it, they deliver it whichever way they can. For outstanding results.

9.Be a Model

As the ‘boss’ you have a lot of personal freedom. Yet if you decide to abuse that, your people will not respond. A rule for one and different for the rest is not going to work. This doesn’t mean that you have to do all the work yourself - far from it. But you do need to be very clear indeed on the business priorities and keep focus.

10.Show Passion for your Business

The ‘Zapp’ you have in your day is infectious. Your people will hugely respond to how you respond to their efforts. Recognition of their performance will crank up their involvement and engagement even more. If you love the work you are in, show it. If you don’t, find something that you do love (it will be better for everyone, most of all you).

Of course there are other tweaks you can make to these ideas. But if you use these ten as your template, toss them around with your team and tease out the detail, you will be well on your way to being a 100% Successful Manager.

Project Management Consulting Firms Can Be Flexible

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:07:00 +0000

Very few businesses are exactly alike. Whether some are located domestically, or internationally, or are merely online project management consulting firms like Peak Consultants can be very flexible in helping all different kinds of businesses. They can be accommodating by a corresponding via telephone, through videoconferencing, instant messenger, e-mail, or even in person. They can also be very accommodating when it comes to the kind of industry your business lies in. Some project management consulting firms work with all different industries and mind. Aiming as a third-party with an unbiased opinion, to ensure that the projects are done on time, on budget, it and ensuring the success of that business in the marketplace.

Project Managers Need To “Manage The Boss”

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:53:00 +0000

Most people have one. Yet attending to their demands and idiosyncrasies can be nerve-wracking. Wise people engage good boss management strategies. After all, bosses are not exalted and invincible gods. They are human beings with special roles and authority as well as the requisite levels of human weaknesses, problems and pressures.

Assess Leadership Style

Recognize leadership skills inherent in your own boss. This assists you to better understand your boss. You also benefit by becoming a better manager.

Leader #1: The Press Leader

These leaders pretend to be drill sergeants. Low self-esteem and a strong fear of failure drives them. They are impressed by outward displays of project management and busyness.rather than by results. The leader treats people as expeditors who obey orders. They tolerate no mistakes. Trivial details snare their energies and attention. They oversupervise and manage by punishment.

How to handle The Press Leader: Quickly discover on-the-job limits. Determine whether your boss is simply tough or ruthless. The tough leader precisely delegates authority balanced with appropriate responsibility. The ruthless one disregards human factors. If you choose to resist the press leader, do it privately, not within view of colleagues. This way your leader will not lose face. Support your position with plenty of evidence. Otherwise you lose.

Leader #2: The Laissez-Faire Leader

This leader abandons staff. These leaders provide little or no support in tough times. They stipulate little of what is expected of employees. They provide virtually no project management guidance on how to accomplish tasks. While the Press Leader may hover over an employee’s shoulder, this leader does nothing to train or guide. The Press Leader overmanages. The Laissez-Faire Leader overlooks.

Managing The Laissez-Faire Leader: The individual who is self-motivated and needs little praise will work well under this type of leader. This leader craves facts such as costs, statistics and research findings. Provide these facts and figures for your boss, while at the same time trying to stress some human elements. Encourage your boss to clarify exactly what is to be accomplished.

Leader #3: The Participatory Leader

The Participatory Leader is adept at communication procedures. Under this type of boss, employees are given precise feedback and recognition when deserved. The Participatory Leader strives to involve employees in the assessment process. He or she is inspirational and innovative. The Participatory Leader customizes the type and amount of feedback required for each employee.

Managing The Participatory Leader: The most effective way of dealing with the Participatory Leader is to feed back the same techniques that he or she uses with subordinates. Keep them informed of what does and does not work. Since this type of leader is interested in results, your opinions will be heeded.

Leader #4: The Develop Leader

This leader goes a step beyond the Participatory Leader. The Develop Leader fosters staff self-esteem, autonomy and competence. Techniques for success are isolated and taught to subordinates as the need arises. The Develop Leader empowers staff and nurtures a feeling of reverence, not in the boss, but in employees themselves.

There is often a high staff turnover rate for employees of develop leaders. But it is a good one because it is upward. Because this type of leader creates such a high level of competence amongst the ranks through professional development and project management, there is always someone to take over when someone moves up.

Keep Your Boss Happy

Learn what your boss expects and values.

Strive for high quality results.

Solve as many problems as possible without the help of your boss.

Keep your boss informed.

Be your strongest critic.

Get regular feedback from your boss.

Differ with your boss only in private.

Save money and earn revenue.

Be a good leader yourself.

Promote only valuable ideas.

After all. Your boss is not interested in the storms you encountered, but whether you brought in the ship.

Five Management Skills That Matter

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:45:00 +0000

The manager interview centers around 5 main areas of competence. These are the qualities or competencies that a successful manager displays, regardless of age, gender, industry or organization. Prepare for management interview questions that explore these competencies.

Provides Clear Direction

A good manager establishes and defines specific objectives and desired results. These are clearly communicated to staff and responsibility and resources appropriately delegated to achieve these outcomes. Ongoing controls are established and follow up implemented to ensure task and goal achievement.

Communicates Clearly and Openly

The manager should be open and direct in dealing with people. Staff want straightforward information from their managers or supervisors. Open communication develops an atmosphere of trust, essential to successful goal attainment.

Develops and Supports People

A skilful manager works with others to maximize performance. Coaching, mentoring, facilitating and delegating all play a role in staff development. Performance management and feedback are also key elements. Supporting staff is consistently rated as one of the most important aspects of effective management.

Makes Decisions When they are Needed

Good judgment and decision-making skills ensure that things get done. Although employees often want a say in things they don’t want endless debate and discussion. Effective managers are able to judge when it is time to get on with things and make a decision.

Motivates Staff

A manager that encourages staff to give of their best, recognizes good performance and rewards appropriately will be effective in getting things done and achieving meaningful results.

A manager interview uses behavioral questions to determine the candidate’s level of competency in these 5 areas. Prepare for your job interview by viewing the management interview questions that explore these 5 competencies including sample answers and guidelines.

Basic Project Management Skills

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:41:00 +0000

Suzanne Mullett asked:

Nowadays, professionals are increasingly expected to have mastered the principles of project management in addition to their many other talents. Having basic project management skills, at least, is rapidly becoming a requirement for many professionals. In a fast paced working environment, it therefore seems logical to take advantage of available tools, such as Microsoft Project software, which can help to streamline project management activities.

Once a project has been initiated, the planning phase can begin. The next step is to execute the planned tasks and ensure that they are kept on schedule until the final completion date is reached. A successful Project Manager must successfully manage four basic aspects of a project: resources, time, money and scope. Let us briefly consider how Microsoft Project software is designed to assist in the management of these four elements.

Scope

The scope of a project refers to the fact that the project itself should be clearly defined from the very beginning. The project scope may need to be adjusted as variables change during the course of events. These changes will have a knock-on effect upon the resources, time scale and budget. Microsoft Project offers a project guide to assist in the setting up of a new project.

Resources

Project management involves the effective management of all resources needed for the project. These include personnel, equipment and all materials required for project completion. Microsoft Project allows the user to input all the necessary resources required for the project and assign resources to a particular task. It is also possible to review how efficiently resources are being used.

Time

Any project can be broken down into a list of tasks which need to be performed and approximation of how long each task will take. The principle difficulty is that many of these tasks will need to be performed simultaneously. Microsoft Project allows the user to design and manage Gantt charts, which are very useful for monitoring progress. A PERT analysis indicates the duration of particular tasks. Critical path analysis, which highlights those tasks that dictate the start date and finish date, can also be performed with Microsoft Office software.

Money

Completing projects within budget is a key aspect of project management. Expenses, contingency plans for unexpected costs and potential future profits all need to be considered. Microsoft Project allows you to create a budget for your project and subsequently calculate costs as the project progresses.

It is becoming increasingly important for individuals to have project management capabilities in their armamentarium of talents. Microsoft Project training courses can assist you and your employees or colleagues to fine tune your project management skills and potentially enhance your chances of success in the workplace.

Benefits Of Project Management Training

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:37:00 +0000

Project management is one of the important processes of an organization for the simple reason that it answers a lot of your questions and adds order to the company.

Project management is one of the important processes of an organization for the simple reason that it answers a lot of your questions and adds order to the company. With this, project management training is important to ensure that you have the right skills and knowledge when it comes to doing project management. What’s more, project management training can help you become a better person as you will have better sense of your time and resources.

The Advantages of Project Management Training

Project management training carries with it several advantages for those who desire to learn the art and science of better management of projects and goals of the organizations. To give you some idea, here are some of them:

1. Project management training will teach you the importance of time and setting of goals and objectives. A company without any set of objectives and goals is like a ship lost in the middle of a stormy sea. Hence, if you do not want to get lost and see if the organization can succeed in its endeavors, you need to create a list of objectives. However, it should be given its own time frame, considering that some of these goals need to be accomplished instantly. A project management training will then help you prioritize these goals as well as assist you in making great use of your time.

2. You will know the remaining resources and the needs of the company. It is obvious that you will never be able to finish any project or proceed to the next one when you do not have any available resource. This could be in the form of time, money, or manpower. You can make use of project management courses to help you determine how to estimate the resources that you will need in the next project or phase. This way, you can set more pragmatic budget for the organization and that you will not be experiencing any delay in the process.

3. You will learn how to produce documents for review. If completing projects is not daunting enough, wait until you start documenting the entire procedure. As a matter of fact, you are recommended to detail every step taken before, during, and after the project is completed. The purpose of this is to have solid record that you can refer to or verify during review. Project management training will provide you with the skills that you need in producing well-documented project completion proofs.

4. With project management training, you can work better with information systems. Project management is not done manually, particularly at this day and age. You can already make use of several applications and programs like Gantt chart to keep track of the milestones or progress of projects. Project management training will show you how to work around them without creating a much steeper learning curve, mainly to those people who do not have enough knowledge in computers or are not comfortable working with them.

Project Communications Management

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:55:00 +0000

Project Communications Management plays a key role in keeping all members of the project management team on the same page. Without communication among all team members and project stakeholders there can be a breakdown in processes which could have a negative impact on the final product.
The project manager must know the communication processes involved in effective project management. First of all there should be planning to determine what information needs to be communicated to all stakeholders in the project. Next, that information must be made readily available to the stakeholders and generated in a timely fashion. Performance must also be accounted for by reporting the project status, measuring progress and forecasting. Finally, communication with project stakeholders must be managed so that all requirements are met and issues are promptly resolved. Interactions and overlap among the communication processes are inevitable and expected throughout all phases of project management
Project Communications Management can be broken down into essential knowledge and skills as follows:
- Managing a meeting by having an agenda as well as resolving conflict
- Writing style to be used
- Method of communication; written or oral, informal memo or formal report, face-to-face or email, all of which are dependent on the situation at hand
- Techniques for presentation including whether to use visual aids and effective use of body language
- Possible barriers or feedback loops that influence communication
There are also several key components in project communication management which should be considered. Encoding or translation makes sure everyone understands what is said. The output of that encoding is the message which is conveyed through a medium. Interference with the message is called noise and finally, the message must be decoded to have meaning for all involved.

Astrophysics

noreply@blogger.com (Hum Tum) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:49:00 +0000

Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition) of celestial objects such as stars, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions. The study of cosmology is theoretical astrophysics at scales much larger than the size of particular gravitationally-bound objects in the universe.

Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists typically apply many disciplines of physics, including mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics. In practice, modern astronomical research involves a substantial amount of physics. The name of a university's department ("astrophysics" or "astronomy") often has to do more with the department's history than with the contents of the programs. Astrophysics can be studied at the bachelors, masters, and Ph.D. levels in aerospace engineering, physics, or astronomy departments at many universities.

History

Although astronomy is as ancient as recorded history itself, it was long separated from the study of physics. In the Aristotelian worldview, the celestial world tended towards perfection—bodies in the sky seemed to be perfect spheres moving in perfectly circular orbits—while the earthly world seemed destined to imperfection; these two realms were not seen as related.

Aristarchus of Samos (c. 310–250 BC) first put forward the notion that the motions of the celestial bodies could be explained by assuming that the Earth and all the other planets in the Solar System orbited the Sun. Unfortunately, in the geocentric world of the time, Aristarchus' heliocentric theory was deemed outlandish and heretical, and for centuries, the apparently common-sense view that the Sun and other planets went round the Earth nearly went unquestioned until the development of Copernican heliocentrism in the 16th century AD. This was due to the dominance of the geocentric model developed by Ptolemy (c. 83-161 AD), an Hellenized astronomer from Roman Egypt, in his Almagest treatise.

The only known supporter of Aristarchus was Seleucus of Seleucia, a Babylonian astronomer who is said to have proved heliocentrism through reasoning in the 2nd century BC. This may have involved the phenomenon of tides, which he correctly theorized to be caused by attraction to the Moon and notes that the height of the tides depends on the Moon's position relative to the Sun. Alternatively, he may have determined the constants of a geometric model for the heliocentric theory and developed methods to compute planetary positions using this model, possibly using early trigonometric methods that were available in his time, much like Copernicus. Some have also interpreted the planetary models developed by Aryabhata (476-550), an Indian astronomer,and Albumasar (787-886), a Persian astronomer, to be heliocentric models.

In the 9th century AD, the Persian physicist and astronomer, Ja'far Muhammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir, hypothesized that the heavenly bodies and celestial spheres are subject to the same laws of physics as Earth, unlike the ancients who believed that the celestial spheres followed their own set of physical laws different from that of Earth. He also proposed that there is a force of attraction between "heavenly bodies",vaguely foreshadowing the law of gravity.

In the early 11th century, Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) wrote the Maqala fi daw al-qamar (On the Light of the Moon) some time before 1021. This was the first successful attempt at combining mathematical astronomy with physics, and the earliest attempt at applying the experimental method to astronomy and astrophysics. He disproved the universally held opinion that the moon reflects sunlight like a mirror and correctly concluded that it "emits light from those portions of its surface which the sun's light strikes." In order to prove that "light is emitted from every point of the moon's illuminated surface," he built an "ingenious experimental device." Ibn al-Haytham had "formulated a clear conception of the relationship between an ideal mathematical model and the complex of observable phenomena; in particular, he was the first to make a systematic use of the method of varying the experimental conditions in a constant and uniform manner, in an experiment showing that the intensity of the light-spot formed by the projection of the moonlight through two small apertures onto a screen diminishes constantly as one of the apertures is gradually blocked up."

In the 14th century, Ibn al-Shatir produced the first model of lunar motion which matched physical observations, and which was later used by Copernicus. In the 13th to 15th centuries, Tusi and Ali Kuşçu provided the earliest empirical evidence for the Earth's rotation, using the phenomena of comets to refute Ptolemy's claim that a stationery Earth can be determined through observation. Kuşçu further rejected Aristotelian physics and natural philosophy, allowing astronomy and physics to become empirical and mathematical instead of philosophical.

After heliocentrism was revived by Nicolaus Copernicus in the 16th century, Galileo Galilei discovered the four brightest moons of Jupiter in 1609, and documented their orbits about that planet, which contradicted the geocentric dogma of the Catholic Church of his time, and escaped serious punishment only by maintaining that his astronomy was a work of mathematics, not of natural philosophy (physics), and therefore purely abstract.

The availability of accurate observational data (mainly from the observatory of Tycho Brahe) led to research into theoretical explanations for the observed behavior. At first, only empirical rules were discovered, such as Kepler's laws of planetary motion, discovered at the start of the 17th century. Later that century, Isaac Newton bridged the gap between Kepler's laws and Galileo's dynamics, discovering that the same laws that rule the dynamics of objects on Earth rule the motion of planets and the moon. Celestial mechanics, the application of Newtonian gravity and Newton's laws to explain Kepler's laws of planetary motion, was the first unification of astronomy and physics.

After Isaac Newton published his book, Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, maritime navigation was transformed. Starting around 1670, the entire world was measured using essentially modern latitude instruments and the best available clocks. The needs of navigation provided a drive for progressively more accurate astronomical observations and instruments, providing a background for ever more available data for scientists.

At the end of the 19th century, it was discovered that, when decomposing the light from the Sun, a multitude of spectral lines were observed (regions where there was less or no light). Experiments with hot gases showed that the same lines could be observed in the spectra of gases, specific lines corresponding to unique chemical elements. In this way it was proved that the chemical elements found in the Sun (chiefly hydrogen) were also found on Earth. Indeed, the element helium was first discovered in the spectrum of the Sun and only later on Earth, hence its name. During the 20th century, spectroscopy (the study of these spectral lines) advanced, particularly as a result of the advent of quantum physics that was necessary to understand the astronomical and experimental observations.

Becoming an Astrophysicist

To become a classic research astronomer (someone who runs a telescope, analyzes data, publishes papers), astrophysicists need to get a Ph.D. degree. Support positions such as telescope operators, observers, and software developers typically require a Bachelor's degree, although some positions may require a Master's degree or higher.

Observational Astrophysics

The majority of astrophysical observations are made using the electromagnetic spectrum.

* Radio astronomy studies radiation with a wavelength greater than a few millimeters. Radio waves are usually emitted by cold objects, including interstellar gas and dust clouds. The cosmic microwave background radiation is the redshifted light from the Big Bang. Pulsars were first detected at microwave frequencies. The study of these waves requires very large radio telescopes.
* Infrared astronomy studies radiation with a wavelength that is too long to be visible but shorter than radio waves. Infrared observations are usually made with telescopes similar to the usual optical telescopes. Objects colder than stars (such as planets) are normally studied at infrared frequencies.
* Optical astronomy is the oldest kind of astronomy. Telescopes paired with a charge-coupled device or spectroscopes are the most common instruments used. The Earth's atmosphere interferes somewhat with optical observations, so adaptive optics and space telescopes are used to obtain the highest possible image quality. In this range, stars are highly visible, and many chemical spectra can be observed to study the chemical composition of stars, galaxies and nebulae.
* Ultraviolet, X-ray and gamma ray astronomy study very energetic processes such as binary pulsars, black holes, magnetars, and many others. These kinds of radiation do not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere well. There are two possibilities to observe this part of the electromagnetic spectrum—space-based telescopes and ground-based imaging air Cherenkov telescopes (IACT). Observatories of the first type are RXTE, the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. IACTs are, for example, the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) and the MAGIC telescope.

Other than electromagnetic radiation, few things may be observed from the Earth that originate from great distances. A few gravitational wave observatories have been constructed, but gravitational waves are extremely difficult to detect. Neutrino observatories have also been built, primarily to study our Sun. Cosmic rays consisting of very high energy particles can be observed hitting the Earth's atmosphere.

Observations can also vary in their time scale. Most optical observations take minutes to hours, so phenomena that change faster than this cannot readily be observed. However, historical data on some objects is available spanning centuries or millennia. On the other hand, radio observations may look at events on a millisecond timescale (millisecond pulsars) or combine years of data (pulsar deceleration studies). The information obtained from these different timescales is very different.

The study of our own Sun has a special place in observational astrophysics. Due to the tremendous distance of all other stars, the Sun can be observed in a kind of detail unparalleled by any other star. Our understanding of our own sun serves as a guide to our understanding of other stars.

The topic of how stars change, or stellar evolution, is often modeled by placing the varieties of star types in their respective positions on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, which can be viewed as representing the state of a stellar object, from birth to destruction. The material composition of the astronomical objects can often be examined using:

* Spectroscopy
* Radio astronomy
* Neutrino astronomy (future prospects)

Theoretical Astrophysics

Theoretical astrophysicists use a wide variety of tools which include analytical models (for example, polytropes to approximate the behaviors of a star) and computational numerical simulations. Each has some advantages. Analytical models of a process are generally better for giving insight into the heart of what is going on. Numerical models can reveal the existence of phenomena and effects that would otherwise not be seen.[17][18]

Theorists in astrophysics endeavor to create theoretical models and figure out the observational consequences of those models. This helps allow observers to look for data that can refute a model or help in choosing between several alternate or conflicting models.

Theorists also try to generate or modify models to take into account new data. In the case of an inconsistency, the general tendency is to try to make minimal modifications to the model to fit the data. In some cases, a large amount of inconsistent data over time may lead to total abandonment of a model.

Topics studied by theoretical astrophysicists include: stellar dynamics and evolution; galaxy formation; large-scale structure of matter in the Universe; origin of cosmic rays; general relativity and physical cosmology, including string cosmology and astroparticle physics. Astrophysical relativity serves as a tool to gauge the properties of large scale structures for which gravitation plays a significant role in physical phenomena investigated and as the basis for black hole (astro)physics and the study of gravitational waves.

Some widely accepted and studied theories and models in astrophysics, now included in the Lambda-CDM model are the Big Bang, Cosmic inflation, dark matter, dark energy and fundamental theories of physics.