When I first got started in the project management software business, I knew that what people needed to be trained in to be a good project manager was the Critical Path Methodology calculation. If only someone knew this magic algorithm, they too could be a good project manager. I still have course materials which include […]
Articles
Enrolling the reluctant enterpriser
“Resistance is futile” was the battlecry of the evil Borg from Star Trek. Sometimes I’m sure there are PMO’s who wish they could be as convincing to fellow colleagues who are resisting the deployment of enterprise project management and enterprise project management systems. Getting the job of deploying an enterprise project management environment is not […]
Are you ready to get restarted? Not so fast.
As the economy slowly recovers project teams are facing an unusual challenge. Management is coming to project offices and to product managers and asking them to ”restart“ projects that were suspended due to economic concerns some time ago. Restarting a project can be infinitely more complex than starting it originally. The original project plan might […]
Display changes decisions
Anyone who has worked with project management systems knows that the way you display data can dramatically affect the decions people make from it. This is why we often see GANTT charts with critical activities in red. I’m reminded of one of my very first sales of project scheduling software back in the 80’s. I […]
Changing a Culture happens one tiny procedure at a time
How do you change corporate culture? Do you use a carrot? A stick? One of the most effective methods I’ve come across deals with the challenge with more finesse thanks to some thinking from Buckminster Fuller. It’s called “trim tab”.
When Resources have to come from nowhere
Dealing with Resource overload is one of the most common challenges in project management. How do you deal with the project workload when the resources just aren’t there?
Thanks to Scott Adams for a good laugh
I’ve been enjoying Scott Adams Dilbert comic strips for years. They’re a treasure trove of laughs for people in the project management or timesheet software business as I am. Adam’s Dilbert website has too many old strips to choose from so here’s just one that had me chuckle today.
Sometimes it’s better to look integrated than be integrated
We hear the salespitch almost continuously from large ERP/Finance system vendors. “It shoudl alllll be integrated.” That’s a story that sells easier than it implements. Sometimes it’s just easier and more effective to look integrated than to be integrated.
Oh, what a year it’s been!
Happy New Year and welcome 2010.
Risk analysis software: A definite safe bet
Managing projects is all about risk. If there were no risk, we’d have no need of project managers. When we think about risk though, what kinds of systems can help with collecting, tracking and analyzing risk? Let’s take a look.