Are you baselining? I know, it sounds like some drug-related crime, doesn’t it? It’s actually one of the most fundamental aspects of modern project management and a stunning percentage of project managers don’t do it. So this month I thought I’d dedicate the column to the elusive art of baselining. So, what’s a baseline? First of all, what is a baseline? Everyone agrees it’s a snapshot of your project which is frozen now for use…
I’ve written at different times in this column about the impact of the web on enterprise project management systems. Until now, most of that talk has been about how the availability of a web interface would attract additional users through an easier and more accessible interface. There is an emerging movement in this regard however, which is starting to revolutionize how we think of project management data and project systems usage. It has come about…
For those looking for the latest news on Microsoft Project and Project Server, there’s probably no better place than the Project Conference. Microsoft will hold the next Microsoft Project Conference in Phoenix Arizona on Sept 14-17. Microsoft has promised a preview of what’s coming in Project 2010. This is a good opportunity to connect not only with Microsoft but, perhaps more interstingly with others who are users of Microsoft Project and Project Server as well…
I’ve had a few wonderful opportunities lately to talk to high-tech CIOs about what costs them the most time. I had thought I’d hear about project management and resource management issues. ‘We need a better scheduling algorithm’ or ‘We need a better resource-leveling engine,’ I figured I’d hear. Not so. The CIOs I’ve met this month in my rather non-scientific survey talked about the simple things. “I’d just like to know if my people are…
More and more these days as I visit project management offices across the country, I end up talking about scorecarding and balanced scorecarding. These terms are part of a popular trend in management at the moment which is based on the simplest of management principles. Scorecarding refers to simply setting goals for certain results in the business and then tracking those results on a regular basis. (See? I told you it was simple). The notion…