Category

Articles

Category

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…

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…

We tend to talk about project management systems as an end unto themselves but what help is there for automating or improving project manager’s soft skills? There’s lots. From training to aids and enablement systems, project managers should be aware of what can help them be a good leader, a good negotiator, a good collaborator and a good communicator.

So many people approach me to ask if the EPM system they saw in some demonstration last week will fix their enterprise project management challenges. “Do you have a PMO?” I always ask. The challenge of implementing an EPM system successfully comes with some presumed prerequisites. I’ve listed several in this article.

Here at HMS we’ve decided to publish a brand new blog that’s specific to our TimeControl timesheet software.  The TimeControl blog is at blog.timecontrol.org and will include tips, techniques, frequently asked questions and other information about how to get the best out one of the best recognized and extensive timesheet systems in the world. Stop by the blog.timecontrol.org Blog to see what we’re doing there.

The hottest buzz in the project management industry over the last 10 years has to be the Project Management Maturity Model. This concept is an offshoot of the thinking at Carnegie Mellon on the Capability Maturity Model which has a huge following in the manufacturing sector. Increasing one’s assessment along the PMM model encourages organizations to be more formalized, more integrated and to create project management as a core process. That sounds great but is it great for every organization? This article discusses the concept.