Project Decision Making with Kepner Tregoe

Kepner-Tregoe's Decision Matrix has been in use for years, but for some reason, it's not discussed frequently in project management circles.

To a degree, it's similar to a standard vendor weighting spreadsheet, and also seems a close cousin of QFD (Quality Function Deployment), which ties design elements to weighted functional needs.

It includes classifying musts, wants, and constraints; prioritizing objectives based on that; generating alternate solutions; scoring each solution vs. the needs; and identifying risk probability and severity to make the final decision.

Of course, sometimes even after all that, we can end up with a tie, where we run into the Buridan's Ass syndrome (see Graham McHardy's post earlier today). To refresh your memory, that's where an ass, undecided between two equally appealing piles of hay, starves to death. The term was named for John Buridan, a 14th century philosopher, who created the story.

In that case, we just need to just pick one (sometimes after allowing a few days to sleep on it). For more info and other decision making options, see Graham's post.

Meanwhile, here's a good description of Kepner-Tregoe from the folks at ValueBasedManagement...

Kepner-Tregoe Matrix | Decision-making method framework tool

OMB EVM Rules: Software Supports Capital Project Oversight ...

Software enables compliance with OMB earned value management EVM rules, which supports better oversight of capital projects ....

OMB EVM Rules: Software Supports Capital Project Oversight: Via xpdoffice - A Division of SSSI - Offering Web-Based Timesheet and Project Management Software

... "xpdient, Inc., a division of Scientific Systems and Software International (SSSI), announced the release of a new module of its successful xpdoffice solution to address new Earned Value Management (EVM) rules propagated by the federal government's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) via circular A-11, Part 7, titled Planning, Budgeting, Acquisition, and Management of Capital Assets. The release occurs as OMB officials are becoming increasingly persistent in urging agencies and agency contractors to adopt EVM oversight of major capital projects.

Becoming effective in the near future, rule changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations will standardize EVM execution and use for all major federal government acquisitions, including information technology services. Widely used in commercial markets, earned value management is a standard way to measure a project's progress, forecast its completion date and final cost, and provide schedule and budget variances along the way. By integrating these capabilities, xpdoffice provides consistent indicators enabling project evaluation and comparison. " ...

xpdoffice is a web based Business Automation Software (BAS) solution that streamlines enterprise management and delivers improved project financial reporting. xpdoffice modules include HR, Contracts Administration, Time Management, Document Management, Knowledge Management, Purchase and Inventory, Project Management, and Expense Management.

Leadership Constraint: Time Management

Leadership Constraint: Time Management: Via SiliconIndia: Mark Of A Leader ...

Project managers need to manage their own, their team's, and their sponsors (leadership) time well. This article explores the challenges and qualities of leadership. Project managers that exercise these competencies prepare themselves for their opportunity in executive leadership positions ...

... "Time Management. Everybody wants a leader's time, just the thing that he or she does not have a lot of. In a sense, the only gift that anybody can give a leader is time, and the only way to do that is by not taking up her time. Messages or ideas should be conveyed in as little time and as efficiently as possible. " ...

Event: Project Management: Core Business Discipline ..

Event: Project Management: Core Business Discipline: Via Montgomeryadvertiser.com: Project management consultant to speak ...

... "Bill Stewart, a pioneer of the Project Office concept, will speak Oct. 19 at the Auburn University Montgomery TechnaCenter. He will offer tips for creating rapid change in an organizational culture and methods to foster acceptance of project management as a core business discipline. " ...

Planning for Project Initiation

Here's another of those questions that comes up during consulting engagements, particularly those where resource planning is an important management process.
Many organisations have a formal point at which a project is recognised as being part of the portfolio. Once a project is recognised as being official in this way, then it gets general visibility - it will have a name, perhaps a reference number, a project manager, a charter, a budget, a place on the executives regular status report, etc.
Frequently there is some kind of gate meeting for those organisations that use a Stage Gate Process. For others there may be a portfolio review committee or perhaps it's as 'simple' as getting three separate VPs signatures. Whatever the method, a common requirement is that there must be supporting information giving some kind of cost benefit analysis and, usually, more detail on probable timing, resource requirements, risk assessment and so on.
This information takes time, effort and resources to prepare. And there can be a lot of time, effort and resources involved. The issue is how does one plan for it when, technically, there is no project. There are three general approaches. Which one an organisation uses depends on its management and accounting practices and priorities.

1. Start tracking the project from the time of very first idea. Once it becomes 'official', there needs to be a way to include the effort spent in preparing the proposal in the newly approved budget - including the cases where the project gets rejected at the first gate. This approach would be relevant where the organisation is really interesting in total product costs. The problem is that there is no official plan at the outset against which time and costs can be recorded - and this makes resource planning difficult.
2. Have a specific proposal preparation project with it's own budget and approval mechanism. This would be relevant for major projects and often fits in the context where each phase of a major project would have it's own methodology, plan, budget and approval mechanism.
3. Have a pseudo project which covers 'early project activities' with resources and budget to do a range of relatively lightly defined activities. In this case there would be little formal connection between the effort for the early project proposal effort and the eventual full project. This approach would be suitable for an organisation where project proposals are fairly simple and the effort required for an individual proposal can be approved under a fairly large umbrella.

Buridan and portfolio management

From one of those interesting search chains, Buridan's Ass came to our attention. Buridan's Ass refers to a paradox based on the impossibility of choosing between two equally appealing alternatives. The research theme was portfolio management and the process for prioritisation and selection.

For making a choice within a project, for instance between two packages, there are some well established evaluation techniques such as Kempner Tregoe. These depend on evaluation criteria than can be compared across alternatives - cost, performance, functionality, user acceptability, regulatory compliance, etc.
Portfolio selections frequently don't have such easy measures for comparison which is why clarity of portfolio goals is so important. This is where tying in to corporate goals is crucial and strategies such as balanced score card help to integrate performance goals with portfolio decision making. This paper gives some interesting descriptions and refrerences in this area.
Decision Model based on Balanced Score Card

Strategic Portfolio Management Process: Executive Recognition ...

Strategic Portfolio Management Process: Executive Recognition: Via Management Roundtable: MVP Awards: Duane Y. Oda Designated a 2005 Product Development and R&D Metrics MVP by Management Roundtable ...

Duane Y. Oda, product development executive, recognized for his accomplishments in strategic planning and portfolio management processes ...

... "He has championed the development and implementation of strategic road-mapping and portfolio management processes at Boeing Commercial Airplanes and supported a Boeing enterprise road-mapping initiative co-led by Raymond Cosner (Boeing Integrated Defense Systems director of technology and leader of IDS road-mapping). These efforts have resulted in a dramatic improvement in the effectiveness of product development and R&D, while establishing meaningful metrics for R&D based on the corporate revenue that is linked to the success of each R&D product. Other metrics measure how well the R&D portfolio targets the right strategic capability needs. " ...

Project Change Management Culture Key ...

Project Change Management Culture Key: Via RTE Business - Morning business news: IT Projects ...

Ingredients for successful IT projects discussed in new book by Maire Kearns, such as instituting a change management culture ...

... "Ms Kearns says that that IT projects fail mainly because of a result of weak project management and a failure to agree on costs and timeframes. She says a company should always agree a fixed time and fixed price basis for a project, this will share the risk and forces a very strict change management culture. " ...

Project Manager Development: Business of Innovation

Via Arizona Reporter: Oct. 20 Event Explores the Business of Innovation

... "Project Management Institute (PMI) Phoenix Chapter today announced that Nationally recognized innovator, entrepreneur and business advisor, Joan Koerber-Walker, will explore the secrets behind The Business of Innovation, Oct. 20, 2005 at Doubletree Guest Suites in Phoenix. " ...

ITIL Microsoft Operations Framework Assessment ...

ITIL Microsoft Operations Framework Assessment: Transformation Success Story: Network Operations & Security Center ...

Anecdotal evidence of Microsoft's experience with ITIL service processes: Capt. Nick Mossing, 83rd Communications Squadron, reports on ITIL transformation experience at the ACC Network Operations and Security Center, which provides network services ...

... "In February, Microsoft's ITIL experts led a one-week Microsoft Operations Framework assessment of the NOSC's IT Service Management functions. The target of the assessment was not technology, but business processes. Several independent studies have identified that over 80 percent of IT system downtime is due to people and processes, not technology. In March, Microsoft delivered a 106-page report providing 71 recommendations for IT best practices. Six months later, the ACC NOSC has completed just over half of the recommendations and the results have been remarkable. " ...

Earned Value Project Management Third Edition Released

The third edition of Earned Value Project Management by Quentin Fleming and Joel Koppelman (the godfathers of Earned Value), has been released.

Garry Booker offers some comments on the new edition, along with some relevant quotes, at Project Frontier. At any rate, it looks like the book is well worth purchasing and offers some updates on the thinking of previous versions.

Project Risk-Based Cost Management; Is RACM The Next Big Thing?

The Defense industry brought us Earned Value and proved that Critical Chain could work. Now the DoD commissioned the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) to test a new cost control theory called RACM (Risk Analysis and Cost Management).

The results of the study showed that RACM can offer significant reduction in project costs and excellent cost performance management. RACM offers a method to determine and manage an appropriate risk reserve level (much like Critical Chain focuses on buffer management for schedule control). It also uses a risk multiplier (called Ps or "Probability of Success") for costs at the WBS element level.

But RACM is not being positioned as a replacement for Earned Value Management. Instead, it can be used to complement EVM.

For more info, see the website for RACM, Inc. They also offer a 60-day Evaluation Beta Model.

RACM Home Page

Project Management Tasks ...

Via Eli Robillard's World: Project Management and Task Switching

Discussion of project task estimation and management. Include safety factor into project tasks or as single project contingency buffer to consume ? ...

... "My methodology is to scope the milestone by reviewing both the planned features for M3 and the features we agreed to drop from earlier releases, identify priorities, identify available resources, break the work down into tasks, and the order the tasks according to priorities and dependencies. I sent the task list to our Senior PM with estimated durations, who thought the estimates were too tight. ... " ...

Project Schedule Critical Path ...

Project Schedule Critical Path: Via Yackity Blog Blog: Critical Path in Schedule Management

Post on project management critical path concepts ...

... "Project Management Network Diagrams are helpful in determining where most of the schedule project risks will occur. A critical path is made up of activities that cannot be delayed without delaying the end date of the project. " ...

Public Sector Project Management: EVMS Strengths ...

Public Sector Project Management: EVMS Strengths: Primavera Launches Public Sector Group And New Project Management Software Solution For Government: Via Primavera

Primavera focuses on public sector vertical with project management solutions and services, highlighted by strength in EVMS, earned value management system ...

: "The formation of Primavera's public sector group builds on the company's long-history of success working with the public sector and underscores the company's understanding of and commitment to the government market. The public sector team is dedicated to working with agency customers to successfully deploy solutions that help agencies develop, manage, and execute successful programs that meet performance objectives and federal mandates. Further, the group is committed to working with systems integrators to deliver project management solutions that enable successful delivery of government projects. The public sector division offers agencies and systems integrators a true partner in implementation of Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS), drawing on the deep experience and expertise of Joel Koppelman. " ...

Project Manager: New PM Discussion ...

Project Manager: New PM Discussion: Via Random Thoughts from a CTO: View from the ground floor ...

Via Skip Angel: An interactive weblog for sharing the learning curve of new PM's and seeking the advice of seasoned PM veterans ...

... "That's the premise for a new blog that I am happy to introduce - Rookie PM. Casie Hulden is the author of this blog, and she is fairly new to project management. She will be sharing with other project managers that are just starting out her experiences. I am sure that she would also like to get feedback from those veterans out there of lessons that they have learned and would be willing to share with all project managers. " ...

PMP eLearning Alliance Drives Project Manager Development

PMP eLearning Alliance Drives Project Manager Development: Praxis and Measure Twice Announce Alliance: Via Praxis Learning Network

Praxis Learning Networks and Measure Twice, creator of the PM Final software testing tool for project managers, create alliance to advance project manager development for the PMP exam ...

... "Praxis will develop and maintain the question bank used in PM Final to test project managers in preparation for the Project Manager Professional (PMP) certification exam. Measure Twice will focus on further developing the PM Final tool to provide greater capability for individuals and training organizations to track exam results, test by knowledge area, and build comprehensive content exams. The Praxis question bank has been completely redeveloped and aligned with the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge, Version 3.0. " ...

Project Management Solution Ownership; He Said, She Said

Here's a humorous but insightful article in Computerworld by Jennifer Pfaff and Doug Pfaff. It almost reads like one of those typical debates that Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta enjoyed in "Pulp Fiction", but it explores a very real issue: Who should own the business solution - IT or the business?

The one point where there seems to be agreement is that the business should own the "what" (i.e. the problem to solve and the supporting business processes) and IT should own the "how" (the technical solution). At the very least, the article makes a good case for better role definition.

One thing's for sure. Jennifer and Doug must have funny dinner conversations.

'What we have here is an IT problem ...' - Computerworld

Project Management Lifecycle: Microsoft VS Team Foundation Key

Project Management Lifecycle: Microsoft VS Team Foundation Key: Via Developer.com: For Developers, Microsoft Has More in Store than Ever Before

Patrick Gallucci explores Microsoft PDC insights and highlights the role of Visual Studio VS in the software project management lifecycle ...

: "The Visual Studio Team Foundation will be the new working model for development projects. It is the flagship environment for medium-sized to large project teams. It is built around industry standards such as Agile software development and Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF). " ...

Project Feasibility Resources Needed ...

Project Feasibility Resources Needed: Via Creamer Media's Engineering News Online: Japan in capacity-for-development pact ...

Regional and local imbalances in project management resources exist around the globe. Project feasibility competencies are in shortage here ...

... "He added that skills shortages in project management, financial management and project-feasibility studies, in particular, presented key challenges to development in the region. " ...

Estimating Software Projects; Everything You Need to Know

For those struggling with estimating software projects, the Software Cost Estimation Web-Site (SCEW) - gotta watch how I say that - offers an excellent study of every aspect of software cost estimation.

The site's a little cumbersome to navigate (you need to keep going back to the home page to go to different sections), but there's a wealth of good information. Check it out...

Software Cost Estimation Web-Site (SCEW)

Conquer the Project Communication Conundrum

My favorite project-related formula explains clearly why as a team grows, it gets harder to keep everyone "on the same page."

# possible communication channels = n(n-1)/2
where n = the number of people on your team

In other words, if there are 3 people (n=3), there are only 3 possible communication channels. (Hint: picture drawing as many lines as possible between 3 points - you get a triangle – only 3 paths).
Increase the number of people (or points) to 5 and suddenly there are 10 communication paths.
Increase the number of people to 10 and WHOA, there are a whopping 45 communication paths!

No wonder keeping everyone on the same page is so hard!

What's the answer to managing this communication channel explosion? A few thoughts that may help:

1. Divide the work into "bite-size chunks" that small teams can work on (for those of you from PMI-land, this could equate to work packages in your WBS)
2. Collocation (yes, I spelled it right) i.e., physically getting everyone to work in the same room for the duration of the project; with collocation, communication is:
• Faster - less meetings are needed - just turn your chair around or walk across the room
• Easier (to keep everyone on the same page) - everyone can hear everything and jump into a conversation in midstream if the message seems wrong
• Better - as people get to know one another because they are "living" in the same space, they learn how to more effectively communicate with one another
3. Build and follow a communications plan (see also my post from 10/03/2005, Project Communication Handbook & Tools)
4. For people who can absolutely not be in the same room, first, get to know one another in person (highly recommended although not always possible); then use the phone and instant messaging to keep in close contact
5. Schedule time for team fun! (Highly important!) People that have fun together perform better and are more willing to communicate. We are human after all.

Hopefully these ideas are helpful to you and your project. Let us know your tricks for conquering the project communication conundrum!

CIO Value Measurement: European Market Alliance ...

CIO Value Measurement: European Market Alliance: Alinean and Birchman Group Form Joint IT Value Measurement Venture for CIOs: Expands Alinean’s European Presence ...

Alliance in European market will drive CIO value measurement services ...

... "The Birchman Group’s proven service offering, supported by Alinean, allows the company to deliver large and tangible benefits to its clients by quickly and accurately aligning IT with business objectives, often a time-consuming and painstaking task. The Alinean ROI Analyst Enterprise has significantly improved the quality of The Birchman Group’s analysis and the time-to-delivery. The Birchman Group assists customers in gaining maximum benefit from technology investments through strategy development, business case development, program management, benefits tracking, process improvement, change management and other IT Value Management services. " ...

From business strategy to successful IT solutions, The Birchman Group provides completely independent expertise in planning, executing and deriving business value from IT programs. Pioneering the IT Value Management approach in Europe and South America, The Birchman Group can assure that corporate IT spending is balanced between support and innovation, is aligned with business goals, is formulated with reference to corporate peers, is comprehensively program-managed and delivers according to fully risk assessed plans. The outcome ensures that the IT department becomes a stable and consistent business value generator. With global reach The Birchman Group has enabled blue chip organizations to realize strategic intent by building complimentary and cost effect IT strategies; comprehensively assess, plan and manage a suitable and significant portfolio of Return On Investment (ROI) and Total Cost Ownership (TCO) justified programs measured by business outcomes; and deliver these programs utilizing the highest caliber Birchman program and project expertise. Established in 2003, The Birchman Group has grown rapidly to more than a 100 employees in five countries, which reflects the success of IT Value Management as a service offering and the demand from organizations for The Birchman Group’s unique set of services and resources.

Alinean develops software tools to prove and improve the value of IT investments. The company’s founding team pioneered the concept of interactive ROI and TCO software in 1994, developing award-winning solutions for leading IT vendors and consultants. Its research methodologies and software tools are used by analyst firms, vendors and enterprises, and have helped justify billions of dollars in IT spending and derived value.

Rolling Wave Scheduling; It's All About the Granularity

I've heard many traditional project managers shun rolling wave because they feel it's like "winging it," when in fact it couldn't be farther from the truth. On the contrary, even with a Rolling Wave schedule (where we plan each 90-day horizon in detail as it approaches), we still need to define the overall project scope and objectives. And we should even plan the whole schedule in as much detail as we know.

It's just that the future phases will be fine-tuned in further granularity (and typically rebaselined accordingly) as their horizon approaches. Ideally, this will have no bearing on the overall scope or end date. And if it does, it can be submitted as a scope change.

With this in mind, I do not see any significant differences between Rolling Wave and traditional approaches, save for more flexibility and realism (and less wasted time up front trying fruitlessly to plan unknown details far out on the horizon).

Software Project Management; Get By With a Little Help From the Vendor

For major software implementations of purchased products, while it's important to retain control of the project in-house, we also need to remember that the vendor truly knows the territory.

I liken it to taking a class on a field trip to the Grand Canyon. While I as the teacher would be totally responsible for the well-being of the class, I'd be a complete moron not to let the tour guide lead the way, lest we fall into one of the many hidden chasms.

It's the same with software projects. While we need to look out for the best interests of the organization, the team, and the project, we also need to leverage the expertise of the vendor's implementation team. After all, they've "been there and done that" with their product more times that we can count (assuming we're working with a top-notch implementation consultant).

Project Communication Handbook & Tools

Communication is key on every project. Sounds like a cliche doesn't it?
Since by definition a project is temporary and unique, that means that:

• A lot of communication needs to happen in a finite period of time
• Between people who probably never had to communicate as a team
• Around something that has never been done.

No wonder projects aren't easy (and why project managers - the communication facilitators - get paid the big bucks)! [Note: that was an attempt at humor.]

PMI says that 90% of a Project Manager's job is communication, so check out these communication handbook and tools from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to help you in your quest to have effective communications on your project.

Caltrans - Project Management - Guidance - Communications

Project Schedule Seem Impossible? Consider Skunk Works Approach

If you're ever faced with a project with a seemingly mission-impossible due date (geez, has anyone had one of those?), consider lobbying for a "skunk-works" approach.

The term, coined by Lockheed-Martin, defines a small group of people given an extremely important project with an extremely short timeline, where all normal bureaucratic rules are thrown aside in favor of a rabid focus on schedule.

The group is typically co-located and is given carte-blanche to achieve their goals without executive and administrative burdens. There's a strong focus on milestones and near-daily interaction with vendors.

Also, see Max Wideman's definition of "Quick Reaction Capability," which is in essence the same thing...

Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms v3.1

Mindmapping Research Acceleration ...

Mindmapping Research Acceleration: Via Innovation Weblog: Trends, resources, viewpoints from Chuck Frey at InnovationTools

Research acceleration in Mindmanager ...

... "This tool installs a research pane on the right side of the MindManager screen, in which you type your search term and select the source which you want to search from a drop-down list. Your search results are also summarized in this pane; double-clicking on any result will insert it as a new topic into your map. " ...

ITIL Project: Cultural Implications ...

ITIL Project: Cultural Implications: Via Evergreen Systems, Real World ITIL: What happens when ITIL is deemed too risky...

Interesting observations on cultural implications of an ITIL implementation project ...

... "it's amazing that any IT leader could logically think that improving service delivery processes wouldn't also improve business performance, even if the improvement is challenging to measure. (This presumes, of course, that appropriate risk management measures - such as effective project management and expert implementation advice - have been put in place to help assure success). " ...

Microsoft ITIL Sans CMDB ...

Microsoft ITIL Sans CMDB: Via The Register: Scaling the heights of Microsoft Management ...

David Norfolk reports on Microsoft UK event that explores management capabilities and issues ...

... "Microsoft supports the IT Infrastructure Library - (ITIL) for operations best practice at last, but it doesn't have a federated, distributed CMDB (Configuration Management Database, a key foundation of ITIL) product yet - in contrast with BMC and Managed Objects, for instance. " ...

Siebel CRM ITIL Ready: Helpdesk Capabilities ...

Siebel CRM ITIL Ready: Helpdesk Capabilities: Via Siebel Systems: Newest Release of Siebel CRM Professional Edition Builds on Siebel's Momentum in SMB Market

Latest version of CRM solution support ITIL standards in helpdesk process capabilities ...

... "Leading Help Desk Capabilities-Siebel CRM Professional Edition delivers a full solution for managing and administering internal IT support that adheres to IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) standards. " ...

ITIL IT Management Processes ...

ITIL IT Management Processes: Via CIO Analyst Corner: The Management Process Alphabet Soup ...

Jean-Pierre Garbani, Laura Koetzle, and Thomas Powell explore various management improvement methdologies, such as ITIL, and compare / contrast their pros and cons ...

... "ITIL summarizes best practices for the implementation of IT management processes. ITIL defines the processes to be implemented to deliver and support IT services (most of the time, IT services today equal applications) focusing on the business (IT's customer). The ITIL philosophy revolves around the service desk as a communication platform and the configuration management database (CMDB). " ...

Project Management Coalition Aids in Katrina Rebuilding

PM Forum reported today that a Project Managers' Disaster Recovery Coalition (PMDRC) has been formed by several PMI Chapter officers to aid in the overwhelming rebuilding efforts following Hurricane Katrina.

For the full story, see the PM Forum link below...

PMFORUM, Connecting the World of Project Management - Breaking News

Extreme Rules for Release Planning

Hey, IT Project Managers!
Being a fan of a just-in-time-software-development-release approach, I encourage you to check out this link for more on Release Planning. Click through to learn about Iteration Planning and other terms from an Extreme Programming perspective as well.
Enjoy!

Extreme Rules

Project Management: Elevated Transparency ...

Project Management: Elevated Transparency: Via eGov monitor: Partnership: The new way forward for Outsourcing ...

Public sector project management requires sensitivity to the extreme amount of transparency to the public and other stakeholders. Article explores trends in public sector outsourcing projects ...

... "First, with regard to the close monitoring every public sector project faces from the public, press and Parliament, it is important for the public sector professionals to establish transparent and realistic parameters for project management. " ...

XML WebServices Development: Project Management Code Generation

XML WebServices Development: Project Management Code Generation: Via Altova: Altova Extends its XML Suite with a Fifth Application and New Version 2006 Software: INDUSTRY LEADING SUITE OF XML DEVELOPMENT TOOLS UPDATED WITH POWERFUL NEW CAPABILITIES FOR BUILDING WEB SERVICES, MANAGING XML SCHEMAS, AND DEVELOPING SEMANTIC WEB DOCUMENTS ...

Altova suite enhancements enable project aggregation and automated code generation ...

... "Project Management and Code Generation – Enables grouping of related data mappings and Web services mappings into a project, then allows automatic code generation either for individual mappings or for the entire project. ... Altova software version 2006 (v2006) delivers several significant upgrades and enhancements to the company’s existing offering of XML development tools. From support for building Web services, to viewing and managing enterprise-wide schema architectures, to updated integration with multi-purpose integrated development environments (IDEs), to support for the latest XSLT 2.0, XPath 2.0, and XQuery specification drafts, v2006 represents a major upgrade in functionality, usability, and standards conformance." ...

Altova accelerates application development and data management projects with software, services, and solutions that enhance productivity and maximize results. As an innovative, customer-focused company and the creator of XMLSpy and other leading XML, data administration, UML, and Web services tools, Altova is the choice of over 2 million clients worldwide, including virtually every Fortune 500 company. With customers ranging from vast development teams in the world’s largest organizations to progressive one-person shops, Altova’s line of software applications and custom-tailored professional and educational services fulfills a broad spectrum of business needs. Altova is an active member of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Object Management Group (OMG) and is committed to delivering standards-based platform-independent solutions that are powerful, affordable, and easy to use. Altova was founded in 1992 and has headquarters in Beverly, Massachusetts and Vienna, Austria.

IT Governance Solution: Maturity Acceleration ...

IT Governance Solution: Maturity Acceleration: Via Pacific Edge: PACIFIC EDGE LAUNCHES NEW FLAGSHIP IT GOVERNANCE SOLUTION: Industry's First Maturity-Based Approach for Achieving IT Governance Objectives ...

Pacific Edge introduces maturity acceleration as a differentiator in its new IT governance solution. Interesting marketing concepts and good bundling of software/services. Be interesting to see how cultural adoption is address to achieve its fastest possible velocity for maximum acceleration ...

... "Mariner is powerful and practical to adopt, and ensures that the benefits of IT governance can be quickly and fully realized. Pacific Edge also announced Maturity-based Accelerators, bundled software and consulting services that guide organizations through multiple stages of IT governance maturity. Together, the two offerings represent the industry's first maturity-based approach to helping customers deploy IT governance best-practices at their specific levels of readiness. With portfolio management at its core, Mariner also encompasses robust project, resource, and demand management. Project management capabilities provide a consistent, comprehensive approach for initiating project requests, creating project and task plans, collecting project costs and tracking time, status, and deliverables. Resource management enables the IT organization to analyze resource utilization, skills, and the impact of project changes at the named resource level. Demand management features capture all sources of demand for resources, channel requests through required approval levels, and rapidly mobilize resources. " ...

Management UpSkilling: Project Manager Event ...