tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-151963932008-05-11T19:38:45.381-05:00Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1627125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-23446032773536030622008-05-11T19:12:00.002-05:002008-05-11T19:37:12.692-05:00

Over the years, I've come across many common barriers to project success. One that stands out above all others is what I'd simply refer to as "distraction." Resources are not able to commit to projects, are rarely co-located (physically or electronically), and are spread across too many concurrent efforts (on both project and non-project work). Project managers are distracted by being asked to

Jerry Manashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215629979975177853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-32592476575340199172008-05-11T19:02:00.004-05:002008-05-11T19:38:45.434-05:00

We've added a new survey to our PMThink sidebar, on the subject of organizational pain points. We'd like to know: If you could only change one thing about your organization, which of the listed items would it be? We've also provided "OTHER" as an optional response , and there's a comments section you can optionally contribute to once you've voted. Check it out on the sidebar to your right.

Jerry Manashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215629979975177853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-72741649032839567042008-05-11T11:22:00.006-05:002008-05-11T19:19:17.576-05:00

IBM supports Vietnam's development of information technology education through use of its cloud computing infrastructure. The collaborative portal will support education programs in service management. ... ... "To build and sustain a highly-skilled competitive IT workforce, the Vietnamese government plans to adopt the academic programs nationwide through a joint effort by the Ministry of

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-54031806393877857672008-05-06T20:07:00.002-05:002008-05-06T20:11:50.842-05:00

Want to hone your craft? Commit to it for ten years of deliberate practice. ... ... "Reinforcing that no-free-lunch finding is vast evidence that even the most accomplished people need around ten years of hard work before becoming world-class, a pattern so well established researchers call it the ten-year rule. " ... Via Micro Persuasion on Developing Expertise: Practice brings success

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-3966848835947340392008-05-05T20:13:00.004-05:002008-05-05T20:19:14.950-05:00

Future models of design, manufacturing, and distribution are considered and mapped, such as the concept of a networked organization that leverages outside-in perspectives. ... ... "Seeking an outside-in perspective on internal challenges may require long-held processes to be rethought, from the design cycle to R&D budgets to intellectual property strategies. Once open to the idea of a

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-69176694341187569872008-05-04T17:52:00.002-05:002008-05-04T17:56:49.432-05:00

Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, gives his take of business innovation, which he believes it driven by constraints that forces us to create new ways to approach the situation. ... ... "I think frugality drives innovation, just like other constraints do. One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out. " ... Via Business Week: Jeff Bezos

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-67768778387308042212008-05-03T12:47:00.001-05:002008-05-03T12:48:23.589-05:00

Those who've read Managing the Gray Areas know that the idea for the book germinated from a seminar I led with productivity consultant Jerome Jewell at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Titled The Leadership Quadrant: 4 Ps for Organizational Excellence, the seminar explored current thinking around Principles, People, Productivity, and Process. The Constitution Center is a unique

Jerry Manashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215629979975177853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-24599712689693527172008-05-02T08:16:00.004-05:002008-05-02T09:13:57.221-05:00

When researching the Heathrow Terminal 5 project story, I came across the word 'Projectitis'. The implication there was that large projects were just inherently too difficult and complicated ever to go smoothly. In fact there is a working paper from the King's Fund in UK called Projectitis which addresses a different issue. The King's Fund is a charitable foundation concerned with improving

G McHardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07328383730304369985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-37672693821908833262008-04-30T20:47:00.002-05:002008-04-30T20:57:38.200-05:00

UK hits the wall on IT innovation and starts packing a new lunch. ... ... "For a sector supposedly driven by innovation, times are tougher than a dried goat sandwich. " ... Via Computing UK: Lack of innovation

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-75348363272649685842008-04-29T20:40:00.000-05:002008-04-29T20:40:40.290-05:00

Andrew Filev has an interesting blog site, Project Management 2.0, highlighting recent trends in project management toward more collaborative practices. Although it's in support of his web-based collaborative project management tool, Wrike, it's not a sales-oriented blog and is chock-full of forward-thinking concepts. I like his blog entry on leveraging Top-Down and Bottom-Up Project Management

Jerry Manashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215629979975177853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-80384372752150457292008-04-29T20:06:00.002-05:002008-04-29T20:11:02.500-05:00

Nice tips on transforming the IT value discussion, such as leveraging the role of the business sponsor and integrating IT initiatives in the business agenda. ... ... "burden of defending IT initiatives as standalone project is eliminated; instead the business leader adopts the IT project as a core enabler of the business strategy. " ... Via CIO Asia: Tips for communicating value of IT

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-79621025756683593112008-04-28T18:33:00.003-05:002008-04-28T18:37:52.006-05:00

A good, yet challenging, definition of the service, or help, desk. ... ... "Service Desk Definition: - resolves 60% or more of incoming incidents and requests without any escalation - improves customer satisfaction significantly, when first level resolution is at 50% or more - reduces costs and time to fix incidents - keeps businesses running efficiently " ... Via Service Desk

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-90259410225281998922008-04-27T18:25:00.004-05:002008-04-27T18:30:53.251-05:00

Software-enabled business processes can become too rigid and restrict a company's ability to do the right thing for customers. Here's interesting use of software analytics and business logic to empower the workforce to increase customers satisfaction levels. ... ... "Many calls are not resolved first time because the person who answers the phone is not authorized to do something – refund

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-61628796393717535842008-04-26T18:45:00.004-05:002008-04-26T18:48:24.596-05:00

Creative approach to cpu cooling is being explored by IBM researchers. ... ... "Michel see advantages in running them at the current level of 200F. He thinks of the chips as little furnaces from which heat can be removed and reused - by piping it off-site to warm houses or businesses. " ... Via Business Week: Chilling Biochemistry

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-68482794438712065262008-04-25T19:57:00.000-05:002008-04-25T19:57:11.502-05:00

Ken Thompson's BioTeams site (otherwise known as The Bumble Bee), always has a wealth of simple, but effective insights for mobile and virtual teams. Recently, he posted a "Virtual Team Profiler," which includes a series of considerations for determining the readiness of a team to operate successfully in a virtual environment. He also includes a downloadable Mindmap of the model. Check it out..

Jerry Manashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215629979975177853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-79895189270297719062008-04-24T13:26:00.006-05:002008-04-24T14:09:51.773-05:00

I've often written that we shouldn't focus on measuring people, nor let time and budget metrics be our key indicators of project success. This is a key component of my SOPM (Service-Oriented Project Management) model. That's not to say that time or budget should be ignored. They should be managed. And where it's a vital element of the project, it should be monitored. But these items shouldn't be

Jerry Manashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215629979975177853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-89454064203472892602008-04-23T16:44:00.003-05:002008-04-23T16:51:04.498-05:00

Microsoft's Ray Ozzie discusses the company's Live Mesh strategy that will integrate services in the cloud. ... Ozzie whitepaper, PDF. It looks like an interesting concept that could integrate our information services as we navigate the day from work to home and across various devices.

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-63409445846851274572008-04-20T14:29:00.002-05:002008-04-20T14:35:55.015-05:00

Tool incorporates multiple perspectives in the requirements development process. ... ... "inteGREAT connects the collective needs of business analysts, developers and testers through a single, Integrated Body of Knowledge (iBoK), and makes it easy to create, share and analyze the requirements for a business application. " ... Via eDev: Software Requirements Specifications

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-5450869611850036392008-04-16T20:34:00.004-05:002008-04-16T20:40:07.881-05:00

Here's some special words of encouragement from Jack Welch to his old company and successor. ... ... "Jack Welch said Wednesday that he would get a gun out and shoot his successor, Jeff Immelt, if he allowed GE to miss earnings targets again. " ... Via USATODAY: Immelt should be scared

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-66213641857436073182008-04-15T19:00:00.003-05:002008-04-15T19:04:08.340-05:00

Here's some good advice on refining the scope of your target market, honing your message, perfecting your products, and engaging your customers in a positive and refreshing way. ... ... "If you can become known by a very narrow target market for doing something very specifically unique in a way that your customers adore, you will no longer compete on price and no longer live at the mercies of

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-44744068026343287792008-04-14T18:59:00.003-05:002008-04-14T19:06:55.992-05:00

It is a good practice to identify non-financial or intangible benefits when developing a business case. The ideal is when you can generate a tangible return on the investment. However, intangible benefits can be aligned with business goals and may even be able to be measured. This can be helpful when the financial return of a project proposal is at or below the hurdle rate. ... ... "

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-86894767714215075382008-04-12T20:21:00.003-05:002008-04-12T20:25:16.979-05:00

Check your selection criteria on IT project bids, don't over-emphasize low cost, and revise those contract terms to get the implementation partner's skin in the game. ... ... "Most important to ensuring IT project success is binding services vendors into the agreed-upon schedule and budget; that's called skin in the game. " ... Via ZDNet: ERP project amazingly on-time

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-44132645656430600352008-04-09T19:19:00.002-05:002008-04-09T19:24:18.437-05:00

100 ideas to spur your creativity ... ... "25. Take regular daydreaming breaks. 26. Dissolve turf boundaries. 27. Initiate cross-functional brainstorming sessions. " ... Via The Heart of Innovation: Be More Creative

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-33068465075169104962008-04-08T19:17:00.003-05:002008-04-08T19:21:59.344-05:00

Google starts preview release of its infrastructure for developers. ... ... "application-hosting tool that developers can use to build scalable web apps on top of Google's infrastructure. The goal is to make it easier for web developers to build and scale applications, instead of focusing on system administration and maintenance. " ... Via Google: Your Apps on Google's Infrastructure See

Frank Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15196393.post-67147120737411593162008-04-08T18:50:00.004-05:002008-04-08T19:31:19.635-05:00

I recently returned from a vacation to Disney World with the family. I hadn't been there since 1984. Still beautiful. Still a shining example of unparalleled customer service and impeccable presentation. A few thoughts came to mind while I was there. 1) Words matter. They refer to their employees as "cast members" and their customers as "guests." These are far more than words. They create a

Jerry Manashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09215629979975177853noreply@blogger.com