Identify and Manage Stakeholders: Position Project For Success

Managing change well on IT projects includes understanding and planning for various stakeholder groups. Use techniques such as customer segmentation to manage communications and stakeholder involvement, as appropriate. ...

... "To deliver both high awareness and support, Everett said that managers should identify key stakeholders, define their current problems, and map how the functionality of a new IT system will improve on these aspects. " ...

Via ComputerWeekly: IT project

The Nervous Project Manager

"I just wanted to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you."

They say it's always good to hire a rich lawyer and buy from a poor salesperson. We might add to that to hire a nervous project manager. I'm of course half joking. Still, it's important to be vigilant about the things that can go wrong, and to confirm that issues are being addressed as required, especially in hot areas such as communication, testing, contingency plans, etc. The devil is often in the details.

This does not mean micromanagement. On the contrary, it's best to delegate work packages to the experts. But it's also important to be aware of what's going on in your project, and circulate regularly among your team. If details are being overloooked, often a gentle reminder is all that's needed.

At any rate, I'd rather have a nervous project manager than one who's running on autopilot.

Board Level View of IT

What is the right level of board involvement, awareness of IT, and influence on IT strategy? Boards are definitely concerned with business strategy. What is the right equilibrium for board-level IT discussion - %of time and frequency? Are the amounts in the referenced survey out-of-whack? I'm not sure ... I would want the board to focus on business strategy. And, if IT were aligned with it, would a lower frequency and amount of discussion be ok? Maybe, if the quality of the minimal discussion was high. What are the thoughts in the blogosphere? ...

... "Yes, directors say the right things about the importance of IT, and make the by now obvious connection between effectively executing IT strategy and better financial performance. But their lack of attention to IT ought to concern CIOs and shareholders. " ...

Via CIO Insight: Survey of Board Views on IT

The Enemy of Simplicity: The Thud Factor

We've all heard about the benefits of simplicity, whether in our processes, our communication, or in our objectives. In all its forms, simplicity is a way to reduce confusion, boost morale, and encourage speed and flexibility. In fact, simplicity, speed, and flexibility are three of the "Six Winning Principles" I wrote about in Napoleon on Project Management (the other three being exactitude, character, and moral force).

But there's a lurking enemy of simplicity, and it often goes unnoticed. It can be found in the motives of individuals creating the processes, communications, or objectives. I'm talking about job protection. I don't mean the blatant kind that results from grandiose thinking, egotism or turf wars. It's much more subtle than that.

It can happen if an individual or department is placed in charge of creating a process or devising a plan. Or it can happen if a consulting company is brought in to do a study or offer advice. Common sense says that these people, while not necessarily devious, will hesitate to come up with anything too simple, lest they feel they're not doing their job. The result is often something that is way more detailed, complex, and expensive than it needs to be.

What can we do about it? We need to be very aware of motives and rewards, and make sure we don't consiously or unconciously reward people for complexity. We need to send a message that the shortest, simplest way to meet the goal wins (even offering incentives if possible). This can avoid what many consultants jokingly refer to as "the thud factor"----the customer's perception of the value of the service as judged by how much of a noise the report makes when it's dropped on their desk.

Whether it's a consulting company, a PMO, an internal process center, or a project team, we need to find a way to head off the thud factor and insure simplicity. We can do this by understanding motives; sending the right message; insisting on brief, simple reports; and creating the right reward system.

Influencing People: The Project Manager's Secret Weapon

I recently attended a presentation on self-awareness and influence by Dr. Charles Dwyer, Academic Director of the Aresty Institute’s Leading and Managing People program in the Wharton School. I was so impressed with the presentation that I bought his book, The Shifting Sources of Power and Influence.

This book was a real eye-opener, and a jewel for anyone in project management. In the book, Dwyer states three major challenges we all face:

• Dissonant Value Systems (i.e. people’s conflicting value systems, made even more visible by the advent of the media, internet, etc.)
• Diffused Power (i.e. power being spread around in a matrix fashion, with more and more decentralization and special interest groups, etc.)
• Limited Resources (We all face a limited set of resources, made even more challenging by our lack of a mindset geared towards accepting tradeoffs, or a good mechanism to guide operational priorities)

Sound like any projects you know?

Dwyer goes on to caution that public statements, such as vision, mission, organizational values, etc. may be useful for articulating the values of the leadership or giving people a sense of structure, but do not in themselves change anyone’s value systems. Many leaders assume they can use these statements to change people’s value systems to match organizational values, but this is a myth.

What is needed instead is the ability to influence others by getting them to change their behavior to match your values. To do this, have a clear picture of what you want the unit to look like; set specific, measurable objectives; and insure that people have a way of achieving those objectives.

According to Dwyer, some tried and true methods include asking people for help, offering or implying something in return, or influencing indirectly (i.e. working through someone else who’s in a better position to influence).

Dwyer points out five guidelines for influencing people (I’ve paraphrased them):

1. Insure they have adequate capability (Do they know what to do, have the competence and self-confidence to carry it out?)
2. Address their perception of “Potential Value Satisfaction” (WIIFM or “what’s in it for me”)
3. Address their perception of the probability of value satisfaction (i.e. Do they trust you? You must build trust through visible examples.)
4. Address their perception of cost (Do this by giving them alternatives or a sense of options, and helping them understand the costs and implications.)
5. Address their perception of risk (Try to assume or distribute some of the risk. Don’t ignore it.)

These are the five things everyone weighs in their mind when someone attempts to influence them. In essence, the five elements (four of which are perceptions) make up an equation for behavior. We can influence people’s behavior by addressing this equation (I’ve paraphrased for simplicity):

Behavior=Capability + (Perceived Value * Trust factor) – (Perceived cost and risk)

These are just some of the gems of wisdom in Dwyer's book. He offers reams of memorable examples, often with a humorous style. With 90% of a project manager's job being communication (including influence), I highly recommend Dwyer’s book for project managers, or anyone in a leadership position for that matter.

Leading and Influencing: The Project Manager's Secret Weapon

There's an excellent article by Frank Saladis on allPM about how to lead and influence others. Topics such as boosting your credibility, practicing empathy, and maintaining organizational awareness are discussed, as well as some good tips for engaging team members and obtaining buy-in.

From my experience, these are the things a project manager needs to get right. The rest is just details.

Here's the article. Well worth reading.

Positive Leadership in Project Management – Team Building, Influencing and Leadership By Frank P. Saladis, PMP :: ALLPM Project Management :: Project Manager - Project Management - Information - Forum Manager- PM Tools - Articles -PMI

For Project Success; The Buck Stops With the Sponsor

I was pleased to see the interview with Randy Englund on Projects@Work about his new book, Project Sponsorship: Achieving Management Committment for Project Success.

I've met Randy a few times and he's an excellent presenter and writer, an expert in organizational project management (as readers of his first two books can attest to), and always zeroes in on practical needs. This book is no exception.

Time after time, I see the same issue---a project floundering due to lackluster support from the sponsor (or even lack of clarity on who the sponsor is). A key to this, as Englund points out, is making the sponsor aware of their crucial role to begin with.

For the interview, read on ...

http://www.projectsatwork.com/content/Articles/232753.cfm

IT Governance Conference: Financial Controls Emphasis ...

IT Governance conference will focus on the financial compliance enablers of the IT organization. ...

... "Pink Elephant, the world's leading provider of IT service management conferences and education, will be presenting IT Governance 2006, a three-day symposium that will address the complex legislative environment dictating new organizational business practices, and offer strategies for meeting compliance challenges. Taking place from August 6 – 8, 2006 in Orlando, the Symposium's primary goal is to raise awareness of the crucial and now accountable role of IT in the financial reporting process. " ...

Via Pink Elephant: Less Than 2 Weeks To IT Governance 2006

ITIL Service Delivery Software ...

Software category continues to improve at ITIL service delivery processes ...

... "Targeted at distributed and disparate environments, Vigilant's Get Aware Suite offers a complete set of comprehensive ITIL based processes for service delivery and incident management. The foundation of the enhanced suite is a methodology based on results-oriented processes that assist IT organizations in correlating information and diagnosing root causes." ...

ITIL Service Delivery Software: Via Vigilant: Vigilant Technologies Enhances Powerful Suite for IT Performance and Operations Services ...

Elusive IT Project Value: Book Tells How To Achieve It

I've just finished reading an excellent book on achieving value from IT projects, The Information Paradox: Realizing the Business Benefits of Information Technology, by John Thorp and the Fujitsu Consulting's Center for Strategic Leadership.

Thorp and company claim that today's IT projects are evolving more and more from simple automation efforts to complex "information" initiatives, and even further---to complete business transformation initiatives. This calls for a different approach and requires IT and Business collaboration.

As the book points out, the classic "let's buy a product and assume it comes with automatic benefits" approach doesn't work in today's more complex arena (and in fact it probably never did). In a complex business transformation initiative, trying to assume that an IT project in isolation will deliver value is wishful thinking.

The book also points out the four critical dimensions of complexity, which it says are blind spots in traditional thinking:

1) Linkage - to other related initiatives and to business strategy
2) Reach - those areas of organizational structure or supply chain processes that may be impacted by the change, or that need revisiting in order to bring about the benefits
3) People- those affected by the change and/or that need to be engaged (i.e. proactive change leadership and stakeholder analysis)
4) Time - the time it takes to manage the overall initiative, including the above dimensions, to fully realize the benefits (most companies grossly underestimate this)

Unfortunately, many IT projects just focus on on-time and on-budget delivery (resulting in a situation that the book describes as, "the operation was successful but the patient died"). Thorp and company refer to this as "investment myopia."

Instead, a committment to business value, ongoing process improvements, frequent iterations of delivery, and better project selection techniques are key. Most of all, we need to be aware of the blind spots mentioned above.

The book goes on to describe how a system of program management, portfolio management, and governance, with a focus on benefits realization, can bring about results. It also cautions about the dangers of treating selections as a one-time annual event, making selections in isolation (instead of in the context of investment programs), and not looking at all aspects of value (i.e. going beyond simple financial measures).

I highly recommend the book for those struggling with determining the value of IT, or trying to bring about collaborative change in their organizations. If you look at any major successful transformation, it was brought about by a marriage of technology, business process, and organizational change, and with full backing from senior management. This book can go a long way toward helping make this happen.

IT Governance: Green Data Center ...

The information technology department can enable a green enterprise through smarter use of energy in the data center and on the desktop. Simple things, like Windows power management and double-sided printing, can make a difference. And, server virtualization ensures higher utilization rates and greater efficiency. ...

... "In today's world of high energy prices and green awareness, doing so should be a key element of IT governance at any organisation. " ...

IT Governance: Green Data Center: Via silicon.com: IT power crisis - what can CIOs do? ...

Project Management Ain't What it Used to Be

There's an excellent article in Computerworld about how project management has evolved in the last few years to be much more than the traditional planning, scheduling and monitoring role it used to be (in some circles anyway).

Today's project manager, according to the article, must demonstrate strong business acumen, political savvy, cultural awareness, and soft skills.

A project manager today must be confident discussing a business case and benefits with senior management, negotiating the shark-infested waters of organizational politics, leading offshore resources, negotiating with vendors, resolving conflicts, and much more.

In other words, a project manager must be more of a mini-CEO than a scheduler or team leader. The implications are that a whole different skill set is required.

Here's the full article. It's well worth reading..

The New Project Manager - Computerworld

Innovation and Project Management - Part 3 of 3

This is a continuation of Part 2, and shows how Tom Kelley's The Ten Faces of Innovation is living proof that innovation and project management are not mutually-exclusive, and in fact, must coexist for true success.

In Part 1, we talked about the Learning Personas described in Kelley's book (the Anthropologist, the Experimenter, and the Cross-Pollinator). In Part 2, we discussed the Organizing Personas (the Hurdler, the Collaborator, and the Director). Now we'll examine the final batch of personas, The Building Personas. Again, these are all adapted from Tom Kelley's book, which offers much more details and many real-life stories to illustrate these personas in action (and no, I don't get commission).

The Building Personas

7) The Experience Architect – Designs the customer experience, beyond just the functionality of a product. Comes up with new and creative ways to awe the customer, yet with the same basic product functionality. An example is Cold Stone Creamery, which creates an entertaining experience where the server mixes ice cream with any number of desired toppings on a slab of cold stone. The servers even put on shows. [my added comment is that The Experience Architect can learn from observing others, even in other genres, and as such can gain from the “Cross-Pollinator” and “Anthropologist” personas.]

8) The Set Designer – Creates a fun and vibrant physical working environment that can spark creativity and collaboration. Allows employees great latitude in their personal work spaces. Avoids dull, repetitive spaces. Creates formal and informal public spaces where people can collaborate and brainstorm, with all the appropriate supplies and accommodations.

9) The Caregiver – Anticipates customer needs before, during, and after the engagement, and goes above and beyond normal expectations. Makes it easy for the customer to select the right services, provides useful and quick information when needed, insures easy accessibility by the customer, and builds lasting relationships with the customer.

10) The Storyteller – Builds internal morale and external awareness through compelling stories and case studies that reinforce key values or traits. Builds “corporate legends” that get passed around. Not “spin doctors,” the storytellers get their stories from first-hand accounts from customers or employees. Storytelling builds credibility, unleashes people’s emotions, helps teams bond, and generates lessons learned.

Well, that concludes my summary of Tom Kelley's The Ten Faces of Innovation, and its applicability to project management. As you can hopefully see, what project manager wouldn't benefit from these learning, organizing, and building personas that can lead to a better customer experience, a more satisfied team, and a memorable result?

Sure, we can (and should) still define the scope of the project, manage changes to the agreed-upon scope, and use project scheduling and budgeting techniques (we don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater). But we can take our projects to the next level with a strong dose of innovation, and these personas are as good a way to do that as any.

Project Management Presentation In a Box

From BVBA out of Belgium comes a website with some useful presentations for sale. If you ever have to give a presentation on project management, either for training, consulting, or general awareness, BVBA offers a 151-page powerpoint presentation for $80, which can be downloaded and tweaked as needed.

For a mere $80, it can save quite a bit of preparation time. I took a look at the sample slides, and it takes a good approach and covers some proven principles--not just "how-to" information. I like the slides on positioning a project for success, etc.

The site offers other templates as well.

Project Management Templates. Free Risk Forms

Managing Global Projects; Don't Be a Tourist

Ladies first, No steamrolling, Swastika greeting cards....

No, I haven't lost my mind, and this isn't some weird form of free association. These are all examples of cultural misunderstandings that are pointed out in an insightful article from Computerworld.

It reminds me of that old series of TV advertisements with a "Don't be a tourist" theme (one example had Richard Nixon giving the "OK" hand gesture while getting off a plane in Latin America--and nearly causing a riot). Of course, I forget the product being advertised, so the ad couldn't have been too effective. But I digress.

In all seriousness, having done quite a bit of travel myself, I can vouch for the importance of avoiding the stereotypical American trait of steamrolling your ideas or values, or assuming everything works as it does here in the U.S. (yes, I realize not ALL Americans are like that, but a sad number are).

Better to engage people's input, and have them be part of the solution. A little bit of humility and cultural awareness (and, dare I say, learning at least a few phrases of a foreign language) goes a long way. It's especially important when managing projects that span geographic and/or cultural boundaries.

Here's the article from Computerworld (and just so nobody thinks I'm picking on Americans, the article shows that cultural misunderstandings are a global issue) ...

Culture Clash - Computerworld

Projects@Work Interview- Sacre Bleu! Napoleon, Project Manager?

For those curious to learn more about my upcoming book, Napoleon on Project Management, I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by Karen Klein at Projects@Work about it.

We spoke mostly about the "six winning principles" that led to Napoleon's extraordinary accomplishments, and the "four critical warning signs" that we should all be aware of to avoid meeting our own Waterloo.

Also cleared up a few popular misconceptions. For more, here's a link to the interview...

http://www.projectsatwork.com/content/articles/229826.cfm

Deming on Project Management

It's hard to believe it's been thirteen years since the death of W. Edwards Deming, the father of quality. I was fortunate enough to have met him several times, as my wife used to promote and coordinate his seminars.

In reviewing Dr. Deming's 14 points, many of them seem especially relevant to project management. I'd like to point out just a few:

Point #5 - Constantly improve the process of planning, production and service - this system includes people

We need to constantly be aware of what's working in our processes and what isn't. We need to be especially considerate of the impact on people -- our project managers, teams, and customers. Everyone wants to do a good job. As leaders, we need to be enablers and not barriers.

Point #8 - Drive out Fear

Napoleon once said "There are two levers for moving men --- interest and fear." We need to find a way to do the latter.

Point #10 - Eliminate slogans/targets asking for increased productivity without providing methods.

Deming often spoke about the dangers of "management by objective" without clear methods for achieving those objectives. As project managers, it's critical that we obtain clear objectives from our sponsors and relay those objectives to our team. However, it's just as critical that we insist on and relay to our team just how it is we will achieve those objectives. Otherwise, our objective is a foggy dream.

Two of the most overlooked words in the vocabulary of project managers and sponsors is "why" and "how," but we're very good at the "what." Unfortunately, it's addressing the first two that makes us successful.

Read on for Deming's 14 points and Seven Deadly Diseases. I'd say that most, if not all, are still very relevant today, and perhaps even more so.

Demings 14 Points

Scheduling is Dead, Bring on Chaos; So Says A Foremost Scheduling Expert

Project scheduling has no future whatsoever, and this comes from no less than Murray Woolf, the Managing Director of the PMI College of Scheduling's Scheduling Excellence Initiative (SEI).

This article, posted at PMForum is one of the better ones I've seen in a while (possibly because it's aligned with my philosophies). The premise is that, in today's day and age, the industry is headed toward more of a "give the people objectives and let 'em work it out" philosophy, which is completely opposed to the old "build a detailed schedule and make 'em follow it" mentality.

This is completely aligned with a value system that I've long subscribed to (and had posted on here at PMThink), and that is: To foster passion and accountability, we need to provide:

- Autonomy and Trust
- General Guidance and Principles
- Support and Removal of Barriers

This, of course, must be supported by having clear objectives.

Through all this, we also need to send a message that results are more important than blindly following rules. This doesn't mean that we needn't have processes, as people need a system in order to achieve consistent results; merely that we should give project managers the freedom to bypass certain processes if it's necessary to achieve good results. "Good" is the operative word here. Just meeting a date is not "results."

I believe that Mr. Woolf's article endorses my approach, and acknowledges that the following is where the future of project management is:

More organized chaos than it is controlled components.
More project facilitation than it is project scheduling.

This doesn't mean that planning isn't important either; merely that the act of planning shouldn't be confused with rigidly following the plan/schedule. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "Plans are nothing; Planning is everything."

As it is, and as Mr. Woolf rightly points out, project managers and "schedulers" are so bogged down in details and administrivia that they become more project reporters than managers. We need to observe where the future is headed and free project managers from the burdens of such fruitless details.

Instead, their efforts should be spent on adequate preliminary research, communication, facilitation, risk awareness, and other traits necessary to effectively manage a project.

For the full article, which I highly suggest reading, see Mr. Woolf's paper below...

PMFORUM, Connecting the World of Project Management - Papers

Project Management Competency; Using the Learning Ladder

I was recently reading Peter Fogel's If Not Now, When, a humorous book about reinventing yourself, and he referenced the four stages of learning any new skill. It reminded me how valid this is in organizations trying to implement project management.

I've seen these stages also referred to as the "learning ladder" or "The Four Stages of Competence." It's not clear who created it. Some sources date it as far back as Socrates or Confucius, but its modern form has been in psychology books since the 80's.

The four stages are as follows (I'll paraphrase the explanations):

1) Unconscious Incompetence - Eveyone knows you're clueless except you. You don't realize why or when you're not achieving results, and are surprised when people complain.

2) Conscious Incompetence - The light bulb goes off. You suddenly "get it" and realize you need to do something different. You begin taking actions to change.

3) Conscious Competence - You're becoming more confident, and accomplishing goals through checklists, reading, learning, and mentoring. Things don't feel totally natural yet, nor should they, but you're achieving small successes.

4) Unconscious Competence - This is the ultimate goal. Some call it situational awareness. The French call it coup d'oeil. It's like riding a bike or driving a car, and only happens with adequate experience, and some trial and error.

This is funny, but very true---perhaps still the best example of a maturity model I've seen to date. Unfortunately, many organizations think they can mandate this fourth level. The fact is that it can only be reached by progressing through the paths above. You can't just jump levels, although good principles and an adequate support system can speed the path forward.

The bottom line is that we must allow time to progress through the levels and not criticize too harshly. Secondly, we must seek ways to provide principles and support to ease the transition through these levels.

Criticism is not the way to promote maturity. More on this coming up...

Happy Project Management Day: November 3, 2005

Happy Project Management Day !

International Project Management Day November 3, 2005 ...

... "Project Objective: Increase the awareness of the value of project management within the large business, government, small business, and social communities and promote project management as a true profession and key business strategy. This includes, but is not limited to: construction, information technology, entertainment, government, aeronautics, health care, ecology, social, disaster recovery, community improvement, and quality of life projects. " ...

Can Leadership Be Taught?

This is an age old question, which I'll attempt to address. The short answer is yes, but with some caveats.

First, leadership is a combination of soft skills, self-awareness, and situational awareness. The soft skills and self-awareness can be taught, but it requires desire and effort on the part of the student to study diligently and practice (like the man who once asked how to get to Carnegie Hall ---- Practice, baby, Practice!). Scenario training is especially useful, and the next best thing to experience (albeit no substitute).

The remaining element of leadership--situational awareness--is a little trickier. Studies have shown that some people seem to have an inate ability to see both the forest and the trees. Yet we can come close to achieving this rare trait through:

• Avid research of our project's subject
• Constantly reading up on relevent internal and external events
• Being well connected to people in the organization (i.e. the grapevine)
• Better visibility (through EPM software)
• Critical thinking skills to be able to interpret what it is we're seeing
• Plenty of experience

This last one is critical. Without experience, it's truly difficult to gain situational awareness unless you are one of the few born with this gift (and even then, it takes study and knowledge). Thus, we can deduce that it's difficult to be an effective leader without experience. But we must start somewhere. So, to make our early leadership career successful, training is key--especially situational training. So are the other items on our list, as they can help get us by as we build experience.

So, yes. Leadership can be taught. But it's dependent on the following: "Are organizations ready to invest in leadership training for their managers and not expect overnight success?" and "Are managers ready to invest the time and effort to become good leaders?"

The key point is that putting someone in a management position does not make them a leader. And if they're not a leader, they're not fit for management. But that doesn't stop the majority of organizations from doing just that. For the minority of enlightened organizations that "get it," a wealth of rewards await.

Project Management Maturity; Easy Does It

So many organizations decide to institute disciplined project management processes, often as part of a PMO implementation, and try to go from zero to 60 in a few weeks. The fact is project management maturity doesn't happen overnight.

The best place to start is with a good set of principles, possibly in combination with a light set of processes (i.e. defining a good scope statement, a simple change control process, an issues and milestones list, etc.). Then---and only then---after the project managers have begun to grasp the principles, it's OK to begin introducing new disciplines, such as Earned Value Reporting, Project Accounting, Resource Leveling, etc.

The key is to introduce each item gradually and measure its use and effectiveness.Otherwise, the project managers can get so overwhelmed with details that it distracts them from the real issues of the project. And issue tracking, risk awareness, leadership and communication are the real value-add items that a project manager brings. The rest can be processized and learned over time.

Make Quicker Project Management Decisions with OODA Loops

Colonel John Boyd, one of the most brilliant military strategists known to man, created a warfare strategy known as OODA loops (OODA stands for Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act). Used in air-to-air combat, his method would be to complete the OODA process faster than the enemy, thus throwing the enemy off balance.

It certainly worked for him, as he never lost a dogfight. Toyota used OODA loops with great success, shortening their cycle time considerably. For project managers, this approach can lead to quicker decisions, and in some cases bold innovations. Best of all, it can foster greater situational awareness.

For a great essay on OODA loops and how they really apply to business, see Robert Paterson's Radio Weblog.

Also, see MindSim.com's site for Boyd's original briefing slides, and, for a brief overview of Boyd and his principles, see ValueBased Management's site.

Beyond Gantt Charts; Project Frontier Reports on Information Design Challenges

Garry Booker at Project Frontier is proving to be a key thought leader in project management. His latest essay explores the limitations of most graphical tools used today, such as Gantt Charts, Dashboards, Earned Value charts, and other tools we know and love. Unfortunately, most of these tools are two-dimensional at best, and only offer a snapshot of the whole picture (something Edward Tufte would certainly agree with).

No system lives in isolation, and this is the essence of Garry Booker's essay. The essay explores systems thinking, and the 10 top challenges for those looking to adopt a systems approach to presenting their project management data. The key to any information design layer is awareness-- awareness of both the forest and the trees (and, as presented in the essay, even the leaves). Booker feels he may have addressed these problems with his EV Maps, and perhaps he has (KIDASA's Milestones Professional certainly seems to think so).

Regardless, I encourage everyone to read this essay and think about the implications of how we present data currently. Never mind the fact that he praises PMThink in his essay --- honest! Our site is all about research and exploring ways to improve the status quo in project management. Project Frontier is certainly pushing the envelope and we fully support endeavors such as that.

Information Design Challenge

Art of Project Management: Soft Skills ...

Art of Project Management: Soft Skills: Via Computerworld Singapore - The consultant is in

Ken Ko writes about the art of project management and the "soft skills" needed in the repertoire of the successful project manager ...

... "Beneath all project methodology, certain attitudes and personality traits come into play. Without awareness of them, anyone leading or managing a project is at a serious disadvantage. " ...

Project Risk Monitoring: Milestone Tracking ...

Project Risk Monitoring: Milestone Tracking: Via Software Tech News 2-2: Software Risk Management - The Practical Approach

Practical tips for risk monitoring ...

... "Risk Monitoring: This provides timely risk visibility and resolution. Incorporate techniques such as milestone tracking, tracking of top risks, guarding against new vulnerabilities from prior fixes, and continual risk reassessment. Insist that at any one point in time the program manager, the principal investigator/technical lead, and each developer be able to state his three top risks (i.e., priorities, or watch items). These are dynamic, and as each one is resolved, another should move up to take its place. Finally, ensure that the feedback loop stays active. " ...

IT Value Management Software

Via SAS IT Value Management

A centralized view and management of IT value is quite compelling. Was not aware that SAS had offerings in this space, including references ...

... "SAS IT Value Management provides a single cohesive system that analyzes IT in terms of financial cost, business value and operational efficiency. You can measure the quality of services delivered to each line of business and communicate their value across the enterprise. Quantify the true contribution of IT and justify its function as a core strategic enterprise service. Measure the quality of services delivered to each line of business and satisfy demands from customers, partners and suppliers for performance while balancing costs. " ...