Stabilization Phase of Projects

Often, there is a short support period after a project phase is completed and the team moves on to the next phase as planned in the schedule. State of Georgia meets with some success by planning for the stabilization phase and slowing down the phases, as necessary, to bring the organization and process to a stable state prior to next-phase kickoff. ...

... "Still, Moore said the biggest challenge has been holding vendors back from launching new phases of the project before agency managers were ready." ...

Via Stateline: Making IT work in state government

Outsourcing Control

Boeing takes risks with design and manufacturing outsourcing across its integrated supply chain for the 787 Dreamliner and loses control of the process. Regardless of the industry space, manufacturing or information technology, management controls are necessary on the outsourced processes - clear visibility and accountability should not be compromised. Boeing is making adjustments. ...

... "The company’s chief, W. James McNerney Jr., concedes that Boeing lost control of the process by farming out more design and production work than ever and not keeping close tabs on suppliers. He says the company is retaking control. " ...

Via New York Times: 787 Dreamliner

Agile Cycle Time Reduction Boosted by Global Sourcing Model

Global delivery models and agile techniques converge to reduce the cycle time of IT projects. ...

... "Mr Ratnayake said in the case of a telecom client in Europe, the agile technology usage was instrumental in being able to shrink the cycle of an IT project from what would have been 12 months, to less than two months. " ...

Via Economic Times: Agile Techniques in Practice

Business Results: IT Strategy

Today's IT career path requires evolving your role into a challenging place - the potential to impact business results - which comes with its set of risks. However, standing still increases the risk of outsourcing, or worse yet, irrelevance. ...

... "If they're not in the decision-making stream, playing some role that's accountable for real results from IT strategy, even on a very local, project level, they're at greater risk both to outsourcing and stalling wages. They need to work themselves into a position that's closer to business results and end customers. " ...

Via InformationWeek Weblog: Read

Right Brain Project Management

I recently re-read Daniel Pink's book, A Whole New Mind. I noticed now that it's out on paperback, the subtitle changed from "Moving from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age" to "Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future."

The latter is probably more accessible and gets to the heart of the book. The premise is that with more technical jobs being eliminated due to automation and offshore outsourcing, we're left clinging to the one thing that computers and offshore resources can't replace---the soft skills. It's not that offshore people don't have the capacity to do this, it's just not effective from a remote location.

The books specifically outlines Six Senses that are now required to compete in today's market (I'd add that these were always needed for effectiveness, but now it's a necessity for career survival). The Six Senses we need to build are:

1) Not just function, but DESIGN (the WOW factor)
2) Not just argument, but STORY (i.e. we need to be storytellers to make a good case)
3) Not just focus, but SYMPHONY (i.e. synthesis of complex relationships vs. heads-down analysis)
4) Not just logic, but EMPATHY (incidentally, the key trait in Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence)
5) Not just seriousness, buy PLAY (fun leads to employee satisfaction, which leads to customer satisfaction and profits. Therefore, Fun=$ !)
6) Not just accumulation, but MEANING

FACT (not from the book, but relevant nonetheless): Per a recent management forum of 70 business schools, many of them are requiring less quantitative courses and more leadership courses. Also, a number of organizations are now recruiting design students instead of MBAs.

The key is that the logical, sequential left-brain stuff is still necessary, but we need to compliment it with the more contextual and feeling right-brain skills. With communication being 90% of a project manager's job, I'd say this directly applies to project managers as well.

Below is a link to Pink's book on Amazon...

Amazon.com: A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future: Books: Daniel Pink

Strategic Value: Measuring the Human Resource Function ...

Craig Schneider, CFO Mag, explores the tactics needed to create differentiation in the human resource function. Metrics are needed to establish a foundation of value. Partnering with the finance function is seen as a way to accelerate the measurement initiative. A quantitative approach should be balanced with the art of "resources human", since people and talent should not always be boiled down to a number. ...

... "The human-resources department is in survival mode. As outsourcing the function becomes a more-prevalent option for companies, HR managers know that if they are going to endure, they have to deliver strategic value, and that value has to be measurable. " ...

Strategic Value: Measuring the Human Resource Function: The New Human-Capital Metrics: Via CFO

IT Strategy: Comprehensive Outsourcing in Healthcare IT ...

Phoenix gains renewal of comprehensive outsourcing of hospital's information technology services, from the strategic to the tactical. ...

... "Under the renewed agreement, Phoenix, a national provider of healthcare information technology outsourcing solutions, will continue to staff and manage the hospital system's Information Services Department, which includes providing IT strategic planning, project management, network management, desktop support and data center management. Phoenix is also providing assistance with the implementation of Cerner's Millennium hospital information management system. " ...

IT Strategy: Comprehensive Outsourcing in Healthcare IT: Via Phoenix Health Systems: East Jefferson General Hospital Extends Comprehensive IT Outsourcing Contract with Phoenix Health Systems ...

IT Strategy: Infrastructure Services Outsourced ...

Asian insurance company outsources infrastructure services to IBM Asian operations and also procures strategic planning services from IBM. No company is immune from the possibility of outsourcing. ...

... "Under the terms of the 10-year agreement which has a total contract value of approximately 340 million US dollars, IBM will provide IT strategy consulting services to help develop and advance KYOBO's IT vision and strategy. IBM will also manage the company's servers, storage systems, network and desktop computers and operate its data and disaster recovery centers. Additionally, IBM will provide IT skills development and IT management training services, called IT University, for KYOBO's employees. " ...

IT Strategy: Infrastructure Services Outsourced: Via IBM: KYOBO Life Insurance Signs a 10-Year Outsourcing Contract With IBM ...

Outsourcing Project: Lessons Learned

I would like to have been at this project close-out briefing, at the completion of the outsourcing transition. ... Let's see ... what lessons have we learned? ... Update code of business conduct?

... "Indian outsourcer Wipro selected Morgan Stanley as the lead underwriter in its ADR listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Later, Morgan Stanley tapped Wipro for some IT work. " ...

Via InformationWeek Weblog: Morgan Stanley E-Mails Reveal Outsourcing's Dirty Little Secret

Via Wipro Code of Business Conduct (PDF): "A conflict of interest exists where the interests or benefits of one person or entity conflict with the interests or benefits of the Company. ... "

Via Morgan Stanley Code of Ethics: "Employees and officers should promptly report any potential relationships, actions or transactions (including those involving family members) that reasonably could be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest to Law or Compliance. ... "

IT Governance Quality Management: Part of Outsourcing Arrangement ...

Hospital's IT outsourcing arrangement includes services for IT governance and quality management ...

... "Consistent with Lake Forest Hospital’s priorities, Eclipsys will provide support for major financial and clinical information systems projects involving non-Eclipsys information products, while implementing strategies to promote the integration and interoperability among Eclipsys software and the various other information systems installed at Lake Forest Hospital. Eclipsys will also implement its ISO 9001:2000-certified Quality Management System, along with its best practices and proven IT governance model at the hospital. Anticipated benefits for Lake Forest Hospital include improving the end-user’s IT experience, enhanced support for clinicians and increased capabilities to meet patient safety and quality objectives. " ...

IT Governance Quality Management: Part of Outsourcing Arrangement: Via Eclipsys: Eclipsys Signs 10-Year Agreement with Lake Forest Hospital, Illinois, for IT Outsourcing Services ...

Keeping Technology In-House Pays Off

A little over a year ago, JPMorganChase canceled its $5 billion outsourcing contract with IBM Global Services and brought its technology operations back in-house.

Says CIO Austin Adams:

"The decision to cancel the outsourcing deal wasn't driven entirely by cost savings... It was about our belief that we wanted to be more involved in every aspect of our business, and technology is a significant part."

And this belief has proven true. The bank is now seeing cost savings from better leveraging of software and hardware deals, and is seeing excellent operational efficiencies as well.

For project managers, this can bring additional benefits, such as having the right know-how in house, and avoiding the need to manage across multiple organizations.

In general, while appearing to be a silver bullet, outsourcing can have negative effects on morale and can damage communities as well. Furthermore it doesn't always bring the cost-savings it promises and puts the organization at the mercy of its vendors. Collectively, there's no telling what the long-term impact will be on the United States.

Companies such as Toyota practice long-term thinking, pride of workmanship, and remain community-focused, with good results. Cheers to JPMorgan Chase.

Here's the full article from Baseline Magazine. There's also an interesting sidebar called "Can You Outsource Project Management?"

JPMorgan Chase Retakes Control of I.T.

Keeping Projects Positive; Watch Out for Those Seagulls

From the Wall Street Journal Executive Career site comes some good advice for managers leading organizations (or project managers leading projects) through dark times. And dark times are the norm these days, with offshore outsourcing, cutbacks, and short-term focus an epidemic in America.

Three bits of advice are:

1) Avoid Seagull Management: Don't focus on the negative by swooping down, crapping all over everything, making a lot of noise, and then flying off. Avoid negative judgment and try to "catch people doing something right" Positive reinforcement is key.

2) Embrace Conflict: Conflict isn't a bad thing if it's managed. On the contrary, it can lead to true progress. If everyone agrees all the time, things can get stagnant. The main thing is to encourage a collaborative atmosphere and work to solve the problem instead of assigning blame.

3) Good Comes Out of Bad: Look to make lemonade out of lemons. If there are problems or issues, look at it as an oppportunity for improvement.

I would say that these rules should apply in any circumstance, whether amid economic strife or not. They're also very much aligned with Peter Senge's "learning organization" approach. For more, read on...

CareerJournal Management -- Career Advice for Managers

ITIL CRM Solution: Amdocs

Compucom leverages Amdocs ITIL-compliant CRM solution to provision services. ...

... "CompuCom Systems, Inc. has selected Amdocs CRM to help deliver support to its enterprise customer base. CompuCom Systems is a leading Information Technology (IT) managed services provider that offers IT outsourcing, application development, systems integration, and consulting, as well as the procurement and management of hardware and software. CompuCom provides outsourced 24-hour help desk support services to Fortune 1000 companies, as well as hardware and software repair services utilizing the company's 3,100 field service technicians. To deliver an enhanced customer experience, the company chose to partner with Amdocs. Amdocs has pioneered Integrated Customer Management (ICM) - a strategy designed to help service providers worldwide deliver a better customer experience by placing the customer at the center of everything a service provider does.

CompuCom is currently using several modules of the Amdocs CRM suite of products, including customer support, contract management and quality assurance, to manage the entire customer lifecycle from proactive remote device management through the delivery of onsite field services. Amdocs CRM consolidates all customer data onto a single, unified platform that can be integrated into existing back-office systems, allowing CompuCom to easily access customer information and increase response times to help desk requests. One of the main reasons CompuCom chose to adopt Amdocs CRM is that it is ITIL-compliant. Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) represents a set of best practices around the support and delivery of IT services, including guidelines surrounding customer service and service management implementation, designed to align IT with business objectives. " ...

ITIL CRM Solution: Amdocs: Via Amdocs: Amdocs Expands Partnership with CompuCom Systems to Deliver an Enhanced Customer Experience to CompuCom's Enterprise Customers

ITIL Managed Services: Security Outsourcing ...

Firm sees growth opportunity in recurring revenue for ITIL-compliant managed services in security. ...

... "Complexity has reached a point that you need to unify criteria, you need a security policy, then you need an administrator with expertise in ITIL for all of this. So the companies are now saying it is cheaper to outsource all this and not worry about security than to train and maintain such a person, Vuoso said." ...

ITIL Managed Services: Security Outsourcing: Via Business News Americas - Latin America's Business Information Leader: Etek unit: Service revenues to match consulting in 2006 ...

IT Governance: Management Business Model ...

GM CIO, Ralph Szygenda, is advancing the state of IT governance through an aggressive information technology business model that drives competition and cooperation across a group of core outsourcing vendors. Stan Gibson explores the outsourcing plan at General Motors through interview with Ralph Szygenda. ...

IT Governance: Management Business Model: Via eWeek: GM Takes Wraps Off Outsourcing Model ...

... "Szygenda said he believes he and his team have developed an IT management business model that will be used widely in the decades ahead, one that will not only make IT governance more effective but also enable IT providers to streamline their own operations in becoming more standardized. " ...

Project Management Practices During Periods of Turnover ...

Project management best practices can be leveraged to manage through periods of turnover. Jim Rogers, Primavera Systems, offers his insights on turnover, especially in offshoring / outsourcing situations, a common experience these days. ...

Project Management Practices During Periods of Turnover: Via IT Business Edge: Dealing with the Realities of Turnover ...

... "Accurately tracking project results can help you accurately measure the impact of turnover, and decide if it is a major issue and whether the level of risk needs to be re-evaluated. " ...

IT Outsourcing Failure: Poor Governance and Challenging Culture ...

Poor governance and a resistant culture can sink any project or transformation. James Murray explores the situation with IT at Sainsbury, where its significant IT outsourcing contract with Accenture has failed. ...

IT Outsourcing Failure: Poor Governance and Challenging Culture: Via Computing: Supermarket giant reclaims its IT ...

... "the failure of Sainsbury's outsourcing relationship was more the result of management difficulties than inherent shortcomings of the IT outsourcing model. Sainsbury's made some bad decisions... and there was poor IT governance and internal politics issues where some were resistant to working with an external consultancy, he argued. " ...

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. " ...

IT Governance: Application Services Flexibility or Efficiency?

IT Governance: Application Services Flexibility or Efficiency?: Via eFinland: Helsinki School of Economics Study on IT Governance: Business Management Expects Flexibility, IT Management Seeks Cost Efficiency ...

Survey explores IT governance topic of outsourcing application services and identifies different perspectives on flexibility and cost efficiency ...

... "This information was gathered from a recent study, Application Services as Part of IT Governance: Possibilities and Challenges of Outsourcing Application Services. It analyses the perceptions of business and IT management of the largest companies in Finland in terms of using application services in IT management functions. " ...

Companies Wary of Outsourcing Strategic Projects

According to a recent Gartner study, financial services companies are fine outsourcing IT maintenance and call center functions, but are less likely to engage in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), which includes project management, business knowledge, data management, and vendor management. On the contrary, one of the reasons so many organizations struggle with outsourcing in general is a lack of in-house project management expertise to make the outsourcing engagements successful.

Read more in this article from Computerworld...

Gartner: Financial services still wary of BPO - Computerworld

Simple Project Management Tool: Easy Projects .NET

Via Logic Software, Inc: Web based system for software development project management and tracking - Easy Projects .NET

... "Easy Projects .NET - the latest generation web based system for managing and tracking software development projects. It is called Easy Projects for a good reason - it was specifically designed to make software project management hassle free and straightforward. " ...

Logic Software, Inc. is a rapidly growing custom development and software outsourcing company with headquarters in Toronto, Canada. Our offshore development department is located in Belarus (Eastern Europe). We specialize in the development of custom software applications and offshore software outsourcing services. Specifically, our company carries out custom programming, database design, client-server and internet/intranet software application development.

IT Project Options Thinking

IT Project Options Thinking: Via Manufacturing Insights: Manufacturing Insights Recommends Options Thinking RFID Strategy to Achieve Maximum Long-Term ROI

When dealing with emerging technology, such as RFID, and the risk associated with it, Manufacturing Insights collaborated with academia to leverage an options-thinking IT investment strategy, which involves ...

... "Value the Options: Companies must place a systematic, accepted value on each identified option. Extract Value From IT Project Options: Companies need to establish checkpoints to manage the options approach successfully. " ...

Manufacturing Insights, an IDC Company, provides business and IT decision-makers with fact-based research and analysis to inform and support critical business decisions. The global independent research and advisory firm closely follows processes associated with the design, development and distribution of goods across markets including Discrete Manufacturing, Process Manufacturing, High Tech/Electronics Manufacturing, Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail. Manufacturing Insights’ research and analysis is critical for end-users, as well as hardware and software vendors, service providers, and purveyors of IT outsourcing. Founded in January 2005, Manufacturing Insights is headquartered in Framingham, Mass.

EPM: Enterprise Program Management: ROI ...

EPM: Enterprise Program Management: ROI: Via Headstrong - Consulting and Outsourcing Service Provider - EPM: Maximizing Project ROI across the Enterprise ...

... "Enterprise Project Management (EPM) is the strategic management of business and IT priorities, investments, and projects across the enterprise. The objective of EPM is to take full advantage of the synergies across your enterprise architecture, portfolio management, and project management office disciplines to get maximum strategic value and return on project investments. " ...

Headstrong, Inc. is a global consultancy and financial solutions company that delivers expertise across business processes, management consulting and technology within financial services, manufacturing, public sector and service industries. Headstrong’s Financial solutions include matching engines and electronic exchange systems as well as trading, order management, stock lending, clearing, settlement and financial messaging systems. Customers include stock exchanges, commodity exchanges, brokerage houses and investment banks in addition to new generation marketplaces such as ATS’, ECNs, financial portals and private e-marketplaces. With a global resource pool of qualified advisors and its Global Delivery Centers, Headstrong can furnish a full range of integration services including strategic assessment, design, implementation, application development and maintenance both onshore and offshore. Headstrong helps clients align technology initiatives with business goals while leveraging its steadfast heritage (as James Martin + Co) of strong methodologies and standards for delivery. Headstrong maintains a 23-year track record of proven results and a solid client base. The company is headquartered near Washington, DC, with a global presence across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.