Strategy Execution through Well-Defined Projects

A fair amount of the IT strategy is made up of the portfolio of discretionary investment projects that will drive business growth and/or efficiency. Rightsizing those projects with your team and delivering to your schedules will set the tone with executive leadership. There will be times when you have to push back and reframe the project to continue your track record of success. Don't miss those opportunities. ...

... "That impossible mission should have been challenged by your IT folks at the beginning with supporting data to show the business realistic timeframes. " ...

Via CIO Insight: People and Roles

Project Software Extension

Project Critical Path

Don't forget to highlight your critical path so the schedule does not slip. ...

Common Causes of Out of Control Projects

List of key indicators of project failure ... some require constant monitoring. ...

... "Many times, project schedules spiral out of control when dates and deliverables aren't aggressively monitored and tracked on a daily basis. " ...

Via TechRepublic: Root Causes for Out of Control Projects

Perform to Schedule

Performance to schedule is critical to manufacturing processes. This same discipline needs to extend to project schedules. However, not all projects and tasks are as repeatable as manufacturing steps. And, people aren't machines. ...

... "At the manufacturing level, processes are expected to be adhered to with clockwork precision to meet defined deadlines. With over 6 lakh cars a year from three assembly lines in Gurgaon and 1 lakh from a plant in Manesar, the shop floors need to produce exactly to a plan. " ...

Via InfoWorld Nederland: IT on wheels

Steer Your Plan

Business planning requires routine schedule updates. Sound familiar? ...

... "Set up schedules for frequent review. Your plan will change. Your assumptions will be wrong. Your plan will be wrong. " ...

Via Tim Berry, Huffington Post: Business Planning

Project Early Warning System

If we can detect project problems early, we can resolve them. What's your best indicator? Scope quality, SPI / CPI, QA results? ...

... "In general, the earlier you spot trouble, the easier it is to do something positive about it - anything from making minor adjustments to scope or schedule to killing the thing outright. " ...

Via CIO: Project Rescue