Archive for February, 2011

Uncover the root of the problem

Author: admin

Feb 20

Suppose you’ve been assigned a project with explicit responsibilities and expectations. In this case, it’s still a good idea to make sure that you’ve correctly identified the underlying need that the project is supposed to meet so that project solves the right problem.

For example, imagine you’re an IT manager and several people in your department have asked for a new database and data-entry system. You informally ask them: “Why do we need the new system?” The answers you receive include: “We can’t get the data out fast enough” and “I have to sift through four different reports to compile an update on my clients’ recent activity.”

These responses describe symptoms, not underlying problems or needs. You need to ask more probing questions, such as “What type of data do you need?” “How are you using the data now?” and “How quickly do you need to retrieve the data?” Unless you know the answers to these and similarly detailed questions, you risk wasting time and money by designing a system that doesn’t address your group’s fundamental concerns.

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Overlapping tasks and activities

Author: admin

Feb 15

Even though the four phases of project management have distinct activities associated with them and the process appears linear, the major tasks of the phases often overlap and are iterative.

For example, you might begin the first phase of defining and organizing the project with an approximate figure for your budget and an estimated completion date for the project. Once you’re in the second phase, planning the project and filling in the details of the project plan, you’ll probably want your budget and schedule estimates to be much more specific. So you’ll revisit some of the steps you took during the defining and organizing phase, asking questions in greater detail. Similar overlaps occur in later phases of the project life cycle.

Returning to the activities and tasks of an earlier phase in this way does not mean that you’re moving backward or losing ground. Rather, it simply means that you are incorporating new knowledge and information into the overall plan to improve the performance of your project tasks.

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What is project management?

Author: admin

Feb 11

A project is a set of interrelated activities, usually involving a group of people working together toward a common goal or objective over a period of time.

Designing a new product, for example, is a project. Individuals from different business units in a company may collaborate on design, building, testing, and modification. Once the new product goes into production, the project ends for the design group. The responsibility for producing, marketing, selling, and servicing the product is handed over to established departments or business units.

Projects are undertaken at all levels in a company. They may require the efforts of a single person or many thousands. Their duration may range from a week to more than two years. Some involve a single unit of one organization. Others (such as joint ventures and partnering) cross functional or even organizational boundaries.

If you’re managing a project and you want to ensure its success, you need to transform what may begin as a vague concept into a measurable and accountable process that meets your company’s requirements. Project management, then, is the planning, scheduling, and orchestrating of project activities to achieve objectives within a specified period of time. Not surprisingly, project management requires strong organizational, budgeting, staffing, controlling, and communication skills.

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Project in Reality

Author: admin

Feb 3

Brett was in charge of launching the company’s public relations program. After three months of creative energy and high enthusiasm, the mood of the group began to change. Team members were overworked and deadlines were slipping. Even the quality of the team’s work seemed to be decreasing. Amidst all these concerns, Brett received a memo from his boss asking for a progress update. What would Brett say? How could he get the project back on track before his boss pulled the plug on it?

What would you do?

Even though the project is underway, Brett might start by revisiting the objectives, schedule, and set of deliverables that were decided upon during the early planning phase. By reviewing these documents and retracing how the work then unfolded, he might uncover the roots of the problems. Next, Brett needs to evaluate his options for getting his project back on track. Perhaps he can renegotiate some of the deadlines or narrow the project scope. Maybe he can hire temporary help or delegate some of his work to another group. Each step of the way, he should communicate with his team and keep his boss apprised of what’s happening.

 

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