· Gains support from and confidence of others. Change is not accepted and work cannot be done without the buy-in of key stakeholders. Building support early and frequently is a key to ensuring you have management, customers, team members or shareholders when needed

· Collaborate effectively. No matter how good a manager is, people will not follow without a sense of ownership in the organization. Working together at all levels of organization is critical. People look to see results and your ability to get results effectively and break through roadblocks. This is a fundamental to rapid results. In order to collaborate effectively, you need to focus on building relationships with customers, peers, and project team members.

· Takes accountability. As with any effective manager,successful transition leaders take accountability for their own work as well as that of the entire team that he or she manages. If the transition is structure change, project change, team member change there will be a lot of changing elements. To be viewed as the leader, you need to take accountability for the good and bad and keep communication strong.

· Inspires and motivates sponsor, stakeholder, customers and team. In order to manage change effectively in the organization, transition leaders need to have inspired employees and stakeholders. This can be a challenge as many people will view change as negative. The one constant these days is change, so helping people

· Communicates openly and often. Since change is such a complex and fearsome idea for process what it means and connect to what they do and contribute will mitigate the effect and keep project moving forward as it needs to. For most people, it is important for transition leaders to open the flow of communication and let people know what is undecided and what is decided so they are not left to speculation, rumors and growing fear develops. This holds true on a day-to-day basis as well and just becomes more critical during times of change.

· Provides clear direction. People want to know where program or project is headed. They want to know what roles and responsibilities are and they want to do a good job. Often, there can be a lot of distracters and inhibitors to people doing a good job. Stakeholders also need to understand where they are and where the organization is going. The action you can take leading through change is to link vision to goals of program and keep defining and redefining so people can understand and work to the needed results

· Create a culture of urgency – Often change becomes worse when prolonged as it can create a wait and see operating style. Creating the platform of why and what must be done with urgency will help force resolution and implementation more quickly.

· Creates opportunities for wins. The change involved in large scale and complex IT implementations often appears insurmountable to employees. Define interim goals and wins the team and individuals can celebrate. It is important to frequently reward and recognize team members to help boost morale and to keep change initiatives from failing due to a burned-out staff. It will help build momentum and feeling of accomplishment over long term projects.

Change is a constant. You can implement simple strategies to assist surviving tough transition and being the leader to help team thrive through change. It is important to practice these on a regular basis but step it up in a big way through transition times. It will ensure you delivery High Payoff Projects!

]]> http://talkaboutquality.wordpress.com/?p=75 Wed, 20 Aug 2008 20:44:11 +0000 Tom Harris http://talkaboutquality.wordpress.com/?p=75 This evening I was looking for pricing on some code analysis tools, and found an organization that had done a very comprehensive survey, and published it
 
http://dev.lsstcorp.org/trac/wiki/CppCodingStandardCheckerReview%3A#CStaticAnalysisTools
 
And they're pretty organized and public about their entire software development process: http://dev.lsstcorp.org/trac/wiki
 
But I asked myself, who are these people?
 
Well, here's a photo: http://www.lsst.org/About/lsst_team.shtml
 
They are building in Chile: http://www.lsst.org/Images/pachon.shtml
 
They want to take pictures like this: http://www.lsst.org/Science/lsst_science.shtml
 
Overall, this is their project: http://www.lsst.org/lsst_home.shtml, in part:

In a relentless campaign of short exposures with its 3.2 Gigapixel camera, the LSST will cover the full available sky every three nights, opening a movie-like window on objects that change or move on rapid timescales: exploding supernovae, potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids, and distant Kuiper Belt Objects.

All in all, some pretty interesting people!
 
Also honest about how their software milestones, like those on so many other projects, are behind schedule: http://dev.lsstcorp.org/trac/roadmap?show=all

Reference: 1219063773

ERS has a Client who is actively is seeking to appoint an Estates Surveyor with good project management and decision making skills to deliver multi-disciplinary property management initiatives. This opportunity is for an initial fixed term period of 12 months which may be extended.

Location

Barnwood

Salary

Attractive package with competitive salary depending on qualifications and experience.

Job Responsibilities

You will report to the Senior Estates Surveyor but will be primarily responsible within the Company for the day to day delivery of the Company's estates function with the support of outsourced property teams.

Manage all of the company’s rural, commercial and residential properties (with the support of the Company's outsourced property teams) including granting leases, negotiating rent reviews, property management, rating, acquiring land, disposing of surplus property assets and instructing/liaising with the Company's outsourced property solicitors.

Provide professional property advice to operational departments.

Assist with the sustainable management of the Company's rural estate through the implementation of integrated land management plans to meet business, landscape, biodiversity, agriculture, forestry and community objectives.

Assist with promoting the Company’s corporate biodiversity policy and delivering corporate biodiversity targets, including providing advice to operational departments on biodiversity legislation.

Ensure the estates management work complies with the Company’s health, safety and environmental policies.

Prepare and monitor estates department’s annual budgets within set targets.

Engage and communicate with local planning authorities, statutory agencies, partner organisations, landowners, tenants and local communities.

Assist the Senior Estates Surveyor, as required, with land acquisition and environmental impact assessment work in connection with new nuclear build.

Contact ERS on 01454 203 460, or submit a CV to cv@energyrs.co.uk, to register your interest or apply. Details at www.ERSJobs.co.uk

About an hour ago I left my office to drop a set of files off at another campus office, and then I walked over to the bookstore and bought some expanding file folders and document organizers, and new pens.  In part this is because I like fancy office supplies and so buy my own, rather than making the secretary jump through hoops to provide just the right mattress for the princess.  But in part it's because (due to staff changes) I'm taking on extra collection development responsiblities this fall, and I'm going to need to reorganize and expand the way that i do and manage book selection.  I don't have the time to get into the nuts and bolts of that reorganization today, even though it's weighing heavily on my mind; I need to finish a few more pressing projects once I'm done with my 'lunch' hour.  (Lunch hours usually involve eating.  My lunch hour involves checking in with the intarwebs and eating Skittles and doing a bunch of home-related tasks.) So instead, I acquired the tools which will allow me to organize the nuts and bolts work.  Somehow, this makes me feel better.  I don't know if it's that I now have a plan for how to tackle the Big Mess, or if it's that I have the tools to tackle the Big Mess, or if I just need to feel like I've done something to start tackling the Big Mess.  Whatever the reason, it works for me.

One step of preparation, without any action, and I feel more in control.  And that can only be a good thing...

For the past 40 years Bob Kleppin has been involved in many different kinds of industries from the manufacture of military weapons and computer chips, to construction and even cooking. While his title may have changed with each job, his core responsibilities remained fairly consistent. He was always in Management as some sort of a “Project Manager.”

The information presented in this book is based upon his real life experiences, his college education (he has a degree in Project Management with extensive post graduate work) his teaching experience at Arizona State University where he taught Project Management, and from case studies of other Project Managers' experiences.

Bob is now sharing those years of education and experience in the off-line world with those that are involved in the on-line world. His techniques will bring off-line applications of Project Management to the on-line marketer in a manner that is easily understood and useful.

The game also has players assume the role of salespeople who have to prioritize the backlog that developers will have to implement.  This approach is great for both roles:

• If you have salespeople play the game, they start to get a better feel for the real consequences of having made unfulfillable promises at deal time. 
• As developers play the game, they should develop more empathy for the pressure that sales teams feel as they try to satisfy the customer and close deals.

Very promising stuff...  Now, when can I get the time to check it out?!

There's a query on: "how shall we reference your slides should we use your valuable materials (slides)?"

Making ref of my work can be in three forms depending on how you want to extract them: Check out the USQ Ref Guide here for details.

1> IF the source is from my book, then follow the library congress on the front page of my book and use Harvard System for published books.

2> IF the source is from my lecture slides, follow the USQ Ref guide under personal communications: "can include things such as letters, memos, emails, facsimiles, interviews, informal conversations, telephone calls and lecture presentations."

Initials are included. Full details of the date (day, month and year) should be provided in the text.

3>IF the source is from my on-line lecture slide, follow the USQ ref guide under worldwide web document, see here for details.

In all the cases, please cite my name as: Faisal, A. (followed by the rest).

Rgds

-Posted by Dhana

Refer Exam Tips 3 - Key terms for PMP Exam for more key terms

Kenapa begitu ? Makin banyak orang yang terlibat, maka effort untuk koordinasi akan membesar. Banyak orang bisa dilibatkan dengan optimal jika pekerjaan dan pembagiannya sudah jelas...

Kasus ini juga bisa diterapkan dalam kerja kelompok untuk tugas matakuliah. Jika anggota kelompok terlalu banyak, ada beberapa orang yang cenderung hanya jadi 'penggembira' saja ya...

Berapa sebenarnya ukuran optimal untuk kerja kelompok ya ??

Mobility International USA (MIUSA), a national nonprofit organization founded in 1981 and based in Eugene, Oregon, promotes the human rights of people with disabilities through international exchange and international development. MIUSA seeks a qualified Project Manager with excellent international development, leadership, interpersonal, project management, writing and training skills to manage the USAID-sponsored Building an Inclusive Development Community project. This position reports to the Director of Programs and is the lead position for a team
of staff working on this project. The position is based in Eugene, Oregon USA.

Since 1998, MIUSA has been changing the paradigm of international development by framing the inclusion of people with disabilities as a human rights issue. With funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), MIUSA serves as a bridge to promote inclusion and bring together disability and development organizations. MIUSA provides technical assistance, training and resources to disabled peoples' organizations (DPOs), USAID Missions and development agencies through the Building an Inclusive Development Community project.

Qualifications:
* BS or BA degree required; Master's degree strongly preferred in international development, international studies or related field
* Minimum two years field-based experience in international development, inclusion of people with disabilities in international development, or related fields, using a human rights framework and/or gender lens
* Five years experience managing complex projects with diverse stakeholders
* Experience managing federal grants and projects
* Experience managing project budgets and following financial procedures
* Excellent presentation and training skills
* Excellent computer skills including Microsoft Office, online research and data tracking
* Excellent writing, editing, and organizational skills
* Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
* Ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment
* Optimistic outlook with the ability to lead by example during difficult or stressful times
* Knowledge of one or more languages other than English strongly preferred
* Ability to travel nationally and internationally
* Passion for empowering people with disabilities in international contexts

For more information regarding the application go to: www.miusa.org

To apply:

Applications are due by September 5, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. for initial consideration and screening. Position open until filled.

Competitive salary commensurate with experience including excellent benefits. Equal Opportunity Employer. People with disabilities and others encouraged to apply.

Send detailed cover letter with "Project Manager" in the subject line, resume and list of references via email to crothvinson@miusa.org.

Or, via postal mail to:

Mobility International USA
*ATTN: CERISE ROTH-VINSON*
Director of Administration
132 E. Broadway, Suite 343
Eugene, Oregon USA 97401



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Funny, that is where REDNP is headed as well. We are constantly updating and revising REDNP to add the maximum amount of value and benefits to our end users. Who are the end users? Anyone in the Real Estate Development industry - architects, planners, developers. Soon, REDNP will have all the LEED documentation and resources a real estate development project team member needs for research, certification or to incorporate into their task manager and calendar. Would this be helpful?

He explains how all of the kids arrived on the field only to find there were no footballs.  The coach asked them how many players are on the field at a time.  Answer = 22 (two teams of 11).  He then asked them how many footballs are on the field at the time.  Answer = 1.  The coach advised the kids he was going to teach them what the other 21 players are doing and not just the ball carrier.

The coach focused on fundamentals.  Lean improvements are built on fundamentals.  Ever have a client want to implement a cell when they don't even have a reliable method?  Frequent "small plays" of incremental improvements will transform your organization better than always looking for the big glories as the kicker or quarterback! 

Take a moment for some relentless hansei and think where you might have strayed from the fundamentals.

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1) ein 80:20-Tool: Breite Grundfunktionalität out-of-the-box.

2) MOSS kann viel, eine effiziente Nutzung erfordert aber eine gute Planung UND Erfahrung, wie die umfassenden Möglichkeiten effizient eingesetzt werden können.

(3) MOSS kann zudem als ein Framework eingesetzt werden, um Unternehmens-/fachspezifische Anforderungen Anforderungen effizient zu integrieren (LOB-IntegrationSpezialapps)

Was braucht es um die Klippen umschiffen und die Möglichkeiten nutzen zu können?

1) Einen Governance Plan für Inbetriebnahme und Nutzung, um klare, für das Business angepasste Regeln entwickeln zu können und die Möglichkeiten zur Effizienzsteigerung nutzen zu können.

2) einen Partner, der umfassende Erfahrungen mit Sharepoint-Funktionalitäten und viel Best-Practice Know-how hat.

3) einen Partner, der auch bei weiter gehenden Fragen und Implementationsanforderungen die notwendigen Skills hat.

Mehr zum Thema:

• http://sharepointmagazine.net/news/analysis/sharepoint-paradox-meets-sharepoint-governance
• http://office.microsoft.com/download/afile.aspx?AssetID=AM102306291033
• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc718727.aspx
• http://sharepointmagazine.net/technical/development/leveraging-the-sharepoint-platform-part-1

Why do projects fail? And how on earth can you make sure that your project don't fail? Simple answer – you can’t. But you can improve your chances of success dramatically, by considering some of the reasons that projects go wrong, and avoiding them – easy! I know this sounds like a bit of back-to-front thinking, but trust me, it does make sense.

Projects fail for many reasons, and the weird thing is that no matter how big or complex they are, the most ‘popular’ reasons tend to be the same; and the top five are…..

• Project team unsure of project objectives;
• Project team unsure of project deliverables;
• At the end of the project, the objectives were only partially met;
• The planned schedule tended to run late;
• The budget was exceeded.

Project Objectives

It seems so obvious when you think about it, but the most important thing you, as project manager, have to do is to make sure that everyone - everyone – involved in the project has a clear understanding of what the objectives are. You must include the customer and/or end user in this list. If you don’t what you’re doing, and the customer doesn’t know what he’s getting, you’re going to fail – period.

Define the project objectives in simple clear language. Use SMART objectives – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, & Time-related. This technique makes it very difficult to remain uncertain of what the project is all about. Equally, a set of SMART objectives makes it clear what the project is not about – it defines the boundaries. Write the objectives down and get everyone to sign up to them, in blood - preferably their own.

Deliverables

Having got that, how will you know you’ve achieved the objectives? Answer, by understanding what the project will deliver in specific terms. Make sure that everyone knows what your team will be delivering, how and when. Deliverables don’t just mean hardware –books, furniture etc. A completed specification is a deliverable; so is a completed grant application. Be specific about what the project expects. The more specific you are, the surer you can be that you have succeeded.

On the other hand, a vague list of deliverables generates the possibility for endless doubt – “What does xxxx really mean?”, and doubt means delay and that means failure.

Objectives partially met

There can be many reasons why project objectives are only partially met. Perhaps the objectives were woolly in the first place – in which case you only have yourself to blame! (Sorry for being harsh, but it’s true) If the objectives were good, maybe they were unreasonable – remember the ‘A’ in SMART, in which case you still only have yourself to blame for accepting them. Things can change over the life of a project, and part of your job is to cope with change and still bring the project in on time and budget. However, there are some things that change too much, and render the project impossible. If this happens to you, you need to renegotiate the whole deal – redefine the project based on the new circumstances. It may be possible to salvage a part of it, it may be possible to extend it in time or budget or both. You need to be looking for a way to turn potential failure into success – maybe this project can spawn another to come along later, and you can then claim success for both?

Project runs late/budget exceeded

Any project is a balancing act between time, cost and quality. These two problems are clearly related, and there are a million reasons why they come up so frequently. If I had to choose, I’d say the two most common are optimistic estimating and indifferent teamwork.

How often have you embarked on a DIY project that is a “5 minute job” only to be still working at it when everyone else has gone to bed? When you set out, you didn’t intend this to happen, but you didn’t give the job sufficient thought, didn’t consider all the things that might go wrong, in short, didn’t think it through. Your project is filled with well-meaning people like you who don’t always think things through, and who don’t like giving you unpalatable information. As project manager, you need to be absolutely sure that estimates you’re given reflect real life, not the fantasy world that most of us inhabit. In your project, a task that overruns will cost you in salaries, heat, light, etc etc, not to mention embarrassment when the launch date is missed.

There is no miracle cure for keeping projects on track. The best technique I know is keeping on top of things. You need to know what is going on in your project, not what you’re told is going on.

Consider these two project managers. Fred sat in his office most of the time, working on his computer. He used Microsoft Project, and his plan was absolutely up to date, all the time. All the resources were there, all the costs, every last detail. He had the team report progress to him weekly by email. His project review meetings were a dazzling display of whizzy technology.

Bert spent 80% of his time out of the office, talking to the team, understanding the problems, celebrating the successes. He knew how far they had progressed from first hand experience. He knew which of the team’s estimates were good, and which not. He knew what was going to happen before it did, and he took steps to modify his plan. He made sure all the team were involved. He maintained his plan on Project, too, but his project reviews were not so flashy as Fred’s.

Who do you think was more successful? Bert’s projects didn’t hit absolutely all the dates, but he was always a lot closer than Fred. And Bert’s team would have jumped through hoops to achieve a milestone – his team really was a team. All Fred had was a group of people who worked in the same place.

Project management is not just about planning and scheduling. A lot of it is about teamwork and managing people. Often the people on your team will not work for you. You’ll have to work extra hard to meld them into your project team. But it is worth every minute you spend on it.

Conclusion

Sorry – there are no magic answers. You can’t just turn a handle and deliver a successful project, but now you are aware of the top five pitfalls in this risky business, you are in with a better chance. Project management is a risky business, and that’s part of the fun – go on, enjoy!

Un proyecto es un esfuerzo coordinado que se extiende por un período limitado de tiempo para lograr un cierto objetivo bajo ciertas especificaciones, involucrando una serie compleja de elementos.

Así, bajo el término "proyecto", se incluyen obras de infraestructura de diferente envergadura (desde una represa hasta la reforma de una habitación en nuestras casas); el desarrollo de nuevos productos y servicios (desde un nuevo transbordador espacial hasta una nueva crema de belleza); el despliegue de una nueva campaña publicitaria o la instalación y puesta en marcha de una red de telecomunicaciones.

El Máster en Project Management de la Salle da una visión completa y a la vez, práctica y flexible, de toda la profesión del Project Manager. El Máster abarca desde el conocimiento de las principales disciplinas que configuran el contexto en que el gestor realiza sus tareas hasta las habilidades, los métodos, las técnicas y las herramientas necesarias para gestionar proyectos de una forma eficiente y satisfactoria.

Durante el año 2009, podrás impartir este master para formarte como líder de proyectos de cualquier materia. Aquí podrás ver el programa.

4. If possible, visit your offshore team during the development phase and make an effort to blend in.
5. Identify a leader you are going to be communicating with regularly and make him responsible for all updates and reports so there is no miscommunication.

SAP has an exchange program with our global delivery and global development groups based in remote locations (especially India). Also, we've developed a strong, independent PMO in our global delivery organization in SAP Consulting. They're mature enough to be regular contributors of remote delivery content for our ASAP methodology (overview page here, NOTE: requires registration to service.sap.com).

7. Whichever way you choose for your communication, always support verbal communication with written correspondence.
10. The bigger the better is the rule when getting projects made offshore.

#7 applies to most projects, but never forget it for remote teams.  Tip #10 is very perceptive, as it notes "small projects are usually going to get you distracted workers who will be looking for their next assignment even while they work for you."  Also, being "stingy" with work by doling it out piecemeal usually only attracts second-tier resources or desperate firms.

Both touch on complexity regularly (Jurgen's latest here, Bas's latest here) and they're clearly big fans of the theory and its implications.  I agree there's much that's applicable, especially the concepts of iteration and feedback, which can even be used in "waterfall" approaches (here and here).  My academic background makes me especially sympathetic to the limits of central planning (start here re: Hayek).

That said, I'm not sure we can rely on self-organization for everything.  The most effective models of complex adaptive systems are derived from simple rules that generate complex phenomena.  This approach is mimicked effectively in agile, iterative, and other rapid development techniques (list of SW methodologies here).  Simple feature lists, regular interactions with stakeholders, short cycles, many versions of usable work product, etc. can generate feature-rich and useful applications.

However, the scalability and stability of these applications is often problematic.  IMO, this result is to be expected given the evolution of complexity among living things.  We like to point to complex creatures and structures -- e.g., human brains -- to support applications of complexity theory. 

But do we remember that most life is still very simple (about half of the biomass is microscopic)?  Also, aren't complex creatures the ones that have had the spectacular denouements over the eons?  Betting on self-organization isn't always a winning bet.  As I said, I instinctively like leveraging complexity concepts, but we must remember that they cut both ways.