Project Management will end the Global Recession!

Sorry not to post in so long. I have been very busy working to end the Global Recession. I am currently working on a software project in APAC out of Singapore and Shanghai.

Project Management is key to ending the speculation of economists and other talking heads in the media. They have big fat salaries and even fatter heads that speculate about when the recession will end.

Everyone in media has given their strategy about how to end the recession. Most have not gone more than an inch deep to explain what is going on or not going on. They can flip through their college econ text to talk it up before the next commercial (the revenue that pays those fatheads their fat salaries like O'Reilly and those other Fox yahoos ). Of course, so many who are sought out for comment by the media have a political comment or two that poisons rather than heals the lives of everyday people who are suffering in these times. My late Grandmother predicted a Great Depression like event that would come in my lifetime. That was before outsourcing came to the USA. That was before the dot.com bubble (I got that joke of a $300 check from Bush in 2001). That was before Wall Street, AIG (a bit more than $300 from Bush), Madoff, and all the other crooks who want to live like kings.

The heavy lifting in this recession like any other is done by Project Managers across all business sectors. They have to have a plan, and they have to make sure it gets results everyday. Many Project Managers use Earned Value Management and Analysis to keep control of precious budget resources on their projects. Can you imagine if EVM was used on Wall Street or by any of the banks, insurance firms, or investments firms that got confused about their core mission, profit over the past few years? Instead, they spent money as if they had no bottom to their pockets, and then reached into our pockets for bail outs! They are supposed to be corporate Republican Fat Cats not socialists! At least that is what they told me over the years when I asked for a raise.

When you are out there working as a Project Manager, your resources are finite and have to be cared for or they will run through your fingers like sand. Have you got an updated Project Plan? Have you got a WBS that is detailed to a level that you can manage work packages for full compliance to the budget plan, standards, and within the master schedule? Do you have a Project Communications Plan? I think you know as well as I do, without your tool kit, you will not get the results you want, and your stakeholders short fuse will blow, and the project risks will mount until the project fails.

Project Managers know how to end this recession now! Move out of the way strategists and media fatheads. We have rolled our sleeves up and will plan, do, check....Good luck!

Status Updates

When you are involved managing a project or an entire project portfolio, you need a system for getting regular, validated status updates. One pet peeve I have is how many project management tools (CPM) often spot you 50% actual completion rates as the user default.

A huge caveat is to be wary of that on "your" project. It is one thing to have a +5 or -5 error coefficient in a regression analysis, but 50% actual completion that gets booked in a status report when less is actually done, magnifies potential risk as you move from the original project baseline to the target baseline.

The solution is to educate the entire team on how and when to update their status "as is" at a given time and day. And make sure you set up your PM software tools to default status updates at zero.

Project Charters that have teeth in them

Before you begin a new project you are going to need a meaningful Project Charter. You will need to ensure that all the elements and most importantly the goals, objectives, and stakeholders are aligned exactly with what you want to accomplish in undertaking the project.

I can think of several stakeholders and managers on a project who took visible roles on paper, but not with regard to performance. Within 6 months they awoke and were displeased not with their apathy but the PMO. hmmmm....

What you do not want is any element to be less than fully committed. Short and sweet.

Org Comms info from my buddy Duke

Ever see this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redding%27s_Ten_Postulates

Communication Within the Organization: The Interpretive Review of Theory and Research (pg 27-138)In what can be considered the first reputable textbook in the field of Organizational Communication, ‘‘Communication Within an Organization: The Interpretive Review of Theory and Research, Redding discusses the Ten Postulates of OrganizationalCommunication.

1.Meanings are not transferred: This postulate refers more to the receptiveness of the receivers. If a message was not received correctly Redding refers to that as content fallacy. With the concept of content fallacy the sender believes that they are getting through to the receiver just because they, the sender, understand the message that is being sent.

2.Anything is a potential message: This postulate includes both verbal and non verbal cues and messages being received as a message.

3.Input (specifically listening): in his novel, Redding discusses how to be a good listener. He utilizes the example of a participative manager listening to his subordinates in an empathetic manner.

4.The message that is received is the one that will bring action: the message that is sent and received is the one that will be acted up on. Redding states that the receiver will reference their personal experiences as a point of reference to act up on the message received.

5.Feedback: (Responsiveness and Receptiveness): this postulate deals with feedback within an organization from both managers and subordinates. Feedback receptiveness refers to how much feedback managers welcome from subordinates. Responsiveness refers to how much feedback managers give. Redding also notes that there is a difference between being open, responding, and being receptive to feedback are three separate things.

6.Cost Factor: Communication requires energy. Redding discusses this formula: efficiency = effectiveness/cost. Ultimately, more communication does not equal more effectiveness.

7.Redundancy: this postulates deals with the repetition of messages and how effective and comprehensive the messages are.

8.Communication Overload: this postulate deals with an individuals limit of processing messages. Messages may not be properly received if too many messages or noise is interfering with reception of messages.

9.Serial Transmission Effect: This postulate refers to change of meaning within a message. This can occur when information is traveling through various people within a network. Messages are liable to get distorted.

10.Organization’s Climate: Redding believed that an organization’s climate was far more important than its skills or techniques. He even theorized an “ideal managerial climate” which consisted of 5 parts.
a. Supportiveness
b. Participative decision making
c. Trust, confidence, and credibility
d. Openness and candor e. Emphasis on high performance goals.

In Redding’s book, Communication with the Organization: Interpretive Review of Theory and Research, he supports these postulates with research from various studies. He was an avid believer in investigating messages and message related practices.[5] __._,_.___

Spending on IT in APAC Increasing

Project Managers should take note that the Recovery Economy is upon us. There are new project targets to pursue.

Please refer to this link:

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_377165.html

Project Branding

Project Branding: Shameless Self-Promotion in the Recovery Economy

What is a Project Brand?

What do you think of when you think of?

Donald Trump? Hair, You’re Fired!

Larry King, CNN? Suspenders (Braces), and Hi-So softball questions to his guests

Jack Welch? Neutron Jack, GE success

Bill Gates? Nerd

What is your Project Brand? How do you build a brand?

Coke, the shape of the bottle, the script that reads Coca-Cola and Coke.

Burger King, Have it your way

FedEx, When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight

How did these firms do it?

How do we use our 5 senses to evaluate a brand? Design your Project brand with your prospects senses and requirements in mind.

Use the questions; Who, what where when, why, (be careful with how).

What are your ‘sproject features and benefits?

Is your project local, expat, or global?

How do you get your project brand out there into the market? How do you tell your project story with a brand?

Project business cards for the Project Team
Project website/blog
Publishing articles related to your project in your business sector
Social media (yes projects are happening on Twitter! IBM sold $1 million in products on Twitter recently, over 100 hospitals use Twitter)
Project networking events for teambuilding
Professional membership organizations

What is the ROI on your Project brand?
Do you have a switching cost for your Project brand?

Is your Project brand creating an indispensable service for your customers and stakeholders?

Are you a change agent (be careful of jargon)?

Can you create a Project brand that attracts as much as it promotes?

Can you create a Project brand that is simple, empathetic to your customers needs, as well as aesthetic?

Best of look, and let me know if I can help you in your process.

Regards,

Rick Price
rick@eprojectsource.com

SaaS Asia User Conference

Day 1 (May 27th) - SaaS Asia User Conference

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Please let us know if you have any questions about the SaaS Asia Conference 2009 and we look forward to seeing you there!