December Poll Results

How much time do you typically spend (effort, not duration) compiling your project plan?

A) No more than 4 hours 13.51%
B) 8 hours 10.81%
C) 8-16 hours 27.03%
D) 17-40 hours 32.43%
E) More than 40 hours 16.22%

Total votes: 37

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The January/February poll question is: What is your comfort level when managing conflict?

A) Very Comfortable
B) Somewhat comfortable
C) Uncomfortable
D) I avoid it

If you have not already done so, please stop by allPM.com and add your opinion today.

Project Management Poetry™, by Crispin ("Kik") Piney, PMP

More Project Management for the Young

It is my belief that it is never too soon to start teaching the young the importance and the secrets of project management. For this reason, I have adapted a few nursery rhymes and other forms of poetry to start them along this path.

Hey diddle diddle

Hey diddle diddle
My Gantt chart's a fiddle
And time's run away with my plan.
The client just quit when he saw such a mess
And we failed before we began.

© 2005 allPM.com

Mary Mary

Mary Mary. Project's scary.
How does your spending grow?
In over-runs and "not quite dones"
And excuses all in a row.

© 2005 allPM.com

Pat-a-cake

Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, PMI-man
Write me a spec. and build me a plan.
Size it and cost it and sign it with me,
And build it up quick - in time for my tea!

© 2005 allPM.com

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After many years managing international IT projects within large corporations, Crispin ("Kik") Piney, B. Sc., PMP  is now a freelance project management consultant and trainer. At present, his main areas of focus are risk management, change management, and time and cost control, for which he has developed advanced training courses which he delivers to international audiences of participants from various industries. He has also carried out work for PMI on a volunteer basis as Design Cell Leader for the creation an Organizational Project Management Maturity Model as well as participating actively in the teams developing the Third edition of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge for the English and French language versions. He is acting as coordination architect for the forthcoming PMI Program and Portfolio Management Standards.

allPM Today Tips Feature: MS Excel tips, by Bob Umlas , Microsoft Excel® MVP

Making exact copies of ranges with relative or mixed references

Usually, if you copy a range which has relative or mixed references to a new range, the references will adjust. That is, if A1 contains =C7 and you copy A1:B2 to C2:D3, then C2 will contain =E8. Here's how you can have C2 still contain =C7.
We'll use the above references as an example.

To copy A1:B2 to C2:D3 and not change any references in the resulting range:
Here's the formulas we're starting with, using relative, mixed, and absolute references:

And here's the worksheet displayed normally:

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Bob Umlas has been an MVP since 1995. He has been a beta tester for new versions of Microsoft Excel since version 1.5 (on the Macintosh)! He has led several sessions at Microsoft's Tech-Ed: Maximizing Excel development using Array Formulas, and Excel Tips and Tricks (at 2 separate Tech-Eds). He has also led a session on Tips and Tricks at the Advisor's Developers Conference in San Francisco in 1998, and at the Convergence Conference in Orlando in February 2004.

Formerly an independent consultant in NYC using Excel exclusively, Bob now works in New Jersey for one of the top 5 tax and accounting firms.

Theme of the Month, Communications - Then, Now, and Always, By Linda Zaval, PMP

It seems almost like a cliche to say that communications will make or break a project. But it is as true now as it was when voiced probably thousands of years ago when Pharaoh's Project Manager managed the Pyramid Projects.
I can picture it now. The project manager is having a team meeting with the slave drivers about meeting the dates. He is listening to complaints about inadequate support, not enough rock close by, and he must write a papyrus status report back to the Pharaoh. And he's late with it. When he goes home his wife is nagging at him that he's not spending enough time with the children, his food is getting cold and will he ever come to bed?

It's interesting to think about what type of communicator he might have been. Was he concerned about bias in his communications? Was he a compassionate listener? Did he provide undivided attention when listening to his team members? Did he use loud and aggressive language? I am sure we can guess at the answers.

Thankfully, managing projects has changed over the years and so has communication in the project arena. Today, management styles have shifted from a "command and control" environment to a more participative and supportive style. Was our Pyramid PM willing to listen to differences of opinion? Were there repercussions to the speaker if the PM was displeased with true status? Did he elevate himself at the expense of others with verbal attacks or innuendo? We will never really know, of course, but the crux of the matter is that today, especially now, our communications will either help or hinder all project situations in which we find ourselves.

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Linda Zaval, PMP, is the author of "The Project Manager's Toolkit" and President of 20/20 Solutions, Inc. an Oregon based project management consulting company. Ms. Zaval can be reached at ljz2020@conceptcable.com .

The Passion-Emotion Continuum, by Sloan Campbell, MBA, PMP

One of the most frustrating and often abused facets of today's business environment is distinguishing between Passion and Emotion when handling internal or external business decisions - or as I refer to it: The Passion-Emotion Continuum.

Both of these conscious behaviours are equally important in most business decisions; the key is to apply them in their correct proportions.

Webster's Dictionary defines Emotion as: "the affective aspect of consciousness, a state of feeling; a psychic and physical reaction (as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feeling and physiologically involving changes that prepare the body for immediate vigorous action." Similarly, Webster's defines Passion as: "the emotions as distinguished from reason; intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction; an outbreak of anger." If Webster defines these behaviours in an almost interchangeable manner, then what hope do we have in separating them or identifying these behaviours properly ?

In my opinion, the answer is we shouldn't even try - for the simple reason that their balance is so intricate that they will make each other stronger if left to develop.... Passion in business demands Emotion and Emotion in business demands Passion.

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Sloan Campbell has been a Program Manager at ELCAN Optical Technologies (a Raytheon Company) in Canada for the last nine and a half years. Over the years, Mr. Campbell's most valuable professional asset has been his continued business education the focus of which has been the fundamentals of internal and external customer relationship management.

Mr. Campbell's motivation for starting to write articles for publication was two-fold: first and foremost, the frustration he experiences in his day-to-day business dealings inside and outside his organization and secondly the continuing certification requirements for his PMP designation.

In addition to his strong business acumen, Mr. Campbell is also a qualified Six Sigma Specialist, a recent MBA graduate from Athabasca University and a newly certified PMP (Project Management Professional).

Column: Positive Leadership In Project Management - In Pursuit of "WOW" Leadership, by Frank P. Saladis PMP

If asked the question "Who comes to mind when you think about great leadership?" collectively we would respond with literally hundreds of names. Even though there is a "generally accepted" list of effective leadership traits and characteristics, each of us has our own personal definition of leadership. "Managers do things right and Leaders do the right things" is a familiar example. We expect leaders to make changes, improve our lives, increase profit, motivate the work force, communicate good and bad news, make tough decisions, keep us safe, and know how to solve every problem and answer every question. Actually, the truly effective leader knows whom to go to in order to work through the issues.

Yes, leaders should have a vision and effective communications skills and all of those traits associated with the word "leader" but what is much more important is the ability to motivate a team or an organization to do great things. When asked about their projects or their place of employment or the organization they belong to, team members or employees should talk about their projects or their organizations from the "WOW" perspective. This means speaking from the heart with true and honest pride. Have you ever listened to someone tell you about something they are truly passionate about? Maybe it's a new car, or a garden, or a completed weekend home project. It could be an artist who just completed his latest work. They speak with an intensity and deep sense of pride and accomplishment. They are communicating to you in such a way that you feel compelled to respond with a simple yet powerful statement - WOW!

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Frank P. Saladis (PMP) is Senior Consultant with International Institute for Learning, Inc. He has been involved in the development of standardized Project Management Guidelines (PMGs) for the AT&T Corporate Information Technology Services (Corporate ITS) organization and is the author of the Project Evaluation Review Process (PERP). He is the President of the NYC PMI Chapter.

Spotlight on Government: "Getting Politically Active" by Dr. Robert J. Shaw

Early in my career, I did a lot of work in icing research. My research group had been trying to get money to upgrade our icing research tunnel, and it wasn't going well. We weren't considered mainstream enough, I suppose. We were given a certain budget every year and we were told to do the best we could with that money.

Out of nowhere came a front-page news story about a horrible plane crash that was due to icing. It wasn't the icing that we were studying but, nevertheless, icing research had new currency (yes, pun intended). Suddenly, the money we were asking for-and more-was made available to us.

I wasn't directly involved in bringing that money to the program. I stood by on the sidelines and said, "Well, I don't understand how the politics of this works exactly, but it seems to be benefiting me and so that's nice." Detachment served me fine in that case. Many years later, however, I was involved in another political football match and, this time, the ball didn't bounce my way.

On My Own

In 1999, the program I was working on, High Speed Research (HSR), was terminated. I could spend pages talking about why it was terminated, but at the risk of sounding like sour grapes, let me just say this: Over a few weeks (literally, a few), we lost our national agenda and priority. We went from the top program to the one that you didn't want to talk about anymore.

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I suppose we all come to project management through unconventional paths," says Dr. Robert J. (Joe) Shaw. While working on his PhD at Ohio State University, Shaw didn't expect to become a project manager, or to spend his career at NASA. Explains Shaw: "My advisor at Ohio State told me that NASA is a great place to go for five years, learn, gain experience, then get out and get on to the real thing. For me, the real thing was to become a university professor. But as that great philosopher of our time, Yogi Berra, said, 'When you come to a fork in the road, you take it.'" After starting out as a Division Manager in the Icing Program at Lewis, now the John Glenn Research Center, Shaw gravitated to a formal project management role leading the High Speed Research Project. Most recently, he has managed the Ultra Efficient Engine Technology Office and started up the Vehicle Systems Program.

ASK Magazine is published by NASA's Academy of Program and Project Leadership. The stories that appear in ASK are written by project practitioners - primarily from NASA, but also from other government agencies, industry and academics. Please visit ASK Magazine at http://appl.nasa.gov/ask/. Re-published with permission.

Putting the Fun into Food… with Project Management in Parenting™, by Sheilina Somani, PMP

Hmm, project management -- it's all about resources and response-ability. Sounds suspiciously like parenthood to me!

Ever had that moment where you're desperate for your kids to eat something? Ever experienced that sinking feeling as your child (whining directly to your heart) says, "But I don’t like this!!" Take a deep breath; know that you can find an alternative to the increasing decibels of disagreement and discord. You don’t even have to imagine how much easier life is about to become, using the tools and techniques of project management.

You don't even have to imagine how much easier life is about to become, as you use those tried and proven project management tools and techniques that succeed so well at work and apply them at home. PM techniques and practices are applied throughout all aspects of parenting. As with all good methodologies, a focus on one aspect may engage your appetite to follow a regular menu of practices, so let's talk about FOOD!

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Sheilina Somani, (PMP) is an internationally recognized project management speaker, facilitator, trainer and mentor. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Master Practitioner Certification. An active member of the Project Management Institute (PMI), UK Chapter and Diversity SIG. Conference Speaker, and recipient of the Palme D'Or in the soft skills track at PMI Europe 2002

Why Do Executives Stay Awake at Night Worrying About Project Management? by Harold Kerzner, Ph.D.

In this 10-part series, Dr. Kerzner elaborates on the 10 PM migraine headaches that executives get from staying up all night worrying about project management. To read the original article with all 10 migraines, please click here: www.allpm.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1259

Each month Dr. Kerzner asks YOU for your remedies for the "migraine of the month." Once you read about it, please send your remedy to migrainecure@allpm.com .  Of all the remedies that are submitted, he and your Co-Publishers, Frank and Judy , will review them and we will post them on a new PM Migraine Forum on our website. You can then read them and vote for the remedy you like best. We will then publish the solution that receives the most votes in a subsequent issue of allPM Today!

The winner will receive a prize, which will be an autographed copy of one of Dr. Kerzner's best-selling books.

Remedies submitted for Migraine #2:

Please click here to read and cast your vote for the best of the entries: http://www.allpm.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=63

Migraine #3: Responding To Changing Customer Requirements

When project management becomes a competitive weapon and eventually leads to a strategic competitive advantage, changes to the EPM system must be done quickly. The EPM systems must maintain flexibility. But what happens when customer requirements change to such a degree that corresponding changes to the EPM system may lead to detrimental results?

One automotive tier-one supplier spent years developing an EPM system that was highly regarded by the customers for the development of new products or components. But this was about to change. Customers were now trying to save money by working with fewer suppliers. Certain suppliers would be selected to become "solution providers" responsible for sections of the car rather than individual components. Several tier-one suppliers acquired other companies through mergers and acquisitions in order to become component suppliers. The entire EPM system had to be changed and, in many cases, cultural shock occurred. Some of the acquired companies had strong project management cultures, even stronger than the acquirer, while others were clueless about project management. And to make matters even worse, all of these companies were multinational and globalization issues would take center stage.

After years of struggling, success was now at hand for many component suppliers. But once again, customer requirements were about to change. Customers were now contemplating returning to component procurement rather than "solutions provider" procurement, believing that costs would be lowered. Should this occur across the industry, colossal migraines will appear due to massive restructuring, divestitures, cultural changes and major changes to the EPM systems. How do contractors convince customers that their actions may be detrimental to the entire industry? Furthermore, some companies that were previously financially successful as component manufacturers might no longer have the same degree of success.

For our readers: What is your proposed remedy for this migraine, given the fact further changes or even a reversal in position by the customers may be forthcoming?

Please send your remedy for Migraine #3 to migrainecure@allpm.com .

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Harold Kerzner (M.S., Ph.D., Engineering and M.B.A) is Professor of Systems Management at Baldwin-Wallace College.  He is also Executive Director for Project Management for the International Institute for Learning and President of Project Management Associates, Inc., a project management consulting company based in Ohio.  Dr. Kerzner's expertise is in the areas of project management and strategic planning.  Dr. Kerzner has previously taught engineering at the University of Illinois and business administration at Utah State University.  He obtained his industrial experience at Thiokol Corporation where he held both program management and project engineering responsibilities on a variety of NASA, Air Force, Army, Navy and independent IR&D programs.

He has published or presented more than 250 engineering and business papers, and has 19 texts entitled:  Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling and Controlling; Project Management for Bankers; Project Management Policy and Strategy: Cases and Situations; Project Management for Executives; Case Studies in Project Management; A Handbook for Proposal Preparation and Management; Project Management for the Small and Medium Sized Business; Operating Guidelines for Project Management; Strategic Planning; A Dictionary of Terms for Project Management; Team Management; An Introduction to Operations Research for Managerial Decisions; Investing in the Corporate Bond Market; A Practical Guide to Strategic Planning;  In Search of Excellence in Project Management; Applied Project Management: Best Practices in Implementation;  Strategic Planning for Project Management Using a Project Management Maturity Model, A Casebook in Project Management, and Advanced Project Management.

Risk Doctor Briefing: Risk Managment, Important or Effective (or both)?, ©2005 Dr David Hillson, PMP, FAPM

Introduction

Two years ago a research project by Peter Kulik investigated how organizations perceive the value of risk management. The survey addressed a number of different aspects, but two questions were particularly interesting. The first question asked "How important is risk management to project success?", with possible answers chosen from extremely important, very important, important, somewhat important, not important. The second question asked "How effective is risk management on your projects?" with answers ranging from extremely effective, very effective, effective, somewhat effective, or ineffective. Of course the raw data was interesting in itself, but the correlation between answers to these two questions was fascinating. If the answers to each question are simplified into two options (positive or negative), then there are four possible combinations:

1. Risk management is important and effective
2. Risk management is important but not effective
3. Risk management is not important and not effective
4. Risk management is not important but it is (somehow) effective

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Dr David Hillson (PMP, FAPM, FIRM, MCMI) is an international risk management consultant, and Director of Risk Doctor & Partners ( www.risk-doctor.com ). His speciality is risk technology transfer, assisting organisations to develop in-house risk processes, and he is a popular conference speaker and author on risk, winning several awards for his papers. He is recognised internationally as a leading thinker and practitioner in risk management, and his recent emphasis has been the inclusion of proactive opportunity management within the risk process, which is the topic of his latest book "Effective opportunity management : Exploiting positive risk", published in 2003 by Dekker of New York.

David is an active member of the global Project Management Institute (PMI) and was a founder member of its Risk Management Specific Interest Group. He received the 2002 PMI Distinguished Contribution Award for his work in developing risk management over many years. He is a Fellow of the UK Association for Project Management (APM) and a Fellow of the UK Institute of Risk Management (IRM), as well as being a member of the Chartered Management Institute.

To provide feedback on this Briefing Note, or for more details on how to develop effective risk management, contact the Risk Doctor (info@risk-doctor.com), or visit the Risk Doctor's website (www.risk-doctor.com)

Using Metrics as a catalyst in Achieving Successful Project Performance, by Dr. Ginger Levin, DPA, University of Wisconsin-Platteville & Dr. Parviz F. Rad, Project Management Consultant

Introduction

It has long been recognized that metrics can be collected and utilized throughout all phases and all facets of project management. Metrics can identify important events and trends in the organization and can help guide the organization toward informed decisions. Metrics can be used to measure the status, effectiveness, and progress of project activities in order to gauge the contribution of formalized project management to the organization. Additionally, metrics can serve as the basis for clear and objective communication with project stakeholders. Additionally, metrics can promote teamwork and improve team morale by linking efforts of individual team members with the overall success of the project, and ultimately, the success of the organization.

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Dr. Ginger Levin and Dr. Parviz F. Rad, PMP are the co-authors of the book  The Advanced Project Management Office: A Comprehensive Look at Function and Implementation. Dr. Levin can be reached at ginlevin@aol.com and Dr. Rad can be reached at project.management@comcast.net .

Five project managers, who were attending a local PMI Chapter meeting, were all sitting around the same table. Each one complained about their project and the fact that it was failing. From the clues provided below, determine the first and last names of each project manager, who their customer was, and the reason why their project was failing.

Clues

1. Carlton was managing the project for Epsilon Company.

2. Natalie, whose surname is not Richardson (which happens to be the person with the 300 percent cost overrun), was complaining about the trouble she was having managing the Alpha Company project.

3. No project managers have the same initial for the start of first and last names. Also, Barry's customer did not start with the letter "B".

4. The Delta Company project manager could not stop complaining about the faulty statement of work (SOW) that was provided by the customer.

5. Bellows, whose first name isn't Denise, did not have faulty equipment on his project, and was not managing the Gamma Company project.

6. Barry complained that he might lose his job because the customer was furious over the poor quality (or lack of it) on his project.

7. Franklin's first name does not have the letter "R" in it. Franklin's complaint was that her company had a shortage of resources that could be assigned to projects and no people with the necessary skills were being assigned.

8. Denise Carlton was please to know that she was not the only person whose project was in trouble.

9. Anthony and Bellows argued as to whose project were in worse shape.

Logic problems do not require any type of specialized skills. All that is needed is common sense. There are numerous books on how to solve these types of problems. A grid is provided to help you solve the problem. Trial-and-error solutions are not necessary. The problem can be solved entirely by logic, and since all project managers are expected to have problem-solving skills, good luck!!!! (Solution below..)

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Solution: Select the blank area below with your mouse to reveal the "hidden" solution!

Anthony Richardson; Beta Company; Cost Overrun
Barry Ashcroft; Gamma Company; Quality
Denise Carlton; Epsilon Company; Faulty Equipment
Larry Bellows; Delta Company; Bad Statement of Work
Natalie Franklin; Alpha Company; No People