October Poll Results

Does your organization use Project Portfolio Management?

A. Yes 26.32 % (10)
B. No 57.89 % (22)
C.Partially implemented 10.53 % (4)
D Plan for implementation within next two years 5.26 % (2)

Total votes: 38

************

November's poll question is:If your company currently has or is implementing a PMO, is the business leadership challenging the business value?

A.Seriously challenging
B. Beginning to challenge
C. Clearly sees the value
D. Doesn't get it

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

Project Management Poetry, by Frank Saladis, PMP

The Plan

It's something we should start with
It takes some time to build
Without it we'd be lost and
Our objectives unfulfilled.

We take our time to write it
The team provides support
The scope, the cost, the schedule,
And to whom we will report.

It's everything we think we need
Nothing is left to chance
The plan is like a symphony
to make the tasks all dance.

The project then begins its life
And we are on our way.
We know that we need something
To keep from going a-stray

We work to meet our deadlines
But they seem to come so fast
There's a change to make again today
We hope that it's the last.

The tasks are late and the team is beat
There's so much yet to do
The sponsor is at your office door,
just waiting to speak with you.

We know we had it all worked out
Our objectives were all so SMART
It's time to do what we should have done
Use the plan from the very start.

© 2004 allPM.com

********************

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 former President of the NYC PMI Chapter.

Project Management Poetry, by Rachel Goldstein, allPM.com Poet

The Communication Plan
OR, It isn't what you say, it's how you say it -- actually, it's both.

My father used to tell me
That the key to writing well
Was Reader-Purpose-Message.
RPM! (he didn't yell)

And in the context of PM,
Most definitely, can
This axiom be used in the
Communication Plan.

Project Managers consider
Every one who needs to know
And further, of all messages,
What they say, and how they go.

Use all your media wisely
And in ways appropriate
Emails, faxes, meetings each
In their own way can be great.

Frequency of communication
(There's no way to make that scan)
Is another vital factor
In Communication Plans.

For management, a monthly note
On status may be fine.
To weekly meetings, customers
Might well be more inclined.

Stakeholders need detail
That top management needs not.
Top management will need to know
When issues get red hot.

Right up front you must define
At what point these red flags
Will merit telling management.
(You don't want to be nags).

CYA CCs (and, dahlings,
You know who you are)
Take this inform your boss thing
Most annoyingly too far.

Delays affect a customer?
It's better to face up
And tell them what is happening
Don't try to cover up

Each project is unique,
And each company is too.
Books can give you guidelines but
Can't tell you what to do.

So, planning your communication
Matrix need not daunt.
The basic premise being simply
Give them what they want.

********************

Rachel Goldstein is a Senior Systems Analyst at The New York Times, a member of the NYT Company-wide Project Management Task Force. She has been a Project Manager in IT for close to 20 years, and the poetry and song parodies have been going on for longer than that.

allPM Today Tips Feature: Top Ten Practical Tips in MS Project 2000, by Eric Uyttewaal, PMP

If your contracts have penalty clauses, you may be interested in modeling these penalties in MS Project. You can even model penalties that are paid to you. Enter "contract penalty" as a new Work resource. Give it a Standard Rate since it will be a cost to you, just like any other expense in your project. Give the rate an Effective Date that is agreed upon in the contract. You can do this on the Resource Information dialog, tab Costs, in the Cost Rate Tables.

If subcontractors or suppliers deliver late, you may receive the penalty payments. These can be modeled by entering a negative Standard Rate for the penalty "resource", for example enter " 500/day" or "($500)/day". Yes, MS Project allows you to enter a negative standard rate! This negative rate will decrease the total cost of your project since you are receiving these payments unlike other costs. Again, give the rate an Effective Date that is agreed upon in the contract.

Now, assign these penalty-resources to the summary task that will slip past the effective date if there are delays. The penalty will increase automatically when delivery slips further past the effective date. If the schedule pulls back, the penalty decreases and may disappear entirely. This allows you to make better decisions that include consideration of penalty payments and receipts.

SUBMITTED TO MPUG, August 2002

Eric Uyttewaal (BS, Engineering; MS, Business Administration; PMP) is Director, Microsoft Project Certification, International Institute for Learning, Inc and author of "Dynamic Scheduling with Microsoft Project ® 2000." This tip appeared in the 3/2002 MPUG eZine. 

Theme of the Month, PMOs: The PMO's Impact on Shareholder Value, by Kim Sienkiewicz

Introduction

Quantifying the economic value of a Project Management Office (PMO) to the business is like trying to hold a cloud in your hand - it cannot be done.
Or can it?

This paper invites you to consider a framework and perspectives to articulate the linkage between increasing the value of shares to the holders of equity in the organization and successful PMO operations.   Because regardless of the size, shape, style or organizational authority, the ultimate measure of a PMO is the degree of influence on and contribution to improving shareholder value.  (Although this article focuses on the private sector, it is no less important in the public and voluntary sectors even though they seek different business value propositions). 

Three Essential PMO Focal Points

The sponsors of business change, typically senior management leadership, legitimize business change.   They possess the authority and accountability over the political and economic resources to initiate and sustain investments in business and they charge the PMO with the stewardship over these investments.  Their expectation for stewardship over investments they advocate is simple - realize increased performance or economic value from business change investments that exceed the total cost of the investment, including the cost of capital required to fund the investment. 

********************

Kim Sienkiewicz is a consultant and trainer for IIL. His career spans a number of industries: insurance, financial services, manufacturing and petroleum.

For the past eight years, Kim Sienkiewicz has been working as a senior level executive with a track record of turning business strategy into bottom line profitability for Fortune 300 companies through implementation and leadership of four Project Management Offices.

Now with IIL, Kim is performing as a subject matter expert, trainer and senior consultant for OPM3, Project Management Offices and Portfolio Management.

Spotlight on Government: "Bypass the Bureaucracy - Using Project Management Techniques to Avoid Bogged Down Projects," by David Brandon, PMP

Synopsis
Project Management is one of those processes that, if left unattended, will encourage bureaucratic behavior. But, if used effectively, Project Management techniques can be the most effective tool to wade through the bureaucratic business model.

Project Management is one of those processes that, if left unattended, will encourage bureaucratic behavior. But, if used effectively, Project Management techniques can be the most effective tool to wade through the bureaucratic business model.

The Bureaucratic Business Model

Organizations often assume the characteristics of their leadership. So government organizations often assume the characteristics of their leadership: politicians. I believe all projects are political. But in the public sector, Government agencies are driven by political objectives. I no longer question why so many government projects fail - it starts at the top.

********************

David Brandon is a Project Manager at the Texas Health & Human Services Commission, Project Management Competency Center in Austin, Texas. He has over 13 years experience directing and managing multiple, simultaneous information technology projects for the State of Texas. He is PMP certified through PMI certified and holds the PMO Certificate of Added Qualification from PMI. David Brandon was made a Most Valuable Professional (MVP) for allPM.com in October, 2004 as a result of his ongoing contributions to the website.

The True Meaning of Teamwork, by Sloan Campbell, MBA, PMP

It never fails to surprise me how many times ‘a lack of teamwork' is blamed for such a wide variety of everyday business dilemmas -- dilemmas like late delivery, poor quality, a blown budget or poor customer management.

The simple truth is that people in business today do not understand the true concept of teamwork.

Over the years there have been some unbelievable examples of teamwork in our day-to-day lives, like the 1927 New York Yankees Baseball Team, the 1972 Miami Dolphins Football Team, the Navy SEAL Teams or Fire Fighters anywhere - the list goes on and on.

So how do we consistently achieve the type of teamwork where all team members feel the same way about a goal or a mission, they work towards that end and it comes naturally ... in business ? The answer is, without changes, I don't think we can - not because it isn't possible, but because it requires a type of commitment that isn't achievable in today's business environment except in very special organizations.

Today's business teams are inundated with so many outside influences that the end-point often becomes blurred and the teamwork begins to deteriorate because of the multiple responsibilities of each of the team members.

********************

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).

Why Do Executives Stay Awake at Night Worrying About Project Management? by Harold Kerzner, Ph.D., Executive Director for Project Management The International Institute for Learning & Professor of Business Administration, Baldwin-Wallace College

In this new 10-part series, Dr. Kerzner elaborates on the 10 PM migraine headaches that executives get from staying up all night worrying about project management.

Each month Dr. Kerzner will ask 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 will choose the one he likes the best for each colossal headache, and we will publish that solution in a subsequent issue of allPM Today!

For almost thirty years, project management resided in relatively few industries such as aerospace, defense and heavy construction.  These industries were project-driven and implemented project management mainly to placate customer requests.  Project management was considered as something nice to have but not a necessity.

Within the last decade, project management has evolved into a management process that is mandatory to implement for the long term survival of the firm.  Project management is now a necessity rather than a luxury.  Project management permeates all aspects of a business.  Companies are now managing their business by projects.  Project management has become a competitive weapon.  The knowledge learned from project management is treated as intellectual property and project management offices (PMO) have been established as the guardians of the project management intellectual property and report to the senior levels of management.

As with any new management approach, benefits are accompanied by disadvantages and potential problems.  Some of the problems are small and easy to correct while others are colossal migraine headaches and keep executives awake at night. The majority of the migraine headaches emanate from either a poor understanding of project management or having expectations that are set too high. 

********************

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.

Requirements for Effective Project Communications:  Differences and Similarities in Virtual and Traditional Project Environments, by Dr. Ginger Levin, DPA, University of Wisconsin-Platteville & Dr. Parviz F. Rad, Project Management Consultant

Introduction

The primary mission of the project manager working with either a virtual team or a traditional team is the delivery of the desired product or the facilitation of the required service.  To that end, the team's efforts are focused on the activities and measures that would produce the deliverable of the project in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The team must plan the delivery of the product or service through best practices, policies, and procedures.  Effective communication within the team and with the project's internal and external stakeholders is required.

Communication is defined as the transfer of some type of message that contains one or more pieces of information.  The information that is conveyed can be either through formal channels or informal channels.  Today's project manager is both blessed and cursed by the quantity of communication tools available in the workplace.  Formats for communication are extensive and include individual meetings, staff meetings, conference calls, e-mails, videoconferences, messages, and faxes.  What each of these formats has in common is that all communication is interpersonal and goes from the sender to the receiver or receivers.

********************

Dr. Ginger Levin and Dr. Parviz F. Rad, PMP are the co-authors of the book Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams. Dr. Levin can be reached at ginlev@aol.com and Dr. Rad can be reached at project.management@comcast.net.