*allPM Co-publisher's Letter, Judy Umlas

*From the Co-publisher's Desk, Frank Saladis, PMP

*allPM September Poll Results

*Theme of the Month: Project Management - Adding Value Internationally By Frank P. Saladis, PMP

*Project Management Poetry™: Haikus by Everett Rodriguez

*Risk Doctor Briefing: Innovative Risk Management, © 2005, Dr David Hillson PMP FAPM

*Boredom By Sloan Campbell MBA, PMP

*Cleaning out Our Project Management Closets By W. Scott Cameron, Procter and Gamble

*The Soft Touch of Project Management - helping high-risk and healthy newborn babies and their mothers feel closer to each other. By Yamile C. Jackson, PhD, PMP

*Once Upon a Time... Project People Stories for Project Managers Everywhere™ By David Stoneman

*What to do When Your IT Project is Late, Over Budget and Not Working By Frank Schmidt

*Tip #4: Excerpt from the recently published book, This isn't Excel, it's Magic! By Bob Umlas, Microsoft® Excel MVP

Past Issues- Archives

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I spoke about all 30,000 of you this weekend at a gathering of friends and family who came together in celebration of the life of my closest friend, Barbara, who passed away on September 30. Just before that date, in our last newsletter, I took the publishing risk of telling all of you about her and the heart heaviness I was feeling as she lay dying. I told you about her many gifts and how deeply they have affected me and made me who I am today. I received some incredibly beautiful emails from you in response to that, which I took the liberty of reading at today's gathering.

One dear person wrote, "Please tell Barbara if you can, that she has many other friends that she never met. I am very sorry for her; she must be a beautiful person and she has surely left something very valuable and important that will continue after her in the people she met." Another of you wonderful people wrote, "I acknowledge you for your love and devotion for Barbara. Your words are inspiring and demonstrate the caring compassion for which all mankind is capable. Thank you for being a vehicle and public figure for furthering this type of peace in our world."

People at the gathering were so moved to hear about who you are, in and throughout the world. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the opportunity you give me to be the human being that I am with you, and to bring you the greatest value to you personally and professionally that I am capable of doing. And you make me always want to do better for you - to help make your lives, your jobs, your project management world as amazing as you are! It's quite a lot of pressure, but I do love it!

So our theme of the month is International Project Management, which began with wonder boy and Co-Publisher Frank Saladis, PMP's vision of having an International Project Management Day every year to recognize and appreciate the contributions that project managers all over the world make, and to celebrate them! Well, it is really happening - for the first time and hopefully every year hereafter -- this November 3, 2005, and events are taking place throughout the world to celebrate this day. In New York City, Mayor Bloomberg is declaring it "International Project Management Day" all over the city. In Moscow, there is a Project Management Jazz event and many other cities and PMI chapters are joining in as well. If you want to see what is happening, click here: http://www.internationalpmday.org/events.htm. Also, in celebration of the day, International Institute for Learning is hosting a free, live, virtual webinar on November 3 from 8:00am to 10:00am ET with Frank Saladis interviewing Project Management gurus Max Wideman, PMI® Fellow; Adesh Jain, IPMA President; Karen Tate, PMP, PMI® Board of Directors and Ron Kempf, PMP, Director of PM Competency and HP Services Director. E. LaVerne Johnson, President and CEO of International Institute for Learning, Inc. willl introduce the event. If you want to join us and register, click here: http://www.iil.com/emailfiles/IPMDay/index.htm

So in this edition of allPM Today, we have an excellent article by Frank P. Saladis, PMP on Project Management - Adding Value Internationally. We have some more Project Management Poetry™ -- this time "haikus" by Everett Rodriguez, Sr. Manager, Information Technology, FedEx Ground, which are absolutely delightful and which will be included in our upcoming book of Project Management Poetry.

We have a thought-provoking article in five languages on Innovative Risk Management by Dr. David Hillson. And we have a great article on Boredom (it won't bore you) by allPM.com member Sloan Campbell, PMP. I love it when you allPM.com members contribute articles to our community of project managers. So thanks, Sloan!

Another allPM.com member, David Stoneman, submitted a PM "story" entitled The Project Manager is in the House. I don't know about you, but I always loved stories as a child and still love them today. So I proposed to David, who has written many PM stories, that we start a column entitled Once Upon a Time... Project People Stories for Project Managers Everywhere™. I think you will both enjoy and learn from them. Dr. Eli Goldratt has sold 3 million copies of his book on Theory of Constraints, The Goal, and it is written in novel form. So David, let's talk about publishing a BOOK of PM stories! I happen to have a very intimate relationship with the Publisher of IIL Publishing, one Judy Umlas. I think I can "sell" her the idea of PM stories. You allPM.com members will all eat 'em up, I predict!

We also have a delightful article about the way in which a project manager mother used her skills to design a product that would support the growth and development of premature babies around the world. Yamile Jackson, PMP, calls it The Soft Touch of Project Management, and it is very moving and inspiring. This story will be part of our column, Project Management Helping People. Please send me your stories/articles about this, too.

Another article, Cleaning Out Our Project Management Closets, by W. Scott Cameron of Procter and Gamble will really make you stop and think, and maybe even start to clean out YOUR PM Closet. A very straightforward and simple article by allPM.com member Frank Schmidt, What to do When Your IT Project is Late, Over Budget and Not Working, is one you can hang on your refrigerator and check back with on a daily basis. Frank is another allPM.com member; my personal thanks to all of you who contributed this time around!

Also, we are a few members short of 30,000 (isn't this exciting?). Have I told you that our goal for 2006 is to have 100,000 members!?! That's what is known as a "stretch goal," but I am appealing to you for your help. I promise not to lose the personal touch once we have that many members, since that is the fun and excitement of it for me. But please start forwarding our newsletter to 10 or so of your colleagues (no, this is not a chain newsletter) but only because you think they will value it and get something out of it! Tell them all to become members, and I will report to you each month how much growth we have experienced due to your efforts! We can really make a difference in the world of project management, as well as throughout the world and for its people. Let's join together to make this happen!

So do me a BIG favor this month, and especially on November 3rd: Celebrate yourselves and your fellow project managers! In honor of this day, we will send anyone who writes to me a special password to access our Project Management Poetry booklette, with a virtual toast to each and every one of you who writes. And keep on contributing, participating, giving feedback and engaging. We love you for it!!!

Until the next time... Judy

© 2005 allPM.com

Judy Umlas Co-publisher allPM.com
Judy.Umlas@allPM.com

What is the real value of project management? Or, asked slightly differently, is there value in the use of project management? The answer depends on a number of factors: The project management maturity of an organization, the methods and tools in use, the results of completed projects, the health of projects in progress, who is managing the projects, and the support of executive management, to name a few. Taking this question to a higher level - is project management valued at the international level? In other words, is project management perceived by managers and executives in companies around the world as adding value to an organization's efforts to achieve strategic objectives? There are studies that indicate project management does, in fact, add significant value. An example is the study conducted by the Center for Business Practices (research branch of PM Solutions, Inc.). It states that of more than 100 senior-level project management practitioners, 94% of the respondents indicated that project management did add value to their organizations in areas such as financial measures, customer measures, and process measures. Another observation associated with the study indicates that organizations that do not engage in project management practices will be at a competitive disadvantage.

This is all good news to the many practicing project managers worldwide. There are still many skeptics who think project management has a lot to do with luck, smoke and mirrors, and fancy charts. That may be reality but all we have to do is look around the world and we can see project management being practiced and project managers making things happen. If you conduct a search on the internet for information about project management you will receive information about millions of sources of data. I used Google as I wrote this letter and it showed 453,000,000 data sources to review (oh, and by the way, allPM.com comes up as #6 of all of them as an information source, so we can all be proud!). That has to mean something. Internationally, formal project management is practiced in some way by most, if not all major companies and governments and probably a majority of small companies. Some may not call it project management. It is sometimes referred to as "engagement management." Some organizations don't use the term "project management" because for them, somehow that term indicates that the undertaking will never be completed due to "bureaucracy" and unending administrative requirements. Regardless of what it may be called, organizations plan, execute, control, and close "projects" in every part of the world.

Therefore, I think we can safely conclude that project management is a major factor in organizational performance and is practiced in some way in most countries and in every size business. Is project management a cure all for all issues that affect an organization? No, there is still much to be done and many more executives to convince, but progress has been made and project management and project managers will continue to make a difference, even in failure through lessons learned.

To further the cause, discipline, or the profession of project management, as it is known to many people, a special day has been set aside to recognize and honor project managers and project teams around the world for their contributions to their organization's success and to raise awareness in every industry public, private, large or small, profit and not for profit about the value of project management. Please set aside some time on 3 November, 2005 to thank your project managers or your project teams. A simple note, a cup of coffee, or some sign of appreciation will not only help them feel valued but will also boost the pride in your organization and maybe even take your organization to an even higher level of success and performance. 3 November 2005 - International Project Management Day. Engage!

Keeping International project Management Day in mind and the value of project management, allPM.com is also making progress in supporting your professional efforts. We bring the world of project management to you each month and we link you, the reader and practitioner, with an international smorgasbord of information and shared knowledge. Bon appetit!

© 2005 allPM.com

Frank P. Saladis, PMP
Frank.Saladis@allpm.com

What creativity techniques does your organization use?:

None    20.75 % (11)
Only Brainstorming    35.85 % (19)
Brainstorming and others    43.40 % (23)

Total votes: 53

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

The value of Project Management within an organization, from the completion of the smallest projects to the fulfillment of strategic goals, has been continuously assessed, analyzed, investigated, and scrutinized for years. Although the perception of project management and its actual impact on organizational objectives varies greatly, there is enough evidence to suggest that project management does play a very significant part in the success of an organization. In the international environment, that part becomes even greater. Whatever the environment, small or large, business, government, not for profit, international or local, project management provides a path to success and improved organizational wellbeing.

At last count (September 2005) the Project Management Institute had risen to over 208,000 members and the number is still growing. This number represents components (Chapters and Specific Interest Groups) in more than 125 countries and from virtually every industry. PMI® also schedules conferences entitled "Global Congresses" in several locations - Spain, Bangkok, Toronto, and Panama City for example. This is another demonstration that, despite some disagreement about methodology and whether or not project management is actually a profession, there is considerable effort to show that project management is a key factor in achieving objectives and, as characterized by PMI®, is "indispensable for business results."

© 2005 allPM.com

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Risks surround me like
so many wasps and hornets
ready to sting me.

© 2005 allPM.com

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Available in multiple Languages!* Read this article in: French Chinese German Spanish *Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader

A project management magazine recently contained an article on innovation which was somewhat provocative when it stated that "Project management is about processes and risk management, and that's the absolute antithesis of innovation." This challenge to risk management deserves a response!

The purpose of risk management in projects and business is to seek out significant uncertainties and address them proactively. It is most effective when it considers both threats and opportunities, as recommended by most best-practice guidelines. Surely achieving this goal requires a great deal of innovation?

The first area where creativity is essential is in risk identification. This requires thinking the unthinkable, not being constrained by "the Plan", but considering other options and alternatives. It asks questions such as "What if... Why not... If only... How about...?" Potential problems (threats) and unexpected benefits (opportunities) can be identified using a range of creative techniques, including brainstorming, assumptions-busting, root-cause analysis, visualisation, scenario analysis, or futures thinking. Indeed it is probably not possible to identify risks without being innovative and thinking new thoughts.

© 2005 allPM.com

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Remember when you where a kid travelling in the car with your parents and you repeatedly said "I'm BORED!!", followed by a chorus of "Are we there yet ??"

How about when it was raining outside and you where playing inside, when all of the sudden you are struck right between the eyes with the 'Boredom Bug'... I'm BORED, I'm BORED, I'm BORED, I'm BORED... I'm BORED.

Or how about the ever popular trip to your Grandparents' house, where you are not allowed to touch anything, sit anywhere or get dirty... as a result... about 10 seconds after you arrive you are BORED !!
Well I am here to tell you (in case you didn't already know) that 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.'

© 2005 allPM.com

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I have noted during my career that there is a never-ending amount of rules and restrictions forced upon project managers under the guise of helping them "be successful" in managing their projects. It appears to be a one-way street; many regulations are added, but few (if any) are removed.

We never seem to be able to take the time to clean out our project management closets and remove the rules and regulations we have outgrown, the ones that have gone out of style, and the ones we're not sure why we put in place to begin with.

I had the opportunity to assist in cleaning out such a closet as part of a project management leadership team I was part of. Prior to beginning the process, each member of the leadership team had reviewed the quantity and quality of our existing technical standards (TSs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs) with the capital management practitioners in his or her area. The feedback we received from these reviews was a resounding, "We have too many, at times they contradict each other, and we need a simpler system." Those were just the positive points of our system.

© 2005 allPM.com

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In 2001 I thought I had it all,s a wonderful husband, a great education, a very successful career offering consulting and training in project management around the world, and I was pregnant with my first child. I was looking forward to becoming the mom of a healthy beautiful baby boy that we would name Zachary Nicholas on July 29th, 2001. Little did I know that my baby would change not only my life but he would touch the lives of thousands of babies and mothers around the world.

Twelve weeks before my due date, I developed a pregnancy-induced illness called pre-eclamsia. It became so severe so quickly that to save my life, doctors said they had to "terminate the pregnancy." I noticed they did not say, "deliver the baby." A doctor quickly briefed us that babies that are born at 28 weeks have a fair probability of survival; however, they potentially face devastating long-term effects (blindness, cerebral palsy, severe handicaps, etc).

© 2005 allPM.com

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The Project Manager is in the House

Does the project manager need to be there? When the schedule is tight or late, can the project manager afford not to be there? After all, it's the project team doing the work. This little yarn illustrates the power of presence and proximity in management.

The Project Manager is Buying Lunch

Mac was in a dilemma, caused by two activities -- one he wanted to do, and the other he felt he should do. He had a golf game coming up on Saturday. Unfortunately, the current stage of the project he was managing was behind schedule and some overtime on the weekend was required to catch up.

The fact that it was a mistake Mac had made in his project plan that had led to the overrun seemed to escape him. He felt victimized by the marketing group, who insisted on the ordering system customer screen prototype being ready for a press conference on Monday morning.

© 2005 allPM.com

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Here's a scary statistic. According to four prominent research firms, only around 20% of all IT projects are finished in a timely manner. By "timely" the researchers mean without loss of quality or being over budget. They go on to say the average project runs approximately 200 percent late, roughly 200 percent over budget, and contains only 2/3 of the original functionality.

Failure is the norm in the IT industry. But why? And more importantly, how do we fix it?

There must be a way to dissect the problem, and create a solution to the diagnosis of "doomed failure." Trust me, there is!

Top 7 Problems and Their Solutions

Let's take a look at the top 7 reasons IT projects are late or over budget. Then I'll show you some proven solutions taken straight from the trenches.

© 2005 allPM.com

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Format #VALUE! or any errors away

Probably the easiest way to not display errors like #VALUE! Or #DIV/0! In an already existing worksheet is to use Conditional Formatting. Notice cell A1 - the formula is =A2/A3, or =5/0, which should produce #DIV/0!. But the cell appears blank! Here's how to do this:

1. Select all the cells you want to hide these error values in.
2. Use Format/Conditional Formatting.
3. Change "Cell Value is" to "Formula Is".
4. Enter =ISERROR(A1) (assuming A1 is the active cell), click the Format button, the font tab, and assign a white font!

© 2005 allPM.com

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