allPM Today September 2008, Issue 102, Judy Umlas and Frank P. Saladis, Co-Publishers

September 2008, Issue 103, Judy Umlas and Frank P. Saladis, Co-Publishers

In this Issue:

*allPM Co-publisher's Letter, Judy Umlas

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

*allPM July/August Poll Results and New Poll Question

*Theme of the Month: Managing Troubled Projects
Looking For Trouble in All the Right Places
By Bill Richardson, PMP

*Why Are Projects Still Failing?
By Richard Morreale

*Yoga for the PM of the Troubled Project
By Sudha Sudanthi

*Managing Global Challenges in Project Management
By Melvyn Lee

*“Anger – Rest In Peace”
By David J. Wolffe

*Case Study: Can you hear me now, Can you see me now?
By Ray Ju, PMP

*Strategic Project Management: The IQ-Meter Approach
By Mahesh S. Raisinghani, Ph.D, PMP and Anshu Saxena, Ph.D, PMP

*Microsoft® Office Project Tips & Tricks: Leveling Priorities
By John White, MA, PMP, MCTS

*7 Reasons Why SharePoint is a Great Project Management Information System (PMIS)
By Dux Raymond Sy, PMP

*PM Crossword Connections™: Troubled Times
By Frank Saladis, PMP

Past Issues- Archives

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From the Co-publisher's Desk— Judy Umlas

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Well, it is “new beginnings” time for many of us. The start of a new school year for our children, the end of summer vacations, the plunging into the “real” work that has been looming, the first fall leaves beginning to show their gorgeous colors here in New York.

Projects going or gone awry don’t worry about seasons or dates, though. They work their malicious malevolence at any time of the year.

Read more >>

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

This month we focus our attention to a topic and a situation that many project managers attempt to avoid – managing troubled projects. The problem we seem to have is that regardless of all of the training that is available, all of the tools and techniques that have been developed, all of the best practices that are shared among project managers and the experiences and lessons learned from years of managing projects, many projects become “troubled.” Along with the troubled project there is usually a long list of troubled stakeholders.

Read more >>

July/August Poll Results

As a project manager, which of the following do you enjoy doing most?

a) administrative work - 2.56 %
b) technical aspects of the job - 9.94 %
c) involvement with people and communication - 44.55 %
d) solving business problems - 42.95 %
e) none of the above - 0 %

The September poll question is:

What do you think is the MOST widespread reason projects become “troubled”?

a) Issues and risks not managed effectively
b) Change not managed effectively
c) Stakeholders not managed effectively
d) Schedule, Scope and cost not managed effectively
e) Estimates not managed effectively
f) Quality not managed effectively
g) Factors outside the project manager’s control

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

Theme of the Month: Managing Troubled Projects
Looking For Trouble in All the Right Places
By Bill Richardson, PMP

Project Managers are vanguards of change. As the term vanguard implies, the project manager is, in reality, leading a change effort that will in all likelihood be perceived by some stakeholders as “negative” or “undesirable.” Leading change is difficult and many project managers who exhibit high integrity, functional competence, a drive for results and solid work ethic are in danger of ignoring two key important laws: the Law of Diminishing Returns and the Law of Gradual Change.

Why Are Projects Still Failing?
By Richard Morreale

In the 1970’s, a series of surveys found that approximately 90% of projects failed when measured against the criteria of cost, schedule and expectations. Most projects, if and when they were completed, either cost more than they were supposed to cost, took longer to deliver than they were supposed to take or, if and when they were delivered, did not meet the expectations of the client.

Yoga for the PM of the Troubled Project
By Sudha Sudanthi

Myriads of causes can lead a project into trouble. But, for the Project Manager managing the troubled project, the first struggle in guiding the project out of trouble is to “see” clearly so that he/she can correctly diagnose the cause(s). As Pierre Wack, the management guru and French oil executive said, it is "about being in the right state of focus to put your finger unerringly on the key facts or insights that unlock or open understanding.²”

© 2008 allPM.com

Managing Global Challenges in Project Management
By Melvyn Lee

As the globalization wave surges more companies are faced with a flotsam of challenges. In managing global projects, one is faced with a similar situation. Managing people, stakeholders or resources scattered in different geographic locations makes the job of fulfilling the project’s expectation a true challenge. The greatest nerve point to feel the pressure, of course, is the Project Manager.

© 2008 allPM.com

Read more >>

“Anger – Rest In Peace”
By David J. Wolffe

Anger is a powerful emotion that, like so many others, occurs in all of us – when we are working on a project, sitting at the dinner table with our spouse, or getting cut off by a discourteous driver on the highway. It arises at different times and for different reasons. It isn’t the emotion itself that affects us or others whose lives we touch, but how we handle it that matters.

© 2008 allPM.com

Read more >>

Case Study: Can you hear me now, Can you see me now?
By Ray Ju, PMP

A CIO was getting several urgent emails and voice mail calls into her office on Thursday morning from multiple members of the Executive Management committee which consists of the CEO, CFO, COO, Chief Counsel and various business unit SVP’s. The theme and unhappy tone of these messages centered on a monthly Wednesday meeting that the participants had scheduled between the US headquarters in San Francisco and the primary EU office in Cambridge, England.

Strategic Project Management: The IQ-Meter Approach
By Mahesh S. Raisinghani, Ph.D, PMP and Anshu Saxena, Ph.D, PMP

Introduction

Knowledge as an asset has become a concern for modern project-based organizations. Through attrition, reduction in force, retirement, and organic movement of associates, knowledge is displaced on an ongoing basis while organizations face the challenge of how to create knowledge retention and transfer strategies. The harnessing of knowledge as intellectual capital is a competitive advantage in the age of the project-driven knowledge worker where decentralized decision-making, innovation, and intellectual execution are important factors.

Microsoft® Office Project Tips & Tricks: Leveling Priorities
By John White, MA, PMP, MCTS

Microsoft® Office Project is a tool universally used by the project management community. But, many of us struggle with it on a daily basis and few of us leverage it to its fullest extent. I intend with this series of Tips & Tricks commentary to help gradually increase your efficiency and decrease the frustration with the tool. I am very passionate about Microsoft Project and I hope that passion is contagious! I not only teach and write about Microsoft Project, I also use it on a daily basis.

7 Reasons Why SharePoint is a Great Project Management Information System (PMIS)
By Dux Raymond Sy, PMP

Do you use a Project Management Information System (PMIS)? How effective is it? As defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI®), a PMIS is a standardized set of automated project management tools available within an organization and integrated into a system. In a perfect world this means that a PMIS will solve every project manager's nightmare: project information scattered all over the place. Status reports in e-mail, project schedule in a USB drive, forms and templates in the network share and, even worse, traceability is non-existent.

PM Crossword Connections™: Troubled Times
By Frank Saladis, PMP

(Click here or the image above for a crossword in a new window. )

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