|
|
 Topic: Project Management Tips & TechniquesThe new items published under this topic are as follows.
Tips: Tenrox Announces Project Workforce Management for Microsoft CRM |
|
Published on Monday, January 29, 2007 - 02:55 PM |
PASADENA, CA, January 29, 2007 –Tenrox—the leading provider of workflow-driven Project Workforce Management Solutions—has furthered its relationship with Microsoft today after executing an agreement that allows Tenrox to offer the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 under the Microsoft ISV Royalty licensing program and Services Provider Licensing Agreement. Under this new agreement Tenrox will release a new version of its Project Workforce Management software that leverages the Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 feature set to provide an end-to-end, fully integrated solution that can be hosted or deployed on premise.
“Tenrox Project Workforce Management for Microsoft Dynamics CRM is an integrated solution that connects the sales team to the project and service delivery teams,� said Brad Wilson, General Manager for Microsoft Dynamics CRM at Microsoft. “There is so much potential for improvements in project planning and execution, and new efficiencies when project teams know about the sales pipeline and processes, and for improved customer satisfaction and more revenue when the sales team can get a quick real time summary of every customer and project.�
“We have been monitoring the evolution of Microsoft CRM and CRM Live over the last few months and are excited about introducing the combined project workforce/CRM offering to our international customer base,� said Randy Urquhart, Director of Product Marketing at Tenrox. “The market shift towards a project driven approach to work delivery and the constantly growing emphasis on customer relations and satisfaction levels makes this a compelling offering. Improved customer relations, project delivery and workforce management is paramount for companies that want to emerge as leaders in their respective market sectors.�
Combining Tenrox’s Project Workforce Management with Microsoft CRM provides an organization’s sales team and project workforce with a 360 degree view of customers, engagements, and up-to-the-minute information on project status including key milestones, billing and invoicing information, projects/service contracts that are nearing completion, issues and risks, and scope change requests that could trigger new sales opportunities.
With access to information on upcoming projects in the pipeline, the project workforce is also in a better position to improve forecasting and resource planning activities to better serve customers. In addition, the executive team will benefit from a consolidated dashboard view of the sales funnel, as well as the ability to assess the status and health of customer projects/engagements including detailed financial analysis of project cost, billing and budget information.
Microsoft CRM licensing under this agreement is now available from Tenrox. Tenrox is currently seeking to partner with Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation companies to build awareness and expertise to support the launch of the new solution.
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT�) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
About Tenrox
Tenrox makes it possible to manage today’s decentralized project workforce in real-time. Its modular solution combines project/workforce management and financials, to replace the spreadsheets and internally developed systems companies currently use for cost and revenue planning, tracking and management reporting.
The Tenrox system, available on-demand or on-premise, is based on a unique graphical workflow engine, which makes it simple to configure and change. Integration with leading financial systems is built-in. Tenrox’s on-demand software has earned an unqualified SAS 70 Type II certification ensuring maximum data security, reliability, and scalability for our hosted customers. Tenrox empowers the project workforce locally and provides total visibility globally.
Since 1995, Tenrox has served over 800 organizations in 50 countries including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Caterpillar, Corning Cable Systems, Wilmington Trust, First National Bank, Hydro Quebec, Invensys, Major Drilling, Pioneer Natural Resources, State of Wyoming, The Pentagon, University of Michigan, Fisher Scientific, and Wyeth. Tenrox software is available through direct sales channels and a network of worldwide resellers and partners
For more information please visit us at www.tenrox.com, call 877-4TENROX or email us at publicrelations@tenrox.com.
|
  |
|
Tips: Printer Anywhere (Beta) Free Download |
|
Published on Monday, January 29, 2007 - 02:55 PM |
PrinterAnywhere has just come out with a no-brainer of a product that I think will turn out to be quite useful, and best of all, it’s free! PrinterAnywhere lets you share your printer with someone else, or vice versa across the internet! Instead of sending someone an attachment of a contract, just print it directly to their printer. You won’t have to worry about people not being able to open files that you send them, all you’ve got to do is set the connection up (takes less than a minute) and print from whatever program you created it in, to their printer. Excellent. If you’ve got an internet connection, a printer that you can print to, and Windows XP, you really can print anywhere
|
| |
|
Tips: OPM3® Tip of the Day #9 – Focus on the supplementary best practices |
|
Published on Monday, January 29, 2007 - 02:41 PM |
by Ralf Friedrich, M.S., PMP, ACC and John L. Sullivan, M.S., M.Ed., PMP
There are two different sets of Best Practices within OPM3®. There are the Best Practices which are related to the Process Model for Project Management, Program Management, and Portfolio Management and then there are the Best Practices which have been derived from the expert interviews in the Delphi rounds of the initial research. These supplementary Best Practices or organizational enablers are listed behind the process Best Practices of the PMBOK® Guide.
The supplementary Best Practices contain a lot of wisdom on aspects of organizational project management which is a critical success factor for the OPM3® project. Focus on the supplementary Best Practices as they contain wisdom on how the organization can create an environment where organizational project management can foster.
These best practices cover aspects of commitment, training and development, organizational fit, teamwork and other aspects. Without these aspects, the OPM3® processes cannot grow in an organization.
|
| Read full article: 'OPM3® Tip of the Day #9 – Focus on the supplementary best practices' (1632 bytes more) |
|
Tips: OPM3® Tip of the Day #8 – OPM3® Self-assessment Language Revisited |
|
Published on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 05:29 PM |
by Ralf Friedrich, M.S., PMP, ACC and John L. Sullivan, M.S., M.Ed., PMP
Much has been said within the community of OPM3® practitioners pertaining to the 151 Self-Assessment questions. The questions are written in PMBOK® Guide jargon, which many interviewees do not understand. Also, some questions are not at all meaningful to a specific stakeholder group. Interviewees then encounter a lot of frustrations and they get the impression that OPM3® is rather useless because they feel uncomfortable during the assessment.
So, think about what you questions are meaningful to the interviewee. What can he or she really answer? In what other way can the question be asked to obtain the answer? You will get the results you want by asking the questions in a manner that is understood by the person you are interviewing.
|
| Read full article: 'OPM3® Tip of the Day #8 – OPM3® Self-assessment Language Revisited' (1632 bytes more) |
|
Tips: OPM3® Tip of the Day #6 – Use the language of sponsors and stakeholders |
|
Published on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 05:26 PM |
by Ralf Friedrich, M.S., PMP, ACC and John L. Sullivan, M.S., M.Ed., PMP
As is often the case in our attempts to educate and communicate the benefits of undertaking a new approach, implementing a new process, or acquiring new software solutions, we tend to communicate to our sponsors and stakeholders in the “techno-babble� associated with whatever it is we’re introducing. The same tendency occurs with OPM3® … beginning with the acronym. Your sponsors and stakeholders may not be aware that you are referring to an organizational project management maturity model. But, even if we abandon the acronym and use all of the words, what does it mean to your sponsors and stakeholders? Is this another quality improvement initiative? Is it project management on steroids?
Educate the sponsors and the key stakeholders about the potential of OPM3® by providing simple examples in their language, e.g. “OPM3® will support us in an efficient way to improve our project throughput.� “We will measure throughput by implementing a standard indicator for schedule performance and comparing the number of projects achieved with the number of projects scheduled for delivery on a monthly basis.� You can view this as a pipeline monitoring system and ask, “How full is the pipeline?� “Do we deliver all our customers through the pipeline?� “What do we have to do to increase the flow through the pipeline?�
|
| Read full article: 'OPM3® Tip of the Day #6 – Use the language of sponsors and stakeholders' (1632 bytes more) |
|
Tips: OPM3® Tip of the Day #5 – Create a Project Dashboard |
|
Published on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 05:23 PM |
by Ralf Friedrich, M.S., PMP, ACC and John L. Sullivan, M.S., M.Ed., PMP
As is the case with every project, communicating progress to stakeholders within an organization is paramount. The same applies to performing an OPM3® Assessment.
Step 5 of the OPM3® Cycle involves repeating the assessment on a periodic basis. The time-frame to do perform another assessment may be several months after the initial assessment. During this time, enthusiasm and moment will be hard to sustain without showing progress.
An approach to keep the momentum going is to create a project dashboard that shows sponsors the progress the organization is making on achieving desired capabilities, as measured by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that have been achieved since the initial assessment. Then, after some time, the reassessment of the organization will be perceived as a validation of the efforts, not as a reminder that something should have been done since the last time.
|
| Read full article: 'OPM3® Tip of the Day #5 – Create a Project Dashboard' (1632 bytes more) |
|
Tips: OPM3® Tip of the Day #4 – Interpreting and Communicating Results |
|
Published on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 05:18 PM |
by Ralf Friedrich, M.S., PMP, ACC and John L. Sullivan, M.S., M.Ed., PMP
Make sure that the results of the assessment are interpreted properly by communicating the results in an understandable way. Many executives and sponsors who are interested in hearing about the results of an OPM3® assessment may be unfamiliar with some of the terminology used or exactly what the results mean.
If the results are perceived as the 42-answer in the book a “Hitch-hikers guide to the galaxy�, then OPM3® will die within this organization. The results have to show strengths and areas of improvement for the organization. The results have to be presented in a language which is understood by the stakeholders within the organization to create a strong sense of connection with the OPM3® project.
|
| Read full article: 'OPM3® Tip of the Day #4 – Interpreting and Communicating Results' (1632 bytes more) |
|
Tips: OPM3® Tip of the Day #2 – Mobilize Energy for a Change and Improvement Program |
|
Published on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 03:23 PM |
by Ralf Friedrich, M.S., PMP, ACC and John L. Sullivan, M.S., M.Ed., PMP
The implementation of any maturity model is difficult. People in an organization are sometimes resistant and critical about an assessment even before the assessment has been done. They are also often critical about the results of the assessment. However, conducting a maturity assessment can mobilize a lot of energy for a change and an improvement program.
Include a critical mass of staff in the OPM3® assessment. Make the assessment meaningful to the people and increase their awareness of the organization and organizational project management. If the people know that OPM3® will be beneficial for them, then they will participate actively in the improvement program.
|
| Read full article: 'OPM3® Tip of the Day #2 – Mobilize Energy for a Change and Improvement Program' (1632 bytes more) |
|
Tips: OPM3® Tip of the Day #1 – Decide what you want to measure |
|
Published on Thursday, January 25, 2007 - 03:14 PM |
by Ralf Friedrich, M.S., PMP, ACC and John L. Sullivan, M.S., M.Ed., PMP
As you become familiar with PMI’s Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3®), you will learn that there are two kinds of assessments. The first is a high-level, self assessment, which is generally conducted within an organization by someone from the organization’s PMO. The second kind is a comprehensive assessment, which is generally conducted by a PMI Certified OPM3® ProductSuite Assessor.
After the initial self-assessment has been completed and after the management team looks at the results, they are sometimes disappointed. Why? Perhaps they were expecting different results. Or, maybe they don’t really understand what is being assessed and measured.
Before beginning an OPM3® Assessment, decide on what you want to measure and how the results will impact the organization. Work with the key stakeholders to obtain a sense of what they expect. Visualize the impact of the assessment on the organization. Where does the organization want to go from here? Then decide to use OPM3® Online to perform the self-assessment, or use an alternative method to assess the organization to get the results you really need.
Ralf Friedrich, M.S., PMP, ACC has been in active in various adult education roles for over 20 years and in project management for over 15 years. Ralf was also the program manager for PMI® for the first release of the OPM3® Standard. His current focus is on coaching project managers, project teams, and organizations on how to implement advanced project management topics, and how to conduct maturity assessments successfully. While working on the technical aspects of project management, he is also implementing leadership strategies to make an organization shift toward a more project-based business. He has a sound intercultural background and provides services exclusively for IIL on a global scale. He is a lifelong member of the International Alliance for Learning.
John L. Sullivan, M.S., M.Ed., PMP has been involved in project management consulting, training, and instructional systems for 23 years. John designs, develops, and publishes instructor-led and eLearning training programs for project management and organizational project management maturity and has been certified by PMI® as an OPM3® ProductSuite Assessor/Consultant. He has traveled extensively throughout North America and parts of Europe delivering training on various enterprise project management tools, including Microsoft® Office Project 2003. He also participated in the development of an array of systems development life cycle methodologies, including: large and small projects, business process reengineering, rapid application development, information engineering, and client-server systems development.
|
| |
|
|
Tip of the day:
Establish an environment where reporting bad news in a timely manner is encouraged rather than an environment where fear prevents the flow of critical information.
2009-10 allPM.com Editorial Calendar
Register for allPM
August Poll Question
Get Involved With allPM.COM
Submit your...
PM Glossary
Latest Forum Posts
|
