IT Project Mechanic

I would say that my job, as a project manager, constitutes a mix of the following: project chaperone, creative solution-maker and thorough problem surveyor. There are other bits, but I was left on an island with a mega-bank as my client and only three things would be left out of my bag of tricks, those would be what I picked.

Finding project problems is simple – not easy, but simple. There are some pre-conditions that are handy to apply before trying to find out what ails your project or team:

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In the series, Finding the right PM software package, I set about trying to find the few ’shining stars’ out of the hundreds of applications that I am aware of. I’m not limiting this search to commercial, off the shelf software or to desktop applications – the sector is getting incredibly large and spans well beyond these bounds.

I had heard good things about GANTTproject (http://www.ganttproject.biz) and decided to download and install the Windows version of the app (v2.0.6). The install was very straightforward and didn’t require me to jump through any hoops. GanttProject is also available for the Linux and MAC OSX. For the Windows version, you do need a version of JRE (Java Runtime Environment) loaded as well as GanttProject. (more…)

If you have spent time in a few different IT shops, especially project shops, you probably have noticed something about processes. This is something that drives me bonkers about how people implement process. While this is designed to be somewhat humorous, this is potentially hazardous stuff and should be taken seriously…

Some places almost outlaw process – “we don’t need it” is the assertion.
Some places embrace process toward religious extremes – “too much process isn’t possible” is the claim.
Some places take what’s just right – and only what proves to be worthwhile pursuing.  (more…)

Why are most documents created for projects never reviewed after approval?

Once upon a time, I was consulting for a company in Florida who was implementing controls in their systems. The management was insistent that every step of the process be documented to the letter. As the project manager, I began to carry these requests out with the project team I was working for. In almost every case, the employees of this firm were vehement in their opposition to the formal documents I was requesting.

I began thinking – why is the management of many companies enamored with documentation but the working masses so resistant to the idea? There is an obvious answer – (more…)

WBS – wasn’t that some quaint little idea that you had to memorize for the PMP certification and then promptly packed away for “future” use? Maybe you’re one of the many guilty practicing PMs who don’t use a work breakdown structure as a cornerstone of your planning activities. Maybe you don’t need a WBS – or perhaps that’s the thought you repeat as you start another project without this tool.

I’m guilty too – but I’m a reformer. I learned my lesson the hard way – (more…)

Do you know how your project’s performing? Are you sure???

Measuring project results occurs in every project – task completion, performance to schedule, etc. Many PMs, managers and leaders believe that the efforts they are making toward measuring project results are “good enough”. There are, however, potentially fatal mistakes (figuratively) that can be made in managing the data collection and analysis of project measurement results. You can’t manage what you can’t measure is almost a cliché – but this saying has never been more appropriate.

So how do you avoid the 7 deadly sins of measuring project results? Knowing what to avoid or stop doing is half the battle. If any of these sound familiar – stop it! Set out at the beginning of your projects to define a data collection & measurement plan and strategically develop your method to measure your project’s success.

Here they are: (more…)

So you’re managing a project – you’ve got stakeholders, and they’ve got requirements. Rrrright…

This whole notion of getting your stakeholders to give up their requirements ought to be straight forward. You schedule a meeting with the players, setup the stage and they give you their requirements. Then you wake up, stop dreaming and remember one crucial fact;

Stakeholders are not entirely clear on what their requirements ought to be. (more…)

In the early phases of a project, the team members, stakeholders and sponsors are all focused on the work ahead – they are gathering requirements, setting up a business case or getting familiar with the product that will be central to the project. One of the items that doesn’t get much attention during this initiation phase is project success criteria, or said differently, what dictates project success.

This is an innocent omission by most accounts – there should be plenty of time to capture success criteria. However, more often than not, project teams and project managers alike forget to factor capturing and verifying success criteria back into the mix. (more…)

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Project managers are all too familiar with how to manage their team’s performance and their projects -this is a core skill you quickly learn and enhance or you die as a PM.

Project managers, in large numbers, are either freaked out by or don’t know how to manage their leadership, managers and bosses to get the job done. This skill is just as important as the ability to estimate and manage tasks, but is slippery in its approach. Hopefully these sugesestions will help wipe some of the goop off the subject and help you manage your leadership better.

First and foremost – managing up is all about time and place. (more…)