Project Managers are totally responsible for the project which is assigned to them. Moreover, they are also liable to clients, team, and company if something bad happens with the project.

No matter the size or type of company, project management software is essential in today’s fast paced business world. Project management software will ensure that any and all project information necessary will be available to all parties involved in a project when they need it. The information can be presented in various formats, such as Gantt Charts, Pert Charts or reports, and accessibility can be controlled depending on what function each member of the team is responsible for, from simply viewing pieces of information to editing and updating entire projects.

The schedule can be monitored throughout various phases of a project. The budget and the risk for the company, as well as the client, can also be analyzed. Some project management software will allow you the ability to identify individual accountability in different stages and tasks as well as the general flow of communication. To organize, document and supervise projects efficiently, it is essential to have project management software.

Project management software sometimes limits the customer to specific views of the timeline, Pert or Gantt Charts, or to particular development stages in the project, while work plan owners have more access to matters relating to tasks and business concerns. The software might be web-based, which provides better backup and maintenance security which doesn’t depend on what they have at their end. Nonetheless, if their organization requires it, project managers may prefer keeping their projects close in-house, even on their own hardware.

While all PM’s are aware that as projects come to completion, the sense of urgency increases, making it a bit more of challenging to identify individuals responsible for particular jobs, the completion of tasks, or just unintended communication gaps due to time constraints as everyone focuses on deadlines. Everyone, at every stage of the project lifecycle, benefits though utilizing and training employees to utilize this type of software. When the pressure is on at the end of the project, not only will information be readily available, but managers will save time in identifying possible lags in the process and how to direct communication to the individuals necessary to address the issues. This makes for far more efficient use of everyone’s time and company resources.

Lastly, after the project’s completion, the software allows managers to easily assess different employee’s ability to manage their individual tasks and timelines, to get a better idea of their trade skills brought to the project, as well as their time management skills and interpersonal team building skills. All in all, like many other types of software, project management software is now essential to the success of all project managers, regardless of the size of the project or the company.

At present management consulting firms maintain relation with several organizations. For training, change management, operational and strategically development and technology implementation management consulting is indispensable. It is common that for effective project management the managers are more and more emphasizing on management consulting. The highly skilled management consultants use the proprietary methodologies clubbed with their own experience to initiate the problem identification process better. Beside execution of management consulting, nowadays for enhanced project management it is also in use at non-business related areas.

Project management is prerequisite of attaining goals effectively and this is mandatory to reach the specific objectives. For accurate project management is wise to note that with a finite resource it is necessary to reach the target and that too as per the required deadline. At present there are several project management software available and leading management consulting firs use them to keep track of particular projects. Several case studies are also consulted by the management consultants as these cases provide better insight regarding adaptation of the solution providing approach.

Management consulting is a human activity; still it cannot be considered to be a cakewalk. There remain intricate and complex business cases that need to be solved. Each case is a project and a proper project management with adherence to milestones, maintenance of work breakdown structure, resource management and allocation are required. To have a better idea about the project management software it is best to get trained.

The management consultants first make the project goal and then the project and its goals are analyzed and the implementation of the solution is decided. In a management consulting firm there may remain an implementation group, a special systems development group and a functional group who monitors the effectiveness and friendliness of the propped solution developed by the management consulting company.

It is prudent to seek solution from a certified management consulting group; still it is worth mentioning that there are several non certified agencies that have proved their abilities with outstanding management consulting. With the overall growth in economies across the globe, popularity and demand of management consulting is going uphill. As information technology consulting along with strategic business solutions, for every business management consulting is necessary. Even the governments in nations like the UK are using better project management techniques with the consultation of the management consulting firms.

Corporations have built internal management consulting divisions to yield better profits. With in-house management consulting professionals it has become easier to get solutions for various projects. For process improvement with the use of the solutions of after consulting with the experts, perfect project management is expected. So, role of the project managers remain immense as they monitor overall development and advancement of the projects. Various websites explain the pros and cons related to management consulting and self research can help to know the concept better. Again searching a management consulting firms is pretty easy, by using a popular search engine, web portals of different firms can be reached. There are many associations for the management consulting practitioners and firms. These associations have significantly bolstered professional scopes and purposes.

All organizations use projects as the way to translate strategies into actions and objectives into realities. Many companies are project-intensive – they live and breathe project management because they are in that kind of business, such as construction, aerospace, engineering design, engineer-procure-construct (EPC), general contractors, consulting, software, and so on. For them, organizing around projects is a natural way of life as almost all senior staff have “come up through the ranks”, and top management understands what it takes to be successful in project work. On the other hand are less project-intensive organizations such as food, retailing and textiles. But even such companies have projects, e.g., setting up a new distribution depot or a new plant. Even in public sector, it is effective project management that translates politicians’ visions of new roads, schools and hospitals into gleaming new constructions that improve everyday life.

Realization of objectives is not easy, though; especially in today’s increasingly complex and high-stake world – richer technology, distributed / global / outsourced workgroups, culture differences due to inorganic growth, cost pressures, new services and products, mass customization needs for demanding customers, compressed time-to-market, increasing market volumes and stricter regulatory requirements. Numerous studies and observations have shown that strong business growth or other ambitious endeavors frequently bring the following risks in deployment of strategies to manage the endeavors:

– Delays due to ineffective project planning, monitoring, coordination, risk-management and follow-through

– Poor realization of financial goals due to ineffective scope management and staff utilization / accountability

– Customer dissatisfaction due to lack of responsiveness, communications and stakeholder management

Thus, the key for most organizations to remain competitive in a high-growth and fast-changing environment is strong delivery capability made possible by uniform and effective processes, structure, and discipline of planning and monitoring initiatives that translate strategy into reality.

Project Management is a competency that leaders can use in their organizations to handle increasing complexity with higher success rates and acceptance, and lower uncertainty and costs. Following are just a few examples of the organizational inefficiencies that pose the above-mentioned risks, but can be effectively handled through use of the Project Management competency:

– Schedules managed in silos and dependencies are not integrated.

– Delays in one area not communicated to a dependent area, so resources not allocated efficiently.

– Schedules having short-term forecast range. Long-term planning at the activity-level non-existent.

– Schedules not identifying true critical paths and not including non-working time and defect estimates.

– Many communication channels informal, and therefore information not documented and communicated to all appropriate stakeholders in a timely manner.

– Responsibility for decision-making not clearly defined (decisions affecting shifting priorities or resources, changing dates, etc.).

– Lack of proactive risk identification and management.

– Inadequate reporting – lack of visibility / insight into the true status of the projects.

– Frequently forgotten or delayed activities and decisions

The art of managing projects is about having consistency in achieving stated objectives within limits of time, budget, and stakeholders’ satisfaction, by directing and coordinating human and material resources. Project Management is a way of life for enhanced collaboration, governance, execution-discipline, responsiveness, and alignment of organizational elements and procedures with features of products and operations. Project Management skills are quite different from technical design, engineering or construction skills usually associated with most projects, and cover aspects outside of the scope of these technical areas that have to be well managed, if the project objectives are to be met. Project Management also differs from traditional management in that it brings in cross-functional collaboration, governance, execution-discipline, responsiveness, and alignment of organizational elements and procedures with features of end-products of projects. It can help leaders bring in agility in innovation, growth and response to changes in the external environment.

Applying effective Project Management for deployment of strategy and goals can thus provide organizations the following advantages:

– Business advantage through timely achievement of goals, optimal resource utilization and information based decision making

– Competitive advantage through workforce energized by culture of execution and collaboration and customer satisfied by getting the “right” results reliably

Project Management can also bring in some tangible benefits for individuals at various levels in organizations. For example, through project management:

– Executives get accurate and timely information so that they can make sound business decisions and make course corrections quickly so they can maintain a competitive edge.

– People who execute understand their roles and responsibilities and how their work relates to the bigger picture. Minimization of conflicts and confusions through effective communications increases productivity and enthusiasm.

It can be concluded that project management as a management discipline, individual competency and organizational culture underpins much economic activity and is a critical source of multiple advantages. The specialized role of project management in bringing agility to organizations that want to innovate, whether it is for new products or new initiatives, cannot be ignored.

One of the toughest jobs of the project manager is making sure you actually receive the resources you have been given for your project.  People resources are the trickiest of all because each person assigned to you can choose to come to your meetings or not, answer their phone or not, respond to your e-mails or not, review materials you send them or not, do their work on time or not, and so on.

 

If your team members are also your employees, then you have tremendous influence over these decisions.  But in many project situations – virtually all large project situations – your team members are not your employees, instead they are ‘borrowed’ from other managers in the company. 

 

This means their number-one priority is NOT you or your project; their top priority is pleasing and meeting the needs of their line manager.

 

If you get people resources on a ‘dedicated’ basis – meaning you get 100% of their time for the duration of your project – then their manager has pretty much handed them over to you.  You effectively become their line manager for that time period, usually up to and including giving input to their performance, salary and bonus reviews.

 

However, in any situation where an employee has to split his or her time between working for their line manager and working for your project – even if you negotiate prorated input to their performance reviews – you need to understand that the other manager has far greater influence over their time and decisions than you have.  You will have to deal with that fact for the duration of your project.

 

It is a good practice to be wary of time commitments for any resource assigned to you on a split-time basis, particularly if anyone is allocated to you less than 50%. Here is:

 

Why a less-than-50% allocation so often fails:

 

• Human nature is such that both you and the person’s line manager will both attempt to task this person 100% anyway, creating a situation in which all three of you will lose.

 

• Human nature also dictates that if it comes to making a choice between pleasing you or pleasing a line manager, then the person will choose the one who has the most impact on salary, bonuses, performance reviews, and job security. In a matrix situation, you lose.

 

• People in this situation inevitably find their energy and attention is fragmented between the project and all other work. It takes more time and effort on your part to keep such team members up-do-date on what’s happening in the project. They, in turn, lose track and lose momentum switching back and forth.

 

• People whose time is fragmented miss meetings. Your project is now subject to the whims and inefficiencies of whatever else is going on in their non-project time. When emergencies crop up in those areas, your project suffers.

 

The worse case I ever saw of this was when I was working as a consultant to one Fortune 500 company during a time period in which they started and concluded buy-out negotiations with another Fortune 500 company. People who had been assigned to my project on a split-time basis suddenly began skipping project meetings because they were getting pulled by their line managers into meetings related to the buy-out.  The impact to my project was that after 90 days the program had only received 60% of the resources we needed.  

 

The smaller the time commitment, the lower our project sat within each individual’s priority list. Once the buy-out was announced, missed meetings and delayed meetings became rampant. Within this 90-day window, we had only one three-week period where we operated at full strength.

 

It is worth noting that even with this chronic 40% matrixed resource shortfall, our project suffered only a 20% delay in deliverables. The reason is we still had dedicated resources in the most critical positions, and they were able to create all sorts of workaround solutions that helped us make substantial progress in the face of otherwise overwhelming resource losses.

 

Since matrixed resources with split-time allocations are a fact of life in projects, how can you manage them successfully?

 

The solution is 3-fold:

 

1)     Staff your team with the ‘right’ mix of dedicated and split-time resources.

 

For medium and large projects, in general, the shorter the timeline, the more dedicated resources you need. And, the more complex the project, the more dedicated resources you will need, so each key aspect of the project gets needed attention and creative leadership brainpower.  Even if your project is well underway as you read this, you can always step back and re-negotiate time commitments, if needed.

 

2)     Track the time you actually receive from your resources each week and note any shortfalls, no matter how small. 

 

This is largely a guesstimation exercise you and your leads conduct at the end of each week.  If you wait till after the weekend, you will have already forgotten how the week went.  If you wait for your time tracking reports – in the event your company not only has time tracking tools but actually uses them – not only will the data be too late, it will usually be incomplete.  In most companies, your pivotal business and management people aren’t required to use those tools. 

 

3)     Take immediate action to win back your allocated time from any shortfall resource(s). 

 

Don’t take a ‘wait and see’ approach if someone misses a meeting or is late in a task or a response.  Instead, immediately follow-up and find out if this is a one-time event or a warning sign of more misses to come.  Find out what your team member needs in order to be able to attend all future meetings.  Work with them, and their line manager if necessary, to clear up any conflicts or issues. Then figure out to make up for the time that was lost, so you can make sure your project stays on track.

 

These three items are common sense solutions, but it is surprisingly uncommon to see a project manager do them all.  Be one of the uncommon few!  Since missing-in-action resources are such a challenging and chronic issue in many projects, there is a good chance at least one of these three options can help you today. 

For more information visit www.Barbsbook.com to check into the book, look for Barb’s micro project management sessions on U-Tube, or e-mail Info@BarbaraPratt.com with any questions.

 

Project Management Office (PMO Service) saves companies considerable costs for project management office overhead for administrative tasks such as invoice and payroll processing, project accounting, project change order control, project cost reporting, and project auditing.

When a company staffs for activities directed toward project work rather than project management office administration, management, and record keeping, less time and money is spent learning and using project office software tracking project data. With more time working with people, project management office PMO services lets project managers maintain direct hands-on project management by reducing office administrative burden. The costs of most project management office overhead ranges between 10% and 25% of the overall project costs.

We reduce PMO service costs by over 50% by setting up project management office software and control steps to ensure data is properly managed and flows through carefully controlled channels of communication. The benefit to a company and to project managers is in both cost reduction as well as receiving project reports on request. Project management office data is maintained more accurately, in greater detail, and with greater consistency and frequency.

A1 Enterprise provides both the project management office software and project management office service (PMO service) to maintain project management office data. We will determine the most viable project office software structure for the customer by setting up project roles, task groups, custom cost reports, budget approval processes, and change order processes to streamline project management office efficiency.

We can also grant permission to certain people or companies to view or update project data including multiple joint venture customers, vendors, employees, or auditors. More about our project management office services (PMO service)

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There is often a misunderstanding, and hence a mixed and overlapping use of terms, when it comes to program management. Sometimes a program is called a project. Sometimes a project is called a program. In addition, sometimes project portfolio and program are mistakenly used interchangeably. This article is intended to clarify the main differences and to distinguish the unique aspects of project portfolios, programs, and projects.

A great way to start to think about these is to think in terms of a pyramid hierarchy. At the top of the pyramid is portfolio management, which contains all of the projects and programs that are prioritized by business objectives. Below that is program management, which contains numerous projects that are interrelated, since they support a particular business objective. Programs consist of multiple projects, but projects can be independent and simply part of the portfolio. Projects differ from programs in that they are strictly tactical in nature.

Here is a more detailed look at each:

Portfolio Management
One of the key distinguishing features about Project Portfolio Management is that it is a process that is clearly characterized by business leadership alignment. Priorities are set through an appropriate value optimization process for the organization. Risk and reward are considered and balanced, and programs are selected based on their alignment with organizational strategy. Feedback is provided from program and project implementation so that portfolio adjustment can occur, if necessary. Strategic changes can also require portfolio adjustments.

Program Management
A key distinguishing feature of Program Management is business sponsorship. Almost by definition, based on decisions made at the Portfolio Management level, programs are sponsored by business needs. The Program takes on the ownership of benefits and is measured primarily based upon achievement of those benefits. Programs can also sometimes have “benefits streams”, or sets of interrelated benefits, such as increased R & D capabilities combined with increased market penetration, that cut across functions in the organization. Because programs, naturally consisting of multiple projects, span functions within an organization, they have all elements of a business system, and hence are general management oriented.

Project Management
Project Management is most concerned with delivery of capabilities, typically as defined within a program. Projects need to be strategy-driven, but do not own the strategic initiative as does a program. Rather, the project takes inputs and develops and implements a tactical plan. Monitoring along the way and final measurement of success is typically based more on the tactical considerations such as budget and schedule than upon achievement of a strategic business objective.

Now, with the basic distinctions among Project Portfolio Management, Program Management, and Project Management defined, each organization must “personalize” its implementation of these 3 processes within the organization. Some key factors and how they affect choices made about implementing each are as follows:

Industry – Industry provides insights into the stability and consistency of operations. Some industries, like pharmaceuticals, are be very driven by product lifecycles, albeit fairly long ones that include a major regulatory process. Consumer electronics companies are driven by much shorter project lifecycles and rapidly evolving technology, with little regulation. Construction firms are highly porjectized and deal with very stable technologies and products.

Organization size – Generally, greater size requires more formal organization. Without structure, the relationships between strategy, portfolio management, programs, and projects can become blurred and disjointed. The 2 points of focus here are to have well-considered organizational frameworks for each of portfolio, program, and project management, and then to pay special attention to building strong ties among them for communication, collaboration, and information flow.

Operational Breadth – A more narrowly defined operational capability, such as found in a sales-focused or production focused organization, will tend to require less formality, and information will flow more freely among portfolio, program, and project management processes. In organizations that are well-integrated horizontally, containing well-developed core competencies in R&D, marketing, production, distribution, and the like, there will be natural separations that need to be managed. This will make program management especially challenging, since it is likely to cross those boundaries.

Strategy – Like the various operational considerations, the strategy will effect organization of portfolio, program, and project management based on how complex it is. One key consideration not mentioned above is strategic alliances, which can greatly effect how tightly managed and how structured these processes need to be.

Standards for Portfolio, Program, and Project Management
Standards for Project Portfolio Management, Program Management, and Project Management do exist, and clear definitions can be found within. The worldwide Project Management Institute (PMI, www.pmi.org)) has developed and published the following standards (free for members):

The Standard for Portfolio Management
The Standard for Program Management
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide)Third Edition

In today’s business environment everyone needs Project Management tools. And professionals who manage Projects are called Project Managers. Qualities to look for in a project manager are inspired and shared vision, good communication skills, Integrity, enthusiasm, competence, ability to delegate, handle pressure, and team building and problem solving skills.

Software related to Project Management is called Project Management Software. Professionals who manage teams, budgets, people, portfolio, cost, and last but not the least, time – need Project Management Software.

It is important for professionals that they learn to use Project Management Software as a priority so that they are able to build schedules quickly and efficiently and it will also enable them to update their projects on weekly, daily or fortnightly as needed. Updating status of the projects is trivial and usually does not take long. There are two types of project management software a) of the shelf like MS Project or custom made to suit individual business needs and there are several levels in project software based on technology or level of sophistication.

There is a wide range of choices available with different price tags attached. One must also understand the fact that merely using a Project Software does not make an executive more effective, it just makes them more effective. A professional should never be under a wrong impression that merely getting Project Management Software or project software will give them an edge automatically. Unless you’ve chosen the right software for your business and you are clear about your Project management skills, it won’t help. Poor project management and selection of project management software often leads to missed deadlines, cost overruns and sometimes-outright failure of the project.

Before you look at various kinds of Project Management Software available in the market, it is important to weigh it against your Project Management skills. This will help you choose the right tool for your business or profession. Project Software for managing small project will be different from Project Software that you will need to manage cross-functional projects for clients and executives. Likewise, managing a multi project environment will require a different type of
Project Software. Project Management skills should always be considered as important criteria while choosing Project Management Software.

Before choosing and installing Project Management Software it is also important that they are compared in all aspects. You should also check out Web-based project management software. This kind of Project Management Software enables information to be published instantly and can be made available in real-time, and changes dynamically as per the factors on the project that change.

Before getting Project Management Software for your organization, give it a good long thought. Learn about it and how can it help your business run more efficiently and whether you or your project managers possess the skill sets to operate it. If you don’t, do you plan to hire a project manager who can and can you afford one at this stage. All these considerations will help you in making an informed decision.

In our life especially for those moving up their career ladder, at some point in time, one will invariably being called upon to lead and manage a  project. Depending upon the nature of the work and  the industry  one is in, the size and magnitude, the intensity and rigor  required of the method of project management  may differ. At the simplest, it may just be the simple identification and definition of the various activities and tasks with assigned roles and responsibilities together with clear timelines and key delivery milestones. At the extreme, it may involve the  full rigor of project management best practices utilizing robust Project Management (PM) methodology  (such as those propounded by PM Institute, US  or PRINCE, UK )and  adoption of the various automated tools (eg Microsoft Office Project, complete with recruitment of fully qualified full time project manager or director to manage the complex process.

While one can avail himself to the variety of tools available in the market, does this guarantee project success.   Detailed information on  many PM Methodology tools is widely and freely available to all. Yet I must say that the mere adoption of such tools does not guarantee the project will be completed and implemented successfully.  There have been far too many major projects that have gone wrong, unable to be salvaged. You can read many in the News.

What then is successful and how does one define that the project is considered completed and successful.   Is  completion of a  project say done  within budget and within timeline, consider success. I believe many would say so, after all, to the business, the  project is implemented and to the supplier, he gets paid for the work done. Is this the sole criterion to determine success.  What if the projects are completed, but never being used or worst still being shelved after a short while and ended up a white elephant. How do we account for the investment in this?   The work done and delivered, irrespective of whether the project is used and serving its intended  purpose. Ultimately, irrespective of which perspective you look at, if the project is completed on time and within budget, and adding value to the organization and indirectly also value to the society, then it is successful.

In the course of my career, I have undertaken numerous projects from small to major ones involving tens of millions and more particularly in the technology industry.  While the key criteria to gauge the success or failure is determined by the order of the Management at that point in time, I must say that it is a very fine line largely dependent on the immediate stakeholders and users who stand to gain or lose by the project.  And it is usually this group of people who determine the fate of the project, which may well be managed very properly and professionally. How qualified and knowledgeable is this group of stakeholders, I can only say appalling in most times, due to tendency to delegate to lower level staff.

I think the key requirements to ensuring successful projects are easily identified and obtained. Requirements such as getting right personnel, adequate time, adequate budget and so on,  and with that, the assigned project manager to adopt a methodology.  But despite the availability of such information and so-called tips and tricks or best practices, many projects still fail, and I mean real big projects.   And maybe  a professionally certified Project Manager will by no means guarantee the success.  Perhaps a higher probability of success, but never a guarantee. 

Here, I do not intend to delve into the key planning activities that a good PM tools will provide.  Picking and standardizing one good, not necessary the most expensive and most elaborate one to suit your industry, organization and project is important for training, awareness and continuity of usage and support along the way. For continuity within the organization,  there must be control on standards and not left to individual to pick his own due to familiarity.  So the key consideration is like having the right people, the right tools and the  right costs.

However, there are few focus points that I would like to emphasize that requires constant check and re-evaluation to ensure the success.

a)      Select the Project Manager –  At the start of the project, the assignment of the Project manager is critical. This is not a position that is offer to someone that happens to be available, with time to spent, or maybe  senior enough. Blending this together with one that has good background knowledge of the business and industry as well as being able to see a  holistic view is key.  One  that is handpicked by Project Sponsor for political purpose  and  although is willing to listen, to support and be advised by him is bound to fail as the Project Manager is ultimately the key person who shoulders the full accountabilities..

So if there is a need, one needs to hire one from outside the organization on contract basis, to be free from internal politics.

b)      The Plan – Suffice to say, in any project, to be successful, it must be planned out first. As the saying goes, anything that is not planned is doomed to failure. So a typical plan as outlined  in decent project management methodology such as the PMBok of PMI from the US,  or PRINCE from UK will adequately identify and require the plan to include activities encompassing aspects such as  Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communication, Risks, and Procurement.  Due consideration must be given to each aspects to have adequate resources, time, cost and not just to suit top-down directives.

Planning must be done on participative basis with assistance from all stakeholders. Eventually, this has to be reviewed, confirmed and sign-off, and periodically used to monitor progress.

c)      Define the Scope –  The project manager can played a key role here to maintain what I call a fair and reasonable scope. While all stakeholders are involved and  given time to define the scope and requirements, someone must be able to control the stakeholders to prevent runaway scoping. Firstly, unreasonable requirements such as requiring the project to provide the ideal leads to doom. One can talk about the ideal, but will never get started as they will be caught in analysis/paralysis syndrome causing repeated changes and delays.  I say the PM plays a key role here to signal showstopper as to align perception of everybody, to avoid unreasonable expectations  from this start point to avoid the need to raise issues at the final stage, if not arrested at this point.   The final document must be reviewed  and eventual sign-of by all key personnel.  Mind you, this document will be the reference, when old stakeholders leave the organisation and new one replacing them will see no need to continue with the project and create problems to kill the project. Sometimes, I wonder, is the  project undertaken for the person or for the organization. If it is for the later, why would new stakeholders so eager to kill of the project.

d)      Regular and periodical review of Plan against status – There must be factual reporting, no trade-off, with sincere and  concern for inactions.   Here the PM’s  job knowledge and confidence is  very critical as it will call for the questioning of the various stakeholders roles/responsibilities and inadequate effort and  performance in partaking this project. The challenge is how to expose all such deficiencies and yet maintain a working team.

We are sometimes governed by own internal politics where the project sponsor knowledge and trust of his Project Manager is important. Ultimately, the project will  be guided by and advise arising from his knowledge or perhaps the lack of it.  Solid real life experiences and foundations as an all rounder will place the PM in good stead to make a project successful.  One must be able to call a spade a spade without tradeoff.  The PM ability to see a holistic view and identify hotspots and to raise them at an early stage, is important, to ensure and keep everybody’s perception in tune.

e)      Decision Making – Many a time, I find that too much of discretion is given to the business or users and not the supporting function. But they only have the  view of their own functional areas. I always use the example of being efficient for the Department but inefficient for the organization as a whole.  Of course, every Department will take care of their own interest, but when this goes against the company as a whole, the PM  must be able to spot it and escalate for a “force” decision. How often we see the loudest voice rules, and the organization suffers?

f)        Over demanding business/Users – When there is one over demanding  person who occupy key position, but lacking the knowledge, the project is doomed to fail.  Imagine what happen when there is indecisiveness or frequent change of decision can have on a project.  While proper sign-off of  the Scope Document may signify completion of the process and time-line as a formality, there is no guarantee of quality and completion, if the so-called key personnel has the overall say of acceptance and eventual payment.  A weak PM would have succumb to such threat only to live with the problem that comes up when there is repeated delay after delay at later stage.  A good PM needs to manage this, enforce strict change management and  yet maintain the working relationship at all level.

g)      Maintaining and  keeping tabs of progress of all related activities. – As in doing up the Plan, the Project Manager must include all activities to have a dashboard of all the activities. Several  times, I have come across Plans that are handled by a supplier, but did not capture the Activities and Progress of those handled by the buyer company.  For example, the supplier could be involved in the supply of  a computer system solution. So the plan only capture the part on completion of the system, while the part on getting ready the computer room, getting the necessary statutory approval, User Training etc are not capture.  While such activities maybe undertaken by the buyer company and remains the responsibilities and accountabilities of the buyer organisation,  nevertheless,  a good PM would have capture such key milestones to track progress at high level. While it may be the fault of another party not fulfilling their part, it is the lack of full visibility of all key activities that cause projects to slip and then argument starts to follow.

Different people view success differently. It is hard to say whether a project is eventually successful. Many projects are completed and in use, but is the project delivering good value.  Like I said, this is a fine line. Who eventually do we listen to whether the project meets the needs.  After all , a truly successful project is one where the project is embarked to do effective things in an efficient way.  Equally possible is when someone in power, in position embarks on an project based upon ineffective strategies and premises, but yet can be completed efficiently and therefore perceived as successful.

The point here is not the knowledge about project management, the industry, but the subtle qualities of the person put in charge, to lead the project and apply such qualities  against the respective activities and tasks to fruition.

How To Use a Marketing Events Calendar In Your Project Management
by Kristin Hilton
Copyright © 2009

How To Use a Marketing Events Calendar In Your Project Management

How many times have you lost track of your launch or promotion dates, only to start working on them at the last possible moment?

If you’ve tried just about every method of organization, and still can’t seem to keep track of your company’s marketing events, a marketing calendar may be the perfect solution.

What is a Marketing Events Calendar?

A marketing calendar is a helpful tool you can use to help chart your company’s marketing efforts and results.

You can design your marketing calendar to your specific criteria. You can prepare your promotions a couple of months, six months, or even up to a year in advance. But what exactly should be outlined on your marketing calendar?

• Individual promotions and events, so you can stay focused on your marketing efforts instead of being distracted with routine tasks

• The cost for each event, so you can clearly see which campaigns are profiting the most

• Results and profits gained by each promotion

A marketing events calendar is absolutely indispensable when organizing your minor (yet important) day-to-day marketing efforts around major company events, such as website launches. It can also be helpful in effective company budgeting.

Why Use a Marketing Events Calendar?

There are many great reasons why you should keep a marketing events calendar. One is that it’s never too early to start preparing your marketing campaigns. Beginning a promotion or advertising an event at the last minute could lose considerable impact, which would be reflected by your sales.

Also, it is nearly impossible for a growing business to keep track of every detail of the marketing month. Your marketing calendar could prevent important tasks falling to the wayside by spreading your company’s attention evenly. As a result, no detail goes unnoticed—and you implement consistency and stability into your marketing plans.

Because a marketing calendar also allows you to assess the worth of your marketing program, you can cut unnecessary costs by eliminating any unsuccessful projects early.

By using your marketing events calendar, you can also adjust your promotions around any holiday. You can set aside ample time to position your company’s product or service as the perfect “must-have” for the occasion. Using branded promotional items can help during the holidays and given away as gifts

Additionally, marketing calendars are excellent tools for measuring your company’s productivity. At a glance, you will be able to observe where your marketing efforts are required the most. This can be helpful in preventing marketing lapses that bring about the “feast or famine” effect plaguing many online businesses today.

I bet you’re wondering, “Why should I use a marketing calendar? What if I just used a list?”

Actually, a marketing calendar eliminates the monotony of a to-do list, which could make each promotion or event seem more like a daunting task instead of a challenging goal.

Your marketing calendar can quickly boost the overall morale of your company, and encourages much more focus from your staff. In turn, this will be interpreted by your customers, who will gladly continue to do business with your company.

How to Implement a Marketing Events Calendar

Marketing events calendars are best established through team effort. Include your staff in the planning of your events. Make it a ritual to meet with them, and schedule all phases and angles of your future promotions together.

Your marketing calendar may be a giant dry-erase calendar that you and your staff can quickly reference or even an elaborate chart with designated columns for certain data.

There is no wrong way to make a marketing calendar—it doesn’t have to be flashy, just straightforward. As long as you and your staff can easily draw information from it, it is successful.

Use Your Marketing Calendar as a Primary Tool in Your Marketing Efforts

A marketing events calendar is a great tool to organize and map your marketing events. It is effective at keeping track of each important detail, and is an excellent way to plan seasonal campaigns in advance. After all, the old adage is true—failing to plan is planning to fail!