Project Management News Digest from PM Advisor

October 6, 2014 by PM Advisor Leave a Comment

In this latest roundup of news from the world of project, program and portfolio management we highlight news and articles which have caught our eye recently.

Project management company Daptiv sells to Changepoint

GeekWire

Blair Hanley Frank reports that Daptiv Solutions, a Seattle-based project portfolio management company, has been acquired by Changepoint, a Toronto company that builds professional services automation software.

Fine-tuning your project management style: 4 tips on how to successfully blend Agile, Waterfall methodologies

FierceCIO

Eric Morgan argues that organisations with successful development cycles appear to employ a mix of agile and waterfall. He offers 4 tips for harmonisation without sacrificing visibility or productivity:

Transition slowly
Provide professional training
Allow teams to communicate across methodologies
Speak a language everyone understands

Agility in project management requires a fully functioning eye

CapGemini Blog

Henk-Jan van der Klis looks at how to breakdown the 46 IPMA PM competence elements into 3 groups – behavioural, technical and contextual and focus on leadership.

Five Project Management Blunders (and How to Avoid Them)

SiteProNews

Sean Crafts shares 5 common mistakes and suggests what to do to avoid them in your projects:

No clearly defined scope of work
Project delays
Team member roles not clearly defined
Lack of communication
Project managers are unprepared to face challenges

Updatey v2 Goes Live

Updatey Blog

With Updatey version 2, you’ll see improved performance, design changes, and most excitingly, the Workspace and a new Dashboard.

The Purpose Of Guiding Principles in Project Management

Herding Cats

Glen Alleman explains that these 5 guiding principles define the key criteria for making decisions about the application of a project’s Practices and Processes:

Goal
Plans
Resources
Risk
Measures

Why Every Employee Needs to be a Project Manager

IDG Connect

Eric Morgan from AtTask argues that in the aftermath of the global recession all employees are now required to act and think as PMs. This means embedding PM skills at every level and preparing the workforce for decentralised project management.

Managing Agile Teams with Project Managers

InfoQ

Ben Linders offers his views and those of 3 bloggers on this often controversial subject.

Reenergizing Project Managers

PMI

PMI observe that organisations go to great lengths and considerable cost to find the right project practitioners. However many can slide into mediocrity if interest in the work wanes. A disengaged project manager can lower team morale, blow budgets, delay schedules and eat up a supervisor’s time and attention. By noticing and addressing the problem early, organisations can refresh a practitioner’s engagement levels — and keep performance on track. Their suggestions:

Recognise red flags,
Confront the issue head on,
Assess skills,
Assign a mentor, and
Follow-up.

Project and Task-Management Tool Trello Hits 5 Million Users

Mashable

Trello, the web-based visual task-management system, announced recently that it now has more than 5 million users.

Project Risk Management – 10 Golden Rules

International Business Times

International Business Times suggests 10 golden rules for ensuring that risks are adequately managed in projects:

Make risk management part of your project
Identify risks early in your project
Communicate about risks
Consider both threats and opportunities
Clarify ownership issues
Prioritise risks
Analyse risks
Plan and implement risk responses
Register project risks
Track Risks and Associated Tasks

Wellingtone and APM partner on career service for profession

APM

Dayner Proudfoot announces that Wellingtone and APM have formed a unique alliance to provide a career development service to the project management profession.

5 Project Portfolio Management Apps That Give You ‘The Big Picture’

Business2Community

GetApp suggest 5 portfolio management applications:

AtTask
Mavenlink
EPM Live
Clarizen
Wrike

5 Best Project Management Tools for Small Businesses

Yahoo

Kathleen Olson recommends the 5 best PM tools for small businesses:

Asana
Casual
Basecamp
Apollo HQ
Flow

Movidiam: New Networking & Project Management Platform for Filmmakers

Cinema5D

Ethan Vincent reports that there is a new online platform called Movidiam which aims to be a creative network that allows brands, agencies and filmmakers to connect, collaborate and work together on films and projects.

Projectmates V13.0 Raises the Bar for Construction Project Management Software

Digital Journal

Systemates, Inc. recently announced the upgrade of Projectmates version 13.0, its best and most innovative version of Projectmates construction project management software to date. Enterprise ad hoc reports and dashboards were added to give clients unprecedented control over project data.

Filed Under: PM Tools, Project Management Tagged With: Agile, APM, Daptiv, project managers, Trello, Updatey, Waterfall

PMI Challenge to APM Application for Royal Charter: dismissed

July 17, 2014 by PM Advisor Leave a Comment

We reported in a News Digest post back in April 2014, that PMI had challenged APM’s application to the UK Privy Council by way of a Judicial Review, as per this statement from APM.

At the time we were not clear on what good PMI hoped to achieve for the PM profession, other than protecting their own commercial interests.

UPDATE: Judge dismisses the PMI claim on all grounds:

APM Chief Executive Andrew Bragg has issued a statement concluding:

“Having reserved judgment at the substantive hearing of the Judicial Review claim which ended on 9 July 2014 at the High Court in London, the Judge, Mr Justice Mitting, handed down his judgment on 17 July 2014.

The Judge dismissed the claim on all grounds”.

We hope that the much needed development and recognition of the PM profession can now move forward very soon.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: APM, PMI, Profession

Project Management News Digest from PM Advisor

April 1, 2014 by PM Advisor 1 Comment

Again another mixed bag of news from the PM profession and industry. If you have some news and think the PM Advisor Community may be interested please contact the editorial team by filling in the form here.

5 Lessons to Ensure Project Management Success

VAR Guy

Brian Troy, a Product Marketing Manager recognises the challenges presented to the uninitiated project manager and recommends these 5 useful pieces of advice:

Catch risks up front,
Sponsor every project,
Guard against scope creep,
You are only as good as your work plan, and
Definition is the key to success.

As is often the case in this situation we would also add communication – which is the key to success.

Project Bubble

Project Bubble is new to us at PM Advisor, but it seems the product has been around for a number of years and has some credible use cases. Business2Community offer this useful review.

While it’s not hugely different to the plethora of collaboration tools 2 features caught our eye – reports, and assigning tasks to more than one owner – we like the former but feel uneasy about the latter.

4 Simple Steps to Fire Up Your Portfolio Management Office

ABC

David Davies looks at dealing with one of the biggest challenges in business – bridging the gap between visionaries and those immersed in detail – and how portfolio management can help. He offers this advice:

Focus on getting the right information to the right person, for the right decision, at the right time
Embrace the product mindset – both ideation and road-mapping
Capacity plan for hybrid work environments
Project Portfolio Management and agile integration

How to Make Project Managers More Productive

ESI

This blog post looks, with the backdrop of needing to do more with less, at increasing PM utilisation.

Shortage of Project Managers Sends Businesses Scrambling

CIO

CIO explore the view that as the global economy picks up there will be too many projects and not enough project managers. Perhaps they should look at the ideas from ESI for improving productivity (see above).

Fierce CIO also lead with this story under the title Your Next Staffing Crisis: Project Managers.

Seven Top Tips for Being a Better PM

PMHut

PMHut rarely disappoint, but this is a great post from Michelle Symonds, who suggests a step back to reflect on how well you are managing your projects and suggests 7 tips for making some small but worthwhile changes:

Be the ‘why’ in the room,
Maintain a can-do attitude,
Be as picky & pedantic as you like,
Spell it out,
Maintain respect in all directions,
Don’t make assumptions, and
Give credit where it’s due

Wise words!

PMI Expands Focus on Requirements Management

BusinessWire

According to PMI’s 2014 Pulse of the Profession® study, poor requirements management is a major cause of project failure, second only to changing organization priorities. In order to help project professionals and organizations overcome this challenge, PMI is expanding its requirements management offerings, with a Center of Excellence and supporting resources.

PMI Challenges APM Application for Royal Charter

APM

PMI has challenged APM’s application to the UK Privy Council by way of a Judicial Review which will be heard in July at the High Court in London. We’re not clear on what good PMI hopes to achieve for the PM Profession, other than protecting their commercial interests. What do you think?

Deltek Acquires Sohnar and its Traffic LIVE Solution

BroadwayWorld

Deltek’s Press Release advises that “This acquisition broadens and deepens Deltek’s portfolio of professional services automation solutions by delivering cutting-edge, front-office capabilities that marketing agencies and other project-based companies need to effectively manage their businesses and deliver on-time, profitable projects and engagements for their customers.”

This is an interesting development highlighting how marketing agencies and services organisations are increasingly seeing the importance of professional project management. What else do you think competes specifically in this space?

Filed Under: News Tagged With: APM, Collaboration Tools, Deltek, PM Blogs, PM Tools, PMI, PMO, project management news, Project manager, project managers, Recruitment, Resourcing

Project Management News Digest

February 12, 2014 by PM Advisor Leave a Comment

APM Launches Refreshed Qualifications

APM

The Introductory Certificate (The APM Project Fundamentals Qualification) and APMP (The APM Project Management Qualification) have been refreshed and aligned with the new APM Body of Knowledge 6th edition. It seems 2014 will see a complete refresh of the suite of APM qualifications along with the momentous launch of two brand-new qualifications at IPMA Level A and Level B.

37signals rebrands as Basecamp

TheNextWeb

As well as rebranding on their 10th anniversary, Basecamp have put all their resources into the project management tool, becoming the focus of the company. Kaylene Hong provides some details.

In this blogpost HBR’s Ron Ashkenas observes that the strategy offers a useful reminder that Less Is More.

Sciforma 6.0: Entering the Mobile World

Sciforma

Sciforma 6.0 has given the mobile world access to their projects via tablets and smartphones. Users can now access project hours expended and view remaining tasks and expected effort, or view key portfolio indicators while on the go.

7 Trends in Project Management for 2014

Projectmanager.com.au

Krishna Kumar sees the following 7 trends in 2014:

Agile will spread geographically
PM will integrate with business functions
Virtual learning will become integral to a PM’s armoury
PMs will become more could dependent
Competition will heat up
Open source PM tools will rule
Project Managers will focus on delivery rather than trend

6 Tips for a Successful System Integration Project

TheNextWeb

David Akka gives six useful tips for SI projects:

Recruit champions and keep them on board
Have a series of small successes
Make sure all security challenges are addressed
Use the relevant integration tools
Monitoring and performance management is critical
Justify the costs

The Only Times You Should Extend a Deadline

easyprojects

Quite rightly the easy projects blog challenges automatic acceptance of project delay, and suggests only doing so in exceptional circumstances:

The scope drastically changes
The project is THAT bad
The project could be that good
If the benefits outweigh the costs

Project Management: 3 Myths Debunked and 7 Skills Needed for the Future

Ventureburn.com

Anita Potgieter explores the following:

3 Myths Debunked:

only large companies can afford Project Management software,
technology is not important, and
methodologies should stay put.

7 Skills for the Future:

Emotional intelligence
Collaborative communication
Flexibility
Business understanding
Analytical skills
Ethical behaviour

5 Pitfalls in Setting Up a PMO

PMHut

Simon Tang offers the following 5 pitfalls in setting up a PMO:

Not establishing clear goals and objectives for the PMO,
Not clearly understanding the existing processes
Did not involve PMs while crafting formal processes
Not having proper metrics to measurable performance
Failure to sell it to the management

Filed Under: News Tagged With: APM, Collaboration Tools, PM Blogs, Project Management, Project manager, Trends

Project Management News Digest wk50 2013

December 13, 2013 by PM Advisor 1 Comment

5 Insightful Project Management Lessons from Sci-Fi

TheFastTrack

Carol Pinchefsky suggests that there’s project management advice aplenty if you know where to look, and sees lessons in the following movies/shows:

Star Trek: The Next Generation “Remember Me.”
Robocop
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: “Doublemeat Palace”
Batman Begins, and
Ghostbusters

How to Ensure your Strategic Initiative Succeeds

ProjExc

John Williams explains why strategic initiatives are projects and how to make sure they succeed.

Study Highlights the Benefits of Project Management Training

Project Accelerator

A study by training company Parallel found by surveying previous PM training delegates that:

89% agreed that the training benefitted their company
64% agreed that PM training helped improve their current work projects, and
71% of those attending APM training agreed that it helped develop their management skills

Project Management In A Post-Mad Men World

MediaPost

Paul Pentzer observes 5 qualities that Advertising Agency PMs should possess:

Relentless focus on solving problems
Ability to simplify complex situations
Good facilitators
Excellent in basic PM skills
Ability to model a ‘servant relationship’

Why Are So Many IT Projects Failing

CIO.com

Sharon Florentine reports on a trend that as more companies adopt Agile, their project managers are expected to take on more responsibilities, namely development lead.

6 Project Management Modes

Shift Happens

Mike Clayton explores the 6 main modes that a PM needs to shift through as the project proceeds:

Leading Mode
Supporter Mode
Fix-it Mode
Exploration Mode
Crisis Mode
Process Mode

13 Steps to Becoming a Better Product Manager

InternetDJ

Michael Bordash considers 13 attributes of product managers, not least that Product Management is not Project Management. Really.

A Practical Approach To Project Portfolio Management

Information Week

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Frank J. DeLuca looks at how to set up a good, fast, and inexpensive program that will make the best use of pricey IT resources, without costly specialised software.

5 Steps to Project Management Nirvana

TheFastTrack

Alison Green suggests that if your projects aren’t doing what they should, to try following these five steps.

Get clear on the desired outcome before work begins.
Establish clear roles
Conduct “pre-mortems.”
Build in check-ins along the way, and
Debrief when the work is over.

Arras People Project Management Census 2014

How To Manage a Camel

It’s that time of year again when Arras People ask for your help to take a snapshot of our domain. It’s the ninth Project Management Census and this year they’ve really focused on the project management career.

Eylean Project Management Software Provider Launches Personal Version

Eylean

Eylean, provider of agile project management software for Scrum and Kanban, has introduced a personal edition of its agile task board, which will be available to customers free of charge for personal use.

5 Ways to Build Strong Project Teams

PMI

Dave Wakeman, PMP shares his thoughts on how to build project teams:

Be an active communicator
Trust your team
Understand your team members’ individual motivations
Don’t embarrass your team
Be flexible

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Agile, APM, Failure, PMI, PPM, Product management, project management news, project managers, Training

Project Management News Digest w41 2013

October 8, 2013 by PM Advisor 1 Comment

Project Management Frameworks for SMEs

Project Accelerator

More and more organisations are looking for a Framework for successful project management, and for SMEs PRINCE2 can be overkill.

Handbook of People in Project Management

Camel Blog

A new PM book by Dennis Lock and Lindsay Scott looking at one of (and probably the most important) the 3 elements for project success – people.

UK Economy Strengthening – Signs in the Projects World

Two of the biggest indicators that the UK economy seems finally to be turning the corner to us here are:

There is a steadily increasing number of PM jobs being advertised, and
There are more people talking to us about now being the time to take the plunge in that big project, where would they find a good PM, and how would be the best way to apply appropriate governance to the project.

Both suggest that projects are being started, and we all know that projects are huge investments.

Flow Upgrades to Full PM Suite

Technorati

The web and iOS tool has been updated with additional team functionalities.

The Power of Project Governance

IT Web

An interesting insight and useful checklist from Anita Potgieter. We’re not sure that the only project management system is Project Server 2013 though!

APM Launches The PM Channel

APM

A great online resource with on demand PM training & development

Glossary of IT PM Terms You Should Know

TechRepublic

Wrike Raises $10m from Bain Capital for PM Tools

AllThingsDigital

New Infographic Shows the Need for a PMO

The Intersect Group

5 Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make As A PM

OnTrack Blog