Many project managers stop thinking about earned value the day after their PMP exam, but that’s unfortunate because it can be helpful in understanding progress and refining estimates. Here is a fog-free explanation of earned value that might help you apply the technique on your next project.
Establishing a program management office is a project in Itself. And like all projects, you need a charter that presents a clear and measurable purpose, scope, schedule, quality, budget, risks and critical success factors. Here are guidelines for creating a charter for your PMO project.
Software is built on a variety of assumptions, and we need to understand what those assumptions are--and work around them in defining how we use the software. With so many options in the marketplace, how do you decide what’s good and what’s not? How do you navigate the promises of software vendors to know what you should be looking for, and how do you decide what will actually work for you?
You’ve come up with a schedule for your software development project. Now how do you get your clients or even your own corporate higher-ups to accept it? If you compress your schedule too much, you won’t meet anyone’s expectations of functionality, cost and timeframe, and your project might fail—right along with your project management career!
It's easy to find a million ways that software managers can fail with their teams and their projects. This article prioritizes seven practical leadership tips and techniques that can help build great teams that consistently deliver great projects. And these habits are so simple, you can put them into practice immediately!
This list and overview of common schedule risks will help you maintain vigilance against pitfalls that can interrupt, stop or ruin your software development project.
To understand BI, it is important to know the steps to take. And as our department takes off in a new direction, a fresh perspective offers some valuable insight.
We know, we know...it's a jungle out there in software land. These stories should introduce you to the unfortunate trials and tribulations of software development management--and the ways to overcome or avert them And all of these apply to project management, too! (You won't get too depressed, we promise!)
The attached workbook is useful for these many projects out there where no costing data can be used--or is not available--so the classic Earned Value Technique cannot be applied. It provides not only a progress tracking mechanism but also effort based project forecasting based on the above consideration.
From developing an activities schedule to completing the contract paperwork, this plan will help keep you focused on your next software acquisition.
Developing software for delivery? Need a plan for the whole project? Here's a descriptive framework that spells out the key ingredients for planning and controlling your project.
Are you signing a contract to outsource a software development project to a vendor? Ask these questions to make sure you know what you're getting and are getting what you are paying for.
You're leading the team to deliver...what more do they want?! This article highlights a few, simple best practices that--if introduced at the beginning of your project--might help you easily control costs along the way.
We all want Subject Matter Experts, but what happens if we get Subject Matter Zeros? How does that impact your schedule, and what about team members who have “other project commitments”? Before you know it, that six-month schedule that looked pretty comfortable is looking like a fairy tale.
The project calls for delivering a system to a customer. For that, you'll need a sound plan as well as a sound product. We can't help you with the product, but we can help you with the plan.
Alot of project management is wrapped up in the idea of scheduling. Many project management software packages put the management of schedule front and centre; for some, it's all they really actually provide support for managing. Project management courses emphasize the ideas of managing the critical path, building Gantt charts and analyzing PERT networks. Much stress is created about project schedules, milestones, dependencies and deadlines.
It's important to clarify the purpose and status reporting expectations early in the project. Here, we share a sample integration management cadence for a large project or program that effectively balances the time with the administrative overhead.
CMMI provides several models that organizations can use to identify best practices and organizational improvements. Studying the maturity models and researching earned value management readiness reveals a series of baby steps for organizations to adopt EVM.
Does your organization provide the WBS as a key deliverable in your systems lifecycle? The work breakdown structure doesn't have to be as scary as the reaper--and mind mapping software makes them even more useful.
The cloud is moving in and taking over. What does this mean for the typical project manager? And as importantly, what does this mean for the organization considering moving its projects into the cloud? Clearly there are some benefits, but there are also some potential challenges. In this column, we examine both sides of the issue in an effort to bring some clarity to project management in the cloud.
This procedure describes the process of testing software code or products by the test team. It documents the procedure for the entire testing cycle: generating test plans, scheduling tests, conducting tests and reporting test results. This procedure applies to new development, as well as major and minor releases, including customized solutions delivered to customers.
Processes are great until they become roadblocks that get in the way of where you need to go. “Workarounds” can help you deal with project delays and difficulties. The author of a new book describes how to overcome barriers to productivity, and says these breakthroughs start with you; you don’t need permission.
Elaborating on Dwight Eisenhower's often quoted declaration, a project plan that exists in a vacuum is useless, but active, collaborative planning is indispensable. Here are three keys to injecting a collaborative mindset into your project environment, from decision-making to execution.
An earned value management expert takes a close look at CA Clarity’s recently integrated EVM capabilities, including how it addresses federal ANSI 748 guidelines.
Agile needs to change the rules of deployment; otherwise, it’s losing effectiveness. If you are going to commit to agile development, then commit to more frequent deployments and everybody wins. Let’s take a look at changing the product deployment model with agile.
The Mayans may have had the first timeboxed project--they had a strict 2012 timebox cutoff with little room for extension (you know, since the world would no longer exist). Although agile methods have been preaching the benefits of fixed timeboxed schedules since their creation, it still raises concerns with many stakeholders. That's because timeboxing with flexing scope is the worst form of project compromise--until, that is, you try the alternatives.
Technical debt describes the cumulative consequences of cutting corners in software development, but it escapes the attention of many project managers as they focus on scope and schedule. That’s a mistake because it impacts both. Here are questions to help you ascertain the real state of technical affairs.
Microsoft Project is the dominant desktop scheduling software in the project management community, but it’s not the only game in town. Many project managers are turning to open-source alternatives, due to cost pressure or personal preference. Here’s a closer look at two of the more popular open-source project scheduling solutions.
Portfolio managers don’t always need a full-feature package with all the bells and whistles. Reviewing the variety of solutions available led this writer to generate a basic list of PPM requirements as well as a few nice-to-have features--leading him to a recommendation.
Assuming we have decent software, the essential strategy for making it work well is deciding how we want to work with it. In this article, we explore the considerations behind what we need to do to develop a good workflow for using software. What are the things we need to think about in using the software? What are the critical steps that actually enable us to define a useful software workflow? And why should we care?
Need help scheduling agile delivery dates? We’ll examine a pragmatic way to derive a schedule (and subsequently a project cost) for a process framework that is inherently flexible--but one that still must plan for a release date. The approach covered will hopefully satisfy both your management and your team’s desire for practical schedule planning.
This will be the first in a series of articles that will look to provide the background of issues involved with managing an agile software development project under a traditionally linear and sequential project procurement process. Software development has been deliberately chosen for the example industry since that’s the domain for which agile is most typically used, but for those using agile in other industry domains, the general issues and proposed solution should work equally well within your industry.
The work breakdown structure is a critical element of the project plan, yet many project managers have difficulty creating an adequate WBS, or even understanding how it can help them. Here is an overview of what a WBS is, and the work that goes into it — you might call it a WBS of a WBS.
In the previous installment, we reviewed five effective leadership behavior questions. This article provides a set of technical project management questions that assess the candidate’s knowledge of project management tools and techniques.
Agile and earned value are inherently different approaches to managing projects, but they can complement each other in support of flexibility and bottom-line value. Here are three practical tips to help you bridge the gap between an agile approach and the earned value reports and measurements many organizations require.
An equipment manufacturer is turning away new business. An airline is delaying flights due to maintenance issues. A homebuilder is struggling with a regulatory-driven software implementation. Here is a look at how three companies turned to Critical Chain to fix debilitating project management problems.
Don't believe everything you hear. The truth behind many agile software development myths will help you identify alternative methods to successfully deliver software.
One of the beneficial features of Mindjet MindManager is its ability to import and export to Microsoft Project. This feature is very useful when the project manager is managing project execution while trying to control the project schedule.
Testing your newly built system should not be a haphazard activity during which team members randomly input any value they can think of. Test cases should be planned so that all requirements and objectives are tested. Use this checklist to systematically plan and prepare for software testing.
Project management software programs range in capabilities and in price. This checklist will help you decide what you need before you go shopping.
There are numerous project management programs out there, ranging from simple scheduling programs to bloated behemoths that do everything but tap dance at the company picnic and wash windows in the corporate boardroom. Which one is right for your project management needs?
In order to assess a project’s schedule status, you need to review the integrated project schedule and answer three questions. Find out what they are--and how to answer them--inside.
You’ve created the WBS, estimated the effort and identified the resources. But your schedule is not complete — or realistic — unless it reflects the entire project plan, including cost, risk and quality. Schedule-centered planning can help. Sure, there is always pressure to commit to dates right now — just be sure they’re not delusions.
It is important to define your project’s technical architecture early in the process, with input from the team. This includes all the hardware, software and other technologies your project requires. It will need to be flexible, but the sooner you get it right, the better off your budget and schedule will be.
If your thinking about desktop hardware and software, download this project plan before you begin. It has all the steps necessary for successful planning, procurement and deployment.
This series will demonstrate several applications using mind mapping tools for better project management efficiency and effectiveness. This article provides an overview on how project managers can apply the Project Time Management process to quickly develop a skeleton project schedule using Mind Manager and integrate it with Microsoft Project.
Frustrated with the perennially elusive value of enterprise project management software? So are we. So seldom is nirvana actually attained. So what’s the problem, and what can we do about it? Can we bridge the gap? Read on.
Too many projects are driven by an overly optimistic schedule where the probability of meeting the end date with an acceptable deliverable is very low. Then, poorly planned attempts to meet those unrealistic dates result in problems that not only cause dates to slip, they compromise quality.
Need help with project recovery? A whole new skill set and strategy is needed to recover an IT project from free fall. Here we provide practical recovery pointers on four project areas for failing IT projects, with a focus on software development for business applications.
LiquidPlanner has revised its online project management software, with a focus on app-style planning features and cross-project scheduling and prioritization. This, along with a “social project management” approach, allows for a truly collaborative vibe on project teams.
