Software Package Selection > Selection and Implementation Best Practices

For anyone thinking about or faced with implementing a PPM tool, here are some tips to keep in mind to help you wade through the sometimes problematic process.

All organizations face significant challenges in planning for and managing their IT portfolios. These challenges can be addressed, in part, by the use of systematic processes for selecting and evaluating IT investments. Based on a framework created for federal agencies, here are some key components to consider including in your project portfolio-scoring model.

RFPs are a double-edged sword for many vendors. In the first article, we looked at the challenges with layout and content. In this second installment, we look at the challenges vendors experience in the process from the point they are made aware of the RFP to the submission of the bid.

As we enter 2011, it's time for a refresher--it's the perfect time to explore the cross section of views and perspectives about PMOs. It's the perfect time to see what others are thinking regarding the state of PMOs, and this article will focus on starting a PMO, avoiding PMO failure, trends and the future of the PMO.

Your project indicators must go beyond past phases and address readiness for upcoming tasks and activities. This is one of six principles for implementing a project assurance methodology that can help minimize surprises, provide objective analysis, and build trust among team members and stakeholders.

Anyone who has been a project manager for a while will have run into an organizational change management project--and has likely experienced some of the unique challenges that they present. We all know that there is no such thing as an easy project, but making fundamental changes to the company or department in which we work presents a whole new set of potential pitfalls. Successful organizational change management needs careful planning and execution--and here we help you prepare for this tricky time.

It’s time that we face up to a fundamental reality: organizations grapple with making project management work successfully on a consistent basis. Yes, there are exceptions--and some notable ones--but on the whole they simply prove the rule. It's time for a different approach.

After more than 20 years in the financial services industry, this writer thought he knew exactly what to anticipate moving into his new role as a software vendor project manager. He was wrong...

What does the future hold for project management? What trends and concepts will shape project management tools, methods and practices in 2012 and beyond? For one writer, the answer seems clear. Here, we look at the environment that will influence projects, and the three takeaways we should be aware of heading into the new year.

There is lots of great information available on how to use agile methods for custom software development projects, but less so for package implementations. Commercial-Off-The-Shelf solutions make up a large percentage of the IT projects undertaken by companies each year, and many organizations are missing out on benefits that an agile package approach can bring.

A new survey from Project Management Institute identifies key trends in project, program and portfolio management, including a renewed focus on talent development and increased use of agile methods. The results also point to critical success factors, among them clearly defining expected benefits, ensuring top-level management support, and creating a career path for project participants.

Collaboration is a common theme throughout many of the leading trends for project management in 2012, as determined by a global panel of senior executives and subject matter experts.

Why has Project Portfolio Management struggled to be adopted in organizations? While part of the problem lies with the vendor overselling the product, the bulk of the issue stems from our collective failure to educate ourselves on PPM--and understand how we should adopt it.

Just calling a practice “best” does not make it so. But for many PM practitioners, the term “best practice” appears to represent the business practice equivalent of a “get out of jail free” card--wave it around enough, and critical thinking seems to be banished. It's time for a new outlook on this misused term and concept.

The use of sports terminology and analogies is often overdone in the workplace, but applied in the right context they can inspire and illustrate how to get things done as a team. Here are eight areas where linking the worlds of sports and project management might help your next project.

The number of articles that explain why something doesn’t work--or is wrong, or isn’t working the way it should--is staggering. It's time to take a different approach by focusing on what actually does work. Join us for a look at consciously seeking the positive, a rare but perhaps necessary practice.

Why do PMOs have such a high failure rate? It's time to take a look at the top 10 PMO worst practices--and advice on how to avoid them.

Many people still do not understand the Standard and the differences between its implementation tools. What are the differences between the OPM3 Standard, OPM3 Online and OPM3 ProductSuite? The answers await inside...

Instead of measuring quality, Agile enterprises commit to it by investing in integration and testing, developing a common language around quality, and nurturing motivated, disciplined teams. Ultimately, quality reigns when organizations value it as much as profitability and protect the agile processes that support it.

It will almost always cost more to fix a requirements problem during the execution phase than if the same problem was discovered in the planning phase. And the root cause of these problems is usually people-oriented. Here are four key best practices for writing better project requirements.

Green is beautiful, and it is certainly the color of IT looking into the future. There is a challenge, however, to coordinating the environmental shade of green with the financial one. Here are some thoughts and ideas for greening up your IT initiatives while holding on to the green stuff that pays the bills.

Project managers usually tend to focus on the methodology for executing the technical part of the project. However, a good understanding of a practical SOA landscape and its associated challenges can help a technical PM make the SOA adoption on technology projects run even smoother.

Beyond obtaining more certifications, project managers should take the processes, tools and techniques learned in a certification project and focus on putting them into practice. Training and education is great, but it’s not until you apply the knowledge that you’ll benefit from the hours studying to pass an exam. Here are are just a few ideas on how you can apply your certifications.

Many, if not most, projects rely on outside suppliers — vendors, contractors, consultants — for critical activities and expertise. But these partnerships can do more harm than good if ground rules aren’t established and respeected throught the project. Here are seven factors for working successfully with your project’s external participants.

Process improvement initiatives require leadership, clear requirements, and teams specifically focused on implementation and training. In the fourth of a six-part series on enterprise best practices led by PMOs, here are some recommendations for pursuing process maturity.

Even if you're able to stay within budget and complete your project on time, the key is keeping things in balance. Certain tools can only get you so far. The difference can be the human factor.

Do PMOs have value? Arguably, yes. At least...sometimes. According to the results of recent research, the presence of a PMO was often a contributor to the attainment of organizational value. What was of particular concern, however, was the actual role of the PMO within the organization. Two broad types emerged within the research; find out what they are inside...