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Convert PDFs to Word files -- pretty accurately
Situation: You need to pull content out of a PDF into MS Office. Just a quick posting about a useful tool. I think that many of us have had a PDF that we wish we could edit at one point or another. Here is a tool that will turn your PDF into a Word doc so that you can do what you want with it.I was surprised at how well this tool worked. I think you will be too. They also promise to: - never sell your email address - destroy the copy of the doc you upload immediately, without looking at it. |
Posted on: February 28, 2009 09:40 PM
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A PM Competency GAAP?
| Situation: You need a way to measure the competency of Project Managers – or your own. Recently, I was trying to answer a question from a member who needed a way to measure competencies of the PMs that reported to him. The first approach that came to mind was the PMI Project Manager Competency Framework. I happened to have the Second Edition (2007) on my bookshelf. I also remembered a serious and ongoing effort to create a sort of open Source competency framework, undertaken by the Global Alliance for Project Performance Standards. The latter is a free, somewhat simpler framework than the PMI version. I think that either is better than nothing. However, competency rating is such a tricky thing to start with – such measures should be viewed within the context of other performance measures in place. In other words, I wouldn’t consider them as a fair way to select a bottom 10% to lay off. These are better used as a way to identify potential areas of improvement so that people can work on “sharpening the saw”. Here are a few quick observations I made about the two approaches. Please feel free to comment or add your experiences with either. PMI Framework = Comprehensive, but Critical Measures May Be Soft As you might expect, the PMI framework is aligned with the PMBOK. I really like the more granular focus on personal abilities, but I also know these are likely the most difficult to accurately assess. GAAP Framework = Easier to Measure Metrics, No Skills Coverage The GAAP framework is a simpler structure and seems to focus more on ending projects well. All in all, I think that the GAAP approach focuses on the things that are easier to measure. I think that gives you a more accurate view of “what happened”. The PMI approach is more ambitious, covering those critical skills that truly great PMs need to be successful. For example, under professionalism there are performance criteria for “Demonstrates commitment to the project”. The Performance Criteria cover very important issues like “Understands and actively supports the project’s and organization’s mission and goals”. The types of evidence are examples of when the PM has taken positive steps toward meeting the criteria. This is a great way to gather proof points, but proof that you did good things doesn’t mean that there weren’t as many bad things done on your watch on that same project.
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Posted on: February 25, 2009 02:39 PM
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What's Next in Agile?
| Situation: You need a practical perspective on Agile approaches. Alan Shalloway is the founder and CEO of Net Objectives. With more than thirty-five years of experience, Alan is an   industry thought leader, trainer, and coach in the areas of lean software development, the lean-agile connection, Scrum, agile architecture and using design patterns in agile environments. He is a popular speaker at prestigious conferences worldwide. Alan is the primary author of Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design and is currently writing a book on Lean Anti-Patterns. He is also a frequent trainer and speaker for SQE Training.We recently got a few of his thoughts on the state of Agile and how its being applied. Q. We've been hearing a lot about SCRUM and Lean lately on Gantthead. Are you still seeing increased usage of Agile processes in the IT space? In other disciplines? A. Agile process continue to increase in both the IT space and in product development. All areas of software development are adopting it. Scrum has caught on in many areas because of its ability to solve certain problems regarding the development team reasonably easily. Lean is catching on because although it is easy to start with Scrum, dealing with the more involved challenges of spreading Agile beyond the team requires more than Scrum readily provides. Q. Which flavor of Agile is most popular right now and why? Are the flavors industry-specific? A. Scrum is definitely the most popular. It has jumped to the forefront for several reasons: 1) It has created a community of practitioners that are very vocal about its benefits and whom make a living from being certified by the Scrum Alliance 2) Merely forming Scrum teams in many IT organizations will result in increased team productivity because of the co-location and minimizing thrashing which results 3) It is a straightforward way to enable teams to adopt iterative development, which is inherently a more effective approach in most cases Unfortunately, Scrum is proving difficult to scale to the entire enterprise. Even at the team level, Scrum evangelists acknowledge Scrum fails about two-thirds of the time. The Scrum community has tried to expand its definition from its original objective to helping teams to trying to help the entire enterprise. This bottom-up approach is not effective. It is much better to start with an approach that is designed to optimize the entire enterprise and work down. Q. In general, where do you think the Agile movement is headed over the next 5 years? A. As Agile moves more from local teams to the entire enterprise, you will see Agile teams embracing Lean principles as the primary driver. This is what we call Lean-Agile: using Lean thinking to create a context for Agile principles and practices. We (Net Objectives and SQE) have already started this transition as our clients have been on the forefront of taking Agile methods throughout their organizations. Lean is based on principles that have a half-century history of success. Q. What is driving the change you've just described? A. While teams can solve the impediments they face at the team level with the "inspect and adapt" mandate of Scrum, the challenges in their way at the Enterprise level require the proven practices of Lean thinking. Lean is a thought process that can be used in any industry to speed up delivery while improving quality and achieving lower costs. Lean thinking is very consistent with the intent of Agile and Scrum. It therefore provides great insights into how to solve problems agile teams and organizations face. Q. The latest version of the PMBOK is said to address the merging of Agile methods and the PMBOK approach. What are your thoughts on that? A. Trying to merge XP and Scrum (the two most popular Agile methods) may prove difficult. Practitioners of XP and Scrum often have quite strong resistance to management and process, defending the local team at nearly all cost. To be successful, Lean thinking will be required as a starting point Lean thinking defines process as the agreement by an organization about how work is done; in addition, it expects processes to change as better ways of working are discovered. It affirms the value of both standard work and local knowledge. Process becomes the baseline for change. As long as PMBOK does not consider process to be static, PMBOK and Lean-Agile can be somewhat complimentary. Q. When approaching projects from an Agile perspective, what are the most important skills for a PM to have? A. Be focused on results not on following the process. The process should assist the team because it helps them get their job done. You cannot impose a process on a team. The PM is not a servant leader as many say in the Agile world. Rather, they are providing leadership to the team, improving the process which the team works while staying focused on having the team provide business value. Leadership, communication and coaching skills are essential for the effective PM. |
Posted on: February 05, 2009 04:48 PM
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Mapping Out A Change
| Situation: You think a change might be just what the doctor ordered... In hard times, industry experts always tell us to focus on process improvements with an eye toward cost reduct  ion and  competitive advantage. If you think about it, that approach makes a lot of sense in that it usually involves relatively small financial investments. It also lets you record some of the “know-how” that’s all pent up inside of your employees. It’s really one of the best ways you can “do more with less”. However, many companies that intend to revamp processes end up not doing it. Why is that?To find out what’s happening in the industry, I recently spoke with Mike Cunningham, CEO at Harvard Computing specializes in process improvement. They interact with large numbers of people and companies who are trying to improve in the same ways you are. We asked him a few questions related to the barriers he sees cropping up during these efforts and how people get past them. Q. If improving processes is always so high on many “industry pundit” lists, why don’t more than a small percentage of companies do anything about it year after year? A. A great question, the short answer is it is difficult. Resistance to change often predicates many change management programs. In general the larger the firm the better organized the resistance. To be honest, senior management has to take the responsibility, as they are the only ones who can really encourage and create change around processes. Look at the US domestic auto industry today. It is a model for how not to deal with process improvement over time. In contrast, the Japanese auto companies have embraced a philosophy of continuous change, resulting in a consistent culture of quality and change. They now lead the industry. For organizations who are not fainthearted, improving processes will be high on their list and they will commit to getting it done. Others will follow eventually, sometimes kicking and screaming. Q. These days, what are the most common ways that companies realize they need to change processes to improve results? What’s typically the trigger? (has that changed this past year?) A. The realization often comes from a combination of needs for improved efficiency, quality or governance. In years gone by, these initiatives were often viewed separately, but in the past two years processes are being looked at holistically, with the need for all three to be addressed. Cost cutting is obviously high on the list these days, whether by outsourcing or automating. The bottom line is understanding that all aspects of the new process have to be dealt with simultaneously. Today the main triggers in business operations are; • Cost and quality control which are bigger drivers in the large firms; • Growth and operational efficiency which tend to drive the faster growing smaller businesses. Q. How does one go about getting support for process change efforts within their organization? A. Rather like learning Project Management, we are certainly not born with the skills or frameworks to make this happen. However, they are out there. There are three things you need: 1. Support from Executive Management. This will be the channel to get goals and objectives set, budget approval and resources assigned. Get yourself a sponsor who wants you and the project to be successful. 2. A tried and true framework for running the process change project. Unless everyone is on the same page to achieve results, projects can go round in ever decreasing circles. 3. Focus on the process change that has enterprise benefits. Most of the big dollars are not in small improvement in departments or silos, but cross functional improvements that dramatically alter the characteristics of the business operations. This is why many organizations focus on ERP, CRM and enterprise communications activities. Q. Meaningful process improvements often involve significant changes in the way people work. What are the top three keys to creating change that works for everyone involved? A. 1. Focus on the goals or results that the organization needs to achieve. It is often difficult to separate the “current state” from the individuals involved. By keeping the center of attention on how to achieve new goals, will help depersonalize the project and make it easier for everyone to concentrate on the common good desired from the project. 2. Ensure you have all the right people involved at the various stages of the program. This will include line management, subject matter experts, IT, QA and other business analysts and project managers affected by the areas of change. It’s a lot easier to change things with the right people in the room, and much more difficult if they are excluded from the process. 3. Document the existing process. Many want to side step this activity. Sometimes for good reasons like: a. We know our existing process isn’t that good, so let’s just document what we want the new one to be b. Why not focus on best practices and then adapt them to our needs While these are valid reasons not to dwell on existing processes, it also causes the project to not have a good set of business rules and requirements. A recent study from IAG Consulting shows a shocking 68% failure rate amongst certain IT projects, primarily due to poor discovery practices. Q. Once you’ve begun a process improvement effort, what are the barriers to seeing that effort through? A. A few pointers can help avoid a heap of trouble. 1. Looking out for trouble and change. Every process change project is by its nature a moving target. Usually looking for areas where automation, reduced timeframes, increased throughput require monitoring how the new process(es) work together. Inevitably, things will change, so be on the lookout for opportunities that will assist or slow down the project. 2. Communicate. Communicate, Communicate. If you are the lead on the change management project, do not assume that everyone is up to speed. Continuous effective communication will keep your team on the same page, and make it easier to avoid those “I didn’t realize we were going to do that” moments. If the organizations’ communications standards are not as rigorous as you need, rather over communicate with the team. Use multiple channels to ensure the message and details from each stage are understood by everyone. 3. Educate the team in key areas of change. If you are looking to change something in the process that involves new practices or procedures the team will not be familiar with, then educate them first, before you try and force-feed the change. e.g. ITIL Best Practices for Service Management, self-service applications, web 2.0 developments … Q. What’s different about the ways that you work with your clients? (what are you particularly mindful of or focused on) A. In the past 5 years, there has been a huge change in the way we work with clients. The biggest change is having clients do much of the process change work themselves. This has meant building products that allow the clients to document their own processes and only employing change management and project consultants for the real valuable part-. Facilitating the change in their organization. In today’s economic climate, organizations are trying to take the mystery out of process-based technology so they can control their own processes directly. They also want to do this at the lowest possible cost to their organization. Our focus has been to create simple to use products that integrate with desktop and web technologies. The TaskMap product line has been very successful in that regard, and we will be furthering the accessibility goal with a new version of the product called TaskMap Lite that is royalty free and has a 10-minute learning curve this month. The product will be released on a Microsoft CD in early February. Gantthead community members can get an exclusive preview of this at http://www.taskmap.com/TaskMapLite.html Our clients are voracious about demanding simple to use technology for their projects they can deploy quickly. I think the same will happen in the Project Management market over time. |
Posted on: January 21, 2009 02:46 PM
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Top 10 PM Trends for 2009
| Situation: You like top ten lists that are, well... not so funny. ESI International just released a list of Top 10 Management Trends for 2009. Their most experienced consultants and  Senior Management say these trends point to organizational need for expertise while coping with tighter budgets, fewer financial and human resources, and change. Do you believe that this is where your should focus in 2009 to drive project and organizational success? I put a few notes in here myself in italics. I also put a red star next to those that I think will be particularly important this year. The Sandwich Generation: Middle Managers’ Emerging Role in Change* Seventy-five percent of all change management programs fail because of a lack of employee support. Today’s economy will force organizations to confront the important roles middle managers play in the success of change efforts. Middle managers’ roles will shift from simple messenger of directives ‘from above’ to creating a positive environment to enable change, accountability and ownership of change initiatives, achieving the full benefits of change and ensuring return on investment. Note from Dave: I think the need for middle managers to sell change has always been there. The thing that will make a real difference is whether they get to participate more in defining the change up front - so that they actually believe in what they are selling.
Navigating Virtual Teams through Change* As budgets tighten, the role of virtual teams will grow along with the demand for the skill sets to manage them, especially through change. Powerful communication, key management strategies and new rules of engagement will be required to manage virtual teams as organizations seek to effectively shift with the turbulent global economy. Note from Dave: This is most certainly true. Although I hear a lot of chatter about local staff moving back into the office as things tighten up, outsourcing and nearsourcing are still very hot. Sharper Distinctions Between Project and Program Management Many global organizations have managed programs with the same methods used to manage projects, with predictably disappointing results. Programs are not merely “bigger” projects, and program managers aren’t simply professionals who are one step up on the organizational ladder. This year will see an increase in the understanding of the cardinal differences between projects and programs and the utilization of strategies to boost program managers’ effectiveness and increase program success. Note from Dave: Ganttheads know the difference. PMI and PgMPs know the difference. I'm not sure that the world does or if they care. They care about portfolio issues and getting the right things done, certainly - but I still think that it may feel like semantics to many executives.
Leveraging Communities of Practice To Hone Skills The number and importance of project management communities of practice will increase significantly in 2009. These informal communities will be highly prized for the lack of bureaucracy that increase the sharing and use of best practices, enabling increased dialogue to overcome challenges and growing future leaders. Note from Dave: Always on the annual wish list.
Strategic Selling of the Project Management Office Although the project management office has gained wide acceptance, it still needs buy-in at the senior executive level. 2009 will see an increase in the importance of quantifying the PMO’s value and how to present that data to the CFO to ensure funding in what promises to be highly competitive arena for organizational resources. Note from Dave: Feels like this has been true for a while.
Back to Basics for Successful Project Portfolio Management More than any year in recent history, 2009 will be a critical year for ensuring project success. Project managers will increase their emphasis on the basics, taking a first-things-first approach and address fundamentals such as gaining and sustaining executive commitment, addressing gaps in the alignment of organizational strategy and projects, project selection, and efficient measurement process while leveraging existing resources to increase project success. Note from Dave: The successful ones always do this.
Right-sizing Staff with Demand Driven Resource Management* The adoption of Demand Driven Resource Management will increase significantly in 2009. Its ability to right-size internal staff and draw on outside contractors when demand requires will be viewed as an essential cost containment approach leading to greater organizational performance and efficiency. Note from Dave: It's a good time to lay off people on the margins and be cautious about hiring FT employees.
Improved Requirements Metrics* The economic need to accurately assess and evaluate the organizational and cost impact of project requirements will bring a greater role for requirements management and development. Also known as business analysis, RMD’s ability to provide quality metrics that project and portfolio managers can use to assess the economic, performance and feasibility value of each project component will become essential to organizations successfully maximizing the ROI of their projects. Note from Dave: Accuracy has always been the goal. Demonstrable cost savings is pretty much the only valid justification for new projects in most organizations right now. Realistically the metrics merely have to look solid and compelling to sell. The real guarantee is the fact that you stake your reputation and/or job on the outcome.
People Will Come Before Technology* Organizations will increase their demands for smart third-party guidance that ensures technology investments deliver enhanced performance. This will result in greater recognition of the critical role people play, leading to increased recognition that employees need the right skills and knowledge before applying processes for consistency and adding technology to deliver increased efficiencies. Note from Dave: Careful hiring and assignment is definitely the rule right now because results = job security.
Risk Management for Governance * In 2009, many organizations will say goodbye to the ‘one number’ method for project outcomes and embrace a quantifiable range of potential results on which to base decisions. Recognizing that best governance hinges on the availability of quality information at the project level, education and leadership in risk management and best practices permeate organizations wanting to optimize project forecasting to deliver more effective governance. Note from Dave: More people are finding more ways to cover their butts if things so wrong.
“While these trends are about doing more with less, they all speak to the concept of less is more,” said J. LeRoy Ward, PMP, PgMP, Executive Vice President, ESI International. “In 2009, more than any time in recent history, empowering people with the right skills, knowledge and tools to pick the right projects, ensure support for change and effectively track progress for smart governance will be key to project success – saving time and money while driving organizational success.” |
Posted on: January 19, 2009 12:34 PM
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