Create a PM SHOW - and Put it on the Web
| Situation: You Need A Very Functional, Free Presentation Tool I've posted in the past about a number of different online presentation tools that compete with PowerPoint using a basic functionality/ease of use approach. None have the power of PowerPoint, but many offer the basics at low or no cost. ZOHO Show is part of a larger suite of online office tools that does a great job with the basic features that are 95% of what most users need. The latest version comes with the themes, shapes, fancy bullets, and clip art features that are basic to PowerPoint. It also comes with tag and widget functionality that are very web 2.0 and go beyond what a desktop app can offer. This means that you can create your presentation in ZOHO Show, then post it to your internal blog or any web page where the information might be useful to others (see below). this is incredibly simple to do by cutting and pasting aline of code, similar to the way you would post a youtube video. If you are a consultant pushing your services, you can show prospects what you know in ZOHO's public presentations section or even sew them into your facebook page. So there you have it, ZOHO Show is a pretty good way to create and share presentations online. |
Posted on: December 12, 2007 03:30 PM
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A Management Wikipedia?
Situation: You Need Another Source of "White Paper Insights" Insightory is relatively interesting to me, as it's effectively a web-based resource of best practices - which is what gantthead provides to a large degree. TechCrunch said this site wants to be a "Management Wikipedia", but they mean it more in the spirit of " the place to go for management knowledge. It's less of a web 2.0 site than it is a place to upload white papers.In any case, there are some good papers on the site that would be interesting to ganttheads - with topics like knowledge management or ITIL. There's only one PM white paper there so far and its a PMI conference piece. (I'm not sure how they got around the copyright on that one - because PMI is pretty tough about that.) Take a look - judge for yourself... |
Posted on: December 03, 2007 05:29 PM
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A Poor Man's iPhone (desktop only)
Situation: Skype Just Isn't Cool Enough For You... Developers are starting to do some cool things with Ribbit (which helps developers create phone applications for the web) - this desktop version of an iPhone is one them. It's one of those "hey look at this" conversation pieces reserved for those on the very bleeding edge of poor time management. |
Posted on: December 03, 2007 04:30 PM
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Not Your Kid's Wii... WE+
Situation: Your Small Team Wants to Try Web 2.0 PM for Free. Yooplus is a small venture-backed company that recently came out with We+, a web 2.0 collaborative workspace that provides your team with a broad range of collaborative tools --- at no charge. This free version is great if your project is doesnt involve trade secrets or any information your company holds dear. Its also a great way to get your feet wet with this stuff (project blogs, wikis, tags, rss feeds, etc.). If later, you want a more secure, more robust environment with more storage space, you can upgrade for a fee.From my perspective, the trick with these types of tools lies in getting people to use them effectively. Sometimes its having the right leadership in place, other times its just having a team that is open to these new ways of working together. In either case, this is a good way of seeing whether you can make it work without paying. The free version includes: 10mbs online storage support, unlimited users, unlimited projects and FAQ/online support. The upgraded/paid version includes - 10GB storage, email and phone support, configuration and training support, database and file encryption, daily backup, on-demand retrieval, SLA, SSL security, API and web service integration and support.(50 Euros/mo) |
Posted on: December 03, 2007 12:20 PM
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Want a Provider to Really "Own" Your PPM Solution?
Situation: You Need a High-End, Soup to Nuts PPM Solution Mercury was always an impressive PPM solution. Since the HP acquisition, they've combined this robust software solution with an equally robust set of services. It's now called, the HP Demand and Portfolio Management solution. The goal is to provide everything you need, top to bottom, to get your (typically large) organization's PM and PPM operations on track. What the HP folks describe in the interview below goes far beyond a tool, or even a tool + process implementation. My guess is that it's not cheap, but if you're a part of a company where money is not a problem, but positive results are - take a close look at this...The answers below were a joint effort between:
Q. Your Demand and Portfolio Management Solution adds a service component to your offering – effectively creating a one-stop shop. That makes procurement easier and consolidates responsibility for potential clients. How does it impact their cost? Are there still other services options (partners/VARs) that prospective clients can turn to achieve the same results?
A. HP’s Demand and Portfolio Management solution does include the necessary software and services that customer could purchase to quickly get started. However, we have a wide array of partners who offer additional value to meet evolving customer requirements. From a cost perspective, companies can save money through improved project identification and prioritization of IT projects that are forecasted to actually deliver value that meets to overall business goals. For a large enterprise to address the key challenges of demand management, portfolio management, and project management across the IT organization, it typically needs a value-based solution that includes effective processes, IT governance and program management structures, software integration, and skills development. Companies can choose to implement the solution in a phased or modular approach that also maps to their organizational maturity.
___ Q. Your stated goals around project success and alignment are the “holy grail” of project management – promised by all and delivered by few. What are you offering that’s truly different from a product perspective? And from a consulting services perspective?
A. What is different is we are combining our industry-leading HP PPM Center software products that have already delivered business value to over 800 customers though automation with new consulting services and education services that can better address the people and process challenges around demand and portfolio management. The product is designed to help drive and sustain adoption by executive management as well as end-users – two critical constituents to ensure ongoing adoption and success. We believe such focus – what we call a top-down – bottom-up approach results in the greatest adoption levels. Additionally, role-based dashboards keep all stakeholders apprised of project and portfolio status in real-time. A zero-based client interface (100% web for all modules) enables end users to update their projects anywhere. Strong support for Microsoft project also gives our customers the flexibility to use HP PPM Center software for project management as well as Microsoft project.
HP consulting services can design and implement the right processes and IT governance programs for sustainable demand, project, portfolio, and resource management so IT can continue to optimize resources and projects to meet the needs of the business. HP Education services can target building the skill sets of project managers and business analysts who have to make decisions using the information from the software.
___ Q. Tell me more about the “Awareness Workshops” that are part of your solution. What are the real goals of each workshop? Who participates? What is involved?
A. HP has 2 workshops to generate awareness on areas specific to the HP Demand and Portfolio Management solution offering, including addressing larger service management challenges:
1. Project Management race to results simulation - http://h10076.www1.hp.com/education/race-to-results.htm. The Goal is to generate awareness within the IT and business organizations about the value of project management, portfolio management.
2. Service Management Transformation Experience - Unique, slide-free workshop with IT and business teams to realize the scope, scale and all critical success factors for IT transformation. The goal is to help organizations with stakeholder buy-in and make informed strategy decisions. The workshop can be used to demonstrate how demand and portfolio management can help an organization. Specific components such as IT governance or portfolio management are highlighted as critical elements of any IT transformation effort, including the relationship between IT strategy and other IT domains such as operations.
___ Q. Recent conventional wisdom now focuses on project definition and environmental changes during the course of a project as the major causes of project failure. Is there something special that your solution does to address these issues?
A. Specifically, the Business Analysis and Project Management services from HP are targeted at skill development in the areas of requirement definition and ongoing project management excellence. http://h10076.www1.hp.com/education/pm.htm
Additionally, HP’s Project and Portfolio Management software is designed to give executives the visibility and control to optimize and mange the entire IT portfolio. Core to this is helping executives and project managers gain real-time visibility into the total demand being asked of IT, and then visibility into total resource pools so they can see how they can best meet this demand. Workflows that enforce standard project methodologies and process controls are essential for compliance so that the data that gets entered in my managers can be seen as accurate. This data then is rolled up to the portfolio and used by IT managers and executives to make informed choices as unplanned changes inevitably arise and force trade-offs. We believe that by capturing and aggregating all demand and then giving executives the tools to optimize the portfolio, decision-making will better reflect reality – and thus keep projects on track.
___ Q. What is the most important part of the Cultural Change Management part of your solution and Why? Is the approach to train insiders as change agents or to have your people serve in that capacity?
A. With every IT transformation project there is the need to manage change – at many levels. With the Demand and Portfolio Management solution, we support how change will impact management of resources such as IT staff, project managers, PMO teams, etc. It is important to help people understand the changes in their day-to-day work and the value they bring to the overall organization. This is important whether the change introduced is a new process or the introduction of new software. Since every organization's dynamics are different, HP's approach is flexible, providing change agents with the tools and expertise they need to lead the change program through to successful end user adoption.
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Posted on: October 05, 2007 10:46 PM
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