Project Management

Project Management 2.0

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New technologies, concepts, and Web 2.0 tools are popping up everywhere. How can you use them to help your project team collaborate, communicate - or just give your project an extra boost? [Contact Dave]

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Simple, Small Biz PPM...

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Situation: You Need to Manage a Portfolio of Projects Within a Small Business.

OPM Creator is a very simple, clean web-based package aimed at smaller businesses who not only need to manage multiple projects, but could use a little help with knowledge management as well.  I really like packages that give you an easy, structured way to capture emails related to projects.  Many high-end packages don't really help in that regard and often even hamper the capture of the real "lessons learned" that resides in everyone's email. 

Here's a partial list of features from the site...



Add your projects and tasks and assign the users who need to access them.
Your users can then log in and access their projects online, communicate with other project users, share files, discuss issues and track progress keeping all project information in once central secure area.  Users can only view the projects you add them too.

Unique login page
OPM Creator includes your own unique login page, you can easily add your own logo, change the system colours and add a welcome message branding the system to your own corporate identity, impressing your clients and keeping your business one step ahead of the competition.

Hot home page
The hub of your OPM Creator system, once logged in you are taken to your home page, clearly showing the most active projects and any projects waiting for feedback, one click will take you directly to any project you are authorized to view.

Project main page
All projects include a main project page with full project dates and details, the system administrators can also add custom fields to suit their own projects if required.
Create a project from scratch, duplicate an existing project or create template projects and duplicate them to save time.

Document management
Each project includes a files section where project users can upload/download and view all project related files online; files can be any format with many files opening in a web browser for easy access.  Files are stored in fully customisable folder structures these can be quickly created with multiple folders and subfolders on a project-by-project basis.  Folders can also be hidden from certain users, useful if you invite your clients into projects and only need them to see specific project files.  File approval is also included allowing users to comment or approve files added to the system.  All files added are date stamped for version control and automatic email notification informs users that new files have been added.  The use of OPM Creator eliminates the need to email large file attachments to multiple team members, the file is available online at any time in one central secure area.

Task management
Create and assign tasks to project users, tasks are then displayed in a dedicated MyTasks page for each user for quick and easy access.  As users work on tasks they can then keep them updated recording hours/days spend and percentage complete.  All task activity is stored online for future reference
Gannt chart
Tasks are graphically displayed on project gannt charts linked directly back to each task, this feature allows for a quick simple view of overall project progress.

Project emails
Project communications are simplified using the built in project email facility, users can send emails to all or selected project users online via the project.  Emails are physically sent to the recipients inbox but are also stored in the project details for future reference, this feature is useful for tracking project communications and helps to keep all team members fully informed at all times.


Project discussion
Project based discussions allow users to share ideas and conduct discussions.
Use the project forum to brainstorm new ideas, ask other users of your projects to help solve problems. encourage feedback and involvement from your staff, customers and suppliers.
Topics and replies are displayed as hierarchical "threads" that make reading and responding easy.

calender
Calendar
Keep track of personal meetings, group meetings, project and task start and end dates using our built in calendar. New calendar alerts can be quickly shared with project teams or as personal reminders of events and meetings. With a weekly or monthly viewing format you can also filter results to show all or selected project information.

Automatic notifications
Automatic emails can be sent out to project users whenever the project is updated; all automatic emails are fully customisable by yourself and can be fully branded with your company logo. The notification emails include a hyperlink to enable users to directly login to your OPMcreator system to view the changes to their project.
The use of automatic notification emails speeds up communication and ensures all project users are fully aware of project progress instantly as it happens.
Reporting
The reports section offers the ability to print or export simple summary or detailed project and task reports.

Project feedback
Request feedback from your clients and project users, once complete OPM Creator sends automatic emails requesting feedback if required, feedback questions are fully customisable and all feedback received is stored in the administration area for future analysis.  Request feedback on a project-by-project basis and you can set a minimum number of required responses before the project is automatically archived.
Posted on: June 23, 2007 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another Way to Find WIFI Hotspots

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Situation: You're in an Unfamiliar Place and Need a WIFI Connection.

WEFI is an interesting new service that delivers maps of available WIFI hotspots to those of us who currenlty rely on Starbucks connections or walking around strange places carrying a laptop with one hand and refreshing our network list with the other.

Here's what they do (in their words)
"WeFi is a community linked together by wireless access and content. WeFi helps you find the best available wireless connection with an emphasis on free WiFi. You can find Wifi access spots on the map, add your own spots, and see where your friends are, close to you or worldwide. "

I just like it as a time-saving reference. 
Posted on: June 19, 2007 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Write Really Effective Email Messages...

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Situation: You Need To Hone Your Email Skills a Bit.

Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and HomeI just finished SEND, the Essential Guide to Email for the Office and Home.  It's a great little book that reveiws email fundamentals and delivers a few interesting facts that not everyone knows.

In terms of fundamentals, the authors turn the word SEND into an acronym describing what you should consider before hitting that "send" button.

S stands for Simple
E stands for Effective
N stands for Necessary
D stands for Done.

This makes for a nice, easy to remember checklist to follow anytime you send a message out.

Here's a couple other interesting tips that not everyone is aware of.

- If you are switching email addresses, change your "return address" in your email client to your new address for while before you  actually cut over.  That way replies all go to your new address and the transition will happen more smoothly.

- Replies from handheld devices, like blackberrys usually carry a small "e" in the "Re:", versus the capital "E" in "RE:" that you see in replies made from Outlook or other desktop clients.  This is just one more clue that the reply is from a mobile device and perhaps you should be a little more tolerant of its contents.

There's quite a bit more advice in the book - which makes it a great gift for the email-challenged co-worker in your life.  Since that covers most of the people on the planet, I think I smell a best-seller!
Posted on: June 16, 2007 12:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Keeping Track of Disappearing Team Members

Categories: Time Killers

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Situation: You Haven't Exposed Yourself to Any Good Law Suits Lately...

TrackstickI mostly just thought this was a cool device.  The Trackstick lets you track to location of anything you stick it to via the web.   Perhaps its more useful for your kid's backpack, but I guess it depends on your management style.
Posted on: June 16, 2007 12:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

3 Steps to Getting More Out Of GEN Y Staff...

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Situation: You Need a Better Approach to Managing the 20-somethings on your Team.

"Manage" us? Puh-leeze ...The front page story in the May 28th issue of Fortune makes GEN Y-ers seem like the most difficult people in the world - but the article itself also declares them to be the most (potentially) productive.  Their high expectations of you as an employer and just what they expect out of life in general can absolutely work in your favor.  It's just a matter of knowing how to deal with them.  

So how do you attract, retain, and develop GEN Y employees?

The folks at Fortune suggest you:

Attract them by making recruiting efforts more social and less stodgy, while showing them that working at your company fits well with their socially responsible lifestyle.  So more cocktail parties, less powerpoint - maybe give the $ you would have spent on logo swag to charity.

Retain them by making the job a more pervasive part of their life through the use of technology, while still giving them flexibility and time for personal achievements outside of work.  It's more about helping them get the results you want, versus seeing them put in the hours.

Develop them by mapping out a clear career path that they can follow.  Make it something they can see working with their personal goals long term.
Posted on: June 13, 2007 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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