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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Check Out The Niche Stuff Before Deciding...

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Situation: Your need PM Software for some unusual project challenges 

Most of us looking for project management software limit our range of choices to the big names.  Whether or not we end up choosing a big name or highly specialized package, its a good idea to look at the niche offerings.  They may not end up being what you need, or integrate well with your other efforts - but giving them a look will likely refine your thinking about your unique needs.

For example, consider RoboHead marketing project management software (think highly repeatable best practices, short and simple projects).  These guys could care less about gantt charts, dependencies, etc.  Workflow, document management, integrated reviews REALLY matter a lot in this context.  Once you've taken the tour here, it makes you look at MS Project in a whole different light. 

ATC Professional project management software is incredibly specific - designed for dealing with industrial plant projects.  These projects are non-stop, complex efforts that require very detailed tracking not only of progress, but effort and compliance with government regulations. 

This may sound like a simple thing, but many people never think of Googling "[project type] + Project Management".  That's likely to be your best first step on the road to understand what your specific needs are.

Posted on: January 17, 2007 09:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow - Outlook Integration with MS Project 2007!

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Situation: You want to get a lot more out of MS Project with less effort

A few weeks ago, the MS Project folks gave our team a briefing on the 2007 version that is now a part of MS Office.  There were a lot of terrific improvements.  I'll touch on the EPM (UMT) components later, but the most important thing that they've done (IMHO) is integrating Project with Outlook.  There's also a timesheet component that's worth considering as part of the whole Outlook-centered world Microsoft has created for you.

What if...
- your project team interacted with you directly from Outlook, where they live every day?
- small project leads werent forced to use full blown MS Project, when they just want to work with a list of tasks?

I think you end up with better data, less administrative overhead, and tools that fit what you  really need.

The graphic below  shows you how an MS Project Web Access task looks within Outlook 2007. 



When you import tasks from Project to Outlook:
- the project name is automatically imported as the category
- like with other Outlook functions, you can work off line and sync tasks later
- time is recorded if you use the included timesheet app

People work in Outlook every day - that's just a fact of life.  The "Outlook Today"  approach was a nice step forward, but it was a half-step.  I think this is a HUGE leap forward.

Here are some additional resources if you want to find out more:
- MSDN Blogs, Project Server/Outlook  Integration
- Tasks and Time Management in Outlook Part 1
- Tasks and Time Management in Outlook Part 2

Posted on: January 10, 2007 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

One, Two, Cha, Cha, Cha...

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Situation: You can't find it on Google and want someone to join the search party

ChaCha Search - People Powered SearchThere are some interesting spins on search out there.  ChaCha is particularly interesting if you run into a roadblock and can't find what you're searching for.  Somehow (I'm guessing through the magic of overseas labor) they can afford to assign each searcher a "guide" who does the searching for you while communicating with you via IM.

I asked her, the question I"ve asked a thousand people over the years - "How many project managers are there in the world?"  I know that's a tough one.  Gantthead's over 285,000 members now, www.projectsatwork.com is nearly 70K strong and the two audiences barely overlap.  I also know there are 20 million MS Project licenses out there.  What my guide came up with is # of PMI members, which is typical - but at least she got that far.  In any case, its just one more thing worth trying if you "still haven't found what you're looking for".

Status: Connected to guide: MonicaC
MonicaC: Welcome to ChaCha!
MonicaC: Hi
You: hi
You: I'm trying to find out how many project managers there are inthe world.
MonicaC: let me see what I can find
You: thank you
MonicaC: I don't know know If will be able find the precise infomation...
MonicaC: but I can give you Project management association site and you might be able to enrollment stats at those sites
MonicaC: the first site I sent has a link to a pdf file
MonicaC: the last fact sheet is for november 2006
MonicaC: that site states 222,734 were enrolled worldwide at the time
MonicaC: checking for other sitesa
MonicaC: those are the only association I have been able to find
MonicaC: Are these results sufficient?
You: thank you
MonicaC: You're have a great day
MonicaC: you're welcome *
MonicaC: Please RATE ME. Thanks for using ChaCha.
Posted on: January 09, 2007 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Back It On Up

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Situation: You need an easy personal backup solution...

Our lead article today by Michael Wood, SafeGuarding Offline Data , made me think about a service that I tried out a few weeks ago, called Carbonite.  For those of us who have no network or portable back up solutions that work well, this is worth a try.  If you'd like to read a review of Carbonite - Michael Arrington does a pretty complete one.  For some interesting thoughts on the future of online data storage, Jeremiah Owyang's blog is worth a look.
Posted on: January 07, 2007 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Memory Maker

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Situation: Your Team Needs To Quickly Master a New Organizational Language...

Let's say your organization or project involves alot of acronyms - Or maybe there are just a few key themes that you want everyone to remember.  The Crossword Compiler gives you a quick way to help people remember those forgettable terms.  The idea is that you give it a list of words and it generates a complete crossword puzzle.  You don't lift a finger after providing the words, but it looks like someone put a lot of effort into the exercise.
Posted on: December 30, 2006 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
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