Work Management and PM2.0: What's All the Hubub?
 A recent blog post by Geoff Crane, the PaperCutPM, has created some discussion around the office. In his post Garbage in, Garbage Out. Haven't We Learned That Yet?, he shares his view regarding PM2.0. His comments were interesting enough that I thought I would weigh in on one or two of them myself. His blog post is an interesting read, which I am happy to recommend. Although I don't know if I agree that the next generation of project management software will be a non-event, I do agree that without a proper framework for project management tools to operate within, PM2.0 will fall short.I hope he won't mind if I borrow his format:
 "Regarding this very naive notion that software can somehow replace leadership, experience and knowledge, and that team members will play nicely together by default, collectively united towards a common goal? To that I say, 'nonsense,'" says Crane. I must agree. There may be companies who look to software as the silver bullet that will solve all their problems, but like Geoff, I think that is a pretty naive view. Will an organization doing project based work benefit from the tools available today? Absolutely. However, you wouldn't put a nail-gun on the shop table and expect it to build the furniture itself, would you? |
Posted on: March 29, 2010 09:59 AM
| Permalink |
Comments (1)
Informed Work Management Decisions Require Trustworthy Data
 Is your project data always trustworthy?If you answered no, you're not alone. That being said, most project managers I know are dedicated and motivated individuals who work very hard to make sure the information that gets pushed up to their executives is accurate and up to date. In fact, I know of PMs who make the rounds every week asking, cajoling, begging, and imploring individual team members to update task status—and yet, they can still identify inaccuracies in the information collected. If some data associated with project based work is questionable, is there a way to improve the overall trustworthiness of the data used for decision-making? I believe that there is. I also believe project management software can provide the solution—provided software vendors are willing to reconsider how they approach the work management process. Were you aware that next to accounting software, project management software is the second oldest software product? It's been around for a very long time and has evolved into a sophisticated mix of capacity planning, resource management, and milestone tracking—creating project software so complicated that the average team member can't understand it, let alone use it. Hence the need for begging and cajoling. On the other end of the spectrum, easy-to-use collaboration tools that might be accepted by team members don't provide the robust business intelligence tools needed by executives to make informed business decisions. Capturing the critical data that leads to smart decision-making requires that individual team members are engaged in the process with something that doesn't force them to jump through hoops or navigate a complicated maze of procedures. In fact, the more difficult it is for individual contributors, the less business leaders will be able to trust the information. However the same team members who struggle with updating task status in their company's project software will gladly update their accomplishments in Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter. Giving individual team members an easy-to-use way to update their accomplishments and capture status will give project managers and executives confidence that the information they are looking at is accurate and up to date. What are you doing to keep your project data accurate and up to date? |
Posted on: March 26, 2010 11:39 AM
| Permalink |
Comments (1)
Successful Work Management: Strategic Execution and the Power Sweep
 In my dad's mind there was only one football team: the Green Bay Packers, one quarterback: Bart Starr, and one coach: Vince Lombardi. There was nothing fancy about the way Lombardi's Packers played football. They relied on a play called the Power Sweep to power their way to five NFL championships during the nine years Lombardi was head coach. In the Power Sweep (which was later called the Lombardi Sweep) both guards pulled to the outside and blocked down-field while the halfback would "run to daylight"—or in other words, to wherever the opposing team wasn't. Let's just say it wasn't glamorous, it wasn't glitzy, but it worked. It helped the Packers dominate the NFL from 1959-1967.  Executing the play well required everyone on the field to work together for the same strategic objective. "It's my number one play because it requires all eleven men to play as one to make it succeed," said Lombardi, "and that's what 'team' means."Successful work management requires the same kind of teamwork and focus on strategy. A strategic approach that not only addresses how project based work is done, but also which projects get done is the project management Power Sweep. In other words, it's about doing the right projects, not just doing projects right. Lombardi focused on a few very effective plays, like the Sweep, to lead his team. Answering these four simple questions for every project—and ensuring that every member of the team, from stakeholder to individual contributor, understands how their efforts contribute to achieving strategic execution—puts you well on your way to creating your own Power Sweep:
Thanks for reading, Ty Kiisel www.attask.com |
Posted on: March 25, 2010 09:48 AM
| Permalink |
Comments (1)
Work Management for Executives, Project Managers, and Teams
 I have always been fascinated by the manned-space program. As a boy, John Glen and the Mercury Astronauts were my heroes. I vividly remember the night Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the moon and took "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." What's more, NASA did all this with technology that was significantly less sophisticated than the calculators my kids used in high school. In that regard, maybe we can learn something from the boys at NASA. If you break down what organizations really need to successfully execute project based work, the list is relatively short:
|
Posted on: March 24, 2010 11:37 AM
| Permalink |
Comments (2)
Danger! Danger! The Warning Signs of a Failing Project
 As a kid I loved the Lost in Space TV series. The story, an adaptation of the Swiss Family Robinson, features a 1997 version of the Robinson family on a mission to colonize a planet near the star, Alpha Centaruri. Selected from among two million volunteers for the mission, the Robinsons, their pilot, and their B-9 environmental robot crash land on an unnamed planet after sabotage disables their spacecraft, the Jupiter 2.The youngest member of the crew, 9-year old Will Robinson, and the robot become companions and playmates on the planet. Warning Will and the Robinsons of impending danger, the robot's cry of "Danger! Danger!" usually meant something exciting was about to happen. Although most projects don't have a B-9 robot, there are warning signs that identify a troubled project early enough to do something about it. The earliest signs that a project is in trouble are hard to measure objectively, but are relatively easy to spot, if you're watching:
How do you spot struggling projects early—when there's still time to take action? |
Posted on: March 23, 2010 11:28 AM
| Permalink |
Comments (1)
