If projects were always predicable we wouldn’t need project managers. We’d just authorize the project based on what estimators had determined and then on the expected finish date, we’d pick up the completed project with the actual costs exactly meeting the projected costs. Sadly, that’s not the case. The work of project managers is so important because life is so unpredictable. In the face of almost everything challenging in our world, we have come to…
Many of us have heard of the concept of a Project Maturity Model but what about our systems? This article extends the concept originally created by Carnegie Mellon to the Project Management Systems Maturity Model. Should you deploy all aspects of your project management system on the first day? Probably not.
The most common practices of purchasing enterprise solution software are often the least effective. This article talks about how to avoid the pitfalls of commodity purchasing when selecting enterprise systems and how to create a purchasing RFP that has the best chance of solving your business problems.
This article was what kicked off the Microsoft TechNet “From the Trenches” column which I still write for. It addresses a key question: When deploying an EPM system should you a) make a big bang type of approach to release all designed EPM functionality at once or b) go with a more phased approach. And, if so, why?
Microsoft maintains a column that I write on TechNet called “From the Trenches. My latest column there is entitled “Creating an EPM Deployment Plan” and discusses the elements of an EPM Deployment that are not just technical. From getting management on board with the original decision making requirements to ensuring that the solution solves the problem it was purchased for, this article opens the door to the many things that need to be considered in deploying an EPM solution.
All too often project managers working on an EPM deployment get enthralled by their ability to do something and forget to ask “Should I do it?”.
I was working with a large Canadian company recently, helping with their enterprise project management processes. As part of my work, I got to watch while a project control officer prepared a report for the Chief Financial Officer. It was a work of art. First data was grouped together from multiple projects in the desktop version of a popular project management system. That data was copied and then pasted into a massive Excel spreadsheet as…
I’m a child of the 60s. Born in 1958, I was 8 years old when the original Batman TV series came on the air in 1966 and only 10 when it wound up in 1968. It lasted a 120 episodes but the impression it made lasts to this day. In the world of Adam West and Burt Ward who played Batman and Robin, there was a ‘bat’ solution to everything. No matter what the problem,…
Project Management systems – it’s about deployment. Sure, there are lots of functions to consider and everyone wants to know your “methodology” but if you are committed to having projects fit into a an organizational system, it all comes down to deployment. Can you assemble a system that will actually be accepted and used by the end-users who will have to use it. Deployment includes all of it: developing the concept, buying or writing the…
In our last issue I talked about determining your requirements for a corporate project management system. This month we’ll talk about creating your plan for the deployment of your project management system. What?! You don’t have a plan? Well, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is, you’re not alone, many project managers have attempted to deploy their project management system without a plan. The bad news? You’re not alone, many project managers…
