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Suggest You - Managing Small Projects
People are retiring at earlier ages than ever before. For some, it's their own choice. For others, the company they work for may offer incentives to take early retirement.At first the idea of retirement makes you giddy. No more alarm clocks. Doing whatever you please whenever you darn well feel like it!But after awhile even the exciting adventures become boring and you find yourself thinking, "What the heck am I supposed to do with all this extra time?"You know you need a purpose. A reason to get up in the morning. Something to excite you. Keep your mind active. A passion! Being retired doesn't mean becoming bound to the rocking chair!Actually, this can become the most exciting part of your life's journey. Because you do have the time to do whatever you want.If you've had a secret dream throughout your working life, now's the time to dust it off and attack with gusto. Your interests can finally take center stage.Maybe part of your dream is to follow your passion and make money while doing it. Who can't use extra income? That idea that's been picking at you for years can now be brought forward.Here's something else to think about. You can write about whatever your passion is and sell the information. What? How?Listen up...consumers are hungry for information. When they need to know something they will gladly pay money to get your knowledge.Think about this
Agile methods focus on delivery of software rather than documentation. With this in mind, I think project managers everyw
How many different ways can you bind printed products? There are numerous ways you can bind manuals, books, calendars, guides, directories, catalogs, full color brochures and all other printed products. Here are a few very basic guidelines:Looseleaf-Printed sheets are loose and have holes drilled in them to put in a binder.Tape Binding-Usually done on demand copy type where it is actually done in line and comes out of the machine finished. This simulates perfect binding but has no grind on the spine and the tape shows.Side Stistching-Staples go through the front of the paper to the back but are stapled on the side of the sheet.Saddle Stitching-The pages are stitched by staples through the spine of the book. The pages have to be done in 4 pg increments and there is a limitation to how many pages can be stitched.Perfect Binding-This is what you usually buy in a book store when you get a soft cover book. It gives you a square spine and the paper is actually ground on the spine and then glued to the cover. This can now be done both conventional and on demand. There are many cousins of perfect binding(layflat,PUR,OTA,smythe sewn, etc.)Wiro Binding-A wire of loops is inserted through punched holes in the paper in loops. This binding will lay flat.Spiral Binding-Metal as above but in circles going through punched holes.Plasticoil Binding-Plastic loops are put through the punched holes.
Focusing on project delivery
One of the arguments against using project management methodologies is that they are very process-centric resulting in vast quantities of project documentation which are simply not practical or desirable on small projects. This is a powerful argument and any method which focuses on producing documentation at the expense of delivering the real business benefits of the project will be a hindrance rather than a benefit. After all, the name of the game in project management is delivering business objectives, not producing reams of documents.
There is an ongoing and active discussion within the software development community about the best way to produce software on projects. More recently, some software professionals have argued for more agile methods of producing software rather than the more traditional heavyweight methods which focused on producing vast quantities of documentation.
Agile methods focus on delivery of software rather than documentation. With this in mind, I think project managers everywh
Yesterday, Singapore’s exchange market was rife with speculation about a possible merger of the two land transport giants: ComfortDelGro and SMRT. As a result, their share prices skyrocketed between 5.9% and 6.6% at closing.ComfortDelGro is the “world’s second largest public listed land transport company with a fleet of more than 40,000 vehicles”. It is the parent company for Comfort and SBS Transit which are the market leaders in taxi and bus industry in Singapore respectively. SMRT, the market leader for train services, is a multi-modal public transport company offering train, bus and taxi services, as well as expertise in consultancy and project management in railway systems. Both companies have advertising arms.In a newspaper report by The Straits Times (attached below), it was reported that ComfortDelGro has submitted a position paper to the Ministry of Transport, giving their two-cent worth on how the public transport industry should be structured. Two specific suggestions are given: to merge with rival SMRT to create one big giant transport company, or to have two separate companies with different areas of expertise – one running buses while another operating trains. (Note: It should be quite obvious that SBS Transit will be the natural bus company and SMRT will be the train company).It is not hard to fathom why ComfortDelGro is keen to push for the two scenarios because they will have the upper hand in bo
Focusing on project delivery
One of the arguments against using project management methodologies is that they are very process-centric resulting in vast quantities of project documentation which are simply not practical or desirable on small projects. This is a powerful argument and any method which focuses on producing documentation at the expense of delivering the real business benefits of the project will be a hindrance rather than a benefit. After all, the name of the game in project management is delivering business objectives, not producing reams of documents.
There is an ongoing and active discussion within the software development community about the best way to produce software on projects. More recently, some software professionals have argued for more agile methods of producing software rather than the more traditional heavyweight methods which focused on producing vast quantities of documentation.
Agile methods focus on delivery of software rather than documentation. With this in mind, I think project managers everyw
In the traditional work environment we used resumes and cover letters to introduce ourselves. As a business owner we use a bio as a way of introducing who we are. You are not applying for a job but attracting ideal clients. To do this you have to step away from responsibilities and address your accomplishments through your skills and experience. Most bios are written in the third person. Some combine the third and first person by adding quotes of the person being written about. It can sometimes be difficult or feel strange for us to write about ourselves in the third person however it presents a more objective view rather than as someone blowing their own horn or being egotistical. When a potential client is touched by something in your bio, you will become much more tangible to them. Talk about who you are and what motivates you, express your passion for what you do. Include the reason why you are in your profession. Put yourself in your potential client's shoes and ask yourself what you would need to hear in order for you to make a connection with this person? The main thing to keep in mind is be honest! You want to address your background by talking about your skills and experience. What skills or experience do you have that qualifies you to be great at what you do? Don’t focus on titles and responsibilities on as much as what your accomplishments were. Also address how they will benefi
There is an ongoing and active discussion within the software development community about the best way to produce software on projects. More recently, some software professionals have argued for more agile methods of producing software rather than the more traditional heavyweight methods which focused on producing vast quantities of documentation.
Agile methods focus on delivery of software rather than documentation. With this in mind, I think project managers everyw
What Have You Asked Your Employees Lately?Do you remember when you were in school and you had a question but were afraid to ask?I remember on more than one occasion (it’s only taken me 20 years to admit it) sitting there with no clue about what was going on and thinking I was the only one. I didn’t want to say anything, because I didn’t want to appear to be dumb.The teachers always said:“If you have a question, ask it. Don’t be embarrassed, there are probably at least 3 other students with the same question.”Thinking back to my school days, I thought - does this apply in business too? If Client A asks me a question, then what are the chances Client B has the same question (and probably Client C and D too)?What Questions Are You Afraid to Ask?Do you wake up at 3 am afraid to face the day ahead, in case yet another employee resigns?The following is a question I hear from dozens of my clients:My employees are being cherry picked by the competition. What do I do?Before I can answer your question there are a few questions you must first ask yourself.• Have you asked your employees their reasons for leaving? • Are they going to your competition because of a higher salary? • Better benefits? • A shorter commute? • Are you conducting exit interviews with each employee?Recently I was speaking to a friend of mine who is in a senior HR p
There is an ongoing and active discussion within the software development community about the best way to produce software on projects. More recently, some software professionals have argued for more agile methods of producing software rather than the more traditional heavyweight methods which focused on producing vast quantities of documentation.
Agile methods focus on delivery of software rather than documentation. With this in mind, I think project managers everyw
Too often I hear experienced businesswomen putting forward the idea that the best quality women bring to business is our nurturing ability, and it makes my blood boil. Worse still is when this ‘pearl’ has the usual ‘be assertive not aggressive’ rule tagged onto it. Does anyone really believe that the individuals advocating this blah got to the top by cuddling competitors, playing coochie-coo with a disgruntled colleague or by soothing a grazed ego with an Elastoplast and a kiss?More likely is that the job of nurturing is so familiar to females that whether at home or in business, women accept it as their lot. But nurturing is a quality that both men and women are equally capable of; it’s just that this attribute has been assigned a female face for so long that it has become habitual for women, not for men. In itself nurturing is a splendidly generous act but it is behaviour more suited to being a spouse or a parent rather than being a forceful influence in the boardroom.Now this is not to say that by dispensing with ideas about nurturing, every woman risks becoming a hard-nosed ball-breaker. Although this is what both men and women fear, complex issues like behaviour cannot be simplified down to such clear-cut black or white terms. So occasionally nurturing a distressed colleague may be appropriate but if someone’s trying to screw you out of a mega-buck deal, aggression is probably far more effective than smiling s
Agile methods focus on delivery of software rather than documentation. With this in mind, I think project managers everywhere can learn something from the agile methods employed in software development. In short, this leads us to focus on project delivery rather than project documentation, although the critical choice project managers everywhere need to make is how much documentation is really necessary?
Apply the best practices
I am a firm believer in only producing as much as is required by the project. Nothing more and nothing less. A simple rule of thumb is: if it's useful in helping us to deliver the business objectives of the project then produce it, if it isn't useful in helping us to deliver the business objectives of the project then don't waste time to produce it. With this in mind, I believe that in all projects, at a minimum it is best to apply project management best practices.
Let’s consider the best practices in turn and see whether or not the overhead lost in applying best practices is worth the benefits which can be gained.
Defining objectives and scope
Even on the smallest project there will be objectives which must be achieved. As a project manager, it i
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