Project Management World Today Featured Papers
January 2006
Editorial | Viewpoints | Papers | Case Studies | Tips & Techniques | Community |Scene | Publications
- Churchill the PM by Mark Kozak-Holland
- The Future of Project Management Software - Probably! by Curt Finch
- Resource Capability Relevance Index by R G Rajiv
- The Benefits of Packaged Integration Applications by Warren Utt
- A Genie in a Bottle by Robert Zanfardino
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full text of featured papers are available as PDF files. Click on the full
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Churchill the PM
by Mark Kozak-Holland
Winston Churchill is widely regarded as not only one of the greatest British Prime Ministers but also one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century. How else could he have beaten out titans like Darwin, Shakespeare, Newton, and Brunel to be voted as the greatest Briton ever?
But was he a Project Manager in the modern sense―driving a project to completion? What did he actually do that we can learn from today? This article looks at Churchill as a project manager who is managing a massive change effort in the United Kingdom (UK) during the summer of 1940.
Churchill had to create a project to address problems and come up with a solution. As he became Prime Minister, he first assessed the situation, and then set up some objectives related to the problem, its scope, whether it could be solved, and what resources were available. The situation didn’t look good. Public confidence in him and his government (the project team) was at an all-time low. In fact, his own team was ready to give up and sue for peace.
Read the full text at Churchill the PM
About the Author:
Mark Kozak-Holland’s latest book in the Lessons-From-History series
is titled “Churchill's Adaptive Enterprise: Lessons for Business
Today” (http://www.mmpubs.com/churchill/).
It draws parallels between events in World War II and today's business
challenges. Mark is a Senior Business Architecture with HP Services and
regularly writes and speaks on the subject of emerging technologies and
lessons that can be learned from historical projects. He can be contacted
via his Web site at http://www.mmpubs.com/churchill/ or via email to
mark.kozak-holl@sympatico.ca
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The Future of Project Management Software - Probably! by Curt Finch
Over the last decade or so, the industry has shifted from customers installing software at their physical locations to renting Web-based software over the Internet on a monthly basis. It's moving this way because customers want it to, and so do vendors.
Most software companies get their revenue from "shelfware" (software that is rarely used and ends up on the proverbial shelf). Popular programs like Quicken or SAP - for which customers pay the total cost up front - can be complicated, making them difficult to use and achieve maximum benefit from. However, once a customer has paid for these programs, there is no incentive for the company to follow up and ensure that it is working properly for the customer.
But hold on, things might be improving.
Read the full text at The Future of Project Management Software
About the Author:
Curt Finch is the CEO of Journyx (http://pr.journyx.com), a provider of
Web-based software located in Austin, Texas, that automates billing, payroll & project
management by tracking time, expenses and mileage. Finch is a software
industry veteran. In 1997, Curt created the world's first Internet-based
timesheet application and the foundation for the current Journyx product
offering. Curt has managed development teams creating enterprise-level
software solutions since 1985, with a focus on distributed workforce management.
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Resource Capability Relevance Index
by R G Rajiv
Resources are the most critical elements in a project. The availability of right resources at the right time does affect the progress of the project. The availability of resources required at various stages of the project is usually tracked. However, the availability of right resources / performance of the resources is not measured and reflected, which will be a potential threat to the effort, schedule of a project.
Tracking a project and knowing to attack at the areas that may affect the effort, schedule of the project is a very important attribute of the project manager. There are several tools, parameters that will show the direction in which a project is progressing.
The RCR Index (Resource Capability Relevance Index) is an effort in that aspect to ensure that the resources capability is well highlighted as part of the project tracking.
Read the full text at Resource Capability Relevance Index
About the Author:
R G Rajiv is a project manager with Ramco Systems Limited, a Chennai,
India based business solutions company, and currently assigned to a number
of large projects in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and India. His experience spans
13 years in manufacturing, project management, and ERP implementation.
Previously, he was an executive with L&T Demag Plastics Processing
Machinery Private Limited, a manufacturer of plastics injection-molding
machinery. R G Rajiv has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) and a Post
Graduate Diploma in Management. He is an avid photographer, having won
prizes at the All India level, and with cityscapes featured on www.chennaionline.com
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The Benefits of Packaged Integration Applications
by Warren Utt
Over the past decade, companies all over the world were busy implementing enterprise software applications to manage and automate business processes. These days, the very same corporations are hard at work to ensure they actually get value out of the massive investments they made in their software assets. Since many business processes tend to rely on data and logic that span multiple information systems, integration is essential to the success of critical corporate initiatives and a key to unlocking the value of the investment in enterprise software applications.
It is no wonder, then, that integration is consistently at the top of the CIO’s priority list. Companies are investing huge sums of money into custom development projects that attempt to tie these disparate systems together. As “one off” projects carried out by internal IT departments or external consultants, they carry an inherent risk of budget and schedule overruns.
So what are packaged integration applications and how can they benefit your organization?
Read the full text at The Benefits of Packaged Integration Applications
About the Author:
Warren Utt has 25 years of technology industry experience with a focus on enterprise applications. Prior to joining Impress, Warren was a Senior Vice President of the Worldwide Field Organization for BroadVision in Redwood City, California. Before BroadVision, he held the position of CEO and President of Contentra, where he led the company from its founding to its acquisition by North American Media Engines. Warren also served as CEO of Continuum Software, where he successfully led two rounds of financing and redirected the company's strategy. Earlier in his career he held key sales, marketing and alliance management positions with Deloitte Consulting, EDS, Interleaf, InterOPS, and Wang. He has a B.A. from Hamdpen-Sydney College.
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A Genie in a Bottle
by Robert Zanfardino
A project manager was walking along a beach just around sunset when the
sky
was ablaze with all the glowing red and yellow hues that one can only
imagine when he stumbles on this beautiful porcelain vase. While looking
at
it he notices an inscription. Rubbing off the dirt to read the inscription
better a puff of blue-black smoke comes out of the bottle and before him
appears a Genie. "He who holds the bottle and rubs it is entitled to
three
wishes". The project manager somewhat shaken realizes what he has before
him, takes a moment to ponder his new found wealth and said to the Genie, "I
love taking long walks by the ocean and I would really enjoy walking on the
beaches of Hawaii, but I do not like to fly. For my first wish, I want you
to build a roadway so I can drive to Hawaii anytime I feel like it".
The
Genie thinks this wish over for a moment and says, "Of the thousand
years
that I have been in this bottle this is the first time that I cannot fulfill
a wish. You must pick another one that I can grant you". The project
manager thinks for a moment and responds to the Genie, "Well then, I
have a
software project that I have been spending weeks trying to develop user
requirements for but the business stakeholders cannot come to any decision
as to what they want. "I wish that you can help me build strong
relationships with the stakeholders to make my life easier. I want you to
make them decide by tomorrow all the business requirements that they want
to
ensure that I do not have any scope creep and I get the project done on time
and on budget. For my final wish I want you to ensure that the project will
be a success". The Genie puts one hand to his chin and the other hand
pushes the turban back off of his forehead and responds to the project
manager, "Would you like a two lane highway or four?"
Let us focus on the "3R's" of project management for a moment:
Relationships, Requirements, and Results. I have placed them in the order
of importance as they pertain to the project life cycle.
Read the full text at A Genie in a Bottle
About the Author:
Robert
J. Zanfardino, Senior Project / Program Manager, has worked with multi
billion dollar corporations such as IBM, Gentiva Health Services, CompuCom,
and Bristol-Myers Squibb, as well as smaller midsize companies while managing
his own consulting company. This deep range of experiences over the years
developed Rob into a Senior Advisor playing pivotal roles by identifying
new strategies and methodologies within corporations as they effect the
project life cycle. His ability to envision long term solutions combined
with structuring sensible implementation plans have made Rob a valued asset
and "Go To" resource. As an Adjunct Professor focusing on Business
Process Management methodologies, Rob has devised quality strategies used
to streamline processes that focus on the customer's needs. Rob is currently
consulting with corporations enhancing their IT/IS projects, project management
offices, and business process methodologies. Rob can be contacted at: 845-226-6074
or email: zanfardino4@earthlink.net.
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