Should Project Managers Lead Business Change?

An interesting thought occurred to me while reading an article posted on Relationship Economy dot com.

It asks the question about whether social media users gathering followers are leaders themselves or just followers and are those gatherers really extraordinary people?

It made me think about how this applies to project managers. Good project managers will gather followers and, of course, they will lead the good fight to create "a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen".

And is that not what projects are all about? A project should be managed by a leader, someone who will set the course and chart the path to success. The final quote that struck me in that article was "followers will take you where they’ve been while leaders will take you where they are going". How apt for project managers.

The whole article can be read here at this link : Relationship Economy

Easy Project Management Journal Day2

Day2:

Created a draft post, yet to be published, on the key areas of learning for use of Microsoft Project.

Modified the html in http://easypm.blogspot.com to feed information into Google's Webmaster analysis tools.

How did I do this?

1. Signed into Google (you need an account to do this, easy enough right?).
2. Click on Google Webmaster Tools.
3. Click the little "Add a site..." button.
4. Enter the full URL of your site.
5. A page is displayed with "NOT VERIFIED" fairly prominent. This means you need to copy the meta tag they have provided into your site's html code. Follow the instructions provided by Google and it is fairly easy, making sure that you copy and paste their code in the Head section of your site.
6. Once you do this, and have saved the new source code into your pages, go back to the Webmaster verification page (you kept that open right?) and click on the "Verify" button.
7. That's it, your site will now be crawled by Google bots.
   

Completed Day2 journal

What is a Project Initiation Document?

A good document for managing the start of a project is called the Project Initiation Document - shortened to PID for those in the know :)

What is this project initiation document then? Very simply it is a definition of what has to be done, how it will be managed and how you will know when you have completed the project.

It is used to ensure that the project sponsor's requirements have all been captured and delivery is agreed BEFORE launching the project. Once the project is running it is a great reference document against which progress can be measured and overall status communicated.

For example, the Project Initiation Document can be started before the project has even been signed off. When you as the "project manager to be" have been asked to asssess the feasibility of solving world hunger and maybe have it done in the next two months, you can:

• open up a project initiation file and
• as you define the key deliverables, you can capture them in the PID and also
• lay out the schedule in report format that is easy for your project sponsors to read.

Once the project is understood, everything that helps to define it should be in the PID. This is important as the PID becomes the equivalent of the referee later in the project when you are arguing about - sorry discussing - what has still to be achieved.

If you want a look at the type of things that should be in a PID document, drop me an email and I will send you a template. Alternatively, you cna download a PID template from my Easy Project Management Google Groups site.

What is the point of Project Management?

Well - ask yourself the question - What is the point of project management?

I like to think it is a simple question of economics.

Imagine you owned a small shop selling confectionery to local kids. You decide that as you you have some extra space in the back of the shop that you can install a couple of tables and start selling ice creams too.

The benefits are obvious in that you expect to make additional revenue. The costs are easily identified because you have a quote for the re-decorating that must be done and also the costs of the tables and ice cream maker. You may need more staff but that will come from an expansion in sales and you can make do with current staffing levels for now.

Do you see where this is going yet?

So imagine you kick off this new endeavour and before you know it the decorator calls off, just after you accepted a delivery date for the new tables and chairs.

The question now is do you still feel in control?

Are you wondering if the delivery can be postponed? What if it cannot and the tables need to be put outside to allow the decorator to complete his job?

Will the tables be safe out on the street? Is there space to store them there? Will this impact the existing confectionery sales in a bad way?

Too many questions begin piling up and not many answers are available to reduce your stress levels. And that is just a simple little example with minimal complexity.

The point of project management is to keep control of changes.

As all change usually involved a cost of some sort, a managed project will ensure that:
- spending is done in the right sequence and
- jobs are completed correctly and
- on time to a given schedule
- that doesn't prevent the existing business from being carried out.

Simple isn't it?

Easy Project Management Journal Day1

Day1:
Created http://easypm.blogspot.com.

Imported some previously existing content from other project management blogs I have started.

Posted content on the purpose of the easypm.blogspot.com blog.

Added Google Analytics to easypm blog.
How did I do this?

1. I already have a Google Analytics account but you need to create this if you don't have one.
2. Click on "Add a web-site profile"and fill in the form to add your blog
3. A script appears which you will need to copy and paste into your blog's html section.
4. To do this go into the "Layout" tab for your blog on the Blogger management panel.
5. Click on the "Edit HTML" tab and your blog's HTML code will be displayed.
6. Scroll down until you find the /body tag.
7. Paste your copied script in just before the /body tag, add some comments to enable you to find it later.
8. Save it.

Completed Day1 journal

Purpose Statement for Easy Project Management Blog

Hi and welcome to my free and easy project management blog.

The purpose of this blog is simple. To be a reference point for easy to use project management tools and best practices.

Project management is thought to be difficult and fraught with dangers - which is why I enjoy it! I want to demystify it, expose it for what it is and to help you become confident in the use of some simple tools that will help to ease the journey of delivering a project.

Benefits of a Project Methodology

Be Better Organised

- Defines standard outputs and reduces the possibility of inconsistent project delivery.

- The methodology helps to provide a point of reference framework for project members and stakeholders.

- The methodology is repeatable across the organisation and can be easily taught and learned.

Resources used by projects can be standardised and made easily available at project launch.

Know The Outputs

- Defines key documents that must be provided for project tracking and reporting.

- Expectations of stakeholders can be set at the outset and managed through the project lifecycle.

- Key documentation delivered as standard output improves project visibility and helps to make the current status more transparent.

Improve Management Information

- Management Information such as project progress tracking and delivered benefits tracking are easier to provide.

Improve Quality of Delivery

- Quality expectations can be defined and tracked and are not carried solely by the skill of the project manager.

Improve Cost Control

- Current business challenges can be passed into a known “solution pool” where cost of resolution can be easily managed.