November 2: Business Intelligence Systems

November 2: Business Intelligence Systems

Half of the new technologies that transform an industry come from outside the industry, and information about these new technologies is available.

Action Point: Identify three technologies / business areas that are transforming your business that have come from outside of your industry. Setup an intelligence system to gather information about these and other emerging technologies and capitalize on them before your competitors do.

Thought:
Banks like hospitals
Technology service providers like doctors
Focus from General to specialty treatments

November 1: Organizational Agility

November 1: Organizational Agility

Fleas can jump many times their own height, but not elephants.

The law of organization is concentration.

Modern organization, indeed must be capable of initiating change, that is innovation.

Move scarce and expensive resources of knowledge from areas of low productivity and non-results to opportunities for achievement and contribution.

Stop doing what wastes resources.

Action Point: What the small number of tasks that your large organization is doing? Are they the right ones? If not, discontinue them and focus on others.

Project Management Framework

Definition of A Project:

• Temporary endeavor with a beginning and an end
• Creates a unique product, service or result
• Is progressively elaborated - distinguishing characteristics of each unique project will be progressively detailed as the project is better understood

Operational Work: Attempt to manage an ongoing work like manufacturing is not a project.

Project Management:

1. Professional and Social Responsibility
2. Knowledge Areas (9)
   
3. Process Groups (5)
   

Knowledge Areas:

1. Integration
2. Scope
3. Time
4. Cost
5. Quality
6. Human Resources
7. Communications
8. Risk
9. Procurement
   

Process Groups:

1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Monitoring and Controlling
5. Closing
   

Definition of a Program: A program is a group of projects.

Their management is coordinated because
they may use the same resources,
the results of one project feed into another, or
they are parts of a larger "project" that has been broken down to smaller projects.

This coordination provides
decreased risk,
economies of scale and
improved management
that could not be achieved if the projects were not managed as part of a program.

Project Management Office (PMO or Program Office)

• Providing the policies, methodologies and templates for managing projects within the organization
• Providing support and guidance to others in the organization on how to manage projects, training others in project management or project management software and assisting with specific project management tools
• Providing project managers for different projects, and being responsible for the results of those projects.

Objectives

• Project Objectives are contained in the preliminary project scope statement and project scope statement
• The reason for quality is to make sure the project meets the objectives
• The reason for risk process group is to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to the project objectives
• Projects often requires tradeoffs between project requirements and project objectives
• Projects objectives are determined in the initiating process group and redefined in the planning process group.

MBO (Management By Objectives):

• Establish unambiguous and realistic objectives
• Periodically evaluate objectives are being met
• Implement corrective action

Constraints or Triple Constraints:

• Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Risk, Customer Satisfaction
  

OPM3: Organization's Project Management Maturity Model


Stakeholder: A stakeholder is someone whose interests may be positively or negatively impacted by the project.

Stakeholder analysis is done through out the project.

• Identify all stakeholders
• Determine all their requirements
• Determine their expectations
• Communicate with them
• Manage their influence

Differences in requirements or other interests of the stakeholders should generally be resolved in favor of the customer - the individual or organization that will use the product.

Organizational Structure:

Trick of Trade: In the PMP exam, if nothing is mentioned about what form of organization you are in, assume that you are in a MATRIX organization.


Functional Organization:

• Functional Manager has the power
• When functional form of organization think 'silo'
• Team members complete project work in addition to normal work
• Communications stay within the project
  

Projectized Organization:

• Project Manager has the power
• There is 'no home' for the project team members after the project is completed
• Team members complete only project work
• Communications occur only within the project

Matrix:

• Matrix organization has "two bosses"
• Communications go from team members to both bosses

1. Strong Matrix: Power is with Project Manager
2. Weak Matrix: Power is with Functional Manager. Project manager is more a project expediter or project coordinator.
3. Balanced Matrix: Power is shared between project manager and functional manager

• Weak Matrix:

1. Project Expediter: is primarily staff assistant and communications coordinator. The expediter cannot personally make or enforce decisions.
2. Project Coordinator: is similar to expediter, except has some power to make decisions, some authority, and reports to a higher-level management.
   

Tight Matrix: has nothing to do with matrix organization. It simply refers to location the offices for the project team in the same room.


Life Cycle:

Product Life Cycle: The product life cycle lasts from conception of a new product through growth, maturity, decline and withdrawal of the product. A product can require or spawn many projects over its life.

Project Life Cycle: Two methodologies to complete a project.

1. Project Life cycle for what you need to do to do the work. Depending on the industry. For instance a Software Development Life Cycle will be Requirements gathering, Design (High level, detailed), Development or Coding, Testing (SIT and UAT), and Implementation to Production.
   
2. project management methodology or project management process for managing the project. These are initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling and closing of the project.
   

Points to Ponder from Question and Answers

• Advantages of the matrix type of organizations for projects is Improved Project Manger control over resources.
  
  
• In a weak matrix organization the project manager is a Project Expediter and cannot make decisions.
  
  
• In a projectized organization the project team will not always have a 'home'.
  
  
• A project manager has little authority to properly assign resources in a Functional organization.
  
  
• In a matrix organization communications will be complex
  
  
• In a functional organization, the power to give direction to the team member is with the Functional Manager
  

• In a projectized organizations the project manager has the MOST power.
  
  
• The characteristics of a project are it is Temporary, has a definite begining and end, has interrelated activities
  
  
• Stakeholders' management efforts include identifying stakeholders, determining stakeholders' needs and managing stakeholders' expectations
  
  
• Obtain historical records and guidance from PMO
  
  
• The project life cycle differs from product life cycle, in that project life cycle is different for each industry
  
  
• Stakeholders can be identified in Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing process groups.
  
  
• Management by objectives works only if it is supported by management.
  
  

Points to Ponder

FRAMEWORK

• Every project has a product, service or result. Some of those could be intangible. The product of a project is created during executing.
  
  
• 
  

INTEGRATION

SCOPE

• The project team helps the project manager to create WBS. This helps to obtain team buy-in from the people who do the work
  
  
• The level of uncertainty in scope increase based on the scale of effort required to identify all the scope. For large project it is more difficult to 'catch' the scope.
  
  
• 
  

TIME

COST

• The cost performance index is determined based on performance
  
  
• The opportunity cost is the value of the project that was not selected. It is the lost opportunity
  
  
• The schedule / duration of critical path (say x) months, less the (say y) months saved, result in the new schedule / duration of (say z) months for the project
  
  
• Cost Variance (CV) = Earned Value (EV) - Actual Cost (AC)
  
  
• 
  

QUALITY

RISK

• Risk response owners are the ones to take action when an identified risk occurs
  
  
• The level of uncertainty in scope increases based on the scale of effort required to identify all the scope. For large project it is more difficult to "catch" everything
  
  
• 
  
• 
  

PROCUREMENT

• The form of deliverable for a specific portion of project should have been reviewed and clarified during the 'Plan Purchases and Acquisitions Process.'
  
  
• Every project must be closed, as administrative closure provides benefit to the performing organizations.
  

HR

• According to Herzberg's theory, fixing bad working conditions will help you to motivate, but making good conditions better will not improve motivation. One needs to focus on the motivating factors and not hygiene factors
  
  
• Confronting means the same as Problem solving
  
  
• Identification of risk and work package estimates do not come until project management planning; i.e., after the project charter is created
  
  
• A project charter may include the names of some resources but NOT detailed resources
  

Risk

Effective Delegation

Enlightening pointers to effective delegation. I can easily relate them to my professional life.

• The context of the assignment – ‘Please could you tell me what you are going to do with this when I get it done, tell me who is it for, and where does it fit with other things going on?’
• Deadline – When would you like it, and when is it really due?
• Scope – Would you like me to do the thorough job and take a little longer, or the quick and dirty version?
• Format – How would you like to see the output of my work presented? What would make your life easier?
• Time budget – Roughly how long would you expect this to take (so I can tell whether I’m on track or not?)
• Relative priority – What’s the importance of this task relative to the other things you have asked me to do?
• Available resources – Is there anything available to help me get the job done? For example, have we done one of these before?
• Success criteria – How will the work be judged? Is it more important to be fast, cheap or perfect?
• Monitoring and scheduled check points – Can we, please, schedule now a meeting, say, halfway through so I can show you what I’ve got and ensure that I’m on track for your needs?
• Understanding – can I just read back to you what you’ve asked me to do, to confirm that I got it down right?
• Concerns – before I get started can I just share with you any concerns about getting this done (e.g., other demands on my time) so that I don’t surprise you later?

Courtesy: Leadership Hub

Feelings...

These are the quotes which have influence in my life. These are the statements which have a profound impact on my life. They touched my heart and they remain with me forever. These quotes inspire me each and every time I read them. These quotes are feelings.

'whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. "
- Goethe

"Time is limited, so I better wake up every morning fresh and know that I have just one chance to live this particular day right, and to string my days together into a life of action, and purpose."
– Lance Armstrong

“Think of focus as concentrated attention – the ability to zero in on a goal and see the task through to completion. Focused managers aren’t in reactive mode; they choose not to respond immediately to every issue that comes their way or get sidetracked from their goals by distractions like e-mail, meetings, setbacks, and unforeseen demands. Because they have a clear understanding of what they want to accomplish, they carefully weigh their options before selecting a course of action….. Think of the second characteristic – energy – as the vigor that is fueled by intense personal commitment. Energy is what pushes managers to go the extra mile when tackling heavy workloads and meeting tight deadlines.”


“Persistence isn’t using the same tactics over and over. That’s just annoying. Persistence is having the same goal over and over.”
- Seth Godin on Persistence


“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan “press on” has solved and always will
solve the problems of the human race.”
- Calvin Coolidge


“If Columbus had turned back, no one would have blamed him.
No one would have remembered him either.”
– Unknown


“The more you are like yourself,
the less you are like anyone else,
which makes you unique.”
— Walt Disney


"Ask yourself this question….
if you lost your title, position and power tomorrow,
would others still support you and want to work with you"
- Donna Karlin


************************************************************

The Paradoxical Commendments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

****************************************

"Don't own nothin' if you can help it. If you can, even rent your shoes."
Forrest Gump
Lesson: Outsource all but your core competencies. Don't feel an organization has to own everything. The asset-lite organization is the way forward

"If you go to the zoo, always take somethin' to feed the animals - even if the signs say 'Do Not Feed Animals'. It wasn't the animals that put them signs up."
Forrest Gump

"Mediocrity killed the cat."
Forrest Gump

****************************************************

8 Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela

1. Courage is not the absence of fear
— it’s inspiring others to move beyond it.

2. Lead from the front
— but don’t leave your base behind.

3. Lead from the back
— and let others believe they are in front.

4. Know your enemy
— and learn about his favorite sport.

5. Keep your friends close
— and your rivals even closer

6. Appearances matter
— and remember to smile

7. Nothing is black or white

8. Quitting is leading too

*************************************************

Notes

Important Assumptions to keep in mind for PMP exam from PMI perspective.

Always working on a huge project which involves all phases of the project.
You have time and cost required to complete all the phases of the project.

You are internal to the organization. Not a contractor or supplier unless otherwise stated.

Manage like a CEO or owner of the project like you are running a small company.

It is PMs responsibility towards budget to estimate and manage the budget.

Cost estimate always are documented estimates.

Cost and time estimates should not be accepted from the Senior management. They have to be given by the project manager / project team to be more accurate.

Earned Value has 12 questions in the exam of which six are based on the formulas

There is a strong connection in the Cost Management and Time Management chapters.

In the time management you go for activity or work package level.

Control account comes one level above the work package in the work break down structure.

Estimate should be done by the person who does the work.
Estimate should be based on previous documentations.

Budget should be managed to cost baseline.

Estimates are more accurate when they are based on smaller chunks of works, work packages.

PM should never accept the estimates from management, should
reconcile to produce realistic objective.

Padding / Buffer is not acceptable by PMI

Reserve Analysis is what help for these unforeseen activities

Network diagrams are important.

When answering any process you have to assume the corresponding plan is available. For example, assume that Cost Management Plan exits in the exam.

To chose a project by the NPV, select the projects with highest NPV

To choose a project by the IRR, select the project with highest IRR

Project Management Book: Kim Heldmen Book