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Showing posts from January, 2007

Functions for Project Management Methodology

Different Functions for Project Management Methodology Client Request: Can you please add more content to the Help and Tutorial sections in MPMM Professional? Support Team Response: Yes, as we add new functionality to each new version of MPMM, we continually update the Help and Tutorial sections. In time, we hope to be able to offer you a more automated and interactive Help and Tutorial sections, through animation and voice. However this feature is probably 12 months away. At the moment we’re concentrating on more core development features and the potential integration of current worldwide standards into the MPMM project management methodology. Client Request: I’ve created a project management methodology using MPMM professional, in fact – more than 30 all told. The reason is that I like to create a slightly different variation of each methodology for every new project I undertake. Every time I start a new project in MPMM, I duplicate a methodology used for a prior project, to be use

Trialing MPMMs Project Management Life Cycle

Project Management Life Cycle Trial Period Q: Hi. We’ve been trialing the MPMM project management life cycle standard edition for some time now, but we have just got the error message “A valid license could not be obtained”. Can you please advice? A: This issue is most probably because you’ve tried to wind the clock back on your PC to extend the free trial period. We have added some clever code to identify when this happens and prevent people from extending their free trial indefinitely, otherwise we’d be out of business! If you want to extend your free project management life cycle trial period, then the best way to do this is to download the project management software to another PC in your company and trial it for the full trial period length there. You can usually only download a free trial to a single PC once. We believe that the free trial periods are long enough for you to get a good feel for this project management life cycle and make your purchasing decision. The MPMM Suppor

Project Management Templates for Communications Planning

Project Management Templates to Create a Communications Plan Communicating is easy right? Well it’s a surprise to some Project Managers that a common cause of project failure is the lack of clear communications within a project. To ensure that communication within your project is clear, concise, relevant and timely - you will need to create a  “Communications Plan” using project management templates . Within this article, you can read... 4 easy steps to creating a Communications Plan The Communications Plan describes the information that must be disseminated to all project stakeholders, to keep them regularly informed of the project’s progress. To begin, you first need to identify all of the stakeholders who require regular information about the status of the project. Then, identify the information requirements of each stakeholder group. Create a schedule for the dissemination of that information to those stakeholders throughout the Online Project Management Lifecycle. And finally, d

Project Management Process Training and Primavera

Project Management Process Training and Primavera Q: We provide project management process training and I am interested in using your project management process for training. We will purchase the education version but I am interested in using the same material to create Powerpoint presentations as well as map the process in to Primavera. Your input is highly appreciated A: Trainers mostly install MPMM project management process on a laptop and then use that device to present the materials to classroom trainees. As long as you are not reinstalling the license on multiple devices, you may show the materials to as many students as you wish. Lecturers are currently doing the same now in universities. Also - within the next 6 months, we plan to offer an Educational Partner Program for lecturers. The partner program will essentially include a suite of PowerPoint presentation material to help lecturers such as yourselves provide project management tools training . Regarding Primavera, MPM

Adding Project Management Methodology Page Links

Latest Release Feature - Adding Project Management Methodology Page Links When you create a new project management methodology page, you will usually want to link that page to another page within the same methodology so that it becomes part of the overall project manager process. With the release of MPMM Version 3.0, adding links has never been easier. Simply select the text that you wish to create a link from, and then click the link button on the top right hand side of the Methodology Manager editor. Using the link button, you can create a textual link to another page within the same project management methodology , another page within a different project management methodology or even link to an external website. Then when you save your page changes and view your project management methodology, you can click the link to be routed automatically to the target location. Advanced users will notice that you can also select an image that you have inserted onto a page, and make the image

Different Project Management Life Cycle

Tip…Why Project Management Life Cycle are Different Here are a few tips about a project management life cycle. Project Management Life Cycle is different than other types of content displayed within MPMM project management life cycle , as they are not just content that you read, they are real-life living documents that you export into Microsoft Office and fill-in to create a project deliverable. Within MPMM, we have two copies of each template ; a copy that you view (in HTML format) and a copy that you export (in Microsoft Word or Excel format). The reason for having two copies of each project management life cycle is that the best quality document format for viewing is HTML and the most practical format for exporting is Microsoft Word (or Excel). In that way, you can view high quality documents, and still use them practically within your project. If you have the Professional Edition of MPMM, then you will notice the differences even more. The reason is that by using the Methodology M

Selling my own Project Management Methodologies

Selling my own Project Management Methodologies Client Request: It is cool that I can now add my own project management methodologies. I have some clients that I want to be able to release my own project management methodologies to. I understand that I can just resell them MPMM and then export my current project management methodologies and allow them to import it. So I can then in effect, sell them my own methodology. That is great, but when I do this, I will also want to add security protection for the project management methodologies that I sell them. For instance, I may want to be able to prevent them from copy/pasting content out of the product, accessing certain areas of my methodology or make it so that only a certain number of people at my client’s site can use it. If you could do this, then I’m able to sell my own project manager methodology and license it to a specified number of users. Is this possible? Support Team Response: Yes this is definitely possible. Thanks for rai

Downloading Trials of this Project Management Process

Download this Trial for your  Project Management Process Q: I tried installing the trail version of your MPMM project management process and got a CRC error message. What should i do? A: This problem usually occurs because the installer file has become corrupted during download. It sometimes happens with users who have very slow download speeds. We would suggest re-downloading the installer from the website and trying again in 1 hour. If you get the problem again after re-downloading, let us know and we will look into other ways of getting the trial edition of MPMM project management process to you. Or simply try using this Online Project Management Software that doesn't require installation. Or try these easy downloadable Project Management Tools. The MPMM Support Team

New Tutorials for Project Management Methodology

Did you know…NewTutorials for Project Management Methodology That we have recently released a new Tutorial for MPMM? Within the Professional Edition, you can click on the “Tutorial” tab and select to read a number of tutorials for project managers and teams. Each tutorial describes for a particular project role, how to use the unique features provided by MPMM, to improve your success in managing projects. For instance, if you’re a Project Manager, you can read the tutorial to find out how to create your own Project Managment Methodology , use the templates to build new project deliverables and improve the way that you monitor and control projects. As a Senior Manager, you will learn how to customize your project management methodology for your department, train new staff in your project management methodology and implement your methodology across all of your projects. As a PMO Manager, you can learn how to upload and customize your existing project management methodology used by your c

Project Planning Project Management Life Cycle

Project Planning within the Project Management Life Cycle The most critical step in the Project Management Lifecycle is the creation of the Project Plan. This Project Management Templates acts as a “yard stick” by providing the basis upon which to assess the performance of the project. In this newsletter, we will describe how to... Create a Project Plan in 3 easy steps! The Project Plan lists all of the activities required to complete the project as well as the milestones, dependencies, resources and timeframes involved in the online project management life cycle . To create a Project Plan in the Project Planning phase, you first need to define the Work Breakdown Structure (“WBS”). The WBS lists each of the phases, activities and tasks required to undertake a project. You will then identify the resources required to carry out each activity listed. And finally, you will construct a Project Schedule which describes the flow of tasks and the timeframes involved in completing each task

Project Management Life Cycle & MS Project & Rational

Integrating Project Management Life Cycle & MS Project & Rational Q: When are you looking to integrate MPMM project managment life cycle with MS Project? I currently use Rational products for software development, should I continue with them? A: We are planning to integrate MPMM project management life cycle and MS Project within the next 6 months. However for the meanwhile, MPMM project management life cycle includes a large suite of content and tools describing how to undertake the Project Planning phase successfully. To answer your question around the project management software lifecycle, MPMM is a "Project Management Life cycle (PMLC)" which is a more generic life cycle than a "Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)", as it applies to all project types such as IT, software, constructions, telecommunications etc and all project phases . You are best to retain your Rational products for undertaking software projects and completing software steps such as

Editing your Project Management Methodologies

Latest Release Feature - Project Management Methodologies Having created a suite of new project management methodologies in MPMM, you will want to edit the content of each methodology page over time. To help you do this we have built in a new text editor, which allows you to edit any item of content on any page within a project management methodology of your choice. The editor allows you to change the page text (e.g. by changing the bolding, italics or font), align the text, add or remove tables and add formatting to the content. You can also add links to other pages within the same or different project management methodologies . Not only can you add a textual link, but you can insert a diagram onto the page and have it link to another page within your methodology , once selected. You can also specify the Summary text for the page (to be displayed on the “Summary Panel”), as well as add “Index Terms” and “Related Pages” where relevant. You can also edit this Project Management Softwar

Dialog Boxes in your Project Management Process

Tip…Turning Dialog Boxes Off and On in MPMM Project Management Process Have you noticed that there are a variety of dialog boxes which are displayed in the MPMM project management process Professional edition? For instance, when you choose to delete a project management process , delete a page or restore a backup, you will often be presented with an informational or warning message that helps you to double check that you are certain you want to complete the action chosen. If you are an experienced MPMM project management process user and you would like to turn these informational or warning messages off, then on the message itself you can select “not to display the message in the future”. That way, every time you delete a methodology (for instance), you don’t have to then select “Ok” on the subsequent Warning message displayed. So what happens if you tick to hide the warning messages, and you later want to view them again? You can easily restore all of the warning messages that you ha

Project Management Methodology Panel & Backups

Related Topics Panel & Backups within Project Management Methodology Client Request: I want to be able to turn the Related Topics and Summary Panels off during my project management life cycle implementation. Support Team Response: This is a good idea, but it not easily implemented. We have scheduled to be able to complete this feature in the first half of 2007. We hope to be able to allow you to click on the settings button and to offer you the feature of turning any panels within this project management software on and off. Users may also wish to turn off the Index and Find tabs as well. This feature will be especially useful for users who have small screen sizes or user the 120 dpi setting on their screen, as it will enable them to increase the size of the primary Display panel for displaying core MPMM content. Client Request: I want to be able to backup the new methodology that I have created. Support Team Response: You can do this now in the current version of this project m

Project Management Life Cycle Tools with Apple Macintosh

Project Management Life Cycle Muti-Purchases Q: Are your project management life cycle tools compatible with the Apple Macintosh environment? A: MPMM is only compatible with the Windows Operating System. In the future, we hope to have an Apple Macintosh compatible version however this is probably 12 months away at this stage. Q: I am thinking about purchasing the MPMM Educational Edition. I have one computer at school and other at home. Would I be able to install it at both places? A: Due to the way that the licensing works for MPMM, you will need to purchase two licenses, for two installations. However the good news is that if you purchase a 2 user license, you will get a 10% discount on the purchase of both licenses. In this way, you can use MPMM at your home or in the office. You can also try this Online Project Management Software. The MPMM Support Team

Project Management Methodologies New Help Section

Did you know…That MPMM Project Management Methodologies has a New Help section That the Professional Edition of MPMM has a more comprehensive “Help” section? In this edition you can now find out all about using the new Methodology Manager functionality that has recently been released with MPMM Version 3.0 Firstly, you can find out how to use the MPMM project management methodologies and how to customize it. Of course, to customize MPMM project management methodologies , you will need to create a duplicate methodology and then customize your duplicate. The reason for this is that the core project management methodologies that comes with MPMM needs to be protected, so that you always have it to hand when you need to access it. So to allow you to customize MPMM project management software , we help you to create a duplicate of the MPMM methodology, and then to customize the duplicate. In this way, you will have a copy of the original methodology as well as the customized duplicate, whic

Project Initiation with Project Management Templates

Project Initiation with Project Management Templates Within this article, we’ll help you to properly scope your projects, by describing: How to Initiate Projects Successfully with Project Management Templates Did you know that a large percentage of projects are cancelled before they even reach the detailed planning phase? The most common reason is that they have not been properly defined and scoped, and as a result, they lack the sponsorship needed to ensure their success. If they do manage to secure sponsorship, then Project Managers often find it difficult to control changes to the project scope, as they do not have a clearly defined scope statement to measure against. For these reasons, it’s critical that you initiate your projects as quickly and efficiently as possible, by taking these 6 steps using our project management templates. A description of each step follows: Step 1: Develop a Business Case The first step taken when initiating a new project, is the creation of a comprehens

Multi-User Project Management Process Licenses

Multi-User Project Management Process Licenses Q: Would it be possible for me to translate the templates in the MPMM project management process Standard Edition to the Slovak language and print them for my clients? I am a business and project consultant in Slovakia and in case I decide to buy your software I would probably need to translate individual lines and headings in your templates into Slovak language so that my Slovak clients would understand them. A:  Yes you can translate the templates as you like, as long as you are distributing the templates as printed copies, and not electronically. Q: I have the following questions about the MPMM project management process Professional multi-user license: 1. Does it share the same database, so for example, can the project director and/or executive management view/edit/print the status of any project managed by the project manager team? 2. What reports are available? 3. What project plan view available? Gantt, Pert, etc. A: Thank you fo

Duplicate your Project Management Methodology

Latest Release Feature - Project Management Methodology To enable you to manage your project management methodology effectively within MPMM, we have included a “Duplication” feature. The purpose of this feature is to copy (or duplicate) an entire methodology and give the new duplicate methodology a unique name. There are two primary instances in which you will want to use this online project management feature. Firstly, when you want to customize the content included within MPMM you will need to create a duplicate first. The reason is that we have protected the core MPMM project management methodology , so that you will always have at least one unaltered copy for later reference. So if you wish to customize the core MPMM methodology itself, then create a duplicate of it and then customize the duplicate. You will then end up with a completely customized methodology, as well as the original methodology for later use. The second instance in which you’ll want to create duplicate project

Right Mouse Button in MPMM Project Management Life Cycle

Tip Using the Right Mouse Button in your MPMM Project Management Life Cycle … Did you realize that you can use your right mouse button in MPMM project management life cycle ?  If you have MPMM Professional, then you can quickly edit the content pages included within MPMM project management software , using the right mouse button. For instance, then you right mouse click anywhere in the Navigation Panel, you will be provided with a suite of options allowing you to edit and customize the project management methodology selected. By using this button, you can create new methodology pages, edit content pages within the existing project management life cycle selected, move pages up or down in the hierarchy and rename and delete pages. These options are also available within the Methodology Manager (provided with the Professional edition), however it is often faster and easier to just right mouse click on the page that you wish to edit and jump straight into the MPMM editor to edit the page

Self Branding My Project Management Methodologies

Add Branding To My Project Management Methodologies Client Request: I want to be able to add my own branding to the MPMM product set. Support Team Response: This will hopefully be possible in the next major version of MPMM project management methodologies . We want you to be able to add your own logo to the MPMM banner, print your own designed page headers and footers and change the color scheme of the toolset. This means that you will be able to configure the project management methodologies so that it looks like it has been designed and created by your own IT department. We are also looking into ways for resellers to be able to add their own branding (in terms of logos and color schemes) so that they can create and resell their own project management methodologies in MPMM, with their own logo and color schemes. Please note that you can add an element of your own branding within the current version of MPMM Professional right now. Simply create a new page (using the Methodology Manage

Reseller Representative for MPMM Project Management Process

Reseller Representative for MPMM Project Management Process Q: Do you have a representative in Portugal? Who is your representative in Europe? A: We have staff in a number of countries including the USA, UK, Europe, South Africa and Asia Pacific. The best way to become our representative is to join our Reseller Program, under which you can earn profits for reselling the MPMM project management process to your clients. First, download the latest trial edition of our MPMM project management process and then look into our Reseller Program. We are happy to appoint resellers in any country around the world, Portugal included of course. Soon you will be able to resell our latest Project Management Software release from Project Manager.com or become an affiliate for our Project Management Templates for Method123. The MPMM Support Team

Export Project Management Methodology Templates

Did you know you can Export Project Management Methodology Templates… That you can easily export project management methodology templates from MPMM, into Microsoft word or Excel? Using the “Export” button on the top right hand side, you can export any project management methodology templates included within MPMM, into the relevant Microsoft Office product. To select and export project management methodology templates , click on the “Template” tab at the top and then select your chosen template on the left hand side, in the navigation panel. Then click on the “Export” button and save your template to your PC or file server. From there, you can open the project management methodology template in the most suitable Microsoft Office application and complete it for your projects. You can use these templates for as many projects as you wish, however they are primarily licensed to the valid user of MPMM. Project Management Templates are only included in the MPMM Standard and Professional ed

Project Management Template for Project Planning

Project Management Template for Planning a Project Did you know that one of the most common causes of project delay, overspend and customer dissatisfaction, is the a lack of proper project planning? The "Project Planning" phase is one of the most critical phases within a project for a Project Manager. Within this phase, the people, resources, finances, suppliers and tasks must be correctly scheduled using this project management template , in order for the Project Manager to be able to monitor and control the project delivery effectively. To help you to plan projects better than before, we’ve described here: 10 Steps to Planning a Project If you want to plan projects quickly and efficiently, then take the following 10 steps: Step 1: Create a Project Plan Firstly, you need to create a comprehensive Project Plan using our project management template, which is critical to the success of the project. The Project Plan identifies the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) of the phases, a

Customizing your Project Management Life Cycle

Customizing Project Mangement Life Cycle Q: I am reviewing the trial version. Does the package allow you to totally customise existing project templates and add new templates that match my business requirement into the various phases of the project management life cycle ? A: Thank you for your question and for trialling MPMM. Firstly, we have released a new trial edition of MPMM which includes more visible content for customers. Now, to answer your questions: "Does the package allow you to totally customize existing templates in your project management life cycle? " Yes definitely. There is an "export" button near the top RHS of the product. While it is not active during the trial edition, once purchased, you will be able to export any of the templates included within MPMM into Microsoft Word and Excel. In the latest release, we have added functionality which also allows you to load personal templates back into MPMM, to use it as your personal document store for

Copying and Moving Project Management Methodologies

Latest Release Feature on Project Management Methodologies You can now copy and move pages between project management methodologies . Before this latest release of MPMM, the project management methodologies was fixed. You could read it and apply the project methodologies principles, but not edit the methodology pages. In this latest edition, we go one step further by enabling you to create whole new customized project management methodologies of your own. When you create a new methodology, we suggest that you use as much of the existing content provided by the MPMM project management methodologies as possible. In this way, you don’t have to create hundreds of new methodology pages from scratch. When creating new project management template , use the Methodology Project Manager to copy and move pages from the MPMM methodology, upload content pages from documents and processes and that may already have in place, or create the content pages from scratch. The MPMM Support Team

Splitter Bars in Project Management Process

Tip Changing your Splitter Bars within MPMM Project Management Process … Have you changed your splitter bars yet? The splitter bars are the borders between each of the content panels within MPMM project management process . For instance, there is a bar (or border) between the centre Display Panel and the Navigation Panel on the left hand side. You can move these splitter bars, to fit your screen. Users with small screens or using high DPIs (such 120 DPI) may wish to move the splitter bars towards the center, so that the content on the left and right hand sides is clearly visible without having to scroll. Users with larger screen sizes (or using lower screen resolutions, such as 96 DPI) will want to move the splitter bars towards the outside, so that the maximum amount of content is visible in the center Display Panel. Did you realize that there is also a splitter bar between the Page Summary and Related Topics section as well? You can move this bar up and down vertically, as you wish.

Project Management Methodology Index

Indexing & Serial Numbers for Project Management Methodology Client Request: The index of project management terms in MPMM is pretty good, but when will I be able to create my own index for my own project management methodology ? Support Team Response: Any time you edit the MPMM methodology, duplicate the methodology, or create a brand new methodology, the MPMM index is visible. This enables you to have a complete set of index terms “good to go” for each of your project management methodology you create. However some companies use their own project management life cycle terminology and would like to create their own index. You can do this now in Version 3, by editing and adding Index terms, however you can’t delete core MPMM project management index terms. We will probably make it so that you can choose to either; use the MPMM index, customize the MPMM index or create a new index yourself. This gives you all of the options you need, to create and customize unique new index terms

MPMM Project Management Life Cycle Reseller

Become a Reseller of MPMM Project Management Life Cycle Q: Congratulations on the release of such a wonderful Project Management Life Cycle . I would like to know if we can enter into a kind of reseller agreement so that I can be your point of contact in South Africa (if you don't have one already). I believe the market for this kind of product is huge in South Africa and the rest of Africa and I will be very glad to join your team. I have an idea of several companies in SA that look for companies that have got sound project management methodologies like yours, so if I become your SA partner as a Project Manager Consultant, I believe we will get some good deals. A: Thank you for your enquiry. We have now released the MPMM project management life cycle Certified Reseller Program, so this is the best course of action for you. By becoming a Certified Reseller, you can resell MPMM licenses to your clients. You can also offer your clients consulting and training services relating to ins

How to Import Project Management Methodologies

Did you know… That you can import and export project management methodologies in MPMM? That’s right, you can use MPMM to create your own unique project management methodologies and then use the Export and Import features to swap project management methodologies with other licensed users. There are a variety of situations that you may wish to distribute your project management methodologies created in MPMM. Firstly, if you’re a manager of a team and you customize the MPMM methodology for your projects then why not distribute your project management methodologies to other licensed users within your team? Using the Settings button, you can select the “Export” button to export your entire project management methodology as a single data file. This means that all of your MPMM lifecycle pages, templates and business case studies for the methodology you have selected, will be exported as a single data file. You can then send this data file to another licensed user to import into MPMM using