Method123

New comprehensive Quality Plan template release announced by Method123 Method123 has just announced the release a new full-featured Quality Plan template as part of their overall Project Management Kit product offering. Method123’s Project Management Kit provides the project manager and team with over 50 Project Management Templates .  The addition of this new Quality Plan template will definitely strengthen this industry leading software offering from Method123. The act of creating Quality Assurance Plans and Quality Control Plans is a critical piece of the overall project management tempaltes for any organization.  However, it is an often-overlooked step in the Project Planning process. Creating these plans at the beginning of the project enables the project manager and team to set quality criteria for the project that will be acceptable to the customer.  These plans are put in place to set guidelines for managing quality, how to measure and audit quality, and how to deal with quali...

Improve the Implement Project Management Methodology Service The same three aspects of the methodology that can be evaluated can be improved: - Implementation. - The project management template methodology document. - The methodology in use. Here are typical improvements for each of these aspects of methodology implementation. Implementation Here are common ways to improve methodology implementation - Improve publicity. Ensure that every methodology customer and stakeholder is encouraged to familiarize themselves with, and comply with the methodology. Especially ensure that they know what training opportunities are available, the benefits of compliance, and the consequences of non-compliance. - Improve training. Methodologies are complex. Even highly capable project managers find them demanding even using project management software . Ensure that training reaches each customer at his level of knowledge. Also ensure that the training is as practical as possible. Project managers should...

From a daily standpoint, the Project Manager is interested in completing tasks, delivery status, communication and updates and getting to the end point of the day with both the delivery team and the customer team well informed and the proper progress made on the current tasks. Daily View Now, that does not mean that the PM needs an update on every single task every day.  That would be overkill.  However, the critical tasks and the tasks that may be in danger of causing the project timeline or budget to slide – basically what’s hot right now and what’s at risk – need to be watched daily.  At the end of the day, those are the tasks that the PM, the delivery team, and the customer team need to know are being taken care of and are still in alignment with the overall project goals and timeline. Project View From a project view standpoint, the end goals have already been set in the sales process with the customer, reviewed by the PM with customer during project kickoff, and well documented i...

Evaluate the Implement Project Management Methodology Service There are three components of this service to evaluate: - Implementation. Is the methodology reaching everyone who needs to use it? Is it easy to understand and to apply? - The methodology document. Is the structure and content of the methodology sufficient to improve project management templates in the organization so that the PMO meets its strategic goals? - The methodology in use. If the methodology sits on a web site unused, it will not lead to changes in project management effectiveness or efficiency. There are four useful methods for gathering feedback from stakeholders: - Web-based surveys. These surveys can be used particularly to ensure that everyone who would benefit from familiarity with the methodology is aware of it and has access to it. They can also be used to assess response to the methodology. - After-class surveys. All training classes should be followed by a survey of the students assessing both the conte...

New comprehensive Quality Plan template release announced by Method123 Method123 has just announced the release a new full-featured Quality Plan template as part of their overall Project Management Kit product offering. Method123’s Project Management Kit provides the project manager and team with over 50 Project Management Templates .  The addition of this new Quality Plan template will definitely strengthen this industry leading software offering from Method123. The act of creating Quality Assurance Plans and Quality Control Plans is a critical piece of the overall Project Management Templates for any organization.  However, it is an often-overlooked step in the Project Planning process. Creating these plans at the beginning of the project enables the project manager and team to set quality criteria for the project that will be acceptable to the customer.  These plans are put in place to set guidelines for managing quality, how to measure and audit quality, and how to deal with quali...

How to Deal with Customer Indecision Indecision is human nature.  You and I experience it every day. So why shouldn’t our customers?  After all, they’re just human, too.  But when you’re working on a critical project, that indecision that you’re feeling on the part of your customer can become frustrating.  And it can become hard to manage. Fear not. Don’t pull your hair out.  There are things you can do to help you and your customer along the way when you’re sensing too much indecision: •    Communicate well.  Effective and frequent communication will serve two purposes here. It will maintain your customer’s confidence that you’re on top of things and it will keep you in constant tune with your customer’s needs. •    Revisit requirements.  If you’re sensing uneasiness from your customer it could be that certain project management software requirements weren’t well thought out. Take some time to revisit requirements with the customer at this point and add detail or clarification where ...

If the PMIS can be delivered in time for the initial project management methodology implementation, then the PMIS implementation should occur first, and the implementation of project management methodology, standards, processes, and tools should occur second. In this way, the entire approach to online project management can be delivered once, within the PMIS, and project managers can begin using optimal tools right inside the PMIS right away. The Implement Project Management Methodology Service is also closely linked to the Train Staff Service. Much of the content of training is the project management methodology. Also, when the methodology changes, updated training will need to be scheduled and provided. There may be a link between project management methodology implementation and the Manage Accounts Service. If the methodology mandates certain accounting approaches, principles, or requirements, then the Manage Accounts Service should be designed with Project Management Templates to ...

If you want to improve your Project Success, then you need to learn something new about managing projects every week. After all, if you’re not learning then how can you improve? So find out... How to improve your Project Learning Here are 5 great tips for learning more about Project Management... 1: Get serious Whether you’re a beginner or novice, you need to invest in formal training to boost your skills. So get serious and take the first step. Either enroll for a formal training course locally, or use Project Management Templates so that you can learn from home when it suits you. Then set aside 2 hours every week to sit down and read books, materials, articles and white papers about projects. By immersing yourself in the topic, you will spark ideas for your own projects that you can use to improve your success. 2. Widen your scope Don’t just stick to the classical theory of project management. Instead, widen your scope by reading materials that also cover managing people, money and ...

Relationship Between the Implement Project Management Methodology Service and Other Services The process of implementing project management methodology is closely related to the next three General Services: Promote Standards, Improve Processes, and Standardize Tools. At a minimum, these four activities should be rolled out on an integrated schedule. It is possible to combine the four services into one, because the framework in the project management methodology is a framework for all standards, processes, and tools. The advantage of this approach is that the customers – project managers – receive everything they need to understand and implement the new approach to online project management all at once. Methodology implementation also has a relationship to the three general processes that implement the Project Management Information System (PMIS): Support Software, Administer Databases, and Administer Knowledge Base. The timing of project management methodology implementation and these...

Good Requirements Mean Everything There are a lot of important things that go into making a project and project management practices successful.  Good, skilled resources.  A confident and experienced online project management manager.  A project budget big enough to get the job done.  However, none get the project off on the right foot quite as well as rock-solid project requirements. As the project manager, you have a statement of work in hand and an anxious customer ready to kickoff the project.  You’ve already put together a project schedule to get the project moving forward and you’ll continue to refine it as more details emerge.  The next thing you must do is ensure that you and your customer define as many requirements as possible and in as much detail as possible.  A colleague of mine once said “requirements are the lifeblood of project management templates ” and that is definitely true.  I’ve witnessed projects taking horrible turns for the worse when it became apparent that ...

The Methodology Outline Project Management Template provides a set of headings that can be used as a starting point for the project management methodology document. It is expected that most PMOs will expand and perhaps alter this outline to suit the needs of the organization. The PMO Methodology Expert creates and maintains the project management methodology document following these 5 steps: 1. Copy the Project Management Methodology Outline Template to the hypertext or document project management tool that will be used to create the project management methodology. 2. Using the list of components in the Methodology Publication Schedule, adjust the table of contents and section headings so that, after the introduction, there is one section for each major component of the methodology. 3. Open the Methodology Execution Plan, and complete the items listed in the New Project Management Methodology Adoption Schedule. Place completed components into the Methodology Outline to create the Meth...

New Project Management Templates Released for Change Request Form Change on a project is inevitable.  It happens whether your are adequately tracking it or not.  In the long run, it’s critical to your project’s timeframe and budget success to do the best job you can tracking any and all project changes, and Method123 can help you do that through the use of the Change Request Form . As Jason Westland , CEO of Method123 Ltd states, “The Change Request Form is the mechanism by which you and your team can easily and seamlessly document all project request.  Change happens and change request forms should always be part of any project management methodology.  Whether or not they get used, is another question.  With Method123’s Change Request Form template you will now have the tool you need to track all changes and your team will have no excuses documenting all change requests because it’s so easy and built right into the Method123 Online Project Management process.” The Method 123 Change Fo...

Creating Cohesive and Effective Teams for Your Projects A team is more than just a group of people doing project management template work. It is an assembly of individuals with diverse backgrounds who interact for a specific purpose. An ineffective team has negative attitudes, points fingers, garners grudges and distrust, and is often not well focused on the end goals of the project. These conditions manifest themselves in high turnover and absenteeism, considerable frustration levels, poor communication, and intolerance. As the project manager, your goal is to avoid those negatives of an ineffective team and build a team of effective members who display the following characteristics: Characteristics of Effective Teams Acceptance of new ideas and objective evaluation of them Sustained common norms, values, and beliefs without excessive conformity Synergy through mutual support Loyalty and commitment to the project Focus on end results A trusting, open attitude Ability to...

Outputs for the Implement Project Management Methodology Service The output of the Implement Methodology Service exists in two forms: - The physical, written project management methodology document, which is best presented on a web site or in another hypertext format. - In the actual activity of managing projects following the online project management methodology . Preparing the Methodology Document The core project management templates document itself is likely to be ten to forty pages long. When standards, processes, and tools are added, it will be several hundred pages. When training modules are added, it is even longer. As a living document, the methodology will have portions updated frequently. Therefore, a hierarchical, modular series of independent pages is much better than a single document. A web site, or a document build in a document management system, are ideal solutions.

New Project Plan Template Release from Method123 Sets the Standard The release of Method123’s new Project Plan template as part of their overall Project Management Tool Kit promises to set the standard for Project Planning and scheduling. According to Jason Westland, the CEO of Method123, the project plan is most critical tool in a project manager’s toolbox.  “The Project Plan is at the core of every company’s project management methodology.  Without a good project plan, your project is headed toward schedule delays, misaligned tasks, and budget overruns.  Our template will step you through the process of developing and maintaining a rock-solid project plan to keep your schedule in check throughout the project.” Method123’s Project Plan template can help the Project Manager assemble the proper detail in the schedule to manage everything.  Tasks, resources, milestones, and task dependencies are all critical pieces of the project plan.  With just a few easy steps, this new template wi...

It is important to note that some proposed Project Management Template changes, especially requests for exceptions and suggested improvements, may be rejected. In that case, the proposed change should be entered in the Project Management Methodology Maintenance Checklist, and a note added in the New Version column saying "Proposed change rejected, project management methodology not changed." Note that the second, third, and fourth changes are all planned as part of a single revision of two project management software methodology components. The Organized Set of Processes and the Decision Rules will both be updated from version 1.1 to version 2.0 at the same time. The revision will add suggestions from many project managers to improve effectiveness and efficiency, and also bring the processes in line with the industry standards association.