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Showing posts with the label Project Management Tool

How to Demonstrate the Value of PM Training - a 4 step process

Many businesses struggle with demonstrating that they are getting their money’s worth in sending employees to training classes. This question can be applied to project management training as well as any other type of business training. You know the cost side of training too well. But how do you tell what the business value is? All organizations train their people, and most spend significant sums doing so. Yet they generally don’t have any idea whether they’re getting any business value from training. Beyond teaching new employees the specifics of their jobs, most companies train staff in areas such as leadership, communications, performance management, or lean operations. But they typically measure training’s impact by conducting surveys of attendees or counting how many employees complete courses rather than by assessing whether those employees learned anything that improved business performance. - McKinsey Quarterly "Putting a Value on Training" Unfortunately, many organiza...

Ten Steps to Manage Issues on Large Projects

Issues are more than just common problems. They are problems that meet specific criteria. An issue is a formally-defined problem that willimpede the progress of the project and cannot be totally resolved by the project manager and project team without outside help. The processes used to manage issues can be simpler or more rigorous depending on the size of the project. Use the following process to manage issues on large projects. Identify the problem and document on the Issues Form Solicit potential issues from any project stakeholders, including the project team, clients, sponsors, etc. The issue can be surfaced through verbal or written means, but it must be formally documented using an Issues Form.   Determine if the problem is really an issue The project manager determines whether the problem can be resolved or whether it should be classified as an issue. Enter the issue into the Issues Log If it is an issue, the project manager enters the issue into the Issues Log. ...

Six Reasons You Need a PMO

We all have many wants in our lives but only a handful of needs—food, clothing, and shelter being the top three. Similarly, companies may want many things, but really only find a few things absolutely necessary for survival. A Project Management Office (PMO) should be at top of that list of priorities, along with sales, profits, and growth. Read on for the: Six Reasons You Need a PMO Consistent Methodology – The bane of many organizations is when departments and groups develop home-grown ways of completing projects. Some processes may work beautifully, some may work terribly; the point is that none are consistent with each other or across the organization. You need a common project management methodology. A PMO allows everyone in the company to speak the same language and follow consistent processes. Economies of Scale – It’s not uncommon for a company to have a half dozen or so timesheet or project management applications within a company, each with its own financial cost for i...

Using Project Management Tools

By using project management tools when you are exploring a business opportunity, it can help you make a better decision on many of the important factors that need to be decided upon. This is possible because time is a finite resource and by using tools, you can save some valuable time while exploring all the possible options you have at your disposal. One of the first project management tools you are most likely to deploy is the business case template. This will help you to document the proposed business opportunity with the greatest detail in the smallest amount of time. Another of the tools used in the beginning of a project is the feasibility study. This is how you will be able to prove just how big the revenue stream could be in the different markets you are targeting. The reason you should consider using project management tools when venturing into a new project is not only the time saving features of using them, but the level of detail they assist in bringing out of your proje...

Timesheet Template

The use of a timesheet template can bring your organization consistency in the manner in which time spent on a project is documented. The use of a timesheet is regulated by the items included in the template. For this reason, an organization must know what is available to them and how this new information can be used to benefit them is of an upmost concern. The top priority that has to be included in a timesheet template is the monitoring and control of how the time is spent by the project team. The recording of time has been done since the first time sheet was introduced to the business world many years ago, but the inclusion of more information is new. By having a space in the timesheet for the inclusion of what was accomplished, or the components of the project that were worked on, it can be a source of valuable information on just how the finite resource of time was spent by your employees. Each category you include in the timesheet template will then be filed in by your employe...

Project Planning so the Correct Documents can be Produced

One of the reasons for project planning is so the correct documents can be created. Just like any other business venture, a path or set of instructions will help a project team to keep focused on the goals and scope of the project when it is in writing. To begin the project planning process, there will be a need for documentation. This is where the project management templates will play an important role. These preformatted set of templates make it possible to create all nine documents needed in the processes that are necessary for a modern business venture to be run. This is so there is a set of instructions for the project team to follow. The other reason for the document trail is that the regulatory agencies of the world require this for acceptance of the deliverables these projects produce. Without them acceptance into most of the regions of the world will either not occur or there will be great difficulty in making it happen. The documents the project planning process gives an ...

Project Planning and Management Guidance

Project planning and management guidance are two things that must be coordinated so the goals and scope of your business venture are realized. This sounds like it would work together naturally, but there can be problems that arise over the course of time that could interfere with your organization. To make project planning and management work together in the most productive manner will take an effort by project manager, their team and the management representative responsible for the project. In many instances this will be the project manager, but not with every organization.  To help overcome the most common discrepancies, a good line of communications must be present at all times. This will allow for all parties involved to know what is going on at all times. One of the first things that need to be established with project planning and management working together is a list of responsibilities for all the people involved with the project. This allows for anyone to know who is suppo...

A Project Plan for the Future

The project plan for a business venture has to be set down and documented for its full potential to become a reality. This is most commonly done today in the digital format so time and energy can be saved in the arduous task. The creating of a modern project plan today is generally done with the use of several different project management tools that are available. Of these project planning tools, the most often used is the project management template sets. This is a collection of 52 different digital templates used for the planning and documentation of the projects many different components. There are nine different processes that every project plan has to have documented. These templates are laid out so each one is done in the most logical and effeicent manner so the execution phase of the project’s lifecycle can be achieved with the fewest problems. Each template has been created by applying the most current business models for that particular process along with the internal tools...

Uses for a Project Management Tool

The uses for a project management tool will vary depending on its intended purpose. The things all project management tools have in common is they are a device that will save time, money and effort by the user when applied properly to the construction and execution of a project for an organization. The project management tool that is used most often is in the form of a digital product. These are the software programs that are designed to help the project manager do their assigned tasks while at work. They can be in a number of different classifications of programs that will include document outlines, organizational tools, report generators and monitoring programs. Each none has a specific purpose behind its creation. For the project management tool that is made for creating documents is called the project management templates. These are preformatted documents that have a clear path for the data to be placed. These templates were created so a documented could be created without havi...

Project Management Resources

The need for Project Management Resources is growing as more organization become more complex and demand more from the project management tools they use. Just having the proper tools around is not enough. You must be able to maximize their use on a regular basis for them to be truly effective. The accessibility of resources to help you use your project management tools is now available like never before. To help fit the needs of our clients, there are both informative videos along with the written word explaining in detail the most common questions involving our tools. By offering this online 24/7, there are available when you need them no matter where you are located or what time zone you are in. There will always be help and information available to keep your project progressing along. The video presentations can show you about your project’s different stages and the components in them. This information can help provide the necessary data so you fully understand the inner workings o...

Timesheet Tracker

The use of a timesheet tracker program will help alleviate many of the headaches a project manager might have during the execution phase of their project’s lifecycle. As all mangers are fully aware, time is the one resource that is finite by definition. Once it is gone you can never recover it so managing it properly should be a top priority. By using a program that is dedicated to only being a timesheet tracker , all of your time management can then be centralized. This allows for an easy manner of organizing this valuable resource.  To use this type of monitoring system a timesheet templates should be used by all employees. By using the templates the timesheet tracker will be able to take the data requested by the manager without any mishaps. This is due to the fact that the templates are self explanatory for the employees to use. There are areas where the exact time they spent on specific tasks is to be recorded. There are also sections to describe in detail if needed what was acc...

Project Planning and Management Decisions

The number of project planning and management decisions that are required to make a business opportunity turn into a successful project are numerous. In most instances, each decision will be the foundation for the following decisions that need to be made. To begin with the project planning and management decisions, there must be a firm foundation for the following decisions to be set upon. To complicate matters, the business world does not wait for these decisions to encompass a great deal of time. This is where the project manager tools that arte available to the project manager play a significant part in being successful. With the correct project management tools in place the project planning and management decisions can be implemented in the shortest time span. This will allow for the construction of the project plan to be completed so the deliverable can be on the market with the smallest amount of delay as possible. The most often and productive project management tool used in t...

With a Good Project Plan, a Firm Foundation is Set

The setting of a good project plan in place by a project manager a firm foundation can be established to build off of for your project to be based on. To make this document as sound as it will need to be all begins with the way it is constructed. The use of a project management tool is the most common since the age of the computer entered the daily business routine. This tool in helping the project manager in creating their project plan is a project template program. This is used because not only is it a good guide to what is working in the industry today, but all of the details needed have a space already outlined in the template. By using a template in creating a sound project plan , you will not forget any of the important details that will be necessary for the plan to be completed in the detail that is necessary for the project to have a chance at being a success. For those that think a set of templates is not necessary, remembering all 11 of the processes that are needed to in t...

Modern Project Management Tools

The modern project management tools have come a long way for the days of a slide rule. Today the most used tools are digital and are on a computer. These are designed to help the project manager create, document and implement project plans in the most efficient manner possible. There are numerous different project management tools that are used at all levels and phases of a projects lifecycle. The one that is used first is the project management templates. This is a digitized set of documents that are used in the creation of all the required procedures that will be involved in a modern project. The templates are the project management tools that create not only the different procedures, but also the forms and required inquiries to their party vendors so the most accurate data can be obtained on the resources that will be needed for the project. This includes the Request for Information and Request for Proposal forms. During the execution stage of the project plan, the project manage...

The Project Management Tool

The  project management tool and its definition are growing as technological advances in software are reaching the manufacturing sectors of business. This is one of the reasons a manager is placed on salary instead of an hourly wage. Their job as a professional is never over and not limited to work being conducted at the office. The first  project management tool that was used by managers back over 100 years ago was the Gantt charts. These were useful graphical displays that helped the manager organize the tasks that were needed to be accomplished on their projects. While still in use today, they are no longer manually created since the age of the computer came into play on the business scene. The next  project management tool that was used included the project management book. This is a collection of known processes that worked successfully in the manufacturing sector to help managers produce a successful project more efficiently and on budget. With the greater need for efficiency ...

The Project Management Tools

The availability and number of  project management tools that are accessible by the current project managers have been greatly increased in recent years. This is due to the incorporation of computers into tasks that used to be done manually. To be classified as  project management tools , a process or concept must be capable of assisting the manager in completing one of their many tasks that are involved in creating, running or monitoring a project. This can be in the physical form like a computer, or in the digital format as with the numerous software programs that are designed for specific functions. One of the first  project management tools that a manager will reach for and utilize in the creation of a project is the project management templates. This program is essential to speeding up the creation of all the required documentation and forms that will be necessary for a project to be started and recorded so reports can be made, along with the permanent record of what was down an...

To Be a Project Management Tool

To be considered a project management tool , a project manager must find the process or item in question to show benefits in terms of efficiency in time and monetary savings. Many different items that are available to a project manager fit this requirement. Each tool has a specific purpose and aim to assist the manager at increasing the efficiency of some stage in the progression of a project. The first project management tool that most managers reach for at the beginning of a project is the project management templates. These preformatted documents are used to get a jump start on the documentation process that is required for every project that is undertaken. They make it possible to have the required documents to be completed faster, and in more detail, than any other means. This is because they are not only a shortcut by providing the document itself, but as a guide for the entire process to make sure all the details are included. By using this project management tool from the beg...

The Project Planning

The approach you take towards the project planning at your facility is a choice you or the management has to make. This approach can be with an individual effort or a team effort. With the team approach, because of the advancements in software communications, team members can be in the same plant or around the world. What is vital in the approach to project planning is that it covers all the necessary process with the details that will be required in the execution phase. Unlike many past projects that were run with only the use of a Gantt Charts or two, today’s projects have to be thoroughly planned out with many different components. One of the reasons for the increase in complexity of project plannin g is in part due to the globalization of the market place. This has made manufactures in China, India, Japan, Europe and America all competing for the same target audiences.  Because of this increased competition, the cost and efficiency of the projects execution has evolved into being...

Project Management Tools

Because of project management tools and their availability to the project managers in industry, the speed and accuracy of a project’s lifecycle has been enhanced. This type of digital assistant is there to help in all phases of a project and running a business. This expansion of their uses is being done as their effectiveness is becoming more noticeable. When the first project management tools were introduced to the industrial sectors, not too many people were aware of their full potential. As with all tools, they must be used to be discovered. The first ones to breach out of the confines of the project mode were the budgetary templates and plans. The budget and expenditures of a project are similar to that of a business. For this reason, this part of the project management tool’s inventory is very beneficial. The accounting department can run more efficiently when only one type of program is used throughout a company, when it comes to keeping track of where the money is going and for...

The Proper use of a Project Tool

The performance of a project tool is like any other tool, it is measured by the skill of the user. Also like every other tool, it has to be used for it be show its benefits. An unused tool is just a waste of the money invested in it. One project tool that many project managers have found to be very useful is the project management templates. This is a set of preformatted documents that speeds up the planning process of a project so the execution of the project can commence. The judging of how good a project tool is done very basically. If the tool save money and time it is beneficial to have. Just like a mechanic that uses a ratchet instead of a wrench. Less time is required to remove a bolt. The same is when the project management templates are used. A considerable amount of time is saved for each document that is prepared with them. There are other benefits of using this project tool . By using the templates from the same program, the formatting will be the same for every document...