Project Management -How To Manage All The Interested Parties To Get Your Project Completed

Author: Liz Cassidy

The precessional effect says that the actions you take will affect other people. Common sense says that the more people you impact on, the more likely it is that your actions will affect people who have some power and influence over your actions. These people could be useful supporters of your projects – alternatively they may block your projects.

We call people who are impacted by our projects/business activities, stakeholders.

A key skill in project management is learning to win support from interested parties or stakeholders. Mastering this skill ensures that your projects are more likely to succeed.

Stakeholder Analysis is the methodology we use to identify who are the key people who have to be on our side and supporting us to ensure that our project succeeds.

The benefits of using a “stakeholder-based approach” are:

• Stakeholders tend to have opinions which may be sought earlier in the project cycle than later. Their knowledgeable input early in the project life, can improve the quality of the project, and give them a sense of ownership in ensuring the project actually happens successfully.
• In gaining support from the more powerful stakeholders we can gain access to more resources – financial, time based and people based.
• When we involve the stakeholders on a regular basis, even if is simply reporting on progress to them, we ensure that they understand what we are doing and are kept abreast of the project status and benefits. If and when we need their active support they are already “on side”.
• We can predict what stakeholders’ reactions to our project may be and ensure that we are actively marketing the project in a way that will win their support.

The first step is to identify who the key stakeholders for a particular project are.

Brainstorm in a group if possible, who will be impacted upon by the project.
Local government, regulators, unions, employees, customers, special interest groups, neighbouring sites, businesses, Trades people, contractors, investors, managers, suppliers, financiers/banks, the press, etc.
Stakeholders may be either an organisation e.g. a trade union, or an individual e.g. the trade union delegate.

The next step is to work out their power and influence over and interest in the project. This activity ensures that we know who we should focus and prioritise our attention, marketing and communications.

To create a power interest grid, on a page draw an X and Y axis.
Label the y axis, “power” and the x axis “interest”:

Where the axes meet, mark both “low” and at the extremity of each axis mark “high”

Now from our list of interested parties, we mark on the grid, where each person/organisations level of power vs. interest is.

Those who we identify as having high power and low interest will need nurturing and attention.

However those who we identify as high power and high interest will need to be marketed to early and regularly in a way which allows them to continue to see the advantages of the project to them. To do this, we ensure that we develop a good understanding of the most important stakeholders so that we can predict how they may respond. This allows us to work out how to win their support.

To get an easy to use visual report on stakeholders and their impact on the project, we can colour code the Power interest grid. Potential project blockers or critics can be coded in red; Project supporters can be coded green, those who are perceived to be neutral can be coded orange.

When unsure about the consequences then it may actually be useful to talk to the stakeholders and ask them! Most people are open with opinions and this is a first step in building a successful relationship with them.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/project-management-how-to-manage-all-the-interested-parties-to-get-your-project-completed-20921.html

About the Author:

Liz Cassidy, founder of Third Sigma International is an author, Speaker, Trainer and Executive Coach dedicated to facilitating results in the businesses, professional and personal lives of her clients. For more information http://www.thirdsigma.com.au

Are Online Project Management Courses Enough?

Author: sheila Mulrennan

Project management is one area of business that is undoubtedly valuable for any enterprise. As such project management courses abound just about everywhere, including via the Internet, all seeking to fill the need for the training of project managers who handle various initiatives for their organizations. However, the question is whether these project management courses, especially those found online, are enough to prepare participants to handle demanding projects that truly adds value to the business.

In part, successful projects define the forward motion of a business. Aside from the achievements of day-to-day operations, the success rate of individual projects within the organization determines the capabilities of the business organization. Good project management can add prestige as well as revenue to any business.

By definition, all projects are bound by time. They are not continuous activities but are set at specific timeframes. Some projects are recurring or periodic but nevertheless these projects last only for a short period, maybe weeks or months or a just a few years. To add to that restriction, resources may also be defined and inflexible. Thus the role of the project manager is to work with these restrictions and still achieve the objectives set for the projects.

Project management courses are therefore invaluable in training project managers to handle the complexities of each project. However, are investments into web-based project management courses sufficient for the needs of a business?

General Review of Online Project Management Courses

A quick online search on project management courses will yield millions of websites. A good proportion of this number are distance learning course offerings that are conducted using the Web. There are basic courses in project management and there are also advanced courses. The difference is in the course content with the advanced topics ranging from organizational culture, conflict management, risk management, contracts administration, critical chain, event chain and other such aspects and concepts of a full-blown enterprise project. A module on software-based project management is usually included for such courses and may also be provided in detail as a separate course.

The main drawback of some of these online courses is that it mainly leans onto technology related project management. It is almost always assumed that the course learnings will be applied on either a software development project or some other technical engineering type of endeavor. Nevertheless, there are other project management courses that are applicable to a wider range of business scenarios.

Getting Certified

Another area of online courses in project management that needs attention is with regards to certification. The better investment logically is a course that is university-certified or at least recognized by an appropriate professional board as providing equivalent education or fulfills examination requirements for their standards. Online courses that are not certifiable are best left to new project managers who just need a refresher or quick skills upgrade on project management.

Project management courses are indispensable in equipping your project leaders to gain success in your business projects. Online project management courses in particular are very convenient. However, ensure that the course content is appropriate to your particular industry or project goals and that certification is provided when applicable.

About the Author:

Sheila Mulrennan is a business author and journalist who regularly contributes articles on Management, Personal Development and project management training to leading business publications. Visit www.professionaldevelopment.ie for more information.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Are Online Project Management Courses Enough?

This Prince2 weblog is growing each day, or better said: each week. The numbers are going up as more and more people are finding this website. A good thing is that the average time people spend on this site is over 7 minutes! Of course I’m very happy with all of you. As this website is growing I’m also interested in your opinion. What information and what features should have this website?

Do you have any suggestions like:

• a section on best practices
• feeds from other weblogs/websites on Project Management
• a list of links for suggested articles
• ……

Just tell me what you are looking for when coming to this site. Your opinion is very much apreciated.

Via mijn mailbox werd ik geattendeerd op een artikel op http://www.serendipi-tijd.nl. Het artikel is geschreven door Bert Hedeman van Insights International. In deze ‘post’ een korte samenvatting. Mocht je geïnteresseerd zijn in het artikel, registreer je dan bij Serendipi-tijd en klik op deze link.

Inleiding op de website

De relatie PRINCE2 en projectbeheersing wordt niet altijd gezien als positief.

Bij PRINCE2 wordt al snel gedacht aan de ultieme projectbeheersing, namelijk de algehele verstarring of verstikking van het project. Als je het project al wilt begraven voordat het resultaat is opgeleverd, zet dan PRINCE2 ‘full monti’ in.

De methodiek biedt hiervoor een schitterende set van maar liefst 36 templates die ieder op zich honderden bladzijden papier kunnen genereren. Prachtig dus. Wijs de projectmanager er op dat je staat op volledige toepassing van PRINCE2 en het project is al begraven voordat het eigenlijk begonnen is en voordat het slachtoffer het zelf in de gaten heeft. Mooier kan niet. Of …,

Beknopte samenvatting

Met behulp van de 36 templates van Prince2 kan al snel honderden pagina’s papier opleveren. Wijs de projectmanager erop dat je staat op de volledige toepassing van Prince2 en het project is al begraven. Of kan je er misschien toch iets mee? Bert hedeman geeft antwoorden aan de hand van de context, de basisprincipes, kenmerken en de toegevoegde waarde van Prince2.

Context: Prince2 is geschreven om toegevoegde waarde te leveren voor de klant en niet bedoeld om zoveel mogelijk uren te genereren. Prince2 gaat uit van een gecontroleerde omgeving waar oude projectmanagement methoden uitgaan van een bevroren omgeving.

Basisprincipes:

• Projecten zijn succesvol als alle partijen tevreden zijn;
• Samenwerking leidt tot meer succesvolle projecten;
• Succesvolle projecten zijn ‘business driven’.

Kenmerken Prince2:

• Inrichten van een stuurgroep;
• Een beheerste start;
• Opstellen van een business case;
• Productgericht plannen, kwaliteitsbeoordelingen en aanpak wijzigingsbeheer;
• Management by exception.

Toegevoegde waarde:

• De gebruiker is betrokken gedurende de hele levenscyclus van het project.
• De opdrachtgever heeft een duidelijke set van afspraken waarmee hij met minimale inzet, maximaal kan sturen. Het project heeft draagvlak omdat de gebruikers zijn betrokken.
• De projectmanager heeft een eenduidige opdracht waarbij duidelijk is wat de klant wil bereiken met het project en wat de toegevoegde waarde is voor de organisatie. Tevens heeft hij duidelijke kaders en afspraken waarbinnen hij het project moet uitvoeren dan wel moet gaan communiceren.

Papierberg voorkomen: Voer de Prince2 templates alleen in als ze voldoende toegevoegde waarde leveren. Het kan namelijk ook een middel worden voor projectmanagers om zich achter het papier te verschuilen en door te gaan met PINO (Prince In Name Only).
Een project kan pas succesvol zijn als alle betrokken partijen tevreden zijn met het eindresultaat. De gebruikers zijn daarbij de belangrijkste factor.

Healthcheck-online.com aanvulling

In bovenstaande beknopte samenvatting heb ik getracht de essentie van het artikel te beschrijven. Het artikel zelf is goed te lezen en ik denk dat Bert Hedeman de spijker op zijn kop slaat met dit artikel over Prince2. In de afsluiting van het artikel mis ik een antwoord op de vraag die in de inleiding gesteld is (Of kan je er misschien toch iets mee?), maar het hele artikel moet gezien worden als het antwoord op die vraag.

Uit mijn eigen ervaring merk ik op dat de invoering van Prince2 in organisaties meestal begint met het kopiëren van de templates, het toevoegen van het bedrijfslogo en het roepen dat Prince2 verplicht is. Aan de essentie van Prince2 wordt echter voorbijgegaan, zoals Bert Hedeman dat treffend beschrijft. Hou vast aan de basisprincipes en kenmerken zoals beschreven in het artikel en stel vast wat écht belangrijk is voor uw organisatie. Alleen op deze wijze zal projectmangement volgens Prince2 landen in uw organisatie.

Al met al een prettig artikel dat de kern van Prince2 in organisaties raakt. Een goed begin van de maandag en hopelijk een bron van inspiratie voor velen. Dank je wel Bert!

Time management – Effective prioritizing for freelancers is the name of an article at http://freelanceswitch.com, written by Steven Snell. It is an great article about freelancers who have to manage their time. Of course it is also applicable for project managers.

Steven gives the following reasons for prioritizing:

• Steven functions far more effective with a list of tasks for each day and each week;
• he has to prioritize as he determines how to allocate his time for each task;
• effective prioritizing is necessary in order to maximize efficiency and productivity;
• he explains the difference between important and urgent, necessary to find a balance that allows to complete the most urgent and important tasks.

According to Steven Snell the following factors are to consider when determining priority:

• deadline;
• consequences;
• stage of development;
• pay
• client
• your word

Steven Snell has the following tips for planning your time:

• break your projects down into smaller steps; (see also my PBS & PFD templates…..)
• prepare ahead of time;
• review;
• estimate time requirements;
• know your strong times;
• follow your moods when appropriate

The full article can be read at: http://freelanceswitch.com/productivity/effective-prioritizing-for-freelancers/. It is worth reading! Perhaps it can also help the Swedish people in better doing their projects.

Translated from: www.computable.nl
Results of a Computable survey shows that Dutch ICT personel believe that when ICT projects fail often the sponsor and the performer are the mayor cause.

Computable says:”Many factors play a role in the failure of ICT projects. This is evident from the company’s annual research into the image of ICT service providers that has been carried out by TNS NIPO among more than two thousand ict’ers. The complete study (in dutch) can be found in the ICT Services Guide.”

Computable respondents gave the following reasons for project failure:
- 19% of the respondents say: because the customer does not state clearly enough what he wants.
- 15% of the respondents blame the service provider: because the provider communicates too little communicates with the client.
- 12% of the repondents state: the projects fail because the focus is not (or not enough) on the users.

Other reasons for project failure:
- Service providers lay the blame at the client side: “The sponsor is trying to outsource his own problem, but must first solve his problems himself before outsourcing.”
- and: “The client often is sabotaging his own project by giving too little space to the service provider for its work.”
- “the contract does not reflect the real business need”
- “careless analysis at the beginning of the journey”
- “Trojan horses in contract”
- and “projectscope is not sufficiently secured and guarded.”

On these reasons a strong reaction follows:
- “service providers focus too much on their own products and see other solutions as a threat to the projects. Even if it is a better solution for the customer.”
- “clients, define their projects too large, so the provider does not have sufficient knowledge / skills in a person or team available.”

A lot of sadness speaks from this remark:
- “service providers often have no business knowledge. Our experience shows it is of vital importance, and that is the main reason why projects fail.”

Another customer with little positive experiences with service providers:
- “The client is often not sufficiently aware of the contract and the service provider cannot place himself in the position of the users, thats why the gol of the project slips out of sight, the service provider does not respect mutual made agreements and doesnot deliver what is asked. ”

Ofcourse, states computable, the truth lies in the middle.
“A lot of respondents state that there is usually more than one reason in the game:
- It often involves a combination of reasons, but mainly because the service providers appears unable to act as system integrator, such as when it is contracted.”

Similarly, many respondents indicated that the fault lies mostly with both parties and the truth in the middle. This respondent expresses the beautiful:
- “at the start of projects the supplier and customer should commit to make the project a success.This is evident but in the daily practice it is easier said than done ….”