Een friend van Healthcheck-online.com is Zichtwerk in Den Helder. Het bedrijf richt zich op reclame, belettering en digitale printtechnieken. En werkt ondermeer mee met het Veronica programma ‘de grote beurt’ en het SBS-6 programma ‘Holland’s got talent’. Op de website is het volgende te lezen:
Wij zijn een full-service reclameleverancier: Het complete traject voor uw reclame op maat vindt u bij ons. Als u ook waarde hecht aan kwaliteit, creativiteit, veelzijdigheid en vakmanschap, komt u dan op z’n minst kennis met ons maken.
Producten:
Hun producten zijn ondermeer (maar niet beperkt tot):
Autoreclame, Beursdisplays, Bouwborden, Bewegwijzering, Bedrijfskleding, Carwrapping (inpakken van voertuigen), Full colour banners, Full colour stickers, Full colour, Reclameborden, Full colour print op vele plaatmaterialen, Gevelbelettering, Magneetplaten, Posters, Raamdecoratie, Reclameborden, Spandoeken, Spanframes en reclamedoeken, Sponsorborden, Standbouw, Vlaggen en masten en Vrachtwagenreclame. (Klik hier voor voorbeelden.)
Contactgegevens:
Zichtwerk reclame en digitale printtechniek v.o.f.
Pastoor Koopmanweg 23 a
1784 NX Den Helder
Tel: 0223-668838
Fax: 0223-661822
info@zichtwerk.com
http://www.zichtwerk.com
K.v.K. Alkmaar 37103273
Written by admin on September 2nd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on dutch and friends.
Frequently I receive questions from people who would like to prepare for the prince2 foundation exam by selfstudy. Most of the times the questions are about example questions for the exam or for literature needed for the exam.
In three articles I will try to explain:
-
What is an approach for studying for the foundation exam using the OGC bible: Managing Successful Projects with Prince2?
-
What other books are recommended besides the Prince2 manual?
-
How can I prepare myself on the exam itself, what kind of questions can I expect?
This article is about studying the Prince2 manual. The other two articles will follow soon.
Foundation exam approach using the Prince2 manual
First of all. The Prince2 manual is originally written in English. It was no really suited for Dutch students with poor understanding of the English language. This has changed since the manual has been translated in Dutch in the beginning of 2008. So if you’re dutch and still have the English manual: go to the book store and buy the Dutch version (recommended!).
So now about the approach. You have to read the following chapters to begin with:
Shiatsu
Shiatsu is eigenlijk een vorm van dieptemassage die is ontstaan uit elementen van de traditionele Chinese geneeswijze, namelijk tuina, door de Japanners Anma genoemd. Deze geneeswijze werd ongeveer 1500 jaar geleden in Japan geïntroduceerd, begin 20e eeuw herontdekt door Tamai Tempakeu. Hij combineerde traditionele oosterse technieken met westerse inzichten in anatomie en fysiologie.
Qigong Tuina
Qigong Tuina (spreek uit: Tsjiekoeng twienaa) is een natuurgeneeswijze die onderdeel is van de Traditionele Chinese Geneeskunde en gebaseerd op de Taoïstische filosofie van Yin en Yang. Vanuit die basis wordt het lichaam gereguleerd en wordt de weerstand versterkt. Het is oeroud (+/- 4500 jaar), maar maakt tegelijk deel uit van een zich ontwikkelende moderne wetenschap.
Intuïtieve massage
Het uitgangspunt van deze massagevorm vormt de klassieke Zweedse massage. Ik combineer deze met Tragering, Rolfing, Ritmische massage en soms met etherische oliën. Ik pas de strijkingen en knedingen echter op een holistische manier toe, dat wil zeggen; met enige creativiteit. Ik werk niet volgens een bepaald plan of schema, maar luistert naar wat door jouw lichaam wordt ingegeven. Daarbij heb ik aandacht voor de gehele mens en voor de sfeer. De massage werkt helend op je lichaam en herstelt je energiebalans.
Stoelmassage op het werk
Een stoelmassage kan vrijwel overal worden uitgevoerd. Het enige wat nodig is een goede verwarmde ruimte om een speciale massagestoel neer te zetten, de behandeling duurt twintig minuten en de cliënt houdt er gewoon zijn kleren bij aan. Een stoelmassage is laagdrempelig en eenvoudig in te plannen. De normale werkzaamheden worden er nauwelijks door gehinderd.
Qigong
Qi gong is een van de therapievormen van de traditionele Chinese geneeskunde, meestal aangeduid met TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Qi staat voor het Chinese Concept van levensenergie: Gong betekent zoveel als “de kunst” of “vaardigheid”. Qi gong kun je dus vertalen als “het beheersen van en werken met levensenergie”.
Cursussen
Shiatsu praktijk A geeft regelmatig cursussen voor bovenstaande massages. Kijk op de website voor meer informatie.
Contact
Shiatsu Praktijk “A”
P.M. van der Male
Aida 62
2907 KB Capelle aan den IJssel
Tel: 010 2203729 / 0628270688
E-mail: shiatsupraktijka@hetnet.nl
Website: http://www.shiatsu-praktijk-a.nl
Written by admin on September 1st, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on dutch and friends.
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.
Written by admin on September 1st, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on management web news.
Prince2 Product flow diagram in vsd format (Microsoft Visio)
Chapter 22 of the English OGC manual ‘Managing Successful Projects with Prince2′ explains the product-based planning technique. It is used in the sub-process Defining and Analysing Products (PL-2) of the Planning process.
Within the product-based planning technique four products are created:
- Product description of the final product
- Product breakdown structure
- Product descriptions of each product
- Product flow diagram
I created Microsoft Visio templates for the Product breakdown structure and the Product flow diagram. Feel free to use them, and leave a comment as appreciation.Click here to download Prince2 Product flow diagram in vsd format.
If you think things can be improved or if you have templates you would like to add then send me a message. All templates can be found here: http://prince2.healthcheck-online.com/my-prince2-tools-and-downloads/
Written by admin on July 18th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on prince2 and templates.
Prince2 Product breakdown structure in vsd format (Microsoft Visio)
Chapter 22 of the English OGC manual ‘Managing Successful Projects with Prince2′ explains the product-based planning technique. It is used in the sub-process Defining and Analysing Products (PL-2) of the Planning process.
Within the product-based planning technique four products are created:
1. Product description of the final product
2. Product breakdown structure
3. Product descriptions of each product
4. Product flow diagram
I created Microsoft Visio templates for the Product breakdown structure and the Product flow diagram. Feel free to use them, and leave a comment as appreciation.
Click here to download Prince2 Product breakdown structure in vsd format.
If you think things can be improved or if you have templates you would like to add then send me a message. All templates can be found here: http://prince2.healthcheck-online.com/my-prince2-tools-and-downloads/
Written by admin on July 17th, 2008 with 1 comment.
Read more articles on prince2 and templates.
Working with Prince2 I developped some templates or tools for myself. Ofcourse I have no problem sharing them with you. If you download one of the templates then please leave a comment as appreciation.
If you think things can be improved or if you have templates you would like to add then send me a message. All templates can be found here: http://prince2.healthcheck-online.com/my-prince2-tools-and-downloads/
Prince2 HealthCheck in xls format (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet).
This is the spreadsheet I use within my projects to check for Prince2 compliancy. Together with the quality plan we decide which HealthCheck should be performed and when.
The questions are answered in an interview most of the times performed by project support. They report to project assurance. Project support is involved since they can check if the project documents are really there …
Answering the questions, the field change color: Green for a Y and red for a N. I expect project managers to explain the No’s an Not Applicable in the rows under the HealthCheck.
Click here to download Prince2 HealthCheck in xls format.
Written by admin on July 15th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on prince2 and templates.
A key aspect for the project is management of Risk. Management of Risk aims to identify risks that threaten the project and then manage them. It is not necessarily required to eliminate a risk (or all risks), that could be an disproportionate effort and could prove costly.
The project manager must be aware of the risks from the beginning of the project and not limited to one stage, but looking forward towards the end of the project. When decisions are taken they can have impact on the risks. So a risk assesment is a continous process.
Risk are introduced at any stage in the project, so good management of them is a necesity.
The Prince2 risk management cycle is divided in two steps:
- Risk analysis
- Identify the risks
- Evaluate the risks
- Identify suitable responses to the risk
- Select
- Risk management
- Plan and resource
- Monitor and report
Reference to the manual: “Managing Successful Project” from OGC, the 2005 edition:
- Management of risk - Chapter 17
- Risk management cycle - Chapter 17.3
- Risk analysis - Chapter 17.3.1
- Risk Management - Chapter 17.3.2
The Prince2 Health Check contains the following questions:
- Is there a Risk Log?
- Is it kept up-to-date?
- Are risks to each plan identified, analysed and acted upon?
- Are business risks identified?
- Is a formal procedure for the management of risk in use?
- Is risk assessment part of each End Stage Assessment?
- Were the major risks entered in the PID?
- Have risk owners been identified?
- Are risks monitored on a sufficiently regular basis?
- Is risk assessment part of each major change request assessment?
- Were risk likelihood and impact assessed?
- Have proactive risk actions been taken where necessary?
- Were any needed contingency plans prepared?
- Were all obvious risks covered?
- Were the risks and countermeasures discussed with the Project Board?
- Were appropriate countermeasures taken?
- Were risks reassessed when plans were changed?
Written by admin on June 23rd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on healthcheck-online and prince2.
The purpose of a business case is to capture the reasoning for initiating a project or task. It is often presented in a well-structured written document, but may also sometimes come in the form of a short verbal argumentation. The logic of the business case is that any time resources such as money or effort are consumed, they should be in support of the business. An example could be that a software upgrade might improve system performance but the “business case” is that better performance would improve customer satisfaction.
Business cases can range from comprehensive and highly structured, as required by formal project management methodologies, to informal and brief.
Information included in a formal business case could be the background of the project, the expected business benefits, the options considered (with reasons for rejecting or carrying forward each option), the expected costs of the project, a gap analysis and the expected risks.
Consideration should also be given to the option of doing nothing including the costs and risks of inactivity. From this information, the justification for the project is derived.
The Business Case is updated constantly for the justification of the project. Each time a stage of the project is finished, the Business Case will be updated according to the revised planning and is assessed whether it still makes sense for the project to proceed.
To perform the Prince2 Health Check for the Business Case, click here!
These are the questions to answer:
- Is there a Business Case?
- Are the reasons for the project clearly defined and valid?
- Is there an Investment Appraisal?
- Are figures based on defined items that can be measured?
- Is the Business Case passed down from pre-project work?
- If so, have the figures been checked out?
- Are costs based on the Project Plan or some other figure?
- Are benefits stated in terms that can be measured in the Post-Project Review?
- Have before measurements been taken in order to assist comparisons in the Post-Project Review?
- Is the Business Case updated and reviewed for each End Stage Assessment?
- Who measures the impact of changes on the Business Case?
- Is the impact of changes on the Business Case assessed?
- If the project is part of a Programme, is the Programme s Business Case fully reflected?
Written by admin on June 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on healthcheck-online and prince2.
The organisation of the project is one of the factors that can make a project a succes or a failure. Make sure that you have the right team and the right project board (steering committee).
The project usually consists of a Project Board (steering committee) and a Project Management Team (PMT). The steering committee consists of at least 1 person, although at least two people to recommend. The Steering Committee contains the following distinct roles:
- The Business Executive is the sponsor of the project and the owner of the business case. In general, this is the line manager of the department where the change takes place, but if the project is about for example replacing obsolete hardware it can also be the line manager of the IT department.
- The Senior User represents the users who will have to work with the outcome of the project. He is also responsible for providing users who can be interviewed in order to establish functional specifications, and is also responsible for providing to users to perform, for example, acceptance tests.
- The Senior Supplier is responsible for providing the necessary resources for the project. He is responsible for the allocation of the resources in the project, the availability of a project environment and any necessary hardware and software.
The project leader is not part of the Project Board. The Project Board takes decisions about releasing the budget for the next phase of the project on the basis of the updated Business Case. They also set out what the stage boundaries are in terms of turnaround time and investment for the next phase.
The Project Board will therefore meet at the end of a phase (End Stage Report), but also when an Exception Report is submitted by the project manager: Management By Exception.
The questions to be answered in the organisation health check are:
- Is there a Project Board?
- Are any limits to the authority of the Project Board documented?
- Is it clear to whom the Project Board reports?
- Which member of the Project Board reports to senior management?
- Does the Senior User adequately represent all user areas?
- Are PB members contributing fully to all Mid Stage Assessments and End Stage Assessments?
- Are PB members carrying out their other project duties?
- Is there a Project Manager (PM)?
- Have assurance roles been agreed?
- Has any role for Project Support been clarified?
- Does each person have a job description?
- Has each person agreed/signed their job description?
- Was the organisation agreed by the end of SU?
- Is the documented version of the organisation correct?
- Is the role of the Supplier(s) clearly defined?
- Have any changes to the management team been recorded?
- Has the Project Board received training for its roles?
- Is the team manager role used effectively?
- Are job descriptions agreed with any late appointments?
Interested in performing the organisation healt check? Click here!
Written by admin on June 10th, 2008 with 1 comment.
Read more articles on healthcheck-online and prince2.
Loading... 