HaRiKarans Diary

Starting a new series of blogs

2012-01-24T04:23:00.000-08:00

Hello there,

Planning to post a new series of posts related to management options. Keep visiting this place for updates.

Completed CSM successfully

2011-11-01T07:40:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

I have successfully completed CSM (Certified Scrum Master) last month.

Thanks for the all your supports and hope to continue the same in future.

Regards,

Harikaran S

PMP ITTO Chart - Part 6

2011-02-07T01:57:00.000-08:00

Gurus,

Happy to see you again in this ITTO List (or) ITTO Chart series. We will see about Human Resource management knowledge area today.

Human Resource Management: It is the knowledge area which includes the processes that acquire, organize, manage the human resources for the project.

It has the following processes:

1) Develop Human Resource Plan,

2) Acquire Project Team,

3) Develop Project Team, and

4) Manage Project team.

1) Develop HR Plan: It is the process of identifying and documenting project roles, responsibilities, and required skills of the project work.

2) Acquire Project Team: It is the process where the human resources availability confirmation is taking place.

3) Develop Project Team: It is the process of improving the competencies of the project resources (human).

4) Manage Project Team: It is the process of tracking the human resources, providing their performance feedback, and managing any issues with them.

The following is the chart of Human Resource management processes:

See you again with other ITTO Chart (OR) ITTO List series soon. Happy reading!!!

PMP ITTO List - Part 5

2011-02-04T01:48:00.000-08:00

Gurus,

We will see the knowledge area of Quality Management. It is the important area in the project life cycle to determine the quality of it.

Quality Management:

It is the area which includes the processes of the performing organization that determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities to make sure the project process satisfies the needs of the project sponsor.

It has the following processes under it:

1) Plan Quality,

2) Perform Quality Assurance, and

3) Perform Quality Control

Plan Quality: This is the process of identifying quality requirements, standards for the project.

Perform Quality Assurance: This is the process of implementing the quality assurance of the project.

Perform Quality Control: This is the process of inspecting the quality standards against the actual project to determine whether the project is adhering to it or not.

The below is the table format of ITTO list of these three Quality Management processes:

See you soon with the next series of PMP ITTO list part.

PMP ITTO List - Part 4

2011-02-03T01:04:00.000-08:00

Gurus,

Happy to meet you again in this space. We will see the ITTO of Cost management knowledge area in this part.

Cost management: This knowledge area is involved in estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs and to keep the project within the approved cost.

Cost management processes: This knowledge area has three processes under it. They are:

1) Estimate Costs,

2) Determine Budget, and

3) Control Costs

1) Estimate Costs: It is the process of calculating an approximate cost requires to complete the project.

Inputs:

Scope baseline, Project schedule, HR Plan, Risk Register, Enterprise Environmental Factors (EF), Organizational Process Assets (OP)

Tools and Techniques:

Experts Judgment, Analogous Estimating, Parametric Estimating, Bottom-up estimating, Three-point estimating, Reserve Analysis, Cost of Quality, Project Management Estimating Software, Vendor Bid Analysis

Outputs:

Activity Cost Estimates, Basis of Estimates, Project Document Updates.

2) Determine Budget: It is the process of making a cost baseline for the project work.

Inputs:

Activity Cost Estimates, Basis of Estimates, Scope Baseline, Project Schedule, Resource Calendars, Contracts, Organizational Process Assets (OP)

Tools and Techniques:

Cost Aggregation, Reserve Analysis, Experts Judgment, Historical Relationships, Funding Limit Reconciliation

Outputs:

Cost Performance Baseline, Project Funding Requirements, Project Documents Updates

3) Control Costs: It is the status of monitoring the cost spent for the project work.

Inputs:

Project management plan, Project Funding Requirements, Work Performance Information, Organizational Process Assets (OP)

Tools and Techniques:

Earned Value Management (EVM), Forecasting, To Complete Performance Index (TCPI), Performance Reviews, Variance Analysis, Project Management Software

Outputs:

Work performance measurements, Budget forecasts, Organizational process assets (OP) updates, change requests, Project Management plan updates, Project document updates

See you soon with the next series of PMP ITTO list. Happy Reading!!!

PMP ITTO List - Part 3

2011-02-02T02:07:00.000-08:00

Gurus,

We will see the processes listed below Time management knowledge area in this post.

Time management: It is a process required to ensure timely completion of the project.

Time management processes: The following are the processes of the time management knowledge area.

1) Define Activities,

2) Sequence Activities,

3) Estimate Activity Resources,

4) Estimate Activity Duration,

5) Develop Schedule, and

6) Control Schedule

1) Define Activities:

Inputs:

Scope Baseline, Enterprise Environmental Factors(EF), Organizational Process Assets (OP)

Tools and Techniques:

Decomposition, Rolling wave planning, Templates, Expert Judgment

Outputs:

Activity List, Activity Attributes, Milestone List

2) Sequence Activities:

Inputs:

Activity List, Activity Attributes, Milestone List, Project Scope Statement, Organizational Process Assets (OP).

Tools and Techniques:

Precedence Diagram Method (PDM), Dependency determination, Applying leads and lags, Schedule Network Templates

Outputs:

Project Schedule Network Diagrams, Project Document Updates

3) Estimate Activity Resources:

Inputs:

Activity List, Activity Attributes, Resource Calendars, Enterprise Environmental Factors (EF), Organizational Process Assets (OP)

Tools and Techniques:

Expert Judgment, Alternative Analysis, published estimating data, Bottom-up estimating, Project Management Software

Outputs:

Activity Resource Requirements, Resource breakdown structure, Project document updates

4) Estimate Activity Duration:

Inputs:

Activity List, Activity Attributes, Activity Resource Requirements, Resource Calendars, Project Scope Statement, Enterprise Environmental Factors (EF), Organizational Process Assets (OP)

Tools and Techniques:

Expert Judgment, Analogous estimating, parametric estimating, three point estimating, reserve analysis

Outputs:

Activity duration estimates, project document updates

5) Develop Schedule:

Inputs:

Activity List, Activity Attributes, Project Schedule network diagram, Activity resource requirements, Resource Calendars, Activity duration estimates, project scope statement, enterprise environmental factors (EF), organizational process assets (OP)

Tools and Techniques:

Schedule network analysis, critical path method, critical chain method, resource leveling, what-if scenario analysis, applying leads and lags, schedule compression, scheduling tool

Outputs:

Project schedule, schedule baseline, schedule data, project document updates

6) Control Schedule:

Inputs:

Project management plan, project schedule, work performance information, organizational process assets (OP)

Tools and Techniques:

Performance reviews, variance analysis, project management software, resource leveling, what-if scenario analysis, adjusting leads and lags, schedule compression, scheduling tool.

Outputs:

Work performance measurements, organizational process assets updates (OP), change requests, project management plan updates, project document updates.

You can save it in a spread sheet to read it easily.

Happy reading!!! Cheers!!! See you soon!

PMP ITTO List - Part 2

2011-02-02T01:05:00.001-08:00

Gurus,

Happy to see you again....

Scope management:

Scope management deals with the processes required to define what work is required and ensure that the project includes only that work required to complete the project. Involves managing both product scope and project scope.

Scope management processes:

Provides guidance on how project scope will be defined, documented, verified and controlled by management team. It has the following processes:

1) Collect Requirements,

2) Define Scope,

3) Create WBS,

4) Verify Scope, and

5) Control Scope.

Collect Requirements: Collecting scope of the product or project.

Inputs: Project Charter, Stakeholder Register

Tools and Techniques:

Interviews, Focus Groups, Facilitated Workshops, Group Creativity techniques, Group decision-making techniques, Questionnaires and surveys, Observations, Prototypes

Outputs: Requirement Document, Requirement Management Plan, Requirement Traceability Matrix

Define Scope: Dividing major project deliverables. Primarily concerns with what is and is not included in the project.

Inputs: Project Charter, Requirements Documents, Organizational Process Assets(OP)

Tools and Techniques: Expert Judgment, Product analysis, Alternative Identification, Facilitated Workshops

Outputs: Project Scope Document, Project Documents updates

Create WBS: Dividing project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components. It is a deliverable-oriented grouping of project elements that organizes and defines the total scope of the project.

Inputs: Project Charter, Requirements Documents, Organizational Process Assets

Tools and Techniques: Decomposition

Outputs: WBS, WBS Dictionary, Scope Baseline, Project Document Updates

Verify Scope: To verify that the work done satisfies the scope of the project. Each phase of the product or project must be ending with verifying (inspecting) scope of it against the actual.

Inputs:

Project Management Plan, Requirements Document, Requirements Traceability matrix, Validated deliverable

Tools and Techniques: Inspection

Outputs: Accepted Deliverable, Change Requests, Project Documents Updates

Control Scope: focuses on the changes made to the scope statement.

Inputs:

Project Management plan, Work performance information, Requirements documentation, requirements traceability matrix, Organizational Process Assets(OP).

Tools and Techniques: Variance Analysis

Outputs:

Work performance measurements, Organizational process assets updates(OP), change requests, project management plan updates, project document updates

You can save it in a spread sheet to read it easily. Since I am unable to embed spreadsheet columns here, I have posted it as a plain text.

Catch you soon with the next knowledge area of the PMP- ITTOs. Happy reading!!!

PMP ITTO list - Part 1

2011-02-01T22:44:00.000-08:00

Gurus,

I took a long time to post this series of articles. Kindly excuse the delay. We will see the PMP exam preparation series starting with ITTOs of PMP Processes.

There are 42 processes available in PMBOK and they have been aligned with 5 process groups and 9 knowledge areas. ITTOs is nothing but the Input, Tools and Techniques, and Output (ITTO) of the each process.

Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitor&Controlling, Closing are the five process groups aligned by PMBOK.

Integration Management, Scope Management, Time Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Human Resource Management, Communication Management, Risk Management, Procurement Management are the nine knowledge areas aligned by PMBOK.

Integration management:

We will see the processed listed under Integration management in this article.

Integration management has the following process under it: (CM DM CC)

Developing Project Charter,
Developing Project Management Plan,
Direct and Manage Project Execution,
Monitor and Controlling Project Work,
Perform Integrated Change Control, and
Close Project or Phase.

1) Develop Project Charter:

Input:
SOW, Business Case, Contract, Enterprise Environment Factors (EF), Organizational Process Assets(OP).

Tools and Techniques:
Expert Judgment

Output:
Project Charter

2) Developing Project Management Plan:

Input:
Project Charter, Outputs from planning processes, Enterprise Environmental Factors(EF), Organizational Process Assets(OP)

Tools and Techniques:
Expert Judgment

Output:
Project management plan

3) Direct and Manage Project Execution:

Input:
Project Management Plan, Approved Change Requests, Enterprise Environmental Factors(EF), Organizational Process Assets(OP)

Tools and Techniques:
Expert Judgment, Project Management Information System

Output:
Deliverable, Work Performance Information, Change Requests, Project Management Plan Updates, Project Document Updates

4) Monitor and Controlling Project Work:

Input:
Project Management Plan, Performance Reports, Enterprise Environmental Factors(EF), Organizational Process Assets(OP)

Tools and Techniques:
Expert Judgment

Output:
Change Requests, Project management Plan updates, Project Document updates

5) Perform Integrated Change Control:

Input:
Project Management Plan, Work Performance Information, Change Requests, Enterprise Environmental Factors (EF), Organizational Process Assets(OP)

Tools and Techniques:
Expert Judgment, Change Control Meetings

Output:
Change Requests status updates, Project management plan updates, Project document updates

6) Close Project or Phase:

Input:
Project management plan, Accepted Deliverable, Organizational Process Assets(OP)

Tools and Techniques:
Expert Judgment

Output:
Final Product or service, Organizational Process Assets Updates(OP)

You can save it in a spread sheet to read it easily. Since I am unable to embed spreadsheet columns here, I have posted it as a plain text.

Gurus, happy reading. See you soon with ITTO List - Part 2.

Earned Value Management methodology

2010-10-25T04:37:00.000-07:00

Earned Value Management (EVM) methodology:

This is a project management technique used to track the progress and status of a project and forecast the likely future performance of the project.

Basic elements of EVM:

Planned Value (PV)= Hourly rate * Total hours planned

Earned Value (EV)= Baseline Cost * Percentage of Actual completion.

Actual Cost(AC) = Hourly rate * Total hours spent

The deriving values using these elements:

Schedule Variance (SV):

SV = EV-PV

Schedule Performance Index (SPI):

SPI = EV / PV

Cost Variance (CV):

CV = EV - AC

Cost Performance Index (CPI):

CPI = EV / AC

To Complete Schedule Performance Indicator (TSPI):

TSPI = (Total Budget - EV) / (Total Budget-PV)

To Complete Cost Performance Indicator (TCPI):

TCPI = (Total Budget - AC) / (Total Budget - AC)

Meet you soon with another blog...

Nice blog about project management

2010-03-04T02:49:00.000-08:00

Hi Gurus,

I found a nice blog about the project management. Visit this if you are really interested...

LINK

Catch U later...

Effective Business Case

2010-02-12T01:06:00.000-08:00

Aviators,

I have found out one more article about writing the business case effectively. Kindly click on the below link to know more.

LINK

Cheers!!!

Various types of calculating Return on Investment

2010-02-12T00:59:00.000-08:00

Kindly find the below link to come know the various techniques available in the market to calculate the Return on Investment.

Special thanks to Mr. Peter, who has sent me the link.

LINK

Thanks a lot. Catch you later!!!
:-) CHEERS...

Project Kick-off meeting

2010-02-11T02:51:00.000-08:00

We will try to see some of the essential points to be noted in a kick-off meeting of a Project.

Explaining background of project:

When you are handling a kick-off meeting, you should explain clearly about the background of project. You should explain the reason for the project in it.

Introduce the stakeholders:

Clearly introduce all the stakeholders of the project in the kick-off meeting with their contact details. It would be helpful for the audience to understand about each other very well. Make a document about the stakeholders and circulate it to the audience after completing the kick-off meeting.

Explain the goals of the stakeholders:

Explain thoroughly about the roles and responsibilities about the stakeholders thoroughly in the kick-off meeting. It will improve to understand each and others responsibility and provide clear idea about their deliverable.

These three are the main contents of a kick-off meeting. Kindly share your thoughts on it to help other readers as well.

Catch you later... Bye for now!!!

Project Managers FAQs

2010-02-04T03:59:00.000-08:00

Hello Managers,

I have found the below links with Question and Answers which have collected by "Shivprasad Koirala". It is really a good collection. We should thank him for the efforts he has provided to do it. If you need to jump up your position as a manager, kindly go through the following links.

Project Management Schedule Management:

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/ProjectManagementFAQ.aspx

Project Management Costing:

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/Coasting.aspx

Thank you... Cheers...!!!

Elements of a good project plan

2010-02-04T03:57:00.000-08:00

Hello Managers, we will list out the elements of a good project in this space.

The project plan clears the “how” and the "why" of a project. We can include the following elements in a good project plan:

Statement of the project
Cost/benefit analysis of the work.
Feasibility analysis for work.
Listing of the major steps to be taken to achieve the target.
Timeline for completion of the project.
Description of the resources required (including human resources) to execute the project work.

The plan will also identify the milestones that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed changes, these are sometimes called the "deliverables" of the project work.

With this topic, I am signing off from this space Managers. Catch you later... Cheers!!!

Statement of Work (SOW)

2010-02-04T03:54:00.000-08:00

Managers, we will briefly discuss about the Statement of Work in this place today.

Project Statement Of Work is called as alphabet of project work. It is a tool to track the work’s progress. It must contain all the description of the work that is being carried out.

When to write SOW:

It should be written during the planning phase after completing the Scope statement. The Scope statement will explain us what it is we need to build. After the SOW should be done. It will capture details on how we are going to build it. The SOW defines the work to be done, so it must be written before the work can be scheduled, or broken down in our Work Breakdown Structure.

Parts of the SOW:

The SOW may contain the information as follows: Scope of project in brief, location of the execution, period of the work, deliverable schedule, Application standards, Acceptance Scenario, special requirement from the management.

Catch you later guys… Cheers!!!

Return On Investment (ROI) formula

2010-02-03T04:31:00.001-08:00

Hello Aviators,

As a managerial process, we need to calculate the Return On Investment percentage before taking any capital investment decision. The formula to calculate the Return On Investment (ROI) is:

ROI = [ (Earned Value – investment value) / investment value ] * 100

For example, our earned value from a project is 23M$ and investment amount which includes resources, efforts and time is: 20M$. Then,

ROI = [(23-20)/20] * 100

ROI = 15%
Catch you later…. Cheers!!!

Total Quality Management (TQM)

2010-02-03T02:45:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

We all come across at some time about the term TQM (Total Quality Management). We can even implement it in our organization as well. We need to do the following things to achieve the TQM in place of our environment.

1) List out the things need to be improved in our practice.

2) Point out how we can implement them in better way.

3) Circulate them to each members of the group and assign the individual task to assess the implementation of it.

4) Assign a responsive person to monitor the process and regulate some guidelines for the people who are not adhering the process.

Areas where we can implement TQM :

A) Communication (Communication in both oral and verbal. It would be useful for the team members when they are communicating with the client. By improving this, we can steal the attention of client and there are many chances of getting new business from them.)

B) Desktop (Desktop cleanliness will attract others and many scientists and psychologists have proved that the clean work place will improve the mental strength of the work force. It would help the organization by improving the quality deliverables as well.)

C) Coding standards (By implementing the coding standards quality, we can improve the deliverables. This would always been a good practice if we are targeting any bigger projects or expansion of them.)

Kindly let me know if I missed something to be improved in our software environment so that, it would always be helpful for the readers who visits this blog regularly.

Catch you later!!! Cheers…

Be a responsive manager!

2010-02-03T01:54:00.000-08:00

Hello Managers,

I am going to discuss about one interest point in this space now. As a team member, each and every individual satisfies if their self respect met each time. We as a managers, should be responsive managers to satisfy their expectations.

Benefits of it:

Responsive managers influence the team members more than non-responsive managers. The team members will work really hard for the responsive managers and even extend their support to meet the deliverables on time. The team members will put the task as high priority one if it is assigned by the responsive managers than the other work loads.

Responsive managers also influence those above them in the hierarchy. Because responsive managers have the ability to read and act upon the needs of their "bosses", they are perceived as helpful and reliable, or in a simple way, very useful. This allows them to get the "ear" of people above them in the system, and further helps get things done when needed.

Catch you later… Bye for now… Cheers!!!

Conflict Management

2010-02-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

Many believe that conflict in a team leads it to loosing side. Actually it is not true always. At times, you may get benefit from the conflict of the team members.

Consider the scenario where two of your team members conflicting on their opinion on certain change request. We can look at this as an opportunity to find the best way to achieve the goal in short term with more effectiveness. Here, the conflict would be treated as an opportunity to explore new concepts and new and improved solutions.

Even if the conflict arises within them in personal reasons, we can solve it using our management tactics by setting individual goals and deadlines for them. It will create positive competition between them and the final result will help the organization by getting two individual top performers amongst them.

Catch you later. Cheers now...

How To Be A Better Manager

2010-02-02T02:13:00.000-08:00

A good article to be a good manager for team members and as well as for organization.

URL is: http://management.about.com/cs/midcareermanager/a/htbebettermgr.htm

Schedule Performance Index Equation Formulas Calculator

2010-02-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time since my last post. Kindly ignore this delay. Will try to post some more articles in faster manner.

I found an online tool to find SPI of software. It is a good tool to have on Manager's desk.

Kindly find the URL below:

http://www.ajdesigner.com/phpearnedvalue/schedule_performance_index.php

SDLC Phases and their I/P & O/P

2009-09-08T08:04:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

I have listed the documents involved in all the phases of SDLC in a project below. Kindly let me know if I have missed anything in this list:

Planning Phase:
Input: Application Goals
Output: Project plan & Schedule, QA Plan, Configuration Plan

Requirement Phase:
Input: HLD (Project Plan)
Output: Requirement Document, Updated HLD Document, and Requirement Traceability Document.

Design Phase:
Input : Requirements Document
Output : Design Document, Updated HLD & Schedule, Updated Req Traceability Document

Development Phase:
Input : Design Document
Output: Software, Test Plan, Implementation Plan

Test Phase:
Input : Software, Test Plan, Implementation Plan
Output: Integrated Software, Acceptance Plan, Production Initiation plan

Installation & Acceptance Phase:
Input : Integrated Software, Acceptance Plan, Production Initiation plan
Output: Acceptance Test, Archived Project plan, Archieved Software

Am signing off here. Catch you later.
:)
C U...

Management Reports

2009-09-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

We shall discuss the various types of reports in project management and their owner in this post.

Schedules and Budget: Management has to take ownership for these reports.

Time spent per task, Inspection Data Report, and Root Cause Analysis reports: These reports should be taken care by Engineers. They need to report these to Managment.

Test Cases Report, Test Coverage Reports: These reports can be owned by Testing team to the management.

Problem Reports and Operational Hours: These two reports can be made by End Users to the Project management to take care of the project.

Catch you later gurus....
:)
C U ...

Risk Management

2009-09-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

Gurus,
We will discuss about the Risk Management this time. Risk is there at all places. As a manager, we need to identify the risk and take preventive action against it. I have given the following risks in the various types. Kindly go thorugh the same and reply me if you know any other risks:

Technology Type Risks:
The database used in the system cannot process as many transactions per second as expected.
Software components that should be reused contain defects that limit their functionality.

People Risks:
It is impossible to recruit staff with the skills required.
Key staff are ill and unavailable at critical times / Deliverable times.
Required training for staff is not available within or outside organisation.

Organisational Type Risks:
The organisation is restructured so that different management are responsible for the project.
Organisational financial problems force reductions in the project budget.

Tools Type Risks:
The code generated by CASE tools is inefficient.
CASE tools cannot be integrated.

Requirements Type Risks:
Changes to requirements that require major design rework are proposed.
Customers fail to understand the impact of requirements changes.

Estimation Risks:
The time required to develop the software is underestimated.
The rate of defect repair is underestimated.
The size of the software is underestimated.

Gurus,

Please mention if I missed any other risk type in this space.

Is your boss a crazy boss?

2009-07-08T02:06:00.001-07:00

Aviators,

It is quite interesting one to read to know the techniques how can we tackle the crazy bosses…

Be click here: http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2008/02/is-your-boss-crazy-boss.html

;-) <<<CHEERS>>>

Leaders Vs Managers

2009-07-08T01:59:00.001-07:00

Aviators,

I have found some important points about Leadership and Management in the following website. It is quite interesting and a true one. Please go through it and let us know your valuable opinion on it:

§ The manager administers; the leader innovates.

§ The manager is a copy; the leader is an original.

§ The manager maintains; the leader develops.

§ The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.

§ The manager relies on control; the leader inspires trust.

§ The manager has a short-range view; the leader has a long-range perspective.

§ The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.

§ The manager has an eye always on the bottom line; the leader has an eye on the horizon.

§ The manager imitates; the leader originates.

§ The manager accepts the status quo; the leader challenges it.

§ The manager is the classic good soldier; the leader is his own person.

§ The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.

Thanks: http://www.leadershipnow.com/leadingblog/

CHEERS…!!!

Unique Identification Number (UIN) project for all the Citizens of India

2009-06-25T03:23:00.001-07:00

Gurus,

A good move by the Government of India. They have decided to provide a Unique Identification Number (UIN) to all the citizens of India and appointing Mr.Nilekani as head for this project. Thanks for NDTV web site.

Kindly check the following link: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/06/25142447/Nilekani-to-have-minister-rank.html

JCHEERS!!!

Catch you later….!!!

Self management - essential for managers in the beginning

2009-06-08T06:19:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

The managerial skills are practical skills and it should be coming out from ones heart to develop that. The primary management for a manager is the “SELF MANAGEMENT”. As per this statement, everyone is the manager of their own. They will have to manage them with control, the controlling others will come as an extra skill for them. The following are the various channels of developing a manager skill themselves.

Ø Communication skills

Ø Time Management

Ø Work-life balance

Ø Learning

Communication skills:

The basic thing to manage themselves starts with the communication skill. It includes verbal and non-verbal communication skills and controlling their emotions. Only Verbal and Non-Verbal communication can guide us to deliver our points to others. But, the skill of controlling emotions on others can helps them to lead and win in the motto. One should learn how to communicate using verbal (written and speaking), non-verbal (body language, etc.,) and control their emotions during communication.

Time Management:

Once you start to build the communication skills like a manager, the next step to achieve the management is the time management. Really few can manage their time effectively and succeed as a manager. The core skill of the others management starts with the Time Management. By keeping the time management perfect, we can start look into the team management in depth. It will provide space to manage the team and their conflicts for managers.

Work-life balance:

Once a manager starts to manage his team, it would be difficult for the people to balance their work and life. It is better to have a plan in place to tune the work-life balance in each time and it will provide peace of mind to the people so that, they can spend time on developing other skills and improve them.

Learning:

Everything in place and you are managing the project team successfully. Shall that enough to us to live a life without any problem? The answer is : NOT CERTAINLY. The managers also a student at all the time and they should keep on learning their skills and provide effective leadership skills to the rest of the team.

Gurus, we have pointed out some of the points required to improve self management. Do not hesitate to bring out your opinion on these topic and leave your comment in comments space to give a benefit to all the readers.

Catch you later…. BFN…

J CHEERS!!!

Negotiation process

2009-06-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

We all know that negotiation is a mandate skill for the managers. It is not a single step procedure. It has many a steps to achieve the desired goal. They are:

Prepare for negotiation:

Before negotiating anything with anyone, we should know what we want from that person and we should understand what are they and how to start the negotiation with them.

Open:

Once we entered into the negotiation with the people, we should be open with the arguing person and should make your point to them. Mean time, we should also listen to their point and try to adjust our point with that.

Explore:

Before getting into the negotiation, we should explore the points we require from the negotiator. It will give a positive waves from the negotiator to us.

Signal:

Try to signal that you are ready to work with the person then and there in the negotiation. It will make a positive impression about you in the negotiation and produce most favour result for you.

Close:

Close the negotiation once you reach your goal in the negotiation. It will help you to move with them smarter way.

Sustain:

Once you agreed for the negotiated point, you should make sure what is agreed happens as per that communication from both ends.

Catch you later!!! Please be post your comments and reviews and help us to build this skill better…

BFN… CHEERS!!! J

Influence - the Key to Success of the Leaders

2009-06-04T23:59:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

At any given time in every company or team, influential people succeed. The factor behind every successful manager or a successful leader is their influential skills among the others. We shall discuss about few techniques how to influence the people and handle them in successful way.

(1) Give honest and sincere appreciation

(2) Smile

(3) Be a good listener

(4) Don’t criticise or complain

(5) Talk smart

(6) Commitment and consistency

Give honest and sincere appreciation:

As a leader for them, you should always give honest and sincere appreciation to them. It will create a positive impact about you to the audience. You should adhere to this thumb rule and you can see the difference from the audience when you have speaker position.

Smile:

The basic point to attract other people is a basic smile on your face. It will make them happy and will allow the audience to move easily with you. The smile will influence the people more than anything else.

Be a good listener:

Listen to their voice, then respond back to them. It will give confidence to their thought and make you a positive leader for them. Listening people can be more successful than the speakers always.

Don’t criticise or complain:

When you want to become a successful leader or a manager, you should appreciate your team mate and should encourage their points. You should not criticise or complain about them always. If do the complain on your team members, it will not allow them to follow your words.

Talk smart:

Always use the positive sentence to the audience. Speak gentle and smart way with the audience. For example, you can use the following phrases at the beginning of your conversation.

“I believe…”

“I’m sure that…”

“I appreciate…”

“I liked the way you…”

“That’s a nice idea…”

“Thank you…” and

“It’s been my experience…”

Commitment and consistency:

You should always be sure to your points and should commit to your conversations. You should be more consistency so that, you can win others heart easily and can influence them in the smarter way.

Gurus, I have shared my ideas about the influencing the people in this space. Please do not hesitate to make your points here. It will be benefit for all of us.

Catch you later….

CHEERS!!!

Project Documents list in phase wise

2009-06-04T09:12:00.001-07:00

Gurus,

We shall discuss about the different documents we need to capture in the different phases of the project in this space. The documents are the nueral kind for the projects indeed. They are palying more important role in the project phase. The communication channel requires the documents as their backbone. Many and more decisions are taking place based on the project documents.

As a project manager and leaders, we all know that a project has so many phases in their life cycle. Such as:

(a) Planning Phase

(b) Analysis Phase

(d) Construct or Coding Phase

(e) Test Phase

(f) Implementation Phase

In all these phases, we are having some documents to help the management to operate the project smoothly.

(a) Planing Phase:

This is the initial phase for any project. This will provide the clear idea about the project to the participants of the project. We shall complete the following list of documents in this phase of the project.

Project Definition Document,

Project Schedule Document, and

Project Management Procedures Document.

(b) Analysis Phase:

This is the phase in which we shall analyse the work we are going to deal with. We shall prepare the following list of documents in the Analysis phase.

Business Requirement Report Document,

Communication Plan Document,

Conceptual Systems Design Document,

Training Strategy Document,

Business Requirement Report Document,

Requirements Review Checklist Document,

Testing Strategy Document,

Data Conversion Strategy Document,

Implementation Strategy Document,

Acceptance Criteria Document,

Risk Assesment Document, and

Security Document.

(c) Design Phase:

We shall design the architecture of the project in this phase. This phase will consist the following documents:

Technical Design of the project Document,

Training plan Document,

Testing Document, and

Implementation Document.

(d) Construct or Coding Phase:

We shall produce the project in this phase. It will consist of the following documents:

Application Maintenance Manual Document,

Users Manual Document,

Disaster Recovery Manual Document, and

Service Level Agreement (SLA) Document

(e) Test Phase:

We shall produce the following documents during the test phase.

Test Script Document,

Test Case Validation Document, and

Test Error Log Document.

(f) Implementation Phase:

We shall produce the following documents during the implementation phase.

Production move approval Document, and

Support Document.

These are the various documents we are producing to complete a project successfully. Please let me know if you have any points to share in this space.

CHEERS!!!

Bye For Now Gurus…

Project kick off meeting document

2009-06-03T06:17:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

We shall discuss about the project kick off meeting document in this space. It is very important to carry the information about the starting of a project to the members of the project. It is the responsibilities of the stack holder. The document should explain the audience about the nature of the project, overview of the project and questions and summary sections.

(1) Introduction of the project section

This section will explain the stake holders of the project. It will have the information about the client, the project team with manager, and other participants of the project. This section shall useful for the audience to know about the project participants in detail.

(2) Overview of the project section:

This section is the heart of the kick off meeting document. This shall consist the information of the purpose of the project, scope of the project, Major Deliverables of the project, Risks in the project, Assumptions of the project, Estimation of the project, Roles and Responsibilities of the project participants, Approach of the project we are going to deal with and the Schedule of the deliverables in detail. By reading this section, a user can understand about the goals and milestones of the project.

(3) Questions section

This section shall provide space for the audience to raise their question to the client or to the management team to clearly understand about the project.

(4) Summary section

This is the conclusion section of the document. Document creator can list out the highlighted points of the project in this space.

We have covered most of the part of the project kick off meeting document. This will help the audience to understand about that document. Please feel ease to provide your valuable comments and replies to this post.

BYE for NOW…J

CHEERS!!!

Preparing Cost estimation for projects

2009-06-03T05:45:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

We shall discuss about the cost estimation preparation for the projects in this article. This is a more important document from which you will get paid by your customer / client. The name of the project, project manager and the date prepared should appear in the top at all the pages of the document.

We can categorize the costing like: Labor (Employee and contract), outsourced work, Travel, Training, Equipment, Supplies, Hardware and software required for that project, and project management cost in the main area. We can also add the Risk Contingency cost and Estimating contingency cost in the cost estimation document so that, it will provide the through information of costing to the audience of the document.

We can build a table like the following:

Name of the project: <NAME>
Name of the project manager: <NAME>
Date prepared: <DATE>

It should be the header for all the pages of cost estimation document. We can build the attributes as follows:

Category        Comments        Cost
Labor (Employee)
Labor (Contract / Others)
Outsourcing cost
Travel
Training
Equipment
Supplies
Hardware
Software
Net Total               Net Cost
Project management
Risk Contingency
Estimating Contingency
Grand Total             Total Cost

We can use the comments column to make any comments so that, the audience will be very clear about the cost estimation technique we are following.

Kindly do not hesitate to share your comments on this. It will help both side to improve the idea about the cost estimation documents.

Catch you later…. BYE for now… J

CHEERS!!!

Developing a Business plan document

2009-06-03T04:30:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

We will discuss about the business plan and its implementation in this article. The article will list out the points everybody should do before starting a business with clients. Correct. It will explain about the business plan.

We can describe the business plan as the image of the thoughts of our mind. If we plan a business well in advance, there are seldom chances that our business meets failures. We will discuss about the business plan in detail. Gurus, am telling you again, do not hesitate to make your comments so that, each other viewer can look into it and share their point about it to us.

1) Business plan should answer the following questions:

What is the project / product I/we will offer?

Who is/are our clients?

How will it get financed?

How and when we are submitting it to customers?

Answers of these questions will deliver a clear idea about the business we are going to deal with.

2) Be realistic on schedules and budgets:

Don’t make it as secret. It will spoil your organizations name with the client/customer. Please try to be honest in schedules of project and budgets of project. It will make confident about you with the client.

3) Keep it sharp:

Calculate the timeline and money of the project most sharp manner. Review it many a times and make it sharpest call so that, the client will get happy at the end of the development of the project. It will create a space in their mindset to think about the future business as well.

4) Think about your audience:

The business plan document is not only for you and your customer. It is also going to be stored in the repository for the future purpose. Hence, when and where more explanation requires in the document, do not hesitate to provide it and also welcome the doubts and points from the audience. It will make your business plan as a successful one.

Gurus, I have listed out the points to be noted when preparing a business plan. Do remember to leave your comments and ideas after reading them. It is always help others to improve their idea and provide positive feedback from their hearts.

Cheers!!!! Catch you all later…!!! Bye for now à J

Leadership skills development

2009-06-03T03:38:00.001-07:00

Gurus,

We will discuss about the successful leadership skills in this post. I am also expecting your valuable feedback for this post so that, I can improve it in the post as well as in my personal.

Leadership skills:

A leader is not born. The environment makes a successful leader. The right encouragement is a must for developing leadership skills. The leadership is nothing but to lead someone with right courage, to fight for someone with correct reasons in front and to help the persons who are in need and to guide a group of the people to achieve the goal on time and on budget.

Leadership Attributes:

A collection of ingredients make a tastier food. Likewise, a collection good attributes can build a true and successful leader. The following are considering as essential attributes of a successful leader. Technical Knowledge, Conceptual Skills, People Care Skills, Analysis and Decision taking ability, and a good character.

Leadership Qualities:

Attributes help a person to become a leader in paper term. A successful leader should contain the following qualities to live as leader. They are: Controlling Emotions in public, Never say Die heart, Never let anyone pointing finger on you.

These are the essential steps to build a successful leader with more desirable personalities. Gurus, I would like to thank you all for spending some time to read this article and kindly let me know if I missed any key ingredients of leadership skills.

Cheers!!!

Catch you later…

BING - a new search engine

2009-06-02T06:12:00.001-07:00

Hi Gurus,

A new search engine has come to active now. It is BING. A product from Microsoft. Use it and find the difference between this with other leading search engine providers. The URL is: www.bing.com

Cheers!!!

Catch you later…

Some more useful PMP links...

2009-06-02T06:02:00.000-07:00

Gurus,

The following are some of the web links which will provide you information about PMP certification. Please spend some time on them.

http://www.voightps.com/Default.asp

http://ajithn.com/login.php

http://certification.about.com/od/projectmanagement/a/pmp_test_whiz.htm

http://www.oliverlehmann.com/pmp-self-test/75-free-questions.htm

http://www.certgear.com/products/preview/pmp_certification/index.html

Cheers!!!

Catch you later…

Answers for PMP questions

2009-06-01T05:06:00.001-07:00

Gurus,

Please find the answers for the questions I have posted on my previous post. I will try to post some more useful information about PMP certification hereafter.

1. Answer D is the best response. You have a responsibility to refrain from accepting inappropriate forms of compensation for personal gain. Answers A and C are incorrect for this reason. Answer B is a poor choice because the appearance of impropriety is present.
2. Answer D is the correct response. A work breakdown structure (WBS) is not a component of the project charter. Answers A, B, and C are all components of the project charter.
3. Answer A is the best response. A project manager should be assigned prior to the start of project planning. Answer B is incorrect because the project manager should be assigned prior to the creation of a project charter. Answer C is incorrect because a project manager should be assigned prior to, not during, project planning. Similarly, answer D is incorrect because a project manager should be in place before project execution.
4. Answer C is the best response. A project scope statement documents what work is to be accomplished and which deliverables need to be produced. Answers A and B are both individually correct, but answer C is the better response. Answer D is incorrect.
5. Answer D is the best response. A statement of work (SOW) identifies the business need for the project, the project or product requirements, and the strategic plan for the organization. Answers A, B, and C are individually correct, but answer D is the better response.
6. Answer C is the correct response. Project selection methods are used to determine which project the organization will select. These methods fall into two categories: benefit measurement methods and mathematical models. Benefit measurement methods include scoring models, economic models, and benefit contribution, making answers A, B, and D incorrect. A mathematical model is a category of models and not a specific model in itself.
7. Answer A is the correct response. The change control system is a subsystem of the configuration management system.
8. Answer B is the best response. The project manager, along with the project management team, directs the performance of the planned project activities and manages the technical and organizational interfaces necessitated by the project and occurring continuously throughout the project lifecycle.
9. Answer D is the best response. Earned value technique (EVT) measures performance of the project as it moves through the entire project life cycle, from project initiation through project closing.
10. Answer D is the best response. The project scope management plan includes preparation of a detailed project scope statement, creation of the work breakdown structure (WBS), and a process specifying how formal verification and acceptance of the completed project deliverables will be obtained.
11. Answer D is the best response. Approved change requests can cause a change to project scope, project quality, and project schedule.
12. Answer C is the correct response. The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables.
13. Answer C is the correct response. The work breakdown structure (WBS) provides a detailed definition of work specified in the current, approved project scope statement. Both answers A and B describe the WBS and are therefore incorrect responses to the question.
14. Answer C is the correct response. Decomposition is a planning technique that subdivides project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components until the project work and project deliverables are defined at the work package level.
15. Answer D is the correct response. The project cost and project schedule for work can be reliably estimated at the work package, or lowest, level of the work breakdown structure (WBS). The work package level is the lowest level of the WBS.
16. Answer B is the best response. You have a responsibility to provide accurate and truthful representations in the preparation of estimates concerning costs, services, and expected results. It is your responsibility as a project management professional to give the project sponsor all the information pertinent to make informed decisions regarding the viability and continuation of a project.
17. Answer D is the correct response. The approved detailed project scope is one component of the project scope baseline. Other components are the associated work breakdown structure (WBS) and the WBS dictionary. Answer A is incorrect because it is an unapproved preliminary, not detailed, project scope. Answer B is incorrect because even though it purports to be "approved," it is a preliminary, not detailed, project scope. Answer C is incorrect because it is not an "approved" detailed project scope.
18. Answer B is the correct response. A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. A project by definition cannot be permanent nor ongoing. A project has a specific timeline and duration.
19. Answer D is the correct response. Progressive elaboration is a technique for continuous improvement in your planning efforts. More details are added to your planning documents as the information becomes available, and each successive iteration of your planning process results in a better plan.
20. Answer A is the correct response. The risk of project failure is highest at the start of a project. The certainty for project completion increases as the project continues through its life cycle.
21. Answer A is the correct response. Stakeholders have the ability to influence the project scope and project cost to the greatest extent during the initiating phase of the project. This influence decreases during the life cycle of the project.
22. Answer A is the correct response. Project changes from scope creep or error correction have a more significant impact on project cost as a project continues through its life cycle.
23. Answer C is the correct response. Project cost and project staffing levels are low at the start of a project, peak during the middle phases of the project life cycle, and then drop rapidly toward the conclusion of the project.
24. Answer C is the best response. A strong matrix structure within an organization supports a full-time project manager with considerable project authority, including budgetary and resource allocation ability, as well as a full-time project management administrative staff. Answer A is incorrect because a functional structure within an organization provides a part-time project manager with little to no authority and part-time administrative support. Answer B is incorrect because a weak matrix structure within an organization supports a part-time project manager with limited authority and only part-time administrative staffing. Answer D is incorrect because a projectized structure within an organization provides a full-time project manager with almost absolute authority and a full-time project management administrative staff.
25. Answer D is the correct response. Rolling wave planning is a form of progressive elaboration in which the work to be performed within the near term is planned in detail while work scheduled for further out is defined at only a high level in the work breakdown structure (WBS). Rolling wave planning is a tool for activity definition. Answer A is incorrect because activity sequencing entails the documenting of logical relationships among scheduled activities and is actually the task following activity definition. Answers B and C are incorrect because the precedence diagramming method (PDM), also called activity-on-node (AON), is a tool for activity sequencing.
26. Answer A is the correct response. Finish-to-start is the most common type of precedence relationship used in the precedence diagramming method (PDM). The initiation of the successor activity is dependent on the completion of the predecessor activity in finish-to-start dependencies.
27. Answer C is the correct response. Internal dependencies are not a type of dependency used in sequencing activities.
28. Answer A is the correct response. Bottom-up estimating is a technique for estimating a component of work through decomposition. The bottom-up estimate is based on the requirements for each lower work package and then combined to estimate the entire component of work. Answer B is incorrect because there is no technique called decomposed estimating. Answer C is incorrect because should-cost estimating is an activity duration estimating technique. Answer D is incorrect because three-point estimating is a procurement estimating technique.
29. Answer A is the correct response. Crashing is a schedule compression technique whereby the project cost and project schedule are optimized to obtain the highest degree of schedule compression for the least cost to the project. Crashing does not always result in a viable project solution and can increase the overall cost of your project. Answer B is incorrect because crashing is not a term used for a project that is over time and over budget. Answer C is incorrect because crashing does not necessarily allow you to meet the planned project end date. Answer D is incorrect because fast tracking is another schedule compression tool used to perform multiple phases of project development in parallel.
30. Answer C is the best response. Cost control involves determining and evaluating both the cause of a variance and the magnitude of the variance. Answers A and B are both individually correct, but answer C is the best answer. Answer D is incorrect.
31. Answer A is the correct response. Planned value (PV), in the earned value technique (EVT), is the budgeted cost for work scheduled to be completed on an activity up to a specific time. Answer B is incorrect because the budgeted cost for the work actually completed on the scheduled activity during a specific time period refers to earned value (EV). Answer C is also incorrect because the total cost for work on the scheduled activity during a specific time period defines actual cost (AC). Answer D is incorrect.
32. Answer C is the best response. The most commonly used performance measure for evaluating whether work is being completed as planned at any given time in a project is both cost variance (CV) and schedule variance (SV). Answers A and B are both individually correct, but answer C is the best answer. Answer D is incorrect.
33. Answer A is the correct response. A cost performance index (CPI) value less than 1.0 indicates a project has a cost overrun of the cost estimates. Answer B is incorrect because a cost underrun of the cost estimates is indicated by a CPI greater than 1.0. Answers C and D are incorrect.
34. Answer D is the correct response. Cost variance (CV) is calculated by subtracting the actual cost (AC) from the earned value (EV). CV = EV – AV. In the example given, the AC is $150,000 and the EV is $100,000. $100,000 – $150,000 = -$50,000. Answer A is incorrect. Answer B is the schedule variance (SV), not the CV, so it is incorrect. Answer D is incorrect.
35. Answer B is the correct response. Schedule variance (SV) is calculated by subtracting the planned value (PV) from the earned value (EV). SV = EV – PV. In the example given, the PV is $200,000 and the EV is $100,000. $100,000 – $200,000 = –$100,000. Answer A is incorrect, as is answer C. Answer D is the cost variance (CV), not the SV, so it is incorrect.
36. Answer A is the correct response. The cost performance index (CPI) is calculated by dividing the actual cost (AC) into the earned value (EV). CPI = EV ÷ AC. In the example given, the AC is $150,000 and the EV is $100,000. $100,000 ÷ $150,000 = .06667. A CPI value less than 1.0 indicates a cost overrun of the project budget. Answer B is incorrect because, if the project were under budget, the CPI value would be greater than 1.0. Answer C is incorrect because the CPI would be 0. Answer D is incorrect.
37. Answer A is the correct response. The schedule performance index (SPI) is calculated by dividing the planned cost (PC) into the earned value (EV). SPI = EV ÷ PC. In the example given, the PC is $200,000 and the EV is $100,000. $100,000 ÷ $200,000 = .05. A SPI value allows you to predict the completion date for a project in conjunction with the schedule status. Given the math done to arrive at answer A, answers B, C, and D are incorrect.
38. Answer A is the best response. Benchmarking is the practice of comparing your project to other planned project practices or actual project best practices in an effort to improve your project and establish performance measurement benchmarks. Answer B is incorrect because continuous improvement is a plan-do-check-act cycle for improving quality in the product developed by a project. Answer C is incorrect because metrics are specific defined tools for describing and measuring key values for quality control. Answer D is incorrect because quality assurance (QA) is the application of planned, systematic activities to achieve specific quality objectives. QA is the overarching process in which continuous process improvement is practiced. Benchmarking is one task within the process, and metrics are a way to assess quality initiatives.
39. Answer D is the correct response. A quality audit is a structured, independent review providing an assessment of whether a project's activities meet organizational and project policies, processes, and procedures.
40. Answer C is the best response. Monitoring project activities and results to evaluate whether the findings comply with applicable quality standards as well as identifying mitigation strategies is a quality control activity. Answers A, B, and D are incorrect.
41. Answer B is the correct response. Statistical sampling is a quality control technique, but it is not one of the seven basic tools of quality. The seven basic tools of quality are cause and effect diagram, control charts, flowcharting, histogram, Pareto chart, run chart, and scatter diagram. Answers A, C, and D are incorrect because these items are part of the seven basic tools of quality.
42. Answer D is the best response. Answer A is correct because Ishikawa diagrams are also known as cause-and-effect diagrams. Answer C is correct because Ishikawa diagrams are also known as fishbone diagrams. Because both A and B are correct answers, Answer D (both A and C) is the best response. Answer B is incorrect. Scatter diagrams show the pattern of the relationship between two variables, whereas Ishikawa diagrams show how various factors (causes) can link to potential problems (effects).
43. Answer C is the correct response. A Pareto chart is a specific type of histogram, ordered by frequency of occurrence and showing how many defects were generated to show nonconformity. Answers A, B, and D are incorrect.
44. Answer D is the best response. Project communication planning includes all these tasks: determining and limiting who will communicate with whom and who will receive what information, combining the type and format of information needed with an analysis of the value of the information for communication, and understanding how communication affects the project as a whole.
45. Answer D is the best response. Communications technology factors include the urgency of the information need, the expected staffing for the project, the staff members' individual skill sets, and the length of the project.
46. Answer A is the correct response. Qualitative risk analysis occurs prior to quantitative risk analysis and is a method for prioritizing identified risks for quantitative risk analysis. Answers B, C, and D are incorrect.
47. Answer A is the correct response. A decision tree diagram can be used to consider potential risks and all the implications associated with the risk. You can include every conceivable choice and outcome. Every option is considered. Answer B is incorrect because choice and outcome are limited to the most probable scenario. Answer C is incorrect because choice and outcome are limited to the least probable scenario. Answer D is incorrect.
48. Answer D is the best response. Risk assessment is not limited to the beginning of a project's life cycle when the risk management plan is developed. The risk management plan should include a tool for risk assessment as a continuous process throughout the project. Risk reassessment should be a regularly scheduled component of the project but should also have the flexibility to occur as needed at greater or lesser intervals based on the level of risk.
49. Answer B is the best response. The responsibility for tailoring a contract for goods and services to the needs of the project lies with the project management team. The project management team can include the project manager, attorneys, and/or contract manager, but the responsibility does not rest solely with one individual.
50. Answer C is the best response. The decision on whether a product or service can be produced by the project management team or can be purchased is called a make-or-buy analysis.

ALL THE VERY BEST!!!

CHEERS!!!!!!!!

HaRiKarans Diary

Starting a new series of blogs

Completed CSM successfully

PMP ITTO Chart - Part 6

PMP ITTO List - Part 5

PMP ITTO List - Part 4

PMP ITTO List - Part 3

PMP ITTO List - Part 2

PMP ITTO list - Part 1

Earned Value Management methodology

Nice blog about project management

Effective Business Case

Various types of calculating Return on Investment

Project Kick-off meeting

Project Managers FAQs

Elements of a good project plan

Statement of Work (SOW)

Return On Investment (ROI) formula

Total Quality Management (TQM)

Be a responsive manager!

Conflict Management

How To Be A Better Manager

Schedule Performance Index Equation Formulas Calculator

SDLC Phases and their I/P & O/P

Management Reports

Risk Management

Is your boss a crazy boss?

Leaders Vs Managers

Unique Identification Number (UIN) project for all the Citizens of India

Self management - essential for managers in the beginning

Negotiation process

Influence - the Key to Success of the Leaders

Project Documents list in phase wise

Project kick off meeting document

Preparing Cost estimation for projects

Developing a Business plan document

Leadership skills development

More PMP Question&Answers

BING - a new search engine

Some more useful PMP links...

Answers for PMP questions