What is the best tool use in expert judgment?

When you hear the word “expert”, what comes first in your mind? When I hear that word, I think of those people who are in the highest rank of the career they have chosen to go. For me, an expert could answer all the questions you will ask related to the course where he/she is involved in. Experts are those individuals or group who possess specialized knowledge or training in particular area. As what I have learned through my readings, they said that experts are the best asset to any activity especially projects.
During all stages of the project, there should be widespread consultation with many experts. This is what we call the Expert Judgment. What is it all about? Expert Judgment is tool or technique used in Developing Project Charter, Defining Scope, Estimating Costs, Developing Project Management Plan, Determining the budget, Identifying Risks, Closing the Project etc. By these we can say that Expert Judgment is a widely used Tools & Techniques in almost all major processes in PMBOK from Initiating till Closing of project/phase. In some of the processes it is the one and only technique mentioned (PMBOK 4th edition). Expert Judgment is often used to asses the inputs needed to develop the project charter. Such judgment and expertise is applied to any technical and management details during this process. Such expertise is provided by any group or individual with specialized knowledge or training, and is available from many resources. In project management, experts are either part of the project (project manager) or involved (stakeholders) in project processes. Project teams with project manager and team members with relevant experience in the project related subject can perform the project with more success probability than those are not. Other than project team, generally available experts are project consultants, user groups, subject matter experts or senior management people.
People with this kind of expertise can provide ideas and the probability of occurrence based on their experiences. I have read a blog about this written by Iman Budi Setiawanthere and according to him there are four sources of expert judgment available to help you on your project. First is, other units or departments within the performing organization. Ideally, this is the best place to obtain expert judgment. It can be obtained at no cost to you. Second are the consultants. They can be hired from outside the company to serve as experts for a certain project. This option is somewhat expensive but I believe that it is worth the cost. The third is Professional and technical associations. They can provide expert judgment when the information needed is very detailed or technical. And last but definitely not the least is the Industry groups. These groups can provide the project team general information. We know that expert judgment is a tool but there are also some tools and techniques under this that we can use to obtain the expert judgment we need since we already knew those people who could help us. Iman Budi Setiawanthere wrote three of those techniques. Interviews, Brainstorming and Historical Data. Interviews are conducted by asking a series of questions that will increase your knowledge of the project or a particular project activity. It can be on a one-to-one or a many-to-one basis. Interviews are best used when knowledgeable, experienced people are available at an affordable cost and specific information is needed .Brainstorming works by getting a group to focus on a problem and then coming up with as many solutions as possible. Once the session has resulted in a number of solutions, the results can be analyzed. Brainstorming is best used when input from multiple experts is needed or when experienced people aren't available. Historical data uses the knowledge gained on a similar past project activity to obtain duration estimates for each activity associated with a current project. Historical data is best used when records are accurate and both projects are similar.
Expert Judgment is an asset for the project team but using these techniques gives the team some burden. Like so many things, expert judgment also has its disadvantages. It can be time consuming because you have to undergo all those procedures in order for you to obtain the expert judgment you needed for your project. It can also tie up experienced staff for many hours, to the failure of other projects. It can also be costly because in some cases, for the benefit of your project, you need to hire some high personnel outside your company. You have no choice but to go away from the premises of your company because we can’t deny the fact that ideas beyond the box are sometimes better that what we can find inside. In addition, another disadvantage is that experts may tend to downplay the verity that an activity took longer than expected on past projects. Your project will definitely took longer because of the process that you need to apply to make your project at its best. I am not saying that people should not use this technique because of its disadvantages, I am just reminding the people especially the project team that Expert Judgment must be properly handled. If used wisely, expert judgment can be a powerful and invaluable tool. It allows for different perspectives, makes valuable use of prior knowledge and experience, helps you find creative solutions and helps you avoid re-inventing the wheel. There are many techniques which you are provided to choose from all you need to do is to match the right approach appropriate for your necessities. What is the best tool use in expert judgment? I can’t say what is the best tool or technique among those 3 given above because I believe that each of those techniques has its own purpose. A certain technique might be appropriate in some situations, but in others the same technique wouldn't give you the information you need. It only depends on the situation where you are in. 

Whatever technique, if used wisely, can give the expert judgment your project deserves.

How is a project different to any other work? Is Project Management relevant to me?

 Project management has emerged as a crucial factor that determines the success of an organization. Doing is a work. Is there a difference between a project and other kinds of work? Before we cite the difference of the two terms we will first define each of them. As we all learn from the start of this subject, a project is a task given to with a time designated and requirements to comply. It is very common especially to students because these are always given by their teachers or instructors. It maybe in a written or oral form. One example is, you are given a project to build or create a program for a certain company. To finish that project and submit all the requirements needed you must have perseverance and you must manage yourself. And according to the Project Management Book of Knowledge 3^rd Edition, a project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a product, service or result. A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources. And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies. The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new geographic market — all are projects. And all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-budget results, learning and integration that organizations need. So to sum it all up, a project is simply defined as a programme of work to bring about a beneficial change and which has a start and an end, multi-disciplinary team brought together for the project, constraints of cost, time and quality and a scope of work that is unique and involves uncertainty.

In science, we define work as the transference of energy that is produced by the motion of the point of application of a force and is measured by multiplying the force and the displacement of its point of application in the line of action. Work as a noun means, an activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something: sustained physical or mental effort to overcome obstacles and achieve an objective or result, the labor, task, or duty that is one's accustomed means of livelihood or a specific task, duty, function, or assignment often being a part or phase of some larger activity. Work is something that is produced or accomplished by effort. 

All projects are work, but not all work is project. Why is that so? We will explain it by line so that we can fully understand what it really implies.  “All projects are work.”  All projects are considered work because as what I had stated above, work is something that is accomplished by effort. We are exerting much effort in doing a certain project.  “Not all work is project.”  We can say these because another definition of work is, it’s a continuous process. It is clearly opposite to what a project is. As stated in the Project Management Book of Knowledge 3^rd Edition, a project is a temporary endeavor. So it means that there is a span of time allotted to finish that certain project. A continuous process is not a project.  This evidently signifies the difference of project to any other kind of work. Let’s say for example, the development of a new rent or lettings policy is a project but the subsequent day to day operation of that policy is a continuous process that is usually managed by an individual or a department. That thing as a whole is a project but the continuous process succeeding to it is another kind of work.

So, are these things I’m talking about relevant to me? Is project management significant to me? I can surely bravely that question, YES, without a single hesitation. Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time objective, for example, construct a building or implement a major new computer system. This is a big help, for me specifically if I will be given a certain job. I can apply the principles of project management so that I will be confident enough that I can finish it successfully. What are those principles that I can apply? First is a defined goal. A common mistake is to start focusing on solutions, how to achieve something, before gaining a clear understanding of the business objectives that you want to achieve and identifying the business sponsors needed to help achieve these objectives. We must first know what your goal in making that certain project is.  We should keep in mind that the aim of a project is 'results delivery' not, as is often the case, 'construction activity'. This means thinking about the products that the project is in business to deliver. Second is, time, cost and quality (or functionality) constraints. These things are one of the important factors that we should consider in handling a project. Time is very controversial. This is the common problem of some project teams. It is the reason why a project may fail. . In making a project, the team must set a specific span of time to finish the project. Time is gold but mostly it is wasted. We make time management table before starting the project but sometimes when we are in the situation, we find ourselves lacking of time because we made a wrong estimate. Time is very difficult to handle. So in making a project, we must be sure that the time estimate we allotted fits the completion of the project we planned to do. So to avoid failure because of this factor, we must manage our time. Time management refers to a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals. We must be also appropriate with the quality or functionality of the project. We must know what are the qualifications needed to comply the project and we must ensure that at the end we accomplish all those things. Third is it requires expertise and support from other functions. As what they say, no man is an island. No man can stand alone. Although there are times that our brain works faster if we are alone but we also need to consult others to give their opinions or suggestions. We don’t know, their ideas might be better than ours. A common mistake in this principle is the project team abruptly makes decisions and starts to make a debate. They fail to stay focused on what their goal is.  “Engage in lots of consultation, but do not have too much democracy.” If you want to achieve a real business result in a realistic timeframe, a small team operating on Stalinist principles is more likely to succeed than large committees acting as talking shops. The project should ultimately be controlled by a small, dedicated 'core' project team, which is focused on achieving a concrete result. This will ensure that when difficult decisions have to be made, they are made clearly, forcefully and quickly. Last but not the least is it involves a unique scope of work. It means the way on how you organize your project. It is very important to know the scope of your project. To make it easier for you, in project management there is what we call the project scope management plan. The project scope management plan refers specifically to the input/output mechanism that consists of a formalized document that is used for the purposes of detailing exactly how the project scope will be defined, what means will be undertaken to develop the project scope, how the project scope will ultimately be verified, and exactly how any and all components of the work breakdown structure will be ultimately created and defined. The project scope management plan also will provide information and assistance in determining exactly how the actual scope of the project will ultimately be controlled in the management process by the project management team and or the project management team leader. 

Knowing the principles of project management is really a big help for our future jobs. Project management forms the framework of planning, control and analysis of the objectives of a firm. Project management has emerged as a crucial factor that determines the success of an organization. Whether it is a question of facing an economic crisis or generating large turnover, project management plays a pivotal role in the growth of a firm. The thing that drives people in corporate world is 'Target' that is set as a project goal for each individual team member. Be it a school or college project, a business to run, an information technology project, a party, an event or any other kind of major project that threatens to be a logistics nightmare, requires precise planning and prior research. Time and resources need to be effectively managed to ensure the success of the project.

Is Project Management the best method of implementing change?

As far as I remember, when I was in my first year in high school our teacher in science asked us, "what is the only constant thing in the world?”. We were all puzzled and curious of what that thing was. We were all browsing our textbooks and whatever resources we had had time but we saw nothing. Our teacher revealed that it was CHANGE. It is the only constant thing in the world. We face changes in every single day of our lives and we respond to these changes differently. "Change We Need, Change We Must", this is the campaign label of one of the politicians who ran in the last 2010 barangay elections and it was answered by his major opponent, "Change? What for? We are the Best!” It is funny to hear them throwing those lines to each other but that lines woke up the people to open their eyes to see what's really happening around them. Sometimes we need to change ourselves to be the person we wanted to be. We are curious creatures but some of us hate changes. They hate to adapt on new things, introduce new rules, and bring in a new system of thinking and new procedures. Human thinking and behavior works around the concept of “comfort” They become comfortable with a thing and they settle into it and we don’t want it to change. They become very used to it, and they eventually become conditioned by the thing, so that they will do almost anything to keep themselves in that position. I agree to it but sometimes we need to go out in our comfort zones. We need to jump in the curve we are in. Seeing change happen somewhere else and seeing how beneficial it can be is often a great experience. It can be an empowering experience. It can be even frustrating to see how by changing, other people and other systems seem to advance and do better than others. Or do better than us, by moving forward in some way. We are all human. We all want things to change if we see the real benefits. Those benefits can be so many things. And all because someone had the smart idea of changing something, and making things better somehow. Change never happens without consensus.

Is Project Management the best way to implement change?

Project Management is a methodology and a discipline which can bring significant benefits to organisations by:Ensuring limited resources are used on the right projects, Harnessing the energy of staff in achieving beneficial change, Managing complex changes in an organised way and Assessing risks, defining goals and key success areas and setting quality objectives. Every organisation has finite resources and, therefore, a limit to the number of projects it can initiate and control. Pushing too many projects through a resource limited organisation causes gridlock and stress. Managing the project portfolio efficiently is a fundamental principle of good project management. Because most projects involve new ideas and learning (even a project to build houses or flats may involve new materials or unusual soil conditions or there may be new initiative for tenant selection or co-ownership schemes) project management has evolved a discipline to manage the new and unusual. Its objective is to first, Define the project. A Project Definition document should be prepared and formally signed off by the Steering Committee. This document defines the goals, objectives, benefits, deliverables, exclusions, assumptions, business sponsors, responsibilities, estimated costs, timescale and serves many purposes. Second is, Ensuring the Project is a Manageable Size. A very large project should be cut up into more manageable sub-projects, which only depend on completed sub-projects. The project planning methodology provides a good tool to subdivide a major project into more manageable sub-projects with short-term deliverables. Each project plan should itself be subdivided into a number of key milestones. This helps to provide continuous delivery and to ensure that actual progress is measured on a regular basis. For example, a recent large project involved two quite separate project plans for different stages of the project, development and implementation. Each plan consisted of approximately 300+ separate tasks and approximately 30 key milestones. Third is, Getting the Right Resources. A major factor in the success of projects is to make available customer and supplier managers with high levels of experience in the business and in project delivery and to have these people available early on. Big projects need substantive and appropriate resources. Dedicated resource provides time to think it through. Two or more people equal different experiences, networks and a healthy debate. Getting good people appointed as dedicated resources for projects early on is often a tough challenge and some compromise is frequently necessary. Fourth is, Getting the Right Project Manager. An experienced Project Manager should lead the project on a day-to-day basis. For large projects, this should be a dedicated and full-time role. Full-time and dedicated resource will ensure that a continuous focus is maintained on moving the project forward. In theory all business projects should be led by the business. In practice, many business functions do not have the required project management skills, experience or disciplined approach. A good working compromise is to appoint two people to work together in a partnership, a Project Manager and a User Representative. The comprehensive nature of these two roles should not be underestimated. Fifth is, Defining Roles and Responsibilities. he Project Manager must ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. The organisational structure should be kept as simple as possible. Sixth is, Monitoring and Reporting Progress. The project plan should be monitored and updated on a weekly basis. This is important since tasks are usually underestimated and many new tasks will be identified as the project moves forward. Seventh is, Consultation and Leadership. During all stages of the project, there should be widespread consultation with many parties. This will ensure that when difficult decisions have to be made, they are made clearly, forcefully and quickly. Engage in lots of consultation, but do not have too much democracy. If you want to achieve a real business result in a realistic timeframe, a small team operating on Stalinist principles is more likely to succeed than large committees acting as talking shops. This is particularly important for regional, cross regional and global projects. the next is close down the project when completed then review it to ensure the lessons are learnt and widely understood. It is this structured approach that makes project management the best method for change management.

Why do project(s) fail(s)?

As what I have learned, a project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a product, service or result. A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources. And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal.

                Failure refers to the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. In a perfect world every project is made for success but in reality, it tells us a different story. In the business world, failing is not in their dictionary. Failing in their projects is very uncommon to them. But we cannot remove the fact that we are not perfect and there are some little instances that our projects may fail. These are the reasons for project failures:

†    Poor Estimates

Bad estimates lead to bad cost projections. Here are some tips to improve estimating practices:

1.       Ask the vendor - Often if you are purchasing or implementing a system, during contracting asks the vendor for the amount of effort. Good vendors will share their resource estimates and effort. I know McKesson and Cerner have these to help the organization understand how much effort they need to pony up. Poor vendors will tell you that they do all the work. Truthfully, in my almost 2 decades of experience, I have never been engaged in implementing a system where the vendor did all the work.

2.       Have the resources accountable for implementation assist with the RFP evaluation- The best way to bring your team is to have them partake in the RFI, RFP efforts. During the evaluation of the RFPs, have them estimate implementation efforts. Not only does this help have a solution resolved upon a needs assessment, but the requirements are now known.

3.       Always have staffs do the estimate - While it may be hard, let staffing have the final estimates to verify and assure they are comfortable. Once on a project all of the estimation was completed by a senior technology director. This individual was new to the organization and not familiar with how interwoven the old technology (Novell File Servers) where to the organization. The estimate provided to retire was way too short of a timeframe and didn't consider some integration points with the mainframe. Having the staff review the estimate and rework it, provided an opportunity to properly frame the project effort

†    Scope Changes

Controlling and managing scope change is critical to the success of any project, as scope changes can significantly impact the cost, schedule, risks and quality of the entire effort. Scope is defined early in the planning and estimation phases, there are many reasons for changing it later on — for instance, a stakeholder may acquire additional insight into a problem during the course of the project. There are four strong reasons why scope management must be a top priority for the successful project manager:

      Cost: Scope change can affect work that has been already performed. This means rework costs for work that has already started or worse, been completed.

Schedule: With each scope change, precious project resources are diverted to activities that were not identified in the original project scope, leading to pressure on the project schedule. The project manager must also consider impact on the project’s critical path.

Quality: When not analyzed thoroughly, scope changes lead to quick fixes that can affect product quality.

        Morale: Scope changes can cause a loss of control of the team’s planned work. Changing focus or direction to meet the change requests adversely impacts team morale.

            Here are helpful tips and techniques for keeping scope change on track:

Proactive Change Identification: Scope changes are waiting to happen, so the project manager should take an active role in identifying these changes with stakeholders. By being proactive, the project manager can incorporate the vital few changes that account for 80% of the stakeholders’ issues and concerns.

Sponsor Approval: Always get the sponsor’s approval and buy-in for the change request before authorizing any related work. If it is difficult to have the sponsor review every change, ask him/her to review a set of change requests. Alternatively, the change can be classified as routine or in need of further analysis.

Thorough Impact Analysis: It’s easy to conduct a superficial change impact analysis, however the repercussions are not very pleasant. An impact analysis needs to consider all the configuration items that will be affected by the change and associated costs.

Communicate Changes: In a large project team, changes can be overlooked if they are not communicated in a timely way. People like to know what they are working on and to be kept informed of project decisions. Proper team communications are essential to understanding and overcoming resistance to change.

Avoid Scope Creep: Scope creep occurs when changes are allowed without proper impact analysis, and without reviewing schedule and cost implications. This is common with repetitive minor incremental adjustments, where the project budget and schedule are not kept in sync with the effort involved for the changes. In this scenario, there is no way to avoid a runaway project syndrome. Scope creep is a symptom of a process problem; the solution is to implement a process to track each change and control its implementation

†    Work Breakdown Failures

A work breakdown structure (WBS) in project management and systems engineering, is a tool used to define and group project’s discrete work elements in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project. The Work Breakdown Structure provides a common framework for the natural development of the overall planning and control of a contract and is the basis for dividing work into definable increments from which the statement of work can be developed and technical, schedule, cost, and labor hour reporting can be established. we must plan of what should be done!

†    Not Enough Time

This is the common problem why a project may lead to failure. In making a project, the team must set a specific span of time to finish the project. Time is gold but mostly it is wasted. We make time management table before starting the project but sometimes when we are in the situation, we find ourselves lacking of time because we made a wrong estimate. Time is very difficult to handle. So in making a project, we must be sure that the time estimate we allotted fits the completion of the project we planned to do. So to avoid failure because of this factor, we must manage our time. Time management refers to a range of skills, tools, and techniques used to manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals. This set encompasses a wide scope of activities, and these include planning, allocating, setting goals, delegation, analysis of time spent, monitoring, organizing, scheduling, and prioritizing. Initially, time management referred to just business or work activities, but eventually the term broadened to include personal activities as well. Time Management can be considered as a project management subset and is more commonly known as project planning and project scheduling. Time Management has also been identified as one of the core functions identified in project management

†    Incompetent Project manager

The project manager can be treated as the most important person in the project team. He/she is the one that will lead his/her members. If your project manager is incompetent, nothing will happen to your project. Your project manager must be goal- oriented to make your project successful. He/she is the source of strength of the team. He/she must make sure that every little detail of your project is doing great. He/she must be competent enough to handle the challenges they may encounter as they pursue their project. To be an effective project manager you must posses all of this:

†       Inspires a shared vision

§  An effective project leader is often described as having a vision of where to go and the ability to articulate it. Visionaries thrive on change and being able to draw new boundaries. It was once said that a leader is someone who "lifts us up, gives us a reason for being and gives the vision and spirit to change." Visionary leaders enable people to feel they have a real stake in the project. They empower people to experience the vision on their own. According to Bennis "They offer people opportunities to create their own vision, to explore what the vision will mean to their jobs and lives, and to envision their future as part of the vision for the organisation." (Bennis, 1997)

†       Good Communicator

§  The ability to communicate with people at all levels is almost always named as the second most important skill by project managers and team members. Project leadership calls for clear communication about goals, responsibility, performance, expectations and feedback.

There is a great deal of value placed on openness and directness. The project leader is also the team's link to the larger organization. The leader must have the ability to effectively negotiate and use persuasion when necessary to ensure the success of the team and project. Through effective communication, project leaders support individual and team achievements by creating explicit guidelines for accomplishing results and for the career advancement of team members.

†       Integrity

§  One of the most important things a project leader must remember is that his or her actions, and not words, set the modus operandi for the team. Good leadership demands commitment to, and demonstration of, ethical practices. Creating standards for ethical behavior for oneself and living by these standards, as well as rewarding those who exemplify these practices, are responsibilities of project leaders. Leadership motivated by self-interest does not serve the well being of the team. Leadership based on integrity represents nothing less than a set of values others share, behavior consistent with values and dedication to honesty with self and team members. In other words the leader "walks the talk" and in the process earns trust.

†       Enthusiasm

§  Plain and simple, we don't like leaders who are negative - they bring us down. We want leaders with enthusiasm, with a bounce in their step, with a can-do attitude. We want to believe that we are part of an invigorating journey - we want to feel alive. We tend to follow people with a can-do attitude, not those who give us 200 reasons why something can't be done. Enthusiastic leaders are committed to their goals and express this commitment through optimism. Leadership emerges as someone expresses such confident commitment to a project that others want to share his or her optimistic expectations. Enthusiasm is contagious and effective leaders know it.

†       Competence

§  Simply put, to enlist in another's cause, we must believe that that person knows what he or she is doing. Leadership competence does not however necessarily refer to the project leader's technical abilities in the core technology of the business. As project management continues to be recognized as a field in and of itself, project leaders will be chosen based on their ability to successfully lead others rather than on technical expertise, as in the past. Having a winning track record is the surest way to be considered competent. Expertise in leadership skills is another dimension in competence. The ability to challenge, inspire, enable, model and encourage must be demonstrated if leaders are to be seen as capable and competent.

†       Problem Solving Skills

§   Although an effective leader is said to share problem-solving responsibilities with the team, we expect our project leaders to have excellent problem-solving skills themselves. They have a "fresh, creative response to here-and-now opportunities," and not much concern with how others have performed them. (Kouzes 1987)

†       Cool Under Pressure

§   In a perfect world, projects would be delivered on time, under budget and with no major problems or obstacles to overcome. But we don't live in a perfect world - projects have problems. A leader with a hardy attitude will take these problems in stride. When leaders encounter a stressful event, they consider it interesting, they feel they can influence the outcome and they see it as an opportunity. "Out of the uncertainty and chaos of change, leaders rise up and articulate a new image of the future that pulls the project together." (Bennis 1997) And remember - never let them see you sweat.

†       Ability to Delegate Tasks

§  Trust is an essential element in the relationship of a project leader and his or her team. You demonstrate your trust in others through your actions - how much you check and control their work, how much you delegate and how much you allow people to participate. Individuals who are unable to trust other people often fail as leaders and forever remain little more that micro-managers, or end up doing all of the work themselves. As one project management student put it, "A good leader is a little lazy." An interesting perspective!

†    Ineffective use of Project Management Discipline and Processes

In making a project you must know all the project management discipline and processes and all the things it comprises. You must know what to use and where to apply it. Ineffective use of one of the project management discipline and processes can definitely lead to failure. Each discipline has a special purpose in the success of the project. If one of the project processes is ruined, it affects the rest of the processes. We must make sure that we follow all the legal project management and disciplines and processes.

†    Lack of Proper Management Support

You can’t start a single project if you don’t know anything about proper management. Proper management is the very important key to the success of your project. You must know how to handle all the things that encompasses your project. You must properly manage your project so that it will not fail. You must seek the approval of the management. For example, if you are given a project to do and if the times comes that you finish it, you must first submit it to your instructor and he will check if you comply all the qualifications given.

†    Wrong Use of Technology

It is difficult to think of a situation where businesses can do without technology and computers today. It is extremely difficult to say whether businesses depend on computers or computers created business opportunities. Technology plays a vital role in improving our lives for something better. A little bit of common sense and you will be able to save a lot of money even after the most expensive technology. With technology by your side you can be sure of an easy life. Whether it’s the Internet or the telephones our lives have been made easier. But at the same time it’s true that technology also brings frustration and depression as a result of desire which has been increased with the rise in technology. But there is a brighter as well as a darker side to everything. Our professional world is incomplete without technology. Almost everything starts from technology and ends with technology. Whether it is the establishment of communication or the applications that demand the help of technology, it’s a hardcore technological world. This has been pointed out in a negative sense as many feel that technology for fun is no less than an undesirable curse. Right from the latest mobile technologies to the most fashionable systems that are believed to reflect an individual’s status till the social networking world on the Internet, it’s all fun for teenagers. Things are getting digitalized and stores are going online. With the general people using technology for fun even the business owners are expanding themselves on the Internet and making them available at the click of a button. As the standard of technology is rising, the number of frauds making the wrong use of technology is also increasing with time. These frauds are spread all over the Internet and in various places where you can never imagine their presence. Cyber crime is a result of the mastermind of such frauds in technology. So, give a thought before taking an important step in a technological expense. Your own care and foresightedness can help you. We can certainly enjoy the benefits that technology can offer but only when we know how to make use of technology in a more strategically and systematic way. It’s time when technology should not only be thought in terms of costs and expenses but also in terms of opportunity.

“Trial and error is usually the prime means of solving life’s problems. Yet many people are afraid to undertake the trial because they’re too afraid of experiencing the error. They make the mistake of believing that all error is wrong and harmful, when most of it is both helpful and necessary. Error provides the feedback that points the way to success. Only error pushes people to put together a new and better trial, leading through yet more errors and trials until they can ultimately find a viable and creative solution. To meet with an error is not to fail, but to take one more step on the path to final success. No errors means no successes either.”

Everyone dreams to succeed but we cannot deny the fact that the word “SUCCESS” includes the word “FAILURES”. All we need to do is to balance it. The problem comes when fear of failure is dominant. When you can no longer accept the inevitability of making mistakes, nor recognize the importance of trial and error in finding the best and most creative solution. The more creative you are, the more errors you are going to make. Get used to it!!

“We hear a lot about being positive. Maybe we also need to recognize that the negative parts of our lives and experience have just as important a role to play in finding success, in work and in life.”

                

What is a project?What is management?What is project management?

Project?

A project is a task given to with a time designated and requirements to comply. It is very common especially to students because these are always given by their teachers or instructors. It maybe in a written or oral form. One example is, you are given a project to build or create a program for a certain company. To finish that project and comply all the requirements needed you must have perseverance and you must manage yourself.

A process which involves setting up a comprehensive scheme, which takes account of the various aspects of one situation, for the purpose of arriving at another. Projects have a purpose: projects have clearly-defined aims and set out to produce clearly-defined results. Their purpose is to solve a “problem”, and this involves analyzing needs beforehand. Suggesting one or more solutions, it aims at lasting social change. Projects are realistic: their aims must be achievable, and this means taking account both of requirements and of the financial and human resources available. Projects are limited in time and space: they have a beginning and an end, and are implemented in a specific place and context. Projects are complex: projects call on various planning and implementation skills, and involve various partners and players. Projects are collective: projects are the product of collective endeavor. They are run by teams, involve various partners and cater for the needs of others. Projects are unique: all projects stem from new ideas. They provide a specific response to a need (problem) in a specific context. They are innovative. Projects are an adventure: every project is different and ground-breaking; they always involve some uncertainty and risk. Projects can be assessed: projects are planned and broken down into measurable aims, which must be open to evaluation. Projects are made up of stages: projects have distinct, identifiable stages. Projects are temporary in nature. They are not an everyday business process and have definitive start dates and end dates. This characteristic is important because a large part of the project effort is dedicated to ensuring that the project is completed at the appointed time. To do this, schedules are created showing when tasks should begin and end. Projects can last minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years. Projects exist to bring about a product or service that hasn’t existed before. In this sense, a project is unique. Unique means that this is new, this has never been done before. Maybe it’s been done in a very similar fashion before but never exactly in this way. The project is completed when its goals and objectives are accomplished. It is these goals that drive the project and all the planning and implementation efforts are undertaken to achieve them. Sometimes projects end when it’s determined that the goals and objectives cannot be accomplished or when the product or service of the project is no longer needed and the project is cancelled.

As what I have learned from our first discussion, project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a product, service or result. A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources. And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies. The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new geographic market — all are projects. And all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-budget results, learning and integration that organizations need. I have learned that all projects are work, but not all work is project. A project has a distinct start and end. When you are given a project, you are also given a span of time to finish it.

 Not all projects are successful. There are some factors that lead a certain project to fail. We always encounter projects in our daily lives. We had already known that a project is a temporary task or activity given with a common time allotted. This is one of the factors why a project may fail. Time. Time is gold but mostly it is wasted. Commonly, we are pressured by the time given to us, that’s why we don’t meet the qualifications needed for that matter, we lose our focus on the project. For example, your project is to build a program for a certain business company and you are given two (2) months to comply it. Because you are pressured by the span of time given you made the project with no much effort not meeting all the things looked-for. Another factor that leads a project to failure is lack of motivation. If you are not motivated because you don’t love what you are doing, your project might probably fail. You must be enthusiastic with what you are doing. For example you are ask to cook a certain viand for special guests but your interest is not on that matter, let’s say you want to do graphics design, surely you wouldn’t successful in meeting the necessities for that project because you are not in that kind of matter. You will not be motivated to do it because it is opposite with what you want.

Management?

Management is the way how you handle a certain situation or a thing you encounter. It is the way how you organize a given matter to make it easier to accomplish. It is somewhat the way how you handle a given circumstance. For example a given a project that ask you to make a thesis. You must be able to manage your project that within the allocated span of time you will finish it and meet all the qualifications needed to pass it. Management in all business areas and organizational activities are the acts of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives efficiently and effectively. It doesn't necessarily mean managing people. We can manage ourselves or the material assigned to us at work. If you managed a project very well on your own, it would mean that you did the job in a well-organized, efficient manner, making good use of all resources at your disposal. Management is like investment. Managers have resources to invest - their time, talent and, possibly, human resources. The goal (function) of management is to get the best return on such resources by getting things done efficiently. This doesn't imply being mechanical or narrowly controlling as some writers on management suggest. The manager's style is a personal or situational matter and it has evolved over time. With highly skilled and self-motivated knowledge workers, the manager must be very empowering. Where the workforce is less skilled or not very motivated, the manager may need to monitor output more closely. Skilled managers know how flex their style, coach and motivate diverse employees. Getting things done through people is what they do. By saying that management is a function, not a type of person or role, we can better account for self-managed work teams where no one is in charge. In a self-managed team, management is a group effort with no one being the designated manager. Management operates through various functions, often classified as planning, organizing, leading/directing, and controlling/monitoring. Planning: Deciding what needs to happen in the future (today, next week, next month, next year, over the next 5 years, etc.) and generating plans for action. Organizing: (Implementation) making optimum use of the resources required to enable the successful carrying out of plans. Staffing: Job Analyzing, recruitment, and hiring individuals for appropriate jobs. Leading/Directing: Determining what needs to be done in a situation and getting people to do it. Controlling/Monitoring: Checking progress against plans. Motivation: Motivation is also a kind of basic function of management, because without motivation, employees cannot work effectively. If motivation doesn't take place in an organization, then employees may not contribute to the other functions (which are usually set by top level management).

During our discussion, a manager and a leader were compared. Manager and Leader have distinct traits. There are fundamental differences in the way of thinking and executing things. A manager tries to get maximum benefits of the available resources. He/She relies on high efficiency and productivity of existing resource. A leader on other hand has a creative mind. He/She is an inventor and is constantly thinking of changing and improving the way things are done. He/She can sacrifice efficiency or productivity for some time to promote creativity and hence finding novel unconditional ways. A leader is more risk savvy then the usual manager. A leader is always on look out for new ideas. He/She looks at his/her resources like people, machinery and computer systems in a different way then the manager. Manager aims to extract maximum value from these resources unlike a leader who aims to get different more valuable output from the same resources. Both a manager and a leader may know the business well. But the leader must know it better and in a different way. S/he must grasp the essential facts and the underlying forces that determine the past and present trends in the business, so that s/he can generate a vision and a strategy to bring about its future. One telling sign of a good leader is an honest attitude towards the facts, towards objective truth. A subjective leader obscures the facts for the sake of narrow self-interest, partisan interest or prejudice. Effective leaders continually ask questions, probing all levels of the organization for information, testing their own perceptions, and rechecking the facts. They talk to their constituents. They want to know what is working and what is not. They keep an open mind for serendipity to bring them the knowledge they need to know what is true. An important source of information for this sort of leader is knowledge of the failures and mistakes that are being made in their organization. Managers adopt impersonal, almost passive, attitudes toward goals; decide upon goals based on necessity instead of desire and are therefore deeply tied to their organization's culture; tend to be reactive since they focus on current information. While leaders tend to be active since they envision and promote their ideas instead of reacting to current situations; shape ideas instead of responding to them; have a personal orientation toward goals; provide a vision that alters the way people think about what is desirable, possible, and necessary. Managers view work as an enabling process; establish strategies and makes decisions by combining people and ideas; continually coordinate and balance opposing views; are good at reaching compromises and mediating conflicts between opposing values and perspectives; act to limit choice; tolerate practical, mundane work because of strong survival instinct which makes them risk-averse. While leaders develop new approaches to long-standing problems and open issues to new options; first, use their vision to excite people and only then develop choices which give those images substance; focus people on shared ideals and raise their expectations; work from high-risk positions because of strong dislike of mundane work.

To endure in this kind of society we need a new generation of leaders, not managers. “A good manager does things right. A leader does the right things”. Doing the right things implies a goal, a direction, an objective, a vision, a dream, a path, a reach.

Project Management?

Project management is a carefully planned and organized effort to accomplish a specific (and usually) one-time objective, for example, construct a building or implement a major new computer system. Project management includes developing a project plan, which includes defining and confirming the project goals and objectives, identifying tasks and how goals will be achieved, quantifying the resources needed, and determining budgets and timelines for completion. It also includes managing the implementation of the project plan, along with operating regular 'controls' to ensure that there is accurate and objective information on 'performance' relative to the plan, and the mechanisms to implement recovery actions where necessary. Project management is the science (and art) of organizing the components of a project, whether the project is development of a new product, the launch of a new service, a marketing campaign, or a wedding. A project isn't something that's part of normal business operations. It's typically created once, it's temporary, and it's specific. As one expert notes, "It has a beginning and an end." A project consumes resources (whether people, cash, materials, or time), and it has funding limits. No matter what the type of project, project management typically follows the same pattern. Definition, Planning, Execution, Control and Closure. Defining the Project. In this stage the project manager defines what the project is and what the users hope to achieve by undertaking the project. This phase also includes a list of project deliverables, the outcome of a specific set of activities. The project manager works with the business sponsor or manager who wants to have the project implemented and other stakeholders -- those who have a vested interest in the outcome of the project. Planning the Project. Define all project activities. In this stage, the project manager lists all activities or tasks, how the tasks are related, how long each task will take, and how each tasks is tied to a specific deadline. This phase also allows the project manager to define relationships between tasks, so that, for example, if one task is x number of days late, the project tasks related to it will also reflect a comparable delay. Likewise, the project manager can set milestones, dates by which important aspects of the project need to be met. Define requirements for completing the project. In this stage, the project manager identifies how many people (often referred to as "resources") and how much expense ("cost") is involved in the project, as well as any other requirements that are necessary for completing the project. The project manager will also need to manage assumptions and risks related to the project. The project manager will also want to identify project constraints. Constraints typically relate to schedule, resources, budget, and scope. A change in one constraint will typically affect the other constraints. For example, a budget constraint may affect the number of people who can work on the project, thereby imposing a resource constraint. Likewise, if additional features are added as part of project scope that could affect scheduling, resources, and budget. Executing the Project. Build the project team. In this phase, the project manager knows how many resources and how much he budget or she has to work with for the project. The project manager then assigns those resources and allocates budget to various tasks in the project. Now the work of the project begins. Controlling the Project.  The project manager is in charge of updating the project plans to reflect actual time elapsed for each task. By keeping up with the details of progress, the project manager is able to understand how well the project is progressing overall. A product such as Microsoft Project facilitates the administrative aspects of project management. Closure of the Project.  In this stage, the project manager and business owner pull together the project team and those who have an interest in the outcome of the project (stakeholders) to analyze the final outcome of the project. Time, Money, Scope. Frequently, people refer to project management as having three components: time, money, and scope. Reducing or increasing any one of the three will probably have an impact on the other two. If a company reduces the amount of time it can spend on a project, that will affect the scope (what can be included in the project) as well as the cost (since additional people or resources may be required to meet the abbreviated schedule).Project Portfolio Management. Recent trends in project management include project portfolio management (PPM). PPM is a move by organizations to get control over numerous projects by evaluating how well each project aligns with strategic goals and quantifying its value. An organization will typically be working on multiple projects, each resulting in potentially differing amounts of return or value. The company or agency may decide to eliminate those projects with a lower return in order to dedicate greater resources to the remaining projects or in order to preserve the projects with the highest return or value. Project management, then, is the application of knowledge, skills and techniques to execute projects effectively and efficiently. It’s a strategic competency for organizations, enabling them to tie project results to business goals — and thus, better compete in their markets.

Project management is very important in the business industry especially nowadays people are finding ways to innovate the resources around them. Innovation relies on project management. Irrespective of whether the innovation concerns a new product, or a new process, or indeed a contribution to pure science, better project management, on the whole, will see a successful outcome reached more quickly, having consumed fewer resources. All organizations use projects as the way to translate strategies into actions and objectives into realities. Many companies are project-intensive – they live and breathe project management because they are in that kind of business, such as construction, aerospace, engineering design, engineer-procure-construct (EPC), general contractors, consulting, software, and so on. For them, organizing around projects is a natural way of life as almost all senior staff have "come up through the ranks", and top management understands what it takes to be successful in project work. On the other hand are less project-intensive organizations such as food, retailing and textiles. But even such companies have projects, e.g., setting up a new distribution depot or a new plant. Even in public sector, it is effective project management that translates politicians' visions of new roads, schools and hospitals into gleaming new constructions that improve everyday life. In modern day business scenario the business always try to diversify their resources into profitable areas; accordingly the progression plans are chalked out. The risk at any step of business progression means pitfalls and losses. So to avoid these pitfalls and losses, project management is really badly needed.