Inspiring the team

Communicate -

• set a clear goal with reasonable approach to achieve it
• regularly recognize contributions and recommend ways to improve
• regularly communicate the progress

Stay Positive -

• identify possibility and opportunity in every challenge
• always focus on the strengths and develop them

Take Action -

• remove obstacles
• remove under-performers
• get hands dirty when necessary
• be a role-model of accountability

PM R&R (sample)

• Providing project and program management expertise to multiple large Information Systems initiatives within the Department.
• Providing Data and Systems integration expertise to the Department.
• Providing Program Management guidance and support to Government PMs.
• Overseeing the management of complex, multi-track integration projects by balancing scope, time, cost and quality. Leading the development and tracking of integrated project plans.
• Overseeing the development of project deliverables. Identifying and managing project and/or program issues. Assessing and managing risk within, and across, multiple projects. Maintaining project tracking and reporting systems
• Responsible for ongoing client satisfaction and Manages Executive level client relationships (expectations, communications, negotiations, escalation, feedback etc). Develops relationships with, and ensures the appropriate participation of, key client stakeholders and client executives.

The largest IT service providers

IBM
EDS
Accenture
CSC

The One-Page Project Manager

MS Licensing Options

Ø There are two distinct types of licenses at Microsoft - internal use licenses and commercial services licenses.
Ø Licenses acquired through the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Full Packaged Products (FPP), Open, Select, and Enterprise Agreement (EA) programs are for the use by the contracting entity and its affiliates.
Ø Service Providers cannot acquire licenses through these programs in order to provide commercial or hosted services to their customers.
Ø The Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) provides 3rd party commercial use rights to service providers
Ø Customers Providing Own Licenses
o Service Providers can provide services to their customers by having their customers provide all the necessary Server and Client Assess Licenses (CALs).
o End users cannot use their own Client Access Licenses to access services from a server which is licensed by the service provider. These end user customers will retain licenses to their Microsoft software if their relationship with the service provider terminates. When end users choose to outsource services to a service provider, but acquire their own Select or Enterprise Agreement (EA) licenses, the service provider should have their customers submit a Hosting License Verification Form to Microsoft, then retain a copy for their records.

http://www.gantthead.com/

Virtual Team - Real Humans

Make sure team members spend time together at the beginning of a project. This will allow them to develop a sense of who their teammates are and of how to work most effectively with them.

Healthy teams are built on foundations of trust and understanding that allow team members to share and debate ideas, and to commit to shared goals. Humans are social beings and develop trust by interacting with one another, not by working in isolation.

The cost of getting together in terms of direct expense is easy to determine; the benefit of getting together to build trust is invaluable.

- PMI Community Post. Thanks to Brian R. King, P.Eng, PMP, for contributing this tip.

Communication Style

1. Back-office vs. front office
2. Client vs. customer
3. Dates - June 1991 or October 1, 2003, or Nov. 10, or the 12th of May
4. Dollars - CDN$12 million or US$10 million
5. e-words - e-business, e-government, e-mail
6. Healthcare (not health care)
7. Home page (not homepage)
8. Internet (not internet)
9. Italicize titles of books, magazines, newspapers while place "titles of shorter works" (e.g. articles, reports, studies) in quotation marks
10. Nearshore (not near shore)
11. Spell out a number (unless a calendar year) at the beginning of a sentence
12. Spell out whole numbers below 10, except $2 million or $20 billion
13. Use a hypen after words ending in "y" when large numbers must be spelled out (e.g. five hundred fifty-two)
14. Spell out "percent", use % where space is limited
15. Offshore (not off-shore) vs. onshore (not on-shore)
16. Offsite (not off-site) vs. onsite (not on-site)
17. Online (not on-line)
18. Telephone numbers - (123) 345-7890, ext. 1234 or 1-800-111-2222
19. Time - 9:00 a.m., 10:00 p.m., noon, midnight
20. Vice-president (not vice president)

Create a winning team

1. Start a WBS and see who and what you need
2. Make a list of the skills your resources need to complete the work
3. Start the work authorization process early so that time for your project is blocked out on the resource's schedule
4. Plan training that helps the team succeed
5. Plan groud rules
6. Set up work space
7. Clarify who will be responsible for hiring, firing and performance assessments
8. Choose your leadership style

Columbia Software Engineering Project Manangement

Lessons Learned

1. Validate all assumptions as soon as they are identified.
2. Conduct detailed stakeholder analysis as early as possible in the project. Pay attention to those who may not seem to be directly impacted by the project.

Clarify INTERESTS & CONCERNS, not POSITIONS

- Be persistent and patient in asking about interests - often a question about a party's interests will only get them to restate their position
- When estimating their interests and concerns, try to see the situation from their shoes

~ Negotiation tips from Common Outlook

negotiation - summary

negotiation - influence or persuade someone to get an agreement/outcome that are satisfactory to both parties

create value in negotiation by expanding the pie

work as partners to solve the problem

1. process - be fair
2. best alternative to a negotiated agreement - not a bottom line (walk away)
3. interests & concerns - not position, looking for differing and non-conflicting interests
4. options - be creative
5. benchmarks - not manipulable by any party
6. commitment - clear and operational, checking assumptions
7. communication - two-way, clear protocal
8. relationship - trust, respect, goodwill

Silence is gold

- Stop advocating after you have made your point
- Slow the pace and talk less when you feel nervous

News:Googling for ATM Master Passwords

Lessons Learned - always change the defualt password.

Blog: The U.S. Government's $12 Billion Sinkhole

Here's a fun little item, outrageous to both good project managers and U.S. taxpayers alike. The federal government has about
$12 billion in information technology projects "either poorly planned or going poorly," the General Accountability Office says.

News: Malware Money Tough to Trace

News: Credit Card Rules Reflect Industry Changes

Pebble Beach, California

Interview Question - Quick Sort