Category: General

Tool Talk (Part 1 of 5)

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As I have said before, tools are important part of project management because it helps project managers in their tasks and generally makes the job easier. If you need further convincing regarding the benefits of these tools, you could click here.

My blog post for today and my next four blog posts would feature the different project management software that five IT executives have found to be helpful in their jobs as expressed in their own words. This is part of the special report found in NetworkWorld.com.

The first project mangement software that I would share with you is Primavera Systems’ Primavera which was chosen by Ron Rose.

Ron Rose, the CIO of Norwalk-based Priceline has been in the networking industry for the past 30 years. According to the CIO, one of the biggest problem that he have encountered in project management is the problem of estimating which could result to the target date tardiness, insufficient resources, and other similar problems. To prevent these problems from materializing, he utilizes Primavera Systems’ [Primavera] project-management tool in order to record and forecast the necessary manpower and resources needed for each project. Through using Primavera, they are able to deliver more than 95%

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Tool Talk (Part 2 of 5)

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This is the second part of my special blog post in regards to the favored Project management software which was selected by people who are considered “experts” in their own industries. In the first part of my blog post, I presented the Primavera Systems’ Primavera which was Ron Rose’s choice. (click here for more)

In the second part of Tool Talk, Michael Vertefeuille, IT director for the University of Connecticut School of Business would share his experience with Nortel’s Enterprise Policy Manager. The IT director has been in the industry for 15 years and remarked that this software really helped him in his work as an IT director.

One of the advantages mentioned by the IT director in using Nortel’s Enterprise Policy Manager (EPM) is that it could manage the networks in the classrooms from the instructor station. He also gave a situation wherein the software tool was considered effective:

If I’m teaching a class, for instance, I can use the instructor’s workstation in the room to choose what traffic I want to block and those packets are filtered from the edge switches within 5 seconds.

Aside from that, the software allows each instructor to use workstations according to their …

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Tool Talk (Part 3 of 5)

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This is the third part of my 5-part report regarding the project management softwares used by selected people in the IT industry from different settings.

For the first part, I wrote about Ron Rose’s choice which is the Primavera Systems’ Primavera

For the second part, I tackled Nortel’s Enterprise Policy Manager which wasMichael Vertefeuille’s best bet.

For the third part, I would talk about the features of BMC Software’s Remedy Help Desk.

Kevin Clark, IT Director of Lucasfilm Entertainment has been in the industry for the past 15 years. He explains that in a Linux work environment, there are limited choices but with the emergence of Remedy Help Desk application, this problem is instantly solved.The original purpose of the said tool before was to properly monitor and manage issues in IT from end users up to internal ones. Nowadays, the tool is much more than that because it helped the firm in adopting a stronger change-management philosophy

One of the features of this tool is that it could grant customers access to this tool. This means that a customer could open a trouble ticket on their own enabling them to track it down. If there is a critical issue present

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Tool Talk (Part 4 of 5)

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This is the fourth part in my 5-part special regarding project management software which IT executives have found useful in their work and daily tasks. To give you a brief review, here are the choices made by the following people:

Ron Rose = Primavera Systems’ Primavera

Michael Vertefeuille = Nortel’s Enterprise Policy Manager (EPM)

Kevin Clark = BMC Software’s Remedy Help Desk

Today’s article would tackle about Mimosa Systems’ NearPoint Server and how it had helped IT director Steve Perry.

Steve Perry, the IT director of Costello & Sons Insurance and has been in the networking industry for 22 years. The IT director explained that he works in a paper-less environment meaning that they rely mostly on e-mail messages being sent and received through their three California branch locations: San Rafael, Irvine and Santa Barbara. Transactions are ususally conducted through e-mail and with a digital back-up. Due to this, the company needs a software that would ensure protection in their e-mail process.This is where Mimosa Systems’ NearPoint Server takes over. According to the IT director, there are three primary tasks done by the said software. These primary tasks are considered critical in their business operations and helps the firm in

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Tool Talk (Part 5 of 5)

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Finally! We have reached the last part of my special 5-part posting regarding the different software tools which are hand-picked by selected experts in the IT industry. The tools mentioned and the reviews about it are based from the personal experiences by the people featured in this special.

    So far, we have covered the following software tools:
  • Primavera Systems’ Primavera recommended by Ron Rose
  • Enterprise Policy Manager (EPM) by Michael Vertefeuille
  • BMC Software’s Remedy Help Desk recommended by Kevin Clark
  • Mimosa Systems’ NearPoint Server recommended by Steve Perry

For the last part of this special, I would talk about SPI Dynamics’ WebInspect.

Paul Samadani, the Director of corporate technology services Pentair has been in the networking industry for 23 years. In his line of work, they are tasked to monitor the development in-house and externally on their intranet and extranet sites. The director also mentioned that they have a global network of sites which covers all countries and he wants to make sure that the said portals are secure. This is where SPI Dynamics’ WebInspect comes in handy.The difference of WebInspect with other vulnerability tools is its capability to provide answers alongside the problem that it had discovered upon operation.

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From “Techie” to PM? Think Again

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Question: Do you think that a techno-genius should be promoted when he/she has people skills and know how to make a proper appearance?

If your answer to this question is yes, you better think about your decision for more than 100 times. According to the article entitled Great IT Leaders Have To Be Made, Execs Say, being an effective project manager is more than just having the basic skills needed for the job. Kay Palmer, CIO of J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. remarked that if a person pursued this kind of decision over the matter, there is a chance that you could find yourself having a “so-so” manager rather than an effective one.

The best way to find out if a person has the qualities of being an effective project manager is by training them. The training done to these people would include commitment from the part of the participants. One example of these training programs available is the one used by Jerry Bartlett, CIO of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. The CIO mentioned that there are three programs included in his kind of training and these are:

  • evaluation of personal characteristics
  • assigning industrial psychologist that is not situated in the firm
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Random Thoughts on Project Management

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I recently posted a 5-part special focusing on the different software tools chosen by different IT directors. (read here for more). In line with this, I also stumbled upon a news article expressing another sentiment regarding technological gadgets.

The article entitled Complexity causes 50% of product returns: scientistrevealed that almost half of the supposed malfunctioning products returned by customers are actually in good working condtion. This means that the problem lies on the customer themselves. Most of these people could not easily figure out how these new technological gadgets work thus opting to return these gadgets rather than figure out a way on how it would work.

For the past years, there have been a lot of technological gadgets in the market like mp3s, wireless audio systems, software programs, among others. Instead of making things easier, consumers often feel that operating these things are more complicated. One interesting finding of the study shows that:the average consumer in the United States will struggle for 20 minutes to get a device working before giving up. So much for tenacity huh?

On the other hand, I recently discovered Stephen Seay’s blog which contains relevant and useful information for project management. In his …

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Innovation Starts in School

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Innovation is a term that is not only applicable to technology but to almost every aspect in life. In the article entitled Reading, Writing, and Creativity, it shows the interview done with Education guru Sir Ken Robinson that points out the importance of innovation and creativity in every aspect of our lives-either in school or in the corporate world.

When asked about his definition of creativity, Sir Ken Robinson mentioned this:

Ultimately it’s the process of having original ideas, but there are several steps. The first step is imagination, the capacity that we all have to see something in the mind’s eye. Creativity is then using that imagination to solve problems — call it applied imagination. Then innovation is putting that creativity into practice as applied creativity.

Sounds encouraging isn’t it? That is precisely what the education guru is pointing at. Each and everyone of us has the capability of being creative which blurs the notion that only artists have the right to be creative. The main ingredient needed to be creative is the motivation to do so and in order for people to take the creative approach, they have to incorporate it through the shool curriculum. The education guru …

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The Culture in PM

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Culture is something that should come naturally in a group or an organization and not everyone could adapt with certain kind of culture. In project management, there is a term in the tune of “project management culture” which pertains to the norms and ways of people in a project.

In order to adapt with this culture, there should be steps that should be taken in order to ensure that this would run smoothly. Stephen Seay’s blog offers some steps which should be considered whenever such subject is encountered in the course of Project management.

    First Steps in PM Culture
  • clear definition of roles and responsibilities of Project managers and team members
  • forming a basic training plan for project management
  • leaders and other supervisors should have advanced training in PM
  • establish project management office (PMO) to provide guidance to the progress of PM
  • estabish a standard in PM methodology

Additional Project Management Quotes

Here are some of additional PM quotes that could enlighten people in a PM-related work:

Quantitative project management is for predicting cost and schedule overruns well in advance.Good project managers know when not to manage a project.

Metrics are learned men’s excuses.

For a project manager

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Random Thought in Project Management Part 2

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Pardon my cluttered mind but it seems like I can’t have a direct focus on what topic to zoom in today’s blog post. Due to that, I decided to have a second part of my random thoughts. All of which are related to project management.

Changes in PM

I recently discovered Stephen Seay’s blog which provides useful information regarding project management. Being a project manager himself, I am sure that he would be able to give you a different view of project management because of his knowledge and experience in the industry.

In his blog, I stumbled upon his entry entitled Eight Stage Process of Creating Major Change which shows the step-by-step process of incorporating change in a project. This was taken from the book “Leading Change” by John P. Kotter. These stages are supposed to be followed whenever there are major changes to be implemented.

    The Eight Stage Process of Creating Major Change
  • Establishing a Sense of Urgency
  • Creating the Guiding Coalition
  • Developing a Vision and Strategy
  • Communicating the Change Vision
  • Empowering Broad-Based Action
  • Generating Short-Term Wins
  • Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change
  • Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture

Thoughts and Insights

The steps that were shared through the …

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