Project Manager Guy

Simple Project Management Certification

The most convoluted applications call for different Gantt or PERT charts or similar project management applications and tools. But many jobs are a lot easier. They involve fewer workers and don't take as much time to complete. When that's so, more basic methods can work: You would need only a few steps, each one following obviously and routinely from the tasks that preceded it. The managers who have to address these projects will have little difficulty managing them.

Project managers may wish to employ a instrument like a Gant diagram for these simple jobs and initiatives. One good example of this type of project might be the implementation and conception of a marketing strategy. A business plan for a a business with single owner could be another case study. The Gantt chart may, in fact, make a painless project more complex than required. Perhaps it's significantly more than required for these fundamental scheduling needs. It's going to be very helpful if these types of techniques were grasped by all employees on a project so as to maintain effective rapport between all parties.

It may be much more useful to simply use a plan of action or rudimentary plan for simple analysis needs. As long as all those involved get their time table and plan things should go smoothly. Members may need to be involved in negotiation of the timeline and the management may want to use calendars or diaries for records.

With the projects being measured and monitored, they will require deadlines and should have milestones. It does not mean that the project will end if the deadline is missed. New time frames can be negotiated and there could be further discussions and assessment by the members in some of the cases. A Gantt chart might be required if the deadline is regularly crossed or in case a project gets too complex, however the members should be well versed with the use of this tool.

To get an outcome or to reach a single goal in a specific project, an action plan with a set of actions and tasks should be used. An action plan is said to be good only when it targets a single goal.The actions can be listed or entered in action calendar so that they cover majority of the goals.

It's a challenge to put a off-schedule project back on the track. In the event a worker falls behind schedule and motivation is urgently needed, the leadership might have to make some compromises to recover the overall goal. Reassignment of the resources might be needed. Either the order of tasks might be affected or there might be alterations in the specified scope of the specific tasks.

Even the best project managers have to deal with conflict management. This is one of the first challenges to be overcome by managers once they discover that there are not enough resources or tasks. Then, it becomes necessary to focus on critical tasks and provide them with resources originally assigned to other less important taxes. In addition, those resources no longer required for some tasks can be used for more difficult tasks. It may also be detected that a planned task is not needed anymore.

Changing the sequences of tasks is required to face the challenges sometimes. It will look good when we substitute some tasks and leave more difficult tasks for later. The tasks can be rearranged so that multitasking can be enabled when the things are behind.

Gantt charts can be useful in planning for the possible roadblocks a project may run into. When a manager can see the whole plan laid out before them it may help them to see where problems may arise or where time and resources may be better used. This can help to avoid problems before they arise.

 

Cause and Effect - The laws of Karma

"Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." - Isaac Newton

Every cause has a corresponding effect, however, the consequence and the predictability of the cause may not be predicted at that very moment. One knows it very well that if he/she has taken a debt, then the repayment of the debt has to be done. The person is well aware of the fact that if the debts are not repaid, then the lender possesses the right to seize the collateral security of the borrower. If there is discontent with the resulting effect of some action, then the only method of changing it is to create a new cause. However, there might be occasions when it might be too late for changing the present circumstances. In such cases, it is essential to bring about changes in the future, so that a good future prevents the recurrence of the past. People organize heir future by managing the cause and effect.

Human dynamics are a lot like the laws of physics in that they result from components (people) interacting with one another, not merely within one entity. All of your actions combine to create your persona or the "aura" you project to others. People generally gravitate toward others whose with thought processes and behaviors similar to theirs. On the other side of the coin, when we dislike others, it is most probably because their attitudes and beliefs are different from ours. When two parties relate, both persons’ decisions create "causes," and the resultant "effects" are the congruity and harmony in their relationship. In this world where it is crucial to network with one another, someone who often finds him or herself in a position of incompatibility with others will probably not be successful. Therefore, it is important that people who wish to succeed determine what has caused them to make the choices that have led to rejection for them. Changing one’s destiny hinges on a person’s ability to change him or herself.

The method of execution is as much a cause as the action itself. If a like or dislike is expressed with respect, then it demonstrates awareness of other people who are exposed to the expression. The internal cause of the feeling being expressed is a sign of the individual's opinion which may not be shared by the audience, but the effect of a respectful delivery is usually a respectful reception. Exchanges of a positive nature are beneficial even if they are exchanges of disagreements; mastery of cause and effect is a direct path to success in the broadest sense since it exists whether or not people are aware of it. Actively manipulating causes such as your own behavior directly implies active manipulation of the effect - the opinions of others about you.

People who follow similar patterns to create confidence become successful. They are always confident of everything and have a good knowledge of what they do and offer it to others thereby generating more support and rewards in their career. This type of positive interaction is ideal for anyone to become successful by building extraordinary behavior. Success does not come accidentally but one has to strive hard to get it with logical events.

Failure is also the logical result of logical events, you don't need a cause and effect diagram to tell you that. The choices a person makes affect the choices others make, and if those choices are bad then the results will be too. Who a person associates with himself is an extension of who that person is. If you are not attracting the kind of people you want to attract, then it is up to you to discover what it is that would attract them then decide if you are prepared to make that change. The person you are today is the product of who you chose to be when you were younger, and the what defines the leader you will be tomorrow are the actions you choose to pursue today.

Critical Professional Abilities: Managing Projects

Every field requires that you have skills of controlling projects properly and proficiently. It is really not a business specific issue, but rather a work mentality. There are plenty of benefits to being a great project manager. Excellent project management knowledge are seen as the trick to achieve goals proficiently. Project management education is a vital course to be taken by every hopeful project manager in addition to sound Information technology classes (to get things done fast and presentably). Making a project a success is mostly about following a number of essential principles, a few of which include things like:

Sticking with the handful of pointers discussed below should allow somebody to develop into a prosperous project manager:

1. Organizing team workload is a capacity you should implement in a working environment. Organizing capacity is not simply mental accomplishment of work schedule, it should be reflected in the practical application of the work plan i.e. in the preparation of work schedule in paper as well as in practical. A work charter prepared and followed in the right order is sure to land you as a renowned organizer in the business.
2. One needs to group the project into easily workable parts and give proper attention to each division of work so that it is completed perfectly. This way, an entire project can be completed successfully in time to produce desired results.
3. Knowledge of and comfort with a variety of hardware and software is generally more effective and preferred. Work performance, time management and efficiency are heavily determined by the skilled use of computers, the web and digital formats.
4. Leadership is not a skill you are born with. With the fast evolving management styles, it is a requirement nowadays that managers should take regular training to update and enhance their skills. Good management includes hard work and up-to-date training not just recruiting those who know what you need them to.
5. One should never feel shy of asking for help at the time of need. No one becomes inferior when he is unable to handle a specific task, but can accomplish everything by seeking help from other experienced people. One can politely ask for advice from his superiors to complete the projects successfully.

Preparedness of mind and proper planning are important factors, apart from the rules of thumb elucidated above. The final result of any project carried out by an individual is always decided by the planning that he followed - which is the most important aspect of project management. Everything will be in a confused state if planning is not done properly as there won't be a clear way to understand things.

For younger individuals, it is imperative to go for training to manage projects, as they do not bear any experience in what they are supposed to do. However, working constantly and over a period of time infuses that experience which always proves helpful in future tasks and projects. Make sure to get training in usage of computers and IT which will speed up the work being done.

Is Group Motivation Possible?

 

Can a nation be motivated just as individuals can?  Admittedly, as any entity becomes more thoroughly controlled by organisms (such as people) that entity begins to exhibit organic characteristics.

As the Indian government has modified the rules for writing  annual reports on senior bureaucrats to provide a more transparent appraisal in use elsewhere, Sangram Mishra on Daily Pioneer suggests that the bureaucracy, as a whole, might be motivated to maintain their ethics despite the power and control afforded by their senior positions.  Read this exerpt from his posting:

 

Maslow's theory of needs and self-actualization has already been discussed, when applied to motivational concepts, can be stated as that the physiological needs and safety needs of the bureaucracy should be taken care of first for maximizing the developmental outputs. This can be stated in other words that salary, shelter (physiological needs) and seniority, financial stability, status (safety and social needs) should be ensured for the bureaucracy in order to get success from them.

Even Clayton P Alderfer's ERG theory also stressed similar points. This theory is based on the three concepts of existence, relatedness and growth. A little different from Maslow's theory in the sense that it does not rank needs in any particular order and recognizes that more than one need may operate at a given time. This theory has a frustration-regression hypothesis, suggesting that one person or officer, who is frustrated in his attempt to satisfy his needs, may regress to another one. For example, an officer, who is sidetracked and frustrated by the lack of growth opportunities in his job and slow progress towards career goals, may regress to related needs and start spending more time socializing with his coworkers or pursue his creative talents to excel in other spheres.  The ERG theory is based on three concepts like existence needs, related needs and growth needs. Satisfaction in existence needs like salary, status, stability, takes to related needs and progression in related needs takes to growth needs, but regression and frustration bring him back to existence needs only.

The other theories like Theory X and Theory Y also stress motivational aspects. The Theory Y states that motivation occurs at the social, esteem and self-actualization levels as well as at the physiological and security levels, and people can be self-directed and creative at work if properly motivated where as the Theory X states motivation occurs only at the physiological and safety levels, which may not be correct.

Herzberg’s two-factor theory also states hygiene and motivation factors as the main factors to motivate. While hygiene factors encompass quality of supervision, pay, physical working condition, job security, motivational factors include promotion opportunities, recognition, opportunities for personal growth and achievement.

The McClelland theory of needs identifies three needs of importance in the workplace: power needs, achievement needs and affiliation needs. Power needs are stated as power of influencing others, defeating an opponent or competitor, attaining position of greater authority.  People with a low need for power may lack the assertiveness and self-confidence to achieve targeted goals. Affiliation needs are illustrated as friendly relationship enjoying social activities, cooperative attitude and acceptance. Achievement needs are reflected in attaining challenging goals, setting new standard and records, successful completion of difficult tasks, etc.

All the theories described here on motivational concepts have been successfully implemented by the private sector for its greatest advantage. All these theories and hypotheses pinpoint one thing that is the workforce (bureaucracy) should be motivated for obtaining maximum developmental outputs, otherwise regression would take control of the workforce with manifested frustration, and thereby achievement of goals would remain distant dreams.

While these motivation theories make perfect sense on a case-by-case basis, as individuals.  Game theory, however,  teaches us of the mass motivational concepts of prisoner's dilemma and zero sum.  Both of these together, ensure that the greedier of a mass will attempt to take advantage of the rest of the group in order to protect themselves from the negative behaviors of the rest of the mass, ensuring a downward spiral of deceit and treachery in order for any one individual to maximize their share of the pie within the ecosystem and minimize the impact of the treachery from others.

Theory X vs. Theory Y YouTube Playlist

Douglas McGregor offered a pair of divergent viewpoints of employee motivation as the basis for differing management decisions. McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y manifested these unique ways of viewing the drives and thought patterns of people. McGregor represented those who saw staff members to be lazy individuals as Theory X, the established management method of the day. These Theory X leaders think that employees steer clear of accountability and function solely while threatened. Theory Y, however, symbolized supervisors who believed that the workforce normally want to perform and to do a good job.

I found a few good videos on Theory X vs Theory Y on YouTube.

There were quite a few very poorly done ones to sift through, so I put the best ones into a playlist.  This is my first YouTube playlist, so I'm not sure how well I've done with it.  There are so many different options available on those things.  So, here's my first shot at it.  Let me know what you think.

The Benefits of a Gantt Chart in Project Management

Complex tasks require fantastic project management software in addition to tools meant for scheduling such as PERT and Gantt charts, however scores of less demanding projects that necessitate few personnel in a short time period can also indicate a less demanding methodology to achieve. This indicates that, more often than not, a straightforward undertaking will merely use a handful of steps. These work elements will frequently be dependent on every one of the other steps that come before them. They might furthermore be rather effortless to manage for the leadership in charge of these tasks.

A Gantt chart is a tool currently in use by project managers for tasks which are not overly complex and also on other projects. An example of such an activity could be creating and executing an advertising and marketing plan. A sole owner business could make a plan using the Gantt chart. However, it should be noted a Gantt chart could make a simple project more complicated. It is possible that using the Gantt chart would be overkill for a simple planning job.

All the project members should thoroughly understand a tool like a Gantt chart so that good communication is maintained with involved parties. It may be much more useful to simply use an action plan or a time timetable for simple planning needs. As long as all those involved get their time table and plan things should go smoothly. Members may need to be involved in motivating the project stakeholders to adjust the time table and the management may want to use calendars or diaries for records.

With the projects being measured and monitored than they will be requiring deadlines and will have control points. It does not mean that the project will end if the deadline is missed. New time frames can be negotiated and there could be further discussions and assessment by the members in some of the cases. A Gantt Chart might be required if the deadline is regularly crossed or in case a project gets too complex, however the workforce should be well versed with the use of this tool.

A list of actions and tasks, such as an action plan, can be used to reach a single goal or outcome such as a specific project. Good action plans will focus on reaching one goal. The actions may be put into a to-do list or action calendar, though such lists may also cover more many goals.

Getting a project on track once it has been derailed can be quite complicated. When a task has fallen behind or a worker has quit then management may need to make compromises to recover the overall goal. The reassigning of resources may be required. The order of tasks may be affected or the specified scope of specific tasks altered.

Even the best project managers have to deal with reallocating resources. This is one of the first challenges to be overcome by managers once they discover that there are not enough resources or tasks. Then, it becomes necessary to focus on critical tasks and provide them with resources originally assigned to other less important tasks. In addition, those resources no longer required for some tasks can be used for more difficult tasks. It may also be detected that a planned task is not needed anymore.

When faced with challenges changing the sequence of tasks may be needed. It may be easier to substitute some tasks currently and leave the more challenging ones for a later time. It may also be possible to rearrange tasks to enable multitasking when things are behind. A Gantt chart can be useful in planning for the possible roadblocks a project may run into. When a manager can see the whole plan laid out before them it may help them to see where problems may arise or where time and resources may be better used. This can help to avoid problems before they arise.  

 

Managing People: Theory X vs Theory Y Managers

Douglas McGregor,  MIT professor, has demonstrated two famous theories on the subject of motivation of employees. They are referred to as McGregor Theory X and Theory Y. The former talks about less ambitious workers who do not really like to do the work assigned to them and need to be controlled in order to complete their tasks.

Theory Y, on the other hand, features people who are dedicated to their work and enjoy the tasks they are assigned. They are considered more responsible towards achieving their targets and also provide hard work to maintain quality of their products.

In a company or organization, it can prove to be a lot of trouble if workers are disinterested and lazy. The company may have to suffer huge losses due to the reduced total quality of the workforce it has and consequently, consumers or end users will tend to dislike the products or services delivered.  It is also the company's responsibility to understand and value its workers so that they can feel more confident.

A sound analogy of worker-employer relationship according to Theory Y can be that of a family in which a kid is taken care of by his/her parents. Such a manager would develop great bonding with the workers and make sure the team works as a unit.

If a manager believes in the philosophy of Theory X, he would absolutely not cherish the work done by the employees and take that work for granted. He would practice extreme measures like firing an individual as a response to poor work performance.

A company abiding by Theory X management style would not provide sufficient training and introduction to its new employees. It will simply ask them to start working right from day one and will load them with huge assignments and sharp deadlines. Eventually, they pick up the top performers and kick out the underperformers. The Apprentice, a reality show was carved out from such a philosophy.

Managers belonging to Theory Y give more freedom to their employees so that the environment is friendly to work in. It is fun to work in such environments for the workers. This ease of work later reflects in the company's profits.

A manager should, ideally, treat new hires equally and also consider their perspective of going about with business. This can help the company tremendously as new hires bring fresh ideas and techniques of smart work. This will not only benefit the company's interest, but also motivate the workers by boosting their confidence as their say is valued.

Finally, we can define the term motivation as, a sense of willingness to contribute towards something that would fetch solutions to a particular need. This can be understood well with the real life example of people working hard to earn money so that they can buy food (which is a need).

Transitioning Project Managers

Organizations who experience a vacancy in a senior leadership position such as the CEO of a corporation or the Dean of a College will often decide to appoint an interim professional who takes over in a care taker capacity... I’ve often wondered if the concept of an interim project manager is needed in certain instances on projects... Taking over leadership of a project in mid-stream is perhaps one of the most challenging jobs that a project manager is called upon to do. 

via philipdiab.com

When a project “goes bad”, there are so many potential reasons for it — most of which spell “interesting times” for the inbound project manager. Anything from a disenfranchised team to an overly optimistic stakeholder team might be waiting for you in that prize package. It takes a very seasoned project manager to make these assessments and recover an otherwise flailing project.

Taking over as the leader of a project in mid-stream is perhaps one of the most challenging jobs that a project manager is called upon to do. 

Recruiting for Excellence - Mind your Maslow

The Maslow hierarchy of needs transcends nearly all aspects of life, however none more so than the business world. Staff members are at such staggered stages of living that the odds for tension are of significant concern in business. Even as a boss may well have reached the self-actualization point with a spouse and kids, an entry-level employee might barely be hoping to obtain her first residence.

The considerable difference among workers of different stages of Maslow's theory is most quickly shown with the prior case in point. The stress intensity of somebody who is barely getting by, having anxiety with their physiological as well as safety requirements is of immense concern. Somebody experiencing that much strain can have their job start to suffer.

If a person has their basic needs met such as a place to live, a rewarding family experience, and financial stability, they are more likely to excel in the workplace. It is hard to focus on the job at hand, especially if you don't have the ability to focus. When you are able to focus you are more efficient and effective at work.

This is why a wise business owner puts prospective employees through a thorough interviewing process. Through interviews it's easy to identify those with stable environments. In Maslow's terms, smart supervisors want to recruit employees in the self-actualization and esteem stages. Both of these stages usually take other people into account when working.

Workplace competition generates a higher quality of product and promotes employee cohesion. Esteem stage employees make a great fit for your business due to their more competitive need to excel, combined with their need for attention and the respect of their coworkers. Esteem stage employees are better at maintaining excellent interpersonal workplace relationships and can provide your business with quality work.

Employees in the self-actualization stage are also useful employees. These employees are focused on the task at hand. They have a calmer demeanor, knowing their self-worth and not having the lesser of life's struggles bearing down on them. Also, since people do not stay in a single stage, and my slide back down the pyramid, it is better to have someone who is still high enough on the pyramid, even with a backslide, who will still be a confident, efficient worker.

The business world can benefit from a Maslow-like overhaul of its practices. If carefully studied, we'll see that employees with greater focus and competency mean a more successful business. It naturally follows that the quickest and most efficient route to success is to recruit members from the top tier of Maslow's hierarchy.

Strong Project Management = Conflict Avoidance?

Reading this blog post over on PM Hut today, entitled I Just Want Everyone to Be Happy! made me think about the importance of conflict, while everyone seems to think that hugs and rainbow are what it takes to make a team successful.

I’ve seen some managers who think that any type of conflict on their projects or within their teams is entirely taboo - something to be avoided at all costs and short-circuited when it does come up. They use " conflict resolution" processes in the workplace like smoothing or avoidance hoping that the problems will just go away. Conflict is essential for ideas to be shared and for a group to grow. You cannot get there by everyone being super-agreeable with one another and avoiding the hard conversations.  Conflict management does not just mean "stopping conflict", just as Change management shouldn't mean "stopping change" - it's about understanding how to make these unavoidable things happen in a productive manner for the benefit of the team.