Stakeholder is anyone with a valid interest in your project. If your project affects someone else's work, they're a stakeholder.
PMBOK says about that: “Stakeholders are affected either directly or indirectly by the activities and achievements of an organization, association, partnership or project and can be both internal (manager, employee, shareholder) and external (government, community, investor, general public).”
Some examples of project stakeholders as follows:
• Project sponsors
• Steering committee members
• Business unit and line managers
• Project team members
• End users of the products or services resulting from your project
• Contractors and consultants supplying services to your project
• Material and product suppliers
For successful projects, it's not enough to deliver on the customer's demand; projects have to meet all stakeholder expectations. Identifying stakeholders is a primary task because all the important decisions during the initiation, planning and execution stages of the project are made by these stakeholders.
Stakeholder management is critical to the success of every project in every organization. Here some questions that could be asked to yourself:
• Did you determine all the stakeholders by name?
• Did you determine stakeholders’ interest in being involved in the project?
• Did you determine the power of every stakeholder over project?
• Did you determine stakeholders’ expectations, and turn them into requirements?
• Did you know what information they want from you?
• Did you know how they want to receive information from you? What is the best way of communicating your message to them?
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Planning is important.
Some people may question the value and importance of planning, but many leaders have attested to the importance of planning.
"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin
Why do both these people place such importance on planning? Planning enforces structured thinking to increase the chances of success.
Good planning will avoid haphazard implementation and will mean that your activities have a much greater chance of being effective. It means that everyone is clear on what’s happening and ensures that activities continue even if key people leave the group.
"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin
Why do both these people place such importance on planning? Planning enforces structured thinking to increase the chances of success.
Good planning will avoid haphazard implementation and will mean that your activities have a much greater chance of being effective. It means that everyone is clear on what’s happening and ensures that activities continue even if key people leave the group.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Reasons why projects fail?
Some of the friends ask me for the key things for successful project management , but the steps that go into successful project management are not mysterious . In fact, they are standard procedures that, if executed, will improve a project’s chances of success. The key word here is “if.”
PMI states that for the successful project management, project managers firstly should know about five processes( Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Control, Closing) and nine knowledge areas (Integration Management, Scope Management, Time Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Human Resources Management, Risk Management, Communication Management, Procurement Management ). Of course, these are not only enough for success.
In the real world, there are some wrong thoughts that blocks the successful project management:
• We don’t need all that PMBOK ® Stuff!
• Just Do it! We can fix it later.
• Project Managers are overhead.
• We don’t have time to plan!
• That planning stuff is OK, but to get too carried away, we have real work do!
I think, executives must see how project management will help achieve strategic goals and support the project managers for good project management.
In addition to all, there are many reasons why projects fail; the number of reasons can be infinite. However, some of the common reasons for failure can be found in the following list:
• Poorly managed
• Incomplete, inadequate or vague requirements
• Unrealistic customer expectations
• Changing requirements and specifications
• No change control process
• Lack of user involvement
• Poorly defined roles and responsibilities
• No longer need the capabilities provided
• Unrealistic timeframes and tasks
• Poor communication
• Inadequate testing processes
PMI states that for the successful project management, project managers firstly should know about five processes( Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Control, Closing) and nine knowledge areas (Integration Management, Scope Management, Time Management, Cost Management, Quality Management, Human Resources Management, Risk Management, Communication Management, Procurement Management ). Of course, these are not only enough for success.
In the real world, there are some wrong thoughts that blocks the successful project management:
• We don’t need all that PMBOK ® Stuff!
• Just Do it! We can fix it later.
• Project Managers are overhead.
• We don’t have time to plan!
• That planning stuff is OK, but to get too carried away, we have real work do!
I think, executives must see how project management will help achieve strategic goals and support the project managers for good project management.
In addition to all, there are many reasons why projects fail; the number of reasons can be infinite. However, some of the common reasons for failure can be found in the following list:
• Poorly managed
• Incomplete, inadequate or vague requirements
• Unrealistic customer expectations
• Changing requirements and specifications
• No change control process
• Lack of user involvement
• Poorly defined roles and responsibilities
• No longer need the capabilities provided
• Unrealistic timeframes and tasks
• Poor communication
• Inadequate testing processes
Thursday, July 9, 2009
What is a Project?
A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.
Temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end. Temporary does not necessarily mean short in duration; many projects last for several years. In every case, however, the duration of a project is finite. Projects are not ongoing efforts.
Uniqueness is an important characteristic of project deliverables. For example, many thousands of office buildings have been developed, but each individual facility is unique—different owner, different design, different location, different contractors, and so on. The presence of repetitive elements does not change the fundamental uniqueness of the project work.
Progressive elaboration is a characteristic of projects that accompanies the concepts of temporary and unique. Progressive elaboration means developing in steps, and continuing by increments. For example, the project scope will be broadly described early in the project and made more explicit and detailed as the project team develops a better and more complete understanding of the objectives and deliverables.
What is Project Management?
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The project manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives.
Managing a project includes:
· Identifying requirements
· Establishing clear and achievable objectives
· Balancing the competing demands for quality, scope, time and cost
· Adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders.
What is the Project Management Body of Knowledge?
The Project Management Body of Knowledge describes knowledge unique to the project management field and that overlaps other management disciplines. The PMBOK® Guide is, therefore, a subset of the larger Project Management Body of Knowledge.
The Project Management Institute provides "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge" (PMBOK) that identifies much of the subject area. While this guide is not a comprehensive training resource, it does provide a basic framework for understanding the scope of project management knowledge. You may obtain this document from the PMI Web site link below.
Project Management Institute (www.pmi.org)
The knowledge of project management described in the PMBOK® Guide consists of:
• Project life cycle definition
• Five Project Management Process Groups (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Control, Closing)
• Nine Knowledge Areas (Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communication, Risk, Procurement)
Source: PMBOK® 4th Edition
Temporary means that every project has a definite beginning and a definite end. Temporary does not necessarily mean short in duration; many projects last for several years. In every case, however, the duration of a project is finite. Projects are not ongoing efforts.
Uniqueness is an important characteristic of project deliverables. For example, many thousands of office buildings have been developed, but each individual facility is unique—different owner, different design, different location, different contractors, and so on. The presence of repetitive elements does not change the fundamental uniqueness of the project work.
Progressive elaboration is a characteristic of projects that accompanies the concepts of temporary and unique. Progressive elaboration means developing in steps, and continuing by increments. For example, the project scope will be broadly described early in the project and made more explicit and detailed as the project team develops a better and more complete understanding of the objectives and deliverables.
What is Project Management?
Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements. Project management is accomplished through the application and integration of the project management processes of initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. The project manager is the person responsible for accomplishing the project objectives.
Managing a project includes:
· Identifying requirements
· Establishing clear and achievable objectives
· Balancing the competing demands for quality, scope, time and cost
· Adapting the specifications, plans, and approach to the different concerns and expectations of the various stakeholders.
What is the Project Management Body of Knowledge?
The Project Management Body of Knowledge describes knowledge unique to the project management field and that overlaps other management disciplines. The PMBOK® Guide is, therefore, a subset of the larger Project Management Body of Knowledge.
The Project Management Institute provides "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge" (PMBOK) that identifies much of the subject area. While this guide is not a comprehensive training resource, it does provide a basic framework for understanding the scope of project management knowledge. You may obtain this document from the PMI Web site link below.
Project Management Institute (www.pmi.org)
The knowledge of project management described in the PMBOK® Guide consists of:
• Project life cycle definition
• Five Project Management Process Groups (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Control, Closing)
• Nine Knowledge Areas (Integration, Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Human Resources, Communication, Risk, Procurement)
Source: PMBOK® 4th Edition
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