Project Management PMP » Know

What you Need to Know About Web Based Project Management

Project Manager — Tue, 25 May 2010 07:01:27 +0000

Project management is the task of setting and achieving targets while optimizing the use of different resources such as time, money, people, materials, energy, space, among other things over the course of an entire project. With the growing popularity of the internet, the world of project management has witnessed a dramatic change Web based project management creates a real time picture for project managers and management. This type of web management allows these people to anytime and anywhere monitor their company’s functioning. No longer will a team leader or project manager have to leave their work area to inquire about various team members. With web based project management and its real time updates , leaders can always know what is going on.

Web based project management is designed to work by centralizing complete project information onto a single server which tracks all the work being done. In addition, every member of a team can access this link and know exactly where everything is. With web based project management, the manager can easily set deadlines and targets online for the team members who then just need to log in to view their assigned tasks. Team members can then send reports online when they are finished with their assigned tasks.

Another useful feature of the web based project management is the automatic e-mail notification system. This system allows the moment the scheduled task is finished or needs an update, an automatic email is sent to the concerned person. This means that there is no lost time in between periods and work can always be going on.

Project management software has always been used as easy an effective way to guide projects along towards there completion. With web based project management, this concept has been taken to another level. By making things even simpler and having real time updates, time will no longer be lost and work can always be done. Web based project management will definitely make life more convenient for you and your entire team.

Written by Josef Westgate. Get the latest information on project management and Web-based software project management

What You Should Know About it Project Management

Project Manager — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:02:04 +0000

Why do we have to plan and manage IT projects? Why bother at all considering the fact that many clients eventually accept whatever the resulting software may be? Why bother at all since time is precious in building the systems rather than planning systems? These are the usual answers of independent or freelance software developers who are excited in tackling or building software projects immediately without the need to sit around and plan first. If you will bother to read my article, you will see the importance of IT Project Management.

I have an experience before in my last year in college where in we have an IT project to do. Since we are excited in building – or finishing? – the product without planning properly, my team suffered a lot in the near end of the project-building time. We failed in building one prototype after another. We also exceeded the time allotment given to us, thus, we suffered financially since we incurred extra expenses, lost the interest of other team members and caused dissatisfaction from out teacher. Learning from my mistakes and applying Project Management in other areas of my life, I would like to share the importance and advantages of IT Project Management to others as well.

Project Management is “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities in order to meet project requirements” (PMI, Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), 2000, p. 6). These project requirements are like the goals of a project that once met or achieved signifies the completion of a project as well as customer satisfaction. The application of knowledge requires careful sifting, planning, specification and design of these requirements. Through Project Management, software developers will be able to identify, coordinate and monitor tasks, activities and resources to meet the project requirements.

The outcome of Project Management is: scope of work is defined, project feasibility is evaluated (thus, a team can early detect if they are capable of doing a project while considering their skills and resources), tasks and resources are estimated, plans for execution of tasks are developed (through documentation that serves as blueprint also), and progress is monitored.

The advantages of Project Management are: shorter development period, less expenses, quality software products, control in activities and resources, client interaction (since they too are informed of the project’s progress), early detection of risks and potential problems, good documentation (serves as blueprint and reference), and project members are learning and applying teamwork.

Though it usually takes time in planning, in the end software developers are assured of smooth work in developing their IT projects since they already have plans and blueprints in the form of documentations and reports. All that they have to do is implement it in the actual building of their products. Take for instance a carpenter building a small house. Once he has the plan, blueprint, tools, workers and other resources, he can build the house in a jiffy and his construction work will run smoothly.

P. Lobrin

plobrin@gmail. com

The author of this article is Paulita C. Lobrin from Iloilo, Philippines. She is currently undergoing training (and hopefully be employed) in a software development company in Iloilo. To know more, click http://agentsofvalue. com for imformation

What You Should Know About Risk Management?

Project Manager — Thu, 13 May 2010 06:56:28 +0000

There are three areas of risk management. â¢ Â The first area is where you pay someone to share the risk with you (Insurance). â¢ Â The second one is analyzing the risk; engage in due diligence for any given financial investment or business endeavor. â¢Â The third area is the perception of risk. Although this is not a very exciting subject for most people, not paying close attention to this could mean financial ruin faster than just about anything else. Share the Risk with a Third PartyThis is also called buying insurance. One of my guidelines on whether you need some insurance is the following: If you are not willing or able to write a check for a loss, you need some coverage. âTake personal responsibility and budget for it. The peace of mind will greatly enhance your life and put you on the right financial path. âThe following are the different forms of coverage that you need to give some thought to:Health- Â You need at least basic, catastrophic health coverage. -Â If you can choose a higher deductible, save money on premium and start funding a Health Â Â Â Savings Account. - Â Start taking responsibility for your basic health cost yourself; this should not be a basic right Â Â Â covered by a third party, as food is not. - Â If you can purchase your own, shop around to make sure you get the most coverage for your Â Â Â money. - Â Work with a good agent who is knowledgeable about health insurance and is familiar with Â Â Â personal situations like yours. Accident- Â Consider accident insurance if you have children and if you have a high deductible health Â Â Â plan. -Â It will cover most of the deductible if the medical cost is a direct result of an accident. Disability- Â Having disability coverage is very important to yours and your familyâs financial health. - Â Think about what would happen to you and your family financially if you could not work for Â Â Â one or two years. - Â Coverage through Social Security will not be enough in most circumstances. Life- Â Purchase a term life policy to protect your dependants financially from a premature passing Â Â Â of a caregiver. - Â Choose a term that is appropriate for your familyâs circumstances. - Â Term life is inexpensive, so make sure you donât skimp on the amount of the coverage. -Â Permanent life policies are a tax-deferred investment with death benefits. These are often too expensive to get the appropriate coverage. Annuity- Â An annuity is in a nutshell a reverse life insurance. - Â It can give you peace of mind by giving you an income stream so that you donât have to Â Â Â worry about it. - Â Buying such a security has its cost and needs to be looked at with other investment options Â Â Â in mind. Long-Term CareA good time to look at Long-Term Care insurance is when you are in your mid-50s because of its cost. Whether or not you should get it is beyond the scope of this book, but issues to consider are the following:â¢ Â How is your financial health â could a nursing home stay ruin the financial security of a Â Â Â younger spouse during retirement?â¢ Â How healthy are/were your parents and grandparents when they were older? How long did Â Â Â they live?â¢ Â How healthy are you? Have you been sickly all your life?House / Renters / Auto- Â Donât have a low deductible. - Â Have sufficient liability coverage corresponding to your assets and that they are the same for Â Â Â your home and auto. - Â Have all policies with the same company for discounts. Umbrella / Excess Liability Insurance- Â Get an umbrella policy to protect yourself from the litigious society we are living in. - Â This is one of the most overlooked policies, but when you need it, a very important one. Analyze the Risk of Any Financial InvestmentâThe biggest risk you are taking in any financial investment is not under-standing, not knowing what you are getting into. Buying anything just because you heard it was a good investment is foolhardy and the cause of why so many people lose money with their investments. âIt is very important that you do your due diligence. If you canât or you donât have the time, have someone that you trust and has the expertise to do it. If you donât want to research stocks and understand the company, have the stocks purchased in a packaged form by people who know what they are doing, i. e. mutual funds. If you make investments outside the financial market, also referred to as alternative investment, become an expert in them or work with an expert. Make sure you understand that you owe this to yourself and your hard-earned money. Never participate in an investment that does not feel right or that you have concerns about and canât be explained to your satisfaction. Risk can be very calculated and therefore reduced. Donât believe the myth that a high return always has a higher risk than a low return on your investments, but you must understand the risk. (I will have more on this concept in the following chapters. )Perception of RiskWe all have our own definition of what risk is. Here are some examples of why we perceive risk in a certain way but also why it is different for everyone:â¢ Â We all have conditioning from our childhood by our parents. Just because our mom or dad Â Â Â had a bad experience and consider something risky, it does not have to be that way. Â Â Â However, we look at it that way because that is what we heard as a child. â¢ Â Your own experience over the past years and decades. Maybe you lost money on Â Â Â something because you did not do your due diligence. â¢ Â The experience of a friend or acquaintance. â¢Â It also goes the other way around. Some people make money fast, but not knowing or understanding what they are doing might make you lose the respect in the inherent risk of any investment. It is almost certain that they will lose some of the money again. As I have mentioned, a high return does not necessarily equate to high risk. If you follow the mantra âhigh return equals high riskâ, you are shortchanging yourself in huge potential returns and its resulting financial freedom. I believe sticking to the so-called âlow-riskâ investment is a very high-risk proposition and potentially unhealthy to your financial future. You will always belong to the âjust getting byâ crowd. Fear of losing or failure is our greatest enemy, and that is a risk you canât calculate.

Patrick Peterhans is a Certified Financial Planner with his own practice in Boulder, Colorado. He has been helping his clients with their unique financial needs for over 10 years. His clients are as diverse as the subject of Financial Planning itself, which makes his work very exciting. He is also the author of a book on Personal Financial Planning named Financial Planning Handbook and is available at http://www. Ask-a-Financial-Planner. com . Mr. Peterhans has also been quoted in several publications and has been interviewed on Channel 9 in Denver.

O’Reilly Webcast: 97 Things All Project Managers Should Know

Project Manager — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 07:02:20 +0000

Have you ever been responsible for a big software project? Did it go as smoothly as you’d hoped? Here are 97 short and practical tips from some of the world’s most experienced software and product development managers. These are the realistic secrets that are often omitted or under-emphasized in most global approaches, even the agile ones, or in more academic discussions of the project life cycle. They underscore the principles of getting the job done and include just enough direction to carry out this advice in your workplace. You would need several lifetimes of experience to acquire the wisdom of these established team leaders from all over the world. Based on the new book, “97 Things Every Project Manager Should Know”, edited by Barbee Davis.

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What you Need to Know About Web Based Project Management

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