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Saturday, May 31, 2008

You can now follow me on Twitter

If you are a “Twitter” fan, you can follow me by creating an account with Twitter, or you can just view my “tweets” by coming to this page. My Twitter ID is sfseay.

What is Twitter you say?

As taken from Wikipedia, “Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (or "tweets"; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter website, via the Twitter website, short message service (SMS), instant messaging, or a third-party application such as Twitterrific or Facebook.

Updates are displayed on the user's profile page and instantly delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone is the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, instant messaging, SMS, RSS, email or through an application. For SMS, four gateway numbers are currently available: short codes for the United States, Canada, and India, as well as a United Kingdom number for international use. Several third parties offer posting and receiving updates via email.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Thoughts from a Child

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN‘T LOOKING

(Written by a former child)

When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I saw you hang my first painting
on the refrigerator, and I immediately wanted to paint another one.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking I saw you feed a stray cat, and I
 learned that it was good to be kind to animals.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I saw you make my favorite cake
 for me and I learned that the little things can be the special things in 
life.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking I heard you say a prayer, and I 
knew there is a God I could always talk to and I learned to trust in God.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I saw you make a meal and take it 
to a friend who was sick, and I learned that we all have to help take
 care of each other.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I saw you give of your time and
 money to help people who had nothing and I learned that those who have 
something should give to those who don‘t.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I saw you take care of our house 
and everyone in it and I learned we have to take care of what we are
 given.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I saw how you handled your 
responsibilities, even when you didn‘t feel good and I learned that 
I would have to be responsible when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I saw tears come from your eyes 
and I learned that sometimes things hurt, but it‘s all right to cry.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I saw that you cared and 
I wanted to be everything that I could be.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I learned most of life‘s lessons
 that I need to know to be a good and productive person when I grow up.



When you thought I wasn‘t looking, I looked at you and wanted to
 say, "Thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn‘t looking."

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Project Management and IBM Pulse08

I was fortunate to speak again this year at IBM’s Pulse Conference (Maximo World last year). My presentation for this year’s event was entitled “A Project Management Approach to Implementing Maximo”. As described by IBM, the Pulse conference, held in Orlando, FL (USA) brings together an audience of more than 4000 Tivoli®, Maximo® and Tivoli Netcool® users with IBM partners, industry analysts, and IBM technical experts for one spectacular global event dedicated to the latest technology and best practices in service management.

One of the highlights of the conference so far was listening to one of the keynote speakers, Lance Armstrong. Lance has a passion for his foundation - LiveStrong - and his story regarding his battle with cancer and seven Tour De France victories was compelling and inspirational.

In closing, while my presentation focused on our organization’s Maximo IT project, I believe the presentation would be beneficial to any project manager whether they are managing an IT initiative or some other kind of project. If you would like a copy of the presentation drop me an e-mail.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

End of Project Review/Audit Questions

Here is an excerpt of a document I found in my project document library (you have one don't you?). I don't have the author's name, but will be will be happy to credit him/her if somebody knows the source.

Project Audit Questions

The project audit questions are broken into four topic categories: project management practice, critical incidents, project results and suggestions for the future. These questions cover the major categories of importance for most projects. However, if for a particular project an important category is missed, additional questions can be proposed by team members.

Individuals should first answer all the questions in this section, and then analyze those with a "No" answer.


A) Project Management Practice

Was the project goal clear?

Was a core team established?

If yes, did it remain together for the entire project?

Was a detailed project plan developed?

If yes, did the core team participate in developing it?

Did the plan cover the entire process from concept to customer?

Was the project deadline truly negotiated with the project sponsors?

Were core team members made aware of the benefits of the project for themselves?

for the organization?

Were core team members continually aware of what was expected of them?

and when it was expected?

Did the top management support the project throughout its duration?

Was the customer or end user (or customer representative group) involved early in the project?

Was the customer always fully informed of project progress?

project changes?

project setbacks or failures?

project delays?

Were customer expectations

solicited?

included?

met?

exceeded?

Was project communication sufficient?

Were meetings held regularly?

Was timely project information readily available?

Did team members know who to contact if there was a delay or other problem?

Did the core team meet regularly with

top management?

customer(s)?

contributing department managers?

other interested parties?

Did the project have a detailed budget?

Was it a help during the project?

Now review those questions with a "No" answer. What problems do you think may have been generated by the lack of that factor? What could you, or did you, do to rectify those problems?

What changes or procedures would you recommend for future projects?

B) Critical incidents
Were there things on the project that seemed to go wrong due to a variety of outside forces? Describe these critical incidents. What could have been done (e.g. what signal heeded, data tallied or meetings held) to avoid or minimize these incidents? What do you recommend for future projects?

C) Project results

How well do project results relate to the original plan?

What were the major deviations from the original plan?

Of the major deviations listed, which ones were caused by:

-lack of planning or planning technique skill.

-lack of foresight, not seeing entire project process.

-change in technology.

-change in customer specification or expectation.

-"random" events.

What suggestions would you make to help minimize deviations? What suggestion would you make to help discover necessary product changes faster, more in the beginning of the project when making changes is much cheaper?