Journyx PM Journal

Journyx PM Journal
Project Management News And Information From Journyx
info@journyx.com

Newsfeed
Homepage
Products Timesheet Support Company

Subscribe
Subscribe to a syndicated feed of the Journyx Journal. Enter the URL from this link into your RSS reader.

Mon, 17 Oct 2005

Project Management: Using Data to Increase Profitability and Reduce Risks

Project management data - which is obtained from time tracking information - is often an area that could be improved in many companies. Recent studies have shown that cost reductions of 6.5 percent are common from improvements in tracking time from the project management area alone. This compares with improvements of about 5 percent for billing automation or 1 percent for payroll automation.

Time tracking data (payroll, billing, project management, and strategy) can be used to improve project management in the areas of...

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 14 Oct 2005

Achievement-driven Project Management Approach

Our AdPM approach is a little different. We don't just start work the moment the project sponsor or client mentions some vague mission statement mush. That would be foolish, yet project managers do it all the time. A little story may help.

Imagine that you work at the drive-thru window of a fast food joint. A customer drives up and says, "I'm hungry."

Would you launch into a frenzy of hamburger flipping and taco rolling? Most assuredly not, you'd ask some questions because the answers to them would substantially improve your chances of satisfying the customer. Our AdPMT approach has the same focus. We spend a lot of time asking questions, structuring the project, detailing accountabilities and making clear the achievements (measured achievements) that we expect from everyone.

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 12 Oct 2005

Team Assignments: Achievements vs. Activities

Around the Project Manager's Control Tower, the distinction between activities and achievements is an important one. Activities are the means to an end, achievements are the desired end result. PMs who can drive projects from an achievement perspective versus an activity perspective have some notable advantages. Before listing these advantages, let's make sure the differences between assigning activities and achievements are clear.

Example #1: Assignment to a Teenager
Activity: "Clean up your room!"
Achievement: "Put all of the empty soda cans in the trash can."

With the first assignment, all we've done is tell the child to perform an activity: cleaning up the room. Odds are that the work will not live up to our standards when the child reports the task as finished. It's even possible, though highly unlikely, that the child will do too much work, exceeding our standards. The key flaw in an activity assignment is that we do not create a clear performance expectation. As a result, we cannot gain commitment to the assignment, nor can we reasonably dole out consequences for good or bad performance. Aside from some vague and arguable expectations about what a "clean room" is, there is no performance standard to measure against.

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 10 Oct 2005

Grating expectations

The IT project was a success. It was on time and on budget, and it did what it was supposed to. The only problem: The customer wasn't happy. The project manager had provided written weekly status reports, just as the customer had requested, but he had missed the crucial second step: asking for feedback. The project manager learned too late that you can never assume you know what a customer is thinking -- you have to ask. Because he failed to do that, the customer was resentful, says Naomi Karten, a principal at Randolph, Mass.-based training and consulting firm Karten Associates. "The information [the customer] was given didn't mesh with what he was looking for, [but] he didn't take any steps to ask for what he really wanted," she observes.

Welcome to a world where even successful IT projects can be deemed failures if the customer expected something other than what IT delivered. To survive and prosper, you have to learn how to manage what customers expect.

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 07 Oct 2005

Project Management Software - The Benefits of the Software-as-a-Service Model

When the Internet burst upon the scene in the early 1990's, the concept of software as a service (SAAS) seemed an idea whose time had come. It got hyped along with everything else about the internet and reached a massive peak of inflated expectations in early 2000 as venture capitalists funded dozens of nearly identical companies that provided various SAAS solutions. As venture funding dried up in mid 2000, the cracks in the SAAS model began to appear. The business plans assumed zero customer attrition, an uncompetitive landscape and IPO's in the absence of revenue. Disillusionment set in and 99 percent of those companies are no longer around. However, the strong did survive, and now, due to the success of companies like Salesforce.com and Rightnow.com, SAAS is back.

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 05 Oct 2005

To Be Accurate...

By paying attention to the time spent in the requirements and specifications phases, and correlating estimates to timesheet data, you can more accurately predict and track overall project length. If more companies did, fewer undoable projects would ever start.

Have you ever worked in a place where 10 percent of 10 projects got done instead of 100 percent of one project? Ultimately, nothing is accomplished and everyone is totally stressed out. Inaccurate estimates cause over-commitment of time, yet not much gets done. Inaccurate estimates also cause bad decisions. "Inaccurate" usually means "too low." When this happens, the return on investment (ROI) calculation shows the project as 'worth it' when it is not.

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 03 Oct 2005

Technology Briefs: Journyx Updates Timesheet Tool

Journyx Inc. introduced Version 7 of its Timesheet system. New features for the Web-based timesheet and expense management system include a workflow mechanism for adding users and projects, according to Austin-based Journyx. Timesheet 7.0, which runs on Linux, Windows, IBM's AIX and Sun Solaris, is priced from $100 to $200 per user for a permanent license, or $8 to $10 per month per user under an application service provider model.

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 30 Sep 2005

Why Would You Want to Outsource Project Management?

Outsourcing decisions are never easy. You must decide if the requisite talent exists within the organization, and then, if you reallocate this talent to a new project, decide if you can live without the resource's previous function that is no longer being executed elsewhere in the organization. Outsourcing is also an emotional decision because of the perception that project management (PM) support should come from within your organization. So consider these thoughts and then make your own informed decision.

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 28 Sep 2005

Project Planning: The Really Creative 1st Step

"Project managers are typically task-oriented people with a strong sense of urgency and a keen focus on getting started and finishing. Not too surprisingly, the inclination of most PMs is to skip strategic project planning and start work.

"The Activity Trap - Instead of thinking strategically to define the measurable results the project should achieve, the PM and her sponsor usually focus on the bells and whistles of the project's tasks. This is the activity trap, and it is an evil thing. When a PM dives head first into the gunk of the activity trap, the project planning takes the form of horse-trading. "Okay, if you can add your favorite task, then I get to add mine!" Most importantly, no one has agreed on what the project will achieve. After the project starts, tasks can change at the drop of a hat because there is no clear vision of the end result; everyone has their own idea. The project's scope and budget expand wildly as tasks are added because they sound like they should be part of the effort. The inevitable budget cutting is equally senseless. The thousands of decisions that people make during a project are not channeled toward a clear, measured result. The project manager doesn't find out about this desired strategic result until the project is almost finished and the stakeholders are unhappy."

/external | permanent link | home

Tue, 27 Sep 2005

Three Tips to Managing Across the Globe

So you're managing people and projects around the world. It's not easy, and it seems to be the norm these days. I've worked with global projects for the past 15 years, and here are three of my tips to making them successful.

#1 Define Clear, System-Based Milestones One of the biggest problems with global projects is knowing who depends on what piece. Sometimes pieces of the system are interrelated, without the project manager understanding how. If you and your project team define clear handoffs that are based on pieces of the system under development, you have a much better chance of knowing if you're all on schedule or not."

Learn more, o ye globetrotter, at: http://www.journyx.com/rss/redir/cworld-globetips.html

/external | permanent link | home

Sports Stories: Looking for life lessons in the sports pages

"Some of the most practical management and leadership lessons come to us everyday. We may not regard them as such but they are presenting fundamentals in both personal and organizational development.

Where can you find these lessons? In the sports pages of your daily newspaper or on the screens of your favorite sports shows. Everyday you will find stories about athletes who push themselves to the limits to achieve stardom or just the opposite, athletes with plenty of raw talent but no brains, nor sense of restraint so they end up frittering their gifts away through drink, drugs or sheer laziness.

You will also find stories of coaches who set the right example for their teams by setting standards for athletics and teaching to those standards. And on the professional side you will see stories of owners who build organizations designed to put coaches and players first so that the team wins. And of course you will find stories of owners who care only about polishing their egos at the expense of everyone else. Taken together these stories provide valuable insights into character, motive, energy and commitment."

Check the box score at: http://www.journyx.com/rss/redir/darwinmag-sports.html

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 26 Sep 2005

Incomplete tasks and the Zeigarnik Effect

Wikipedia says:
"The Zeigarnik effect states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.

"Russian psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik first studied the phenomenon after noticing that waiters seemed to remember orders only so long as the order was in the process of being served."

Apparently you can game the Zeigarnik Effect for more effective studying, employ it to goose your direct marketing plan, or just consider it as one excellent explanation for the allure of multi-tasking.

In any case, it's a fascinating idea and sure would account for why it feels so worthwhile to "close the loop" whenever you can.

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 23 Sep 2005

Survey Says: Serve Your Customers Well, Produce Quality, Deliver Results

"If you ask the leaders of any organization, they will probably agree that they strive to perform effectively and efficiently. Agreeing on the goal isn't difficult. How to get to the goal, however, can be tricky. Executives face myriad dilemmas: How can we grow revenues while reduce spending? What steps must we take to optimize efficiency and productivity to better serve our customers? Do we have the right people in place to achieve our organizational goals? Have we implemented a program to help build accountable and competent leaders within the organization? Do our customers feel as though we are helping them to solve their most critical issues?"

Learn more at: http://www.chiefprojectofficer.com/article/125

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 21 Sep 2005

Project management key to career advancement

"The security job market is experiencing a classic case of supply versus demand. As an increasing number of certified security professionals browse the want ads, the pay for such positions is decreasing. As a result, competition is tougher. One way to get your resume noticed - and move up the security career ladder - is to hone your project management skills, experts say.

"Project management skills, such as value and risk analysis, relationship management and communications, can make all the difference. 'They help me to align business needs with security needs,' said Tom Bowers, a manager of security operations at a pharmaceutical company. 'They bridge a lot of the gaps from a security standpoint. I can literally go to our drug research folks and we can talk the same language.' Bowers holds several certifications including the Certified Information Systems Security Professional and the Project Management Professional.

Learn more at: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci1117462,00.html

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 19 Sep 2005

Taking Time to Think

Lunch at Don Giovanni's with Phillip. He's amped. We haven't even seen our waiter and he's already cleared the table and is scribbling furiously on the white paper table cloth.

"See, we needed to speed up our release cycle which is, of course, insane, but we figured out a way! We call it Train releases. We've got four releases going at the same time and a train leaves the station every month. If a feature is ready to go, it gets on the train and if it's not, it waits for the next train. We've already released two trains in six weeks!"

I nod watching the scribbles become increasingly incoherent. I'd buy Phillip a nice glass of Chianti to take the edge off, but he's a Mormon, so I try the truth.

"Phil, you're screwed twice. First, you're screwed because you're going to need, at least, twice the staff to qualify these ever increasing releases and you're a start-up. You've got one QA guy and if he hasn't blown a fuse yet, just wait a month. Second, and most important, you've got no downtime. You've got no time to design because everyone is going to be panicked about which train they're supposed to be riding."

"Phil, in order to create, you've got to think."

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 16 Sep 2005

Portfolio Management - Connecting Projects

"As project clients and management become more sophisticated in the practice of project management, the focus is shifting to the front-end of the project management cycle, namely choosing the 'right' projects and giving them the 'right' priority. We see a need for both a decision making model and a prioritization model. First, we choose the correct projects, and then we prioritize them objectively relative to other projects. Next, we register the approved and prioritized projects as part of the portfolio mix, and finally properly activate and manage them. This is Project Portfolio Management - a method of organizing requests and managing work within a strategic context, with specific and measurable parameters, applying the project management discipline to meet corporate objectives."

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 14 Sep 2005

The Elusive Executive Sponsor

"One of the biggest predictors of project and program success is having an effective executive sponsor. This is the senior executive who "owns" the program and is responsible for making sure it's successful. The executive sponsor is typically the one who proposed the program and whose business unit or organization will receive the majority of the program's benefits. To be effective, he must have enough clout to make any business process or organizational changes the program requires. If your program has a missing, weak or superficially involved executive sponsor, failure is almost inevitable."

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 12 Sep 2005

Criticizing a Project Team Member's Performance

"Project managers are caught in a seeming paradox: They need to create and maintain good working relationships so that they can get work done through others. At the same time, they need to constantly perform course corrections on others' performance. In other words, they need to criticize. The paradox is only apparent, not real. Skillfully delivered criticism enhances both the relationship and the targeted performance. The five simple rules for delivering "criticism at its best" are the subject of this article."

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 09 Sep 2005

Using Project Management Data to Increase Profitability and Reduce Risks

"Project management data - which is obtained from time tracking information - is often an area that could be improved in many companies. Recent studies have shown that cost reductions of 6.5 percent are common from improvements in tracking time from the project management area alone. This compares with improvements of about 5 percent for billing automation or 1 percent for payroll automation.

"Time tracking data (payroll, billing, project management, and strategy) can be used to improve project management in the areas of..."

Learn more at: http://www.chiefprojectofficer.com/article/121

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 07 Sep 2005

Are You Motivated By Challenge?

"Businesspeople are motivated to go to work each day by more than just the money they make. In fact, about four-fifths of senior executives and managers say it is the challenge that motivates them, followed by pride in their job and responsibility.

"Compensation is rated as the number four motivator, based on a nationwide survey of senior executives and managers conducted by NFI Research. However, these same executives and managers say that compensation is the number one motivator for those who work for them, followed by people they work with and pride in their jobs."

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 05 Sep 2005

More: You Might Be Suffocating in a Constipated Bureaucracy If...

"The comedy of Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy resonate with a wide audience because their stereotypical humor rings true with many, many people. Unabashedly, I offer this Foxworthian parody of the IT workplace (as a continuation of my previous one). Maybe you will see some of your own day-to-day tribulations in these lines or just laugh at the misfortunes of others. It's okay. It's all in good fun.

"So without further ado, here is some more of you might be suffocating in a constipated bureaucracy if...

You access the Internet using a dial-up connection.
Your cube has only enough room for an L-shaped desk and a chair.
You are developing enterprise software on a 15-inch monitor."

Read (and smile) more at: http://www.developer.com/mgmt/article.php/3516726

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 02 Sep 2005

Five Facets of Successful Business Analysis

"Gathering and managing client requirements is one of the most difficult and critical aspects for any project. For a project to be successful, the needs and goals for the product being built must be understood and translated into complete specifications from which the product can be built. You can build anything with quality and sophistication - whether it is software, a house, or a car, etc. - but if the needs of the client aren't met, the product will either be reworked or scrapped, and the project called a failure..."

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 31 Aug 2005

Madness in the Method

"In Hamlet, Polonius comments on the behavior of the Prince of Denmark: 'though this be madness, yet there is method in 't.' When I look at a lot of so-called project management methodologies, I am often tempted to invert Polonius's view: 'though this be methodology, yet there is madness in 't.' As Chief Project Officer, the project management methodology in use is your responsibility. Is there madness in yours? How can you tell? Before I address those questions, let's take a minute to review the key reasons behind using a consistent Project Management Methodology (PMM)..."

Learn more, Horatio, at: http://www.journyx.com/rss/redir/cpomadness.html

/external | permanent link | home

The Time Thieves

"You have 24 hours in every day, seven days a week for a total of 168 hours to accomplish what needs to be done in your life. And every day, eleven time thieves gang up on you and work to take some of that precious time away from productive use. Let me introduce you to this inconsiderate troupe.

"Poor planning. People don't plan to fail but a lot of people fail to plan. Without a plan of action set up before your day begins you are likely to get caught up in 'stuff,' responding [to] the loudest voice that gets your time and attention. Will you have been productive for the day? Sure, but not as productive as you might have been."

See the lineup of usual suspects at: http://www.journyx.com/rss/redir/projmag-thieves.html

/external | permanent link | home

Anatomy of a Software Development Role: Deployment

"The deployment role is a role that is often overlooked much to the pain of the users. The actions of this role are the final step before being able to hand over the code to the users for their first real road test of the solution. It is the deployment person who can have the largest impact on the initial perception of the software for the people who are first trying it out."

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 29 Aug 2005

So You Want to be Manager of the Year

"You've been selected to be a project manager (or you want to be) and you want to be a success. Here are ten rules to help you be selected as Manager of the Year or the equivalent in your organization.

Hire good people. Having good people makes being a successful manager easy. Be selective. Personality and attitude sometimes are more important than experience or skills. And even mediocre employees can be improved with patience, training and effort on your part. But that requires time and work on your part.
Give them the tools that they need. A carpenter cannot build much without the right tools. The same goes for any employee. If it is a good computer and the right software - get it. If it is a certain piece of equipment - get it. Get them whatever they need, and I emphasize need, not want. Training is one of those tools, too. Frustration on the part of an employee who cannot do his or her job because of a lack of tools can destroy morale and productivity. It may cost money to get the tools and training, but it pays off in the end. Remember that a penny saved can cost you a dollar later."

Find out the other eight at: http://www.projectmagazine.com/v6i1/man_year1.html

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 26 Aug 2005

Yes or No - The Two Models for Implementing Project Portfolio Management

"There are two models for implementing a Project Portfolio Management (PPM) system:

The budget alignment model
The engagement profitability model

"The budget alignment model corresponds with an operational environment where the value of projects varies, and project costs are expense overhead. Decisions and behavior are driven by the need to squeeze value out of the available budget. Examples of the budget alignment business model include enterprise IT and product development organizations.

"In the engagement profitability model, 'projects' and 'programs' are vehicles for managing revenue-generating engagements with customers that produce profit margins. Decisions and behavior are driven by the profitability of customer engagements. Examples of the engagement profitability model include IT services firms and professional services departments within product companies."

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 24 Aug 2005

Anatomy of a Software Development Role: Quality Assurance

"The Quality Assurance (QA) role is the role responsible for guaranteeing a level of quality for the end client, and to help the software development team to identify problems early in the process. It is not surprising that people in this role are often known as 'testers'. Of course, the role is more than just testing. It's about contributing to the quality of the final product."

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 22 Aug 2005

Instilling Common Values in a Diverse Corporate Culture

"Building a global corporate culture involves recognizing the differences among employees from a variety of nations. But the real key to developing a cohesive global corporation is to find a way to effectively communicate a common set of values and principals consistently across national, cultural and linguistic boundaries.

"Our company, Cincom Systems, has been in the software business for 35 years and for most of that time we have been a global company. We began expanding globally in 1970, and by 1974, we had operations on six different continents. Today, we do business in more than 20 countries. Today, our company generates 60 percent of its revenue outside the United States, and many of our international clients have been with us for 20 years or more."

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 19 Aug 2005

Ten Traits to Look for When Hiring a Program Manager

"In his book Monday Morning Leadership, author David Cottrell uses the phrase 'hire tough.' He builds on this phrase by emphasizing the following two points:

The most important asset in your company is having the right people on your team.
Never lower your standards just to fill a position - you will pay for it later.

"Truer words were never spoken, especially when it comes to selecting the person who will take the helm of your investments - your program manager (PM). Many studies show that the implementation of complex programs has a poor record of success with nearly three-fourths of these initiatives either failing or running into trouble. Those initiatives that do reach completion typically absorb twice the time and funding as the original estimate. While many factors contribute to this trend, one solid approach to reversing it is to ensure that you have a PM who knows his or her way around managing programs. So what should you look for when you need to find a candidate to perform this key role and drive results in your organization? Here are 10 traits to look for when selecting the right PM."

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 17 Aug 2005

After the fact: How to find out if your IT project made the grade

"Ask most IT managers why their organizations don't regularly conduct postmortem reviews on completed IT projects, and the typical response is, 'We'd like to, but we just don't have the time or resources.'

"But that hasn't stopped organizations such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Solo Cup Co. from regularly reviewing at least a portion of their completed IT projects. And while some of the reviews are done to see if a project met its anticipated objectives, many postmortems are conducted simply to determine what the project teams could have done better."

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 15 Aug 2005

Revised CAPM Credential Expands PMI's Offerings To Increase The Effectiveness of Project Teams

"Project management is on the rise, covering virtually all business sectors and becoming one of the most sought-after professional competencies by employers worldwide. Organizations need people who have clear direction, are efficient, can easily adapt to change, are effective communicators and are committed to quality deliverables. Finding individuals with this broad range of expertise is challenging, which is why project management skills are highly desired and valued in today's workforce.

"While work experience helps build these qualities and encourages professional growth, there is another option for individuals who recognize the value of project management. Individuals can differentiate themselves from their team members not only through serving on a variety of project teams, but also by gaining professional credentials. Obtaining a professional credential helps provide a distinct advantage in accessing new opportunities and increases visibility in team-oriented environments. As the demand for skilled project team members continues to increase, the benefits of credentials are increasingly evident."

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 12 Aug 2005

Hiring the Best

"Aflac has had the good fortune in recent years to experience significant growth. Increased sales, along with improved operational efficiencies have resulted in higher earnings. This demand sharpens the need for even more operational efficiencies and new products for the sales force. As such, Aflac has seen a keen rise in the number of projects required to meet this growth.

"More projects force the requirement for additional experienced, qualified project managers. Aflac's Project Management Office is responsible for recruiting and staffing project managers who can direct corporate projects that require technology delivery. Aflac views its project managers as true managers and key employees within the company. As such, project manager candidates go through a rigorous screening process and only about one out of every 100 candidates actually receives an offer. The reason behind this selective process is the belief that it is better to have no one in a position, than the wrong person in the job. The right people are the PMO's most important asset for Aflac."

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 08 Aug 2005

Managing The Risks Of The Sarbanes-Oxley 404 Project

"Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco are just a few of the companies that have found themselves in the headlines in the last few years. These corporations and others had taken finance to whole new levels that resulted in a breakdown of internal controls. Fraud and financial abuse were quite blatant in many cases, resulting in a decline in investor confidence and, subsequently, in stock values. To deal with this rampant and flagrant decline in internal controls, US Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOx) Act. Like the circumstances that contributed to the existence of the legislation, projects focused on compliance are fraught with many risks."

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 05 Aug 2005

Turning Successful Project Managers Into the Executive Leaders of Tomorrow

"As project managers have grown up within organizations they have gathered an eclectic set of skills and capabilities. They usually start their career in some specialist area either by department such as marketing, finance or in their particular skill set such as business analyst, programmer or researcher. Often project managers have not chosen managing projects as a career path. They have been in the wrong place at the right time and based on their reputation and ability to get things done, have been volunteered to manage some sort of business undertaking. With success under their belts they then become full-fledged project managers within the organization. Typically they start with 'technical' projects where their skills and knowledge from a department or technical capability is the primary driver of their reputation and ability to deliver."

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 03 Aug 2005

Intro To Project Management For Entrepreneurs

"The success or failure of projects is largely related to the way that managers develop tactics or plans for the projects and how these plans can be effectively monitored and controlled through the various stages of the project lifecycle. It is a basic premise that the successful implementation of a project requires the development of a set of action plans together with subsequent tactics by the project manager.

"The planning stage of the project will define issues such as the project goal, targets and other milestones, as well as the establishment of a relationship with the clients or stakeholders of the project. The tactical aspects of the projects will include activities such as verifying the projects technical abilities, resources needed such as personnel and equipment and putting systems in place for the monitoring and control of the project. Although these planning and tactical activities are carried out through the duration of the project careful attention should also be given to the human issues and its influence on the project. "

/external | permanent link | home

Mon, 01 Aug 2005

The Project's Red. Tag! You're It.

"People started to refer to the business unit's struggling project as 'an IT issue' last week. You didn't ask for it, and you certainly don't want it now. As the IT member on the project steering committee, you tried to help them with missed milestones and budget overruns, but it isn't working. What happened? The game of tag -- shifting the responsibility when things go red -- has begun."

/external | permanent link | home

Fri, 29 Jul 2005

Beyond Skill Building

"Today's workforce faces increasing demands to produce results supporting project efficiency and bottom-line growth. This growing organizational transformation requires learning programs that have a blended approach. Not satisfied with a 'check the box' mentality, many organizations seek a learning environment that not only encourages knowledge transfer, but also behavioral changes towards performance improvement as well.

"What exactly is a blended learning approach? Blended learning is establishing an environment with multiple knowledge absorption channels. Gone are the days of relying solely on instructor-led training or e-learning - the approach that has proven the most successful is B-Learning (blended learning)."

/external | permanent link | home

Wed, 27 Jul 2005

Four Levels Of Performance Development

"In the education profession, the established model for personnel development is called the professional growth model. First, the learner must attain knowledge about a technical or interpersonal concept. This knowledge base is transformed into a skill, which then becomes a competency. Over time, a competency evolves into a mastery of that competency. The growth is progressive - a person's development begins at the bottom of the stair steps and moves toward the top.

"Let's relate this framework to project management. Knowledge, such as that found in the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), is learned by becoming aware of concepts, reading and understanding those concepts, and by memorizing definitions and facts. As this project management 'knowledge' is practiced, in a classroom or on the job, it becomes a skill. As the skill becomes a habit and is incorporated into daily life; it then becomes a competency. Finally, individual style is added to the competency and, with repeated experiences, it ultimately evolves into mastery, becoming a 'teacher' or mentor to others."

/external | permanent link | home

Don't Give Up That Vacation

"Based on our past research, we've found that businesspeople are not taking the amount of vacation they are due. We wanted to find out why. It turns out that the overwhelming majority feel they will not take vacation because of overall work demands, workload and pressing projects. It also has little to do with seeking compensation in place of vacation; only three percent say they prefer compensation to vacation, based on our nationwide survey of senior executives and managers. The reality is that the day-to-day demands of the workplace keep many chained to the office."

/external | permanent link | home