Journyx Project Management Blog

Journyx – the leader in Web-based time and expense tracking solutions that automate invoicing, payroll and project management – today announces that Journyx Timesheet software is included on U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Schedule 70 via partner and reseller StaffTechs, and is available for purchase by federal and government agencies. GSA Schedule 70 lists information technology (IT) products and services; local, state and federal government agencies are required to purchase goods, services, IT products, etc. from the GSA schedules.

Originally choosing Timesheet for its own internal use, StaffTechs selected Timesheet for a multitude of reasons, including that it is Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) compliant, Web-based, has simple reporting capabilities, is customizable to the look and feel of the company, and integrates easily with QuickBooks. In 2005, following the extensive required processes, StaffTechs obtained a contract to resell IT products and services on GSA Schedule 70.

Read more at:
http://www.accountingsoftware411.com/AcctSoftware.nsf/00/pr940A4998FBF477A486257110000D2ADF

The question is often raised about how a developer can become more valuable to potential employers or be recognized by a current employers. The editors at Developer.com and I agreed that there are things a developer can do to stand out from the crowd.

There may be ample positions available today, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to find a position when you’re ready to start looking. Human Resources departments are often inundated whenever an IT position is posted. You need to be able to make your credentials or resume stand out of the crowd somehow – and resume tricks aren’t going to do it. At the very least, resume tricks are not going to make you stand out in the interview – the point from which everyone gets offered a job.

Neither will resume tricks help you differentiate yourself with your current employer, helping him or her to understand your value or take notice of your accomplishments. That’s where you need to find a way to become unique.

Read more at:
http://www.developer.com/mgmt/article.php/3487976

If you’ve been in this industry for any length of time, you’ve probably been caught up in some sort of project disaster. They happen to the best of us, and they cause financial suffering for our companies and personal pain for all involved.

Careers are trashed and personal lives disrupted.

Even by optimistic estimates, about 75% of projects are late, over budget, missing major functionality or canceled outright. So depending on your definition, most of our projects end up somewhere between failure and disaster.

There are several important things to do once you realize that you’re facing

a disaster in the making, but you shouldn’t do any of them until you are really sure that it’s an impending disaster you’re up against. So the first key to disaster recovery is disaster detection.

Read more at:
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/project/story/0,10801,108317,00.html

The task of translating corporate strategy into the tangible activities that bring that strategy to life can be challenging. While most business analysts have a clear grasp of their organization’s goals and objectives, and most program management offices have clearly-defined business processes for managing projects, programs and other internal activities, the link between strategy and investment is often weak. One of the primary reasons why this is true is that the business analysts responsible for corporate strategy and the program management and execution resources responsible for implementing projects have limited interaction. And when there is interaction, a lack of methods for connecting the “what” with the “how”, and a lack of a common language limits its effectiveness. As a result, the alignment of strategy, investment and execution is left to chance.

The lack of a closed-loop system can be particularly challenging for executive management, whose goal is to maximize return on internal investment and ensure that critical business objectives are supported with sufficient internal funding and program execution. Without formal mechanisms that break down the walls between corporate strategy and execution, it is conceivable, even likely, that an organization could have both clearly articulated corporate strategies and sophisticated, well-managed program execution processes, yet not meet its goals.

Read more at:
http://www.chiefprojectofficer.com/article/151

The majority of senior executives and managers tackle the tasks that take the most effort last, instead dealing with those that take less effort first, based on the nationwide survey by NFI Research.

There are various reasons that people in business gravitate to easier tasks first. One reason is the simple ability to get an easier task done and out of the way, creating at least a small sense of accomplishment.

“As a practical matter, it just is easier to get to the three to 30-minute jobs, rather than the ones that you know will take an hour or a day or more,” said one survey respondent. “It is just easier given the continual push to deal with a multitude of issues that pop up on a continual basis. If you don’t believe this is a problem, think back to pre-cell phone and pre-e-mail days. Life, and work was much more manageable.”

Read more at:
http://www2.darwinmag.com/read/feature/mar06_toughtasks.cfm

No matter how good a project manager you are, you can’t eliminate risk in IT projects. But you can and must manage it. And since you can’t manage what you can’t measure, good risk metrics should be part of your project tool kit.

Measuring Project Risk
Without accurate risk metrics, you can fail to mitigate serious risks and end up watching your project fail. Or you can misspend in an overblown effort to mitigate risks that will never come to pass or that won’t cause much damage if they do. Here’s how to get a handle on project risk.

Read more at:
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/project/story/0,10801,107541,00.html

Technical convergence has allowed for an extremely robust capability to manage all aspects of an organizations portfolio (e.g., programs and projects) through centralized tools. These tools are collectively called Portfolio Project Management Systems (PPMS).

Today, most organizations can divide their business applications into one of two 2 broad categories:

1. An Operations Support Systems (OSS). This defines applications that allow the business to fulfill its customer orders, goods, or services. These include ordering applications, general ledger applications, and billing systems.
2. Work In Progress (WIP) systems. These are the systems that define the current work activity being performed to either grow the business or improve business products and processes. This includes customer funnel applications, forecasting applications, and the PPMS.

PPMS tools have the capability to look at the health of an organization through all projects across the organization’s portfolio. PPMS can help an organization assist in resource utilization, document risks, track issues, define variance, calculate earned value, and provide customization modules for specific business needs. Additionally, these tools provide more ways to see information, by way of reports, than any individual could possibly need in a review, and on top of that, PPMS’ have the capability to create custom reports to meet business-specific or ad-hoc needs.

Read more at:
http://www.chiefprojectofficer.com/article/178

Project management is primarily about managing a project and its implicit goals with a specific set of resources. It is achieved through interaction with customers, team members and external supporting functions/teams. This being the case, I feel it’s appropriate to mention that the prime function of project management is managing people. I’ve heard many managers say, “I’ve got to manage my project and I don’t have enough time to manage the people on my project.” I was surprised because it is only these people who can achieve the goals of the project, and if you do not manage them well how do you intend to manage the project?

There are many facets to project management, including client management, requirements and scope management, planning and scheduling, risks management and people management. Your people-handling capabilities will be the critical aspect of a project, and it is this quality that will differentiate a successful leader from a not-so-successful one.

The present article will lead you through some useful tips for managing teams, and suggest a few dos and don’ts while leading a team towards a goal. These tips have been divided into various aspects of people management such as communication process/methods, morale building and managing expectations.

Read more at:
http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20060116/management02.shtml

In any given month, Sue Schade sees 20 to 30 progress reports, and she needs to digest the information as quickly as possible.

Schade, CIO at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, knows what she wants to see and how she wants to see it, and she makes her expectations crystal clear to those who report to her.

She expects to know what has been accomplished, which key decisions have been made, what’s going on now, what’s on the horizon and which issues are in play. She also wants to know whether projects are on track to meet their original deadlines. And she wants it all in a standard format. “My folks know what they have to put in,” Schade says. “I don’t want to look at a lot of different formats and ask, ‘Where’s this? Where’s that?’”

Progress reports are essential tools for tracking projects and initiatives, but if the writers and readers aren’t in sync, reports can be hit-or-miss exercises for everyone involved. Here are some tips on how to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time.

Read more at:
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/project/story/0,10801,107086,00.html