Time

Proper time management is critical to meeting important project deadlines and attaining time-to-market goals. Carefully defining project activities, sequencing them properly, estimating resources and time for each, and developing the schedule are all critical phases of the planning process. Audits and reviews should focus on compliance with time management processes– Were activities defined and sequenced properly? How were estimates determined? And what mechanisms are being used to monitor adherence and control the schedule?

Communication

Numerous studies of project perf

Financing A Franchise - The BIG Error
So you fancy a franchise eh? You like the sound of the whole ‘in business for yourself, but not by yourself’ thing. You’ve done your research and you reckon you can see the way ahead. You reckon your future lies under the banner reading ‘Franchise’.Then you come up against the $64,000 questions…1) How much will it cost?2) Can you afford it?Now if you are at all human you will have done what every prospect on the path to making a purchase of any sort does. You will have pictured what it will be like to own that franchise. Which is perfectly understandable.BUTYou are also laying yourself open to the biggest mistake that prospective franchisees can possibly make. You see you can be in danger of letting your judgement be affected by a fatal affliction that is the cause of huge misery in many walks of life, but espe
In recent years, many companies are putting increased emphasis on project management techniques as a result of lessons learned on past project performance. After experiencing project delays, overruns, missed quality goals, communication barriers, “scope creep”, and a general perception of projects being out of control, these companies are scrambling to implement good Project Management practices to prevent these types of problems. As part of these best practices, many companies have established project review and audit programs, periodically reviewing the status of projects and their alignment with individual and corporate goals. While worthwhile, in many cases these reviews and audits are performed by senior managers with either a stake in the project outcome or no real experience and training in project management. Several companies have found that these management reviews have not succeeded because senior management and project managers may be speaking a different language and viewing the projects from completely different perspectives.

Audits and reviews require preparation to be fruitful. Pre-defined project review and audit protocols can help focus both the project manager and the reviewer/auditor on the important aspects of the project. Basing these protocols on proven philosophies from the Project Management Institute (PMI®), the world’s foremost authority for the project management profession, can provide great insight into the actual status of the project. This provides the opportunity to take actions at the most efficient points in project execution, increasing the probability of project success.

We’ve found that the most effective audits are centered on the project management knowledge areas as defined by PMI®. We have also found that effective project reviews and audits involve much more than just sitting down with the project manager and asking a series of questions. Interviews with project team members, stakeholders, and senior management as well as a thorough review of all project related documentation are just as critical to producing effective results.

Compliance with Project Management Processes

A defined set of project management processes provides consistency in project management methodology across all projects. This facilitates program management, allows for the interchangeability of resources, and increases the probability of project success. Audits should closely examine compliance of the project procedures with the enterprise’s Project Management Processes. Blind adherence to these procedures, however, without allowance for the specifics of the project, may introduce inefficiencies and stifle the creativity or flexibility needed to bring a project to a successful conclusion.

Controlling Scope

Scope change, without complimentary adjustments to the project schedule, budget, and objectives, is a the major reason for schedule slippage and project overruns. Adherence to change control procedures is necessary to identify and prevent inappropriate addition of “out of scope” items to the project, and limit scope creep. Audits should target Scope Management as a major factor in overall project performance in order to prevent unnecessarily increasing the project’s size without correspondingly increasing the project’s value.

Compliance with the Project Charter

The project charter defines in broad terms the project targets and how project success will be measured. It essentially serves as the prime focus of all project efforts. Projects can easily get off track by ignoring the project charter, resulting in both schedule and budget problems.

Cost

Project cost impacts all other aspects of the project. Proper estimating and tracking of budgets is essential to controlling costs on a project. Understanding the budgetary state of a project can impact all decisions made during project execution and design. Audits should focus on the two most critical aspects of cost control – estimating and tracking. Estimating factors include the methodologies used to determine project costs and cost constraints, resource planning and assumptions made during the estimating process. Tracking factors include the mechanism used to track costs and methodologies used in determining project cost status.

Time

Proper time management is critical to meeting important project deadlines and attaining time-to-market goals. Carefully defining project activities, sequencing them properly, estimating resources and time for each, and developing the schedule are all critical phases of the planning process. Audits and reviews should focus on compliance with time management processes– Were activities defined and sequenced properly? How were estimates determined? And what mechanisms are being used to monitor adherence and control the schedule?

Communication

Numerous studies of project perf

Effective and Responsible Employee Termination Interviews
It is the occasion that every manager has faced—terminating an employee. Few managers can say that this is an easy part of their job. Terminating an employee is always a difficult and stressful task. In today’s volatile workplace environment this task is even more difficult. The potential for litigation, adverse publicity, and even violence makes the way you discharge workers even more delicate. There are ways to mitigate these circumstances and the termination interview is pivotal to effective workforce management.Timing. There are two schools of thought on when to terminate an employee. One group suggests that employees be terminated at the end of the work week. Terminating employees who deal with company funds, sensitive material, or valuable company assets at the last possible moment is often the safest way to protect the organi
ojects from completely different perspectives.

Audits and reviews require preparation to be fruitful. Pre-defined project review and audit protocols can help focus both the project manager and the reviewer/auditor on the important aspects of the project. Basing these protocols on proven philosophies from the Project Management Institute (PMI®), the world’s foremost authority for the project management profession, can provide great insight into the actual status of the project. This provides the opportunity to take actions at the most efficient points in project execution, increasing the probability of project success.

We’ve found that the most effective audits are centered on the project management knowledge areas as defined by PMI®. We have also found that effective project reviews and audits involve much more than just sitting down with the project manager and asking a series of questions. Interviews with project team members, stakeholders, and senior management as well as a thorough review of all project related documentation are just as critical to producing effective results.

Compliance with Project Management Processes

A defined set of project management processes provides consistency in project management methodology across all projects. This facilitates program management, allows for the interchangeability of resources, and increases the probability of project success. Audits should closely examine compliance of the project procedures with the enterprise’s Project Management Processes. Blind adherence to these procedures, however, without allowance for the specifics of the project, may introduce inefficiencies and stifle the creativity or flexibility needed to bring a project to a successful conclusion.

Controlling Scope

Scope change, without complimentary adjustments to the project schedule, budget, and objectives, is a the major reason for schedule slippage and project overruns. Adherence to change control procedures is necessary to identify and prevent inappropriate addition of “out of scope” items to the project, and limit scope creep. Audits should target Scope Management as a major factor in overall project performance in order to prevent unnecessarily increasing the project’s size without correspondingly increasing the project’s value.

Compliance with the Project Charter

The project charter defines in broad terms the project targets and how project success will be measured. It essentially serves as the prime focus of all project efforts. Projects can easily get off track by ignoring the project charter, resulting in both schedule and budget problems.

Cost

Project cost impacts all other aspects of the project. Proper estimating and tracking of budgets is essential to controlling costs on a project. Understanding the budgetary state of a project can impact all decisions made during project execution and design. Audits should focus on the two most critical aspects of cost control – estimating and tracking. Estimating factors include the methodologies used to determine project costs and cost constraints, resource planning and assumptions made during the estimating process. Tracking factors include the mechanism used to track costs and methodologies used in determining project cost status.

Time

Proper time management is critical to meeting important project deadlines and attaining time-to-market goals. Carefully defining project activities, sequencing them properly, estimating resources and time for each, and developing the schedule are all critical phases of the planning process. Audits and reviews should focus on compliance with time management processes– Were activities defined and sequenced properly? How were estimates determined? And what mechanisms are being used to monitor adherence and control the schedule?

Communication

Numerous studies of project perf

Finding A Job Online
If you are searching for work then there is no better place to start looking than online. You can take full advantage of the many resources which are available to you, all from the comfort of your own home. There are many ways in which the internet can help you, from posting your resume and CV with databases, scouring open positions and applying to getting help and advice on interview techniques.A quick search using a popular search engine will give you access to hundreds of online job databases. A database such as this will list jobs in their own specialist category, which makes finding the ideal position so much easier. If you register with such a site, you are able to conduct immediate searches, have the site notify you by e-mail when a job matching your criteria is posted and store your CV online with them. Most sites also offer good job and career
ugh review of all project related documentation are just as critical to producing effective results.

Compliance with Project Management Processes

A defined set of project management processes provides consistency in project management methodology across all projects. This facilitates program management, allows for the interchangeability of resources, and increases the probability of project success. Audits should closely examine compliance of the project procedures with the enterprise’s Project Management Processes. Blind adherence to these procedures, however, without allowance for the specifics of the project, may introduce inefficiencies and stifle the creativity or flexibility needed to bring a project to a successful conclusion.

Controlling Scope

Scope change, without complimentary adjustments to the project schedule, budget, and objectives, is a the major reason for schedule slippage and project overruns. Adherence to change control procedures is necessary to identify and prevent inappropriate addition of “out of scope” items to the project, and limit scope creep. Audits should target Scope Management as a major factor in overall project performance in order to prevent unnecessarily increasing the project’s size without correspondingly increasing the project’s value.

Compliance with the Project Charter

The project charter defines in broad terms the project targets and how project success will be measured. It essentially serves as the prime focus of all project efforts. Projects can easily get off track by ignoring the project charter, resulting in both schedule and budget problems.

Cost

Project cost impacts all other aspects of the project. Proper estimating and tracking of budgets is essential to controlling costs on a project. Understanding the budgetary state of a project can impact all decisions made during project execution and design. Audits should focus on the two most critical aspects of cost control – estimating and tracking. Estimating factors include the methodologies used to determine project costs and cost constraints, resource planning and assumptions made during the estimating process. Tracking factors include the mechanism used to track costs and methodologies used in determining project cost status.

Time

Proper time management is critical to meeting important project deadlines and attaining time-to-market goals. Carefully defining project activities, sequencing them properly, estimating resources and time for each, and developing the schedule are all critical phases of the planning process. Audits and reviews should focus on compliance with time management processes– Were activities defined and sequenced properly? How were estimates determined? And what mechanisms are being used to monitor adherence and control the schedule?

Communication

Numerous studies of project perf

But... Isn't That MLM
I've heard other internet marketers who were involved in network marketing programs (MLM companies) say that they had been discouraged to work their business because it was MLM. This had not happened to me, until just very recently.Yesterday someone that I know asked me regarding my online business: "Well, isn't that MLM?" Then proceeded to inform me that I shouldn't count on that as my main source of income. (As a note, this person did not have any real experience in the marketing industry.)Apparently the network marketing industry has received a bad reputation - at least in some circles.Okay, what is MLM?MLM (as most people know) stands for Multi-Level-Marketing. When you strip off any stigma involved in it, it's simple definition is: "...a business model that combines direct marketing with franchising" (fr
procedures is necessary to identify and prevent inappropriate addition of “out of scope” items to the project, and limit scope creep. Audits should target Scope Management as a major factor in overall project performance in order to prevent unnecessarily increasing the project’s size without correspondingly increasing the project’s value.

Compliance with the Project Charter

The project charter defines in broad terms the project targets and how project success will be measured. It essentially serves as the prime focus of all project efforts. Projects can easily get off track by ignoring the project charter, resulting in both schedule and budget problems.

Cost

Project cost impacts all other aspects of the project. Proper estimating and tracking of budgets is essential to controlling costs on a project. Understanding the budgetary state of a project can impact all decisions made during project execution and design. Audits should focus on the two most critical aspects of cost control – estimating and tracking. Estimating factors include the methodologies used to determine project costs and cost constraints, resource planning and assumptions made during the estimating process. Tracking factors include the mechanism used to track costs and methodologies used in determining project cost status.

Time

Proper time management is critical to meeting important project deadlines and attaining time-to-market goals. Carefully defining project activities, sequencing them properly, estimating resources and time for each, and developing the schedule are all critical phases of the planning process. Audits and reviews should focus on compliance with time management processes– Were activities defined and sequenced properly? How were estimates determined? And what mechanisms are being used to monitor adherence and control the schedule?

Communication

Numerous studies of project perf

Stop Treating Payroll As a Fixed Cost
As a business and technology consultant there is one significant error I continue to see in modern business practice. Too often, management treats their payroll expense as a fixed cost of doing business. This is caused by the accounting practice of lumping payroll as a operating expense line item. While this is an acceptable accounting practice, a good manager must accept the reality that the work output of the employee should be directly proportional to the salary.Too often I have heard managers state something to the effect of "Well, we are paying him anyway so he might as well work on that project." This is shortsighted and just plain dumb. Logically, a good employee works on what is assigned to him or her. It is the job of a good manager to ensure that the work performed is delivering positive value to the corporate enterprise. This is why you don'
on the two most critical aspects of cost control – estimating and tracking. Estimating factors include the methodologies used to determine project costs and cost constraints, resource planning and assumptions made during the estimating process. Tracking factors include the mechanism used to track costs and methodologies used in determining project cost status.

Time

Proper time management is critical to meeting important project deadlines and attaining time-to-market goals. Carefully defining project activities, sequencing them properly, estimating resources and time for each, and developing the schedule are all critical phases of the planning process. Audits and reviews should focus on compliance with time management processes– Were activities defined and sequenced properly? How were estimates determined? And what mechanisms are being used to monitor adherence and control the schedule?

Communication

Numerous studies of project performance indicate that communication is the Number 1 problem encountered by project managers; consequently proper communication is vital to the success of a project. With this level of importance, audits and reviews should focus heavily on the Project Manager’s communications procedures and capabilities, overcoming barriers to communications within the company, and the efficiency of mechanisms used for communications – Are stakeholders being kept appraised of the information they need to know for the project to be successful?

Risk

Recognizing and managing risk is critical to project success. Anticipating and planning for risk events increases the probability and impact of positive events, and decrease the probability and impact of events adverse to the project. Audits should focus on the project’s plans for preventing problems and planning responses to problems that can not be prevented.

Quality

Quality is the key to customer satisfaction, and managing customer expectations is a key to project success. Audits and reviews should focus on your approach to product delivery – is prevention stressed over inspection? Is quality built in or inspected in? Are all members of the team (including management) participants in the quality process?

Human Resources

Aligning project objectives with the goals and motivations of the project team is an important part of the successful completion of any project. Defining and communicating the roles and responsibilities of management, team members and other stakeholders on the project is essential. Project audits should focus on the critical aspects of HR management – Is the project properly staffed? Are the team members meshing so the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? Are the roles of the members understood? Are there motivational problems?