Management WebLog of Teleox

2009-07-27T03:05:00.002+05:30

The Teleox website is under re-construction as it is being taken over and all updated information will be available shortly.

We appreciate your patience and continual support in this regard.

Thanking you,
Team Teleox

For our services, please visit:

http://www.teleox.com/

Creating a Project Scorecard

2009-05-04T09:47:00.006+05:30

A project scorecard generally helps in identifying the outcome of the project - finding out the various parameters on which the project has been able to deliver. Ideally it should be created when the project is kicked off (after you have a project charter and initial scope statement) to have the true value.

The easiest way to go for it is in a black and white manner, i.e., asking your project sponsor or customer. It translates to a simple yes or no. However, it may not be a right approach considering a number of factors involved in a project - time, cost, effort, quality, customer satisfaction, training and development of resources, meeting organizational goals etc.

Rather, it is better to take a systematic approach while creating a project score card. Following steps can be taken up.

1. Identify the scorecard perspectives:

It can be from financial, customer, process, training and development of the resources, meeting the strategic goal of the organization etc.

2. Identify the success criteria for them:

The success criteria will be based on the above perspectives. This can be from an internal viewpoint or an external viewpoint. Also, if you have defined in a scaling system of 1 to 5, in that case you may want to have a minimum score of 3.7 or 4 for your success criteria.

3. Assign the needed metrics:

Metrics can be directly quantifiable metrics or indirect metrics. You should have a balanced approach here. Like only adding the schedule or scope metrics will not be helping the actual score card of the project.

4. Prioritize:

Here you assign the priority to the individual metrics that you have collected and may decide to leave some of them. The priority can be critical, major, minor or in a scale of 1 to 5.

5. Define and set the Target:

You need to define and set the target for each of the metrics from different perspectives - +/-10% variation in budget or scope, more than 80% members are certified in a certain technological aspect etc.

6. Assign Owner for each perspective:

This adds accountability to the work. Like delivering on time, budget etc are the responsibilities of the project manager.

7. Identify your resource background:

From what resources you have achieved the conclusion on the metrics of various perspectives.

Finally this can be plotted in a table and can be maintained for future references.

Here is a sample scorecard from MS Project 2007.

Data Credit - MS Office
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A Practical Perspective of WBS via PMP and MS Project 2007 (Part - 3)

2009-04-21T21:34:00.005+05:30

The earlier part in the series is available at: A Practical Perspective of WBS via PMP and MS Project 2007 (Part - 1) and

A Practical Perspective of WBS via PMP and MS Project 2007 (Part - 2)

Exemplification:
Armed with the above information, let us have a sample project, which has 2 work packages, each work package having five activities or tasks and two milestones. Though, we can divide it into multiple phases, deliverables etc., we will have a simple structure.

Our sample WBS for the aforementioned work packages will look as below.

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Using MS Project 2007:

Now after putting them in MS Project 2007, we will have:

Conclusion:

• The Work Packages/Summary Tasks (WP-A, WP-A) are bold faced
• The Milestones are of 0 duration (days) and they are represented as filled up diamonds. Please note that milestones need not be of zero duration. Though a milestone is not needed while creating a WBS, it is a good idea to have
• WBS Codes: The codes which are appended for each work package and activity are known as WBS Codes. You can have your own customized WBS codes, which are used in large scale enterprise project. Like it can be:

..., from where individual branching will happen for each of the phases, deliverables, work packages etc.

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How to Gather Requirements for Your Project – Part II

2009-04-11T21:41:00.001+05:30

The earlier part of the series is available here.

9. Ask direct and indirect questions:

Direct questions - It results in a definitive answer.
Indirect Questions: It helps you to gain more clarity. And it is left open at the end.

10. Schedule a follow-up date and time for a part which is difficult:
You try to get a commitment for certain aspects which can be understood at that point of time. This may not be immediate, but getting a commitment will help you.

11. Exemplification:
Ask for examples. It helps to understand it in a more pragmatic way.

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12. Send a prelist of questionnaire:
This helps if the person is a subject matter expert and you have certain understanding on the subject. The questions which you most care about should be there. This gives him some time to have a look at it and come prepared.
For customers belonging to countries where English is not spoken as the first language such as India, Japan, China etc., this kind of communication is very effective.

13. Stimulate:

These are open ended questions in a different way. Here you ask questions like:
- Do you think it can be done in a better way?
- Is there any alternatives for this?

14. Come prepared:

You should come to a meeting like this fully prepared. You can not take any second chances here.

15. Get the needed references:
If you particular thing can not be understood by the person in question, then you ask for references and his consent for it. This helps to get a head start in talking with the other person on it.

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The Value of Being a PMI-PMP

2009-04-09T08:05:00.005+05:30

We constantly get this question when we talk with any prospect and here we would like to summarize the information.

P.S.: We constantly say that it is not important to have a degree in Engineering or Medicine, but to know and see how they can be applied in the real word. This also applies to being a PMI-PMP, you need to know how to apply them in real world and bring value to the organization in which you are working with.

To extend the conventional wisdom of “What can not be measured, can not be improved”; we would say that “What can not be measured, can also not be planned, controlled or monitored as well”.

1. 99.99% complete – OR –
it will take exactly 2 more days to complete the task

How many times you have seen team members reporting in terms of % age of completion and what does not convey? In two words – “Actually Nothing.” We have showed why it is meaning here and here.

But, if you say that the EV is X USD and PV is Y USD and based on the above data, we can safely say that the task will take 2 more days to complete, no one can deny the value of it.

2. "Project A" looks good as it has endorsement from Tom Cruise – OR –
Between "Project A" and "Project B", "Project A" is good as it has a higher NPV

Well Tom Cruise may not be funding or acting in your project; rather what we meant to say that a project being selected based on a X Factor or “It” factor or the senior management is very passionate about it (a la Iridium). As we have seen in such cases the project is not exactly a success.

However, if you have clearly quantifiable data by saying that Project A has more NPV than Project – B or the BCR of Project A is more that Project – B, it is clear to identify the success of a project.

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3. A lot of Risks are there and we need to be careful – OR –
impact of X Risk on our project has 0.95 probability

How will you react when someone says that we have a lot of risks in this project as it is being developed by an international team separated by time zones, new recruits for our team, potential chances being interrupted by low funding etc. There are many risks like that and sometimes a lot of trivial risk has the possibility to derail a project.

However, to really inform the probability and impact of a risk or to strategize for minimal risk, they have to quantified and qualified, strategically viewed for counter measures and consistently monitored.

4. Activity A, B, C are dependent as the team members are working together
- OR –
Activity A has a F-2-S dependency with B with MFO constraint and a S-2-S dependency with C with ASAP constraint.

Managers frequently work on triple constraints and try to maintain the symbiotic
relationship between them.

Here as well, when information is available in clearly quantified terms and the impact of it is well understood by the major stakeholders, the odds against a failure for the project remain very low.

5. Project is Over Budget and we need more fund – OR –
The value of VAC and AC are these and hence we need to be more cautious in our spending

In one of our earlier blogs, we have mentioned the value of EVM.

There are many aspects to project management, rather than just status reporting and sending FYI/FYA mails (we have seen to be used sometimes in a feverish way by many managers) to a team of developers every day or saying that the project is on track (verbally). They do not help you to know the actual status from various different dimensions for a project.

However, PMI-PMP, as being very scientific and methodical in its approach, helps to bring the best ROI for the investment on a particular project. For more details on having a PMI-PMP certification, please refer our section of “Why Go for PMI-PMP” at our Free Resources section.

For our services, please visit: http://www.teleox.com/

Why IT Professionals in India Work Overtime? - A Management Perspective (Part - 2)

2009-04-07T09:18:00.008+05:30

The earlier part is available here - Why IT Professionals in India Work Overtime? - A Management Perspective (Part - 1)

6. Managers think NO is a bad word:

We Indians are basically decent. And can not say NO. However, in tech industry you have to say NO many times considering the failure of IT projects (over 50% fail). Also, technology changes very fast and you need to know what can be done with existing technical resources.

However, easier said than done! Now if you have a group of C++ programmers and you move them into AJAX/Web2.0 application, can they code and perform as good as they were doing earlier? Yes, they can code. But to work at the same performance level, they have to spend sleepless nights, burnouts, frustration and of course attrition.

What is wrong in saying NO or asking for more training before jumping in?

7. Overload the technical folks:

Any good technical resource will inform you that. In a typical services company, over 70% resources are fresh graduates and they do not know how to code, implement or design. It is the senior folks who actually bear the brunt in such cases.

Also, it is a kind of carrot and stick approach. When you need ask for their advice and when you do not throw them in the dustbin or in IT terms “recycle bins”.

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8. Technology is not respected:

There are a lot of services companies and they come various names such as “XYZ Technologies” or “XYZ Tech Services” or “XYZ R & D”. However, as a matter of fact there is no Technologies or R & D there.

One interesting thing happened during my stay at one company.

In one discussion (where (un)fortunately I was a part), a team member in fact challenged the manager of the team to write a simple program in Java (it was to write the "Hello World!" application) and if the manager could do it, then the team member will accept the estimation from the manager. (Managers normally play the game here as they themselves do not know how much time it is going to take!).

I am not saying that managers need to code. But then, what about the ecosystem they live in? In the previous scenario, the manager was angry (and we all knew he could not code) and started to take alternative routes to get the work done. Also, he was saying that he is not there to talk about coding and does not remember as the work profile is different.

But then Sir, “Will you say I have forgotten the number of alphabets in English as I am not using them for a long time?” The question being asked by team member was like the A, B, C in programming.

9. In the name of people management:

A lot of managerial folks you will find in services companies who love to say that how good they are in people management. In fact, once, a General Management commented that our strength (the company I was with) is People Management. (Read it is not technical or anything else).

I have just one question – “If you are so good in people management why the attrition rate is 20% during good times?”

As I have seen, it is another mask to hide their incompetencies and inefficiencies.

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Why IT Professionals in India Work Overtime? - A Management Perspective (Part - 1)

2009-04-07T09:10:00.003+05:30

This post was being written by one of my colleagues and we thought it will be a good read for all. It is modified a bit here and purely presented by looking into the managerial people in IT companies. So, here we go.

In Indian IT industry, though the official time is 8 hours, it is normal to spend 10-12 hrs a day in a services company and 12-14hrs a day in a product company. I should know as I have been into both.

You may not work the complete time spent. For me and many other, creative work is like packet communication. It happens in bursts.

Nevertheless, we do spend a lot of time. And why? I finally come out with the following top conclusions.

1. PMs do not perform their work:

I have seen them first hand, second hand, from a distance . . .

A number of them just love to be called the Project Managers. In India, "Manager" word is a magic word. It brings money, marriage proposals, societal recognition etc.

And most of the time they are driven by a huge EGO with a motto that "management is the art of getting your work done by others".

They also do not know many things in project manager. You may be surprised if I say that I have never heard of a project charter in any of the IT companies that I have worked with and I have worked with around 12 managers. Also, NOT a single project manager ever created, maintained or followed a formal project plan!

2. PMs are not technically sound:

A number of the Project Managers I know "do not know the pain of coding". And how will they?

If in a typical services company and where technology is not important, they would have fixed some 10/20 bugs in a career spanning over 6/7 years and rest time spent in politics. Product companies are somewhat better as normally they rise through the rank.

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3. Recruit and think later policy:

Just recruit. I have known companies (media calls them Tier-I companies) recruiting from 2 building engineering colleges next to some drainage systems and they are asked to code. And though the number of engineering colleges is too high in certain parts of India, I'll not comment favorably on quality.

If a person has never done anything and believe me the % of marks from some engineering colleges will shock you. I have come across candidates scoring 95% in English or in their mother tongue, and can not even write a paragraph in English. It is another matter that even W. Shakespeare can not score 95% in English!

It is like "recruiting JAVA programmers, who do not know JAVA!"

A manager once commented to me over a lunch that we can recruit anyone we want. You just can not ignore the training and exercise that we impart into them. But then my friend, how will you make Duck walk like a Swan or how will make Pig smell like a Cow? Training is fine, but what about inherent characteristics?

4. Team members are not taught the value of management:

Management is only for managers. Period.

Once a manager commented to me that "If you do technical work, only do that ... nothing more". That is ridiculous.

It is a totally wrong approach. Every team member, being a professional himself or herself, should know the value they bring to work place. And they need to know certain aspects of management, like time, scope, cost and how they impact the overall project.

5. PMs are not certified and not aware of using really good tools:

Actually, a number of them think, it is a waste of time.

If you talk of a globally recognized programs like PMP, Prince 2, ITIL etc, they will shrink. Actually, they do not want to do it. And the fact is that, most of them can not clear it. And some even say that they are utter "non-sense".

In one survey of a top IT companies (one of the top 3 service providers), it was found that hardly 4~5% managers know how to handle a fixed price budget!

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How to Gather Requirements for Your Project – Part I

2009-04-05T12:40:00.001+05:30

Gathering requirements from your customer is one of the most important things before you write your requirement document, and hence which enables the subsequent activities like High Level Design or Detailed/Low Level Design during project execution.

You need to have a preliminary set of requirements for the complete project (similar to preliminary scope statement in PMP) during your project ignition stage. These requirements help you do build the final requirements (similar to project scope statement in PMP).

However, how you go for it in a practical realistic way. Here are some of the tips:

1. Send the customer a project brief

This will detail the need of the project being taken, what are the technologies being involves, the stakeholders etc. However, it is important to have it the main aim of the projects and what you are trying to have it in here in a detailed format.
In this document you can have the project charter as reference and emphasize on the core elements which you are going to discuss. By this you help the customer in stimulating the though process.

2. Have a comfortable environment for your discussion

Start off with something which is informal. Like the weather, the current market in this case and move into the relevant topic. This creates an element of informality, which should make both parties comfortable.

3. Start with open ended questions

Open ended questions are those which does not result in a YES or NO answer. Rather, here you give the customer to provide as much information as possible with least possible questions. Like:
- What do you think of this architecture for the project?
- What is your suggestion about the current technologies that we are using?

4. Ask pointed questions

From each open ended question you need to move into a probing sort of questions. Like say you want to know which particular technology will be suitable for communication - say for to hook up a legacy Java application with a new one can have many choices such as Java Messaging Service, HTTP, Socket or Remote Method Invocation etc.

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5. Validate your understanding

Here the idea is to put the customer understanding in your own words. You can say that; “If I understand correctly, is this what you meant to say …?”

6. Digest and put it in your own words

Sometimes it happens that you get a lot of information, which is does not get organized in your thought process. Here, you can use the technique number 5 and put down your thoughts in an organized way.
In management terms, it is also called “paraphrasing”.

7. If you do not understand, inform them clearly

This helps and if the other person is truly a professional, it is really appreciated.

8. Keep the discussion on track

You may deviate from the original topic sometimes. However, politely put back on track, like saying – “This is a good point; however I want to know…”

To be continued . . .

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Dealing with a Non-Performer

2009-03-28T21:46:00.005+05:30

In any company, you will come across non-performers. It is very important to deal with them and take actions on it. Otherwise, it may lead to lower moral among other team members and of course, not to mention, question mark on your leadership ability.

We recommend the following approach.

1. Identify and understand
2. If reason is genuine, then train
3. After the training, reassign
4. If can not perform up-to the mark, relocate or transfer
5. If nothing works out, then terminate

Step -1: A face-to-face discussion is the best possible way to know the reason. It may happen you would not have recognized his contribution (might get taken by someone else) or it may be a training case.

Also, as a PM, you must aware of the Pygmalion Side Effects. It means if you leave out a person, who is in trouble, other team members may also have the same attitude towards him. And it leads to a low morale, and hence low productivity.

Step – 2: If the concern is with respect to training or for specific skills, let him/her know and provide some time-line for it.

(S)He may pursue some certifications or corporate training programs.

There are normally 4 categories of professionals:

1. Can Do, Will Do = Performers
2. Can Do, Will Not Do = Lacking Motivation
3. Can Not Do, Will Do = Need Training
4. Can Not Do, Will Not Do = For this category quickly go for Step-4 and Step-5.

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However, most of the time they belong Category 2 and 3.

For category 2, the person may requiring some professional courses which the company can offer, or the person may want to be more involved in the decision process for the work he is performing.

Category-3 types of persons normally fall under more training category.

Step – 3: Now it is time to reassign. And assess the performance.

A team lead can act as someone who can check for the performance.

Step – 4: If Step-3 does not work out, then you must plan for relocation to another project with less intensive activities or transfer.

Sometimes, it may happen that, there are no alternatives. Hence, give a warning and period in which (s)he has to perform.

Step – 5: If nothing works out, then it is time to terminate.

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Catching “Negative Management” Naked! (Part - 1)

2009-03-23T21:50:00.006+05:30

The word “Negative Management” does not sound good. But, in the real world it exists. Let us face it. The world is not perfect. Surprisingly, the Pareto Principle applies to real world management in some organizations as well – 80% of managers get their pay package due to 20% of other hard working and sincere managers!

Those 80% managers are true practitioners of "Negative Management" so that they can survive in the organization. As to look better than someone there are 2 clean ways:

- “Either perform better than others” - or -
- “Make others look worse”

The later principle is followed to the book by negative management.

Now, if you are working for some, you must identify them and come out their circle as soon as possible. As in today’s world – no organization can promise for a life long employment, rather they can promise for life long employability. And you actually never learn anything from these kinds of managers.

They fall into many categories and we will have a look at some of them.

1. The Fault Finders

Say a person is in a bowling event and there are 10 pins which he wants to strike. And he got 8 pins down. Here the manager will say:

"Hmm...there are 2 pins which could not even be touched! You need to do better"

2. The "Caligula” Manager

Caligula was the (in)famous Roman Emperor who ruled and ruined Rome. His principle was:

“They can hate me as long as they fear me.”

These managers have the attitude of instilling fear and getting the work done.

3. Followers of “Principle of Depression”

If you want to depress somebody, then catch him/her always doing something wrong and then leave the place. And do talk with the person after some days.

But they are again very smart while doing it. If there is a 360% feedback process, then they apply the below Sugar Daddy principle simultaneously.

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4. The Sugar Daddy

They always smile while criticizing. And they will make you feel that it is always your fault, your lack of skills, and your lack of competency which has forced them to “coach” you.

However, if you ask them for possible actions for real improvements, there is never a concrete answer. Rather it is always in between “Right” or “Wrong” or “Yes” or “No”. They thrive on ambiguity.

5. Managers with Normal Distribution Curve mentality

What will happen if you rate everyone who reported to you at a highest performance level? As a "soft touch", you do not know to differentiate between a good and bad performance.

So, these managers have a normal distribution mentality. Some will be winners, some will be losers and everyone else somewhere in the middle!

6. Leave Alone and Rebuke

That is what is often done when someone is new and inexperienced. Welcome them aboard, take them around to meet everybody, and leave them alone in lurch afterward.

To be continued . . .

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A Practical Perspective of WBS via PMP and MS Project 2007 (Part - 2)

2009-03-23T21:49:00.008+05:30

The earlier part in the series is available at: A Practical Perspective of WBS via PMP and MS Project 2007 (Part - 1)

In this part, we will see how we will implement our understanding on WBS from PMBOK/PMP using MS Project. There are differences between terms and terminologies between MS Project 2007(MSP) and PMBOK. However, the concept remains the same.

A Comparative Perspective between PMBOK and MS Project:

1. Project (PMBOK) Vs Project Summary Task (MSP):
“Project” is at the highest level when a WBS is created in the “Create WBS” KAP of Scope Management KA, which can be further broken down into phases, deliverables or phases. It is considered to be at Level-0 in the WBS.

Similarly in MSP, it is known as “Project Summary Task” and it can be viewed by selecting the “Show Project Summary Task” in the View tab of Tools --> Options menu.

2. Work Package/Deliverables/Phases (PMBOK) Vs Summary Task (MSP):

In MS Project 2007, a Summary Task can also be broken down to individual task levels. The entire duration for the summary task is calculated from individual tasks underneath it.
While comparing Summary Task with the elements in the WBS, Summary Task can loosely refer to a Phases or Deliverables or Work Packages. As each a Phase can be broken down to Deliverables, a Deliverable to Work Packages and so on.

Work Package is created in the “Create WBS” KAP of Scope Management KA. As per PMBOK, it represents the lowest level in the WBS. As per PMBOK, a work package can be assigned to multiple people and normally can be broken down to “Activity” level. A “Work Package” in PMP corresponds to “Summary Task” in MSP. Similarly, in the WBS, the highest level represents the Project itself. In MSP, it is known as the “Project Summary Task”.

3. Duration (Both in PMBOK and MSP):

In MSP, duration is calculated as Duration = Finish Date – Start Date + 1. Similarly, the duration in PMP is same. However, it comes with as variants as:

Duration = Early Finish – Early Start + 1 OR
Duration = Late Finish – Late Start + 1

In final part we will put our Example WBS in Part - 1 to use by MS Project 2007.

To be continued . . .

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What is a Project?

2009-03-12T19:51:00.003+05:30

The other day I was giving a training to a number of project managers on PMP certification. Some were not sure which will fit into a project category or whether they will be eligible to give the PMP examination.

I have seen a number of definitions on project. However, I believe, PMI puts in a best possible way.

As PMI puts it:

“A project is temporary endeavor taken to create a unique product, service or result”

Now we will look into the various keywords here.

1. Temporary:

A project is a temporary one. It means “it will be have a finite beginning and finite end”. A project is never ongoing or infinite.

Have your ever heard a project going on for 20 years? If so, then it is not a project.

2. Endeavor:

A project means effort in its truest terms. And effort is being put forth by resources. For any project you need resources to accomplish.

3. Unique:

A project is always unique. Even if you built two building of similar types still, it is involved different times, different resources, different locations. Hence, it is unique.

4. Product or Service or Result:

Normally a project’s end result is a product.

Also, a project can be result in a service or capability to provide a service such a providing business functions supporting production and distribution.

5. Progressive Elaboration:

This term is not exclusively put forth, though the word endeavour means just that. It is form of continuous effort. However, PMI in its PMBOK defines later on Progressive Elaboration much widely.

This is a concept which comes along with the unique product or service. A project is typically broadly known in the beginning. Progressive elaboration means developing in steps and continuing by increments. As the project progresses, the team gets a clearer, explicit and more complete understanding of the project deliverables and objectives.

So, check the above principle and see if it can be treated as a project. And take a call based on it.

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%age of completion - An Innovative Approach

2009-03-10T22:40:00.000+05:30

As we have earlier discussed, it is meaningless to ask how much percentage of work is complete in your project deliverables to team members, in my earlier piece. Here is one more technique to handle it more effectively.

1. 30-70 Rule:

It means when someone starts the work, it is 30% complete, already! Yes, when s/he starts it is 30% complete.

The remaining 70% weight-age will be given when it is fully complete. It means if the person has done more work than 30% or less work than 30%, it is actually 30%, unless s/he completes the work.

2. 50-50 Rule:

It means when the work is started it is 50% complete. And when it is completed, then rest 50% will be added to it. It will work with many of the employees. However, please ensure that you have mandate of your customer, senior management etc.

3. 0-100 rule:

No weight-age will be given till it the work 100% complete. Whatever you have done, it will still be 0%, if the work is not fully complete. It will NOT work with most. However, in fixed price projects, you need a staff of performers. And I am sure they will accept it.

Bottom line: You need to have a template for your progress reports or status reports within your company and get it verified by the major stakeholders. As I know, if the sponsors/customers are serious, they will never accept %-age of completion. The above few rules may help you in place going around and getting responses like 96% complete or 99.8% complete. It normally drives a genuine project manager crazy.

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A Practical Perspective of WBS via PMP and MS Project 2007 (Part - 1)

2009-03-10T22:21:00.002+05:30

WBS is a very simple and straight forward way for estimation. It is also the recommended estimation technique during the scoping phase. In this article, we will understand the basics in WBS estimation technique as defined by PMP and practically implement it through MS Project 2007.

What is it?

As the name suggest it is the breakdown of the work to be performed or the deliverables. In PMI terminology, it is known as the work packages. Normally “decomposition” technique is used to get the WBS. However, in real world, templates and forms are taken up most of the time.

To have the WBS, you must have the Project Scope Statement. The scope statement is the collection of project requirements with the acceptance criteria. Without scope statement, you can NOT develop the WBS.

How does it look like?

Say you are going to develop an IT system. At the top of the WBS (called as the Level - 1) is the Project Deliverable. You can subdivide and build an inverted tree structure for the project requirements. At the bottom, i.e., at the lowest level, it is always the Work Package.
But how will you know that you have got your work packages. Following are the tips:

1) A work package can not be broken down further
2) A work package can have time estimation for it
3) A work package can have cost estimation for it
4) A work package can be assigned to a person or a group of persons

After you have created the WBS, each work package will have an identification number with it so that it can be easily read. A sample WBS will look below.
What are the Main Characteristics?

Following are the main characteristics of a good WBS.

1) The above 4 mentioned
2) It is broken down to the level from where only individual activities can
be started
3) Each level should have an unique identification number
4) It can be used as a communication tool with the key stakeholders
5) It can be used as a team building tool

WBS Dictionary:

For each work package, a detailed description is required which is found in the WBS Dictionary. It will be have the WP number, name, description, person assigned to, an estimated time, an initial level of cost, and account number.

A sample WBS dictionary will look like:

So it is worth it?

This helps in tracking. As per PMI terminology, the Scope Baseline is formed via “Project Scope Statement”, “WBS” and “WBS Dictionary”. In real world, it is very much likely that they will change. Hence baselining and re-baselining can be done to track the project changes.

We will see how to draw a WBS practically using a sample project in our next piece.

To be continued . . .

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Nine Myths and Facts on PMI-PMP Examination

2009-03-10T22:01:00.000+05:30

There are a number of myths on PMP Examination like – 35 hour contact program can only be provided by Registered Education Providers, it is very theoretical, etc. However, they are not true.

Some of the most known myths are listed here.

Myth -1: Only a R.E.P (Registered Education Provider) can provide 35 hour mandatory contact program

Fact: No, it can be provided by any one of the following.

The 35 hour mandatory contact program can be from one or more of the following types:

- Courses or programs offered by PMI Registered Education Providers (REP)
- University / College academic and continuing education programs
- Courses or programs offered by training companies or consultants
- Courses or programs offered by PMI Component organizations
- Courses or programs offered by employer / company-sponsored programs
- Courses or programs offered by distance-learning companies, including an end of course assessment

Hence, one need not be a R.E.P to provide PMP training.

For PMP certification aspirants, it assumes more importance. They must check the quality of faculty along with the material.

Myth - 2: PMP is completely theoretical

Fact: No, it is designed scientifically.

It is very scientific and course is designed with a lot of thoughts in mind. Cramming will never work.

Myth - 3: Exhaustive preparation will help

Fact: No, rather conceptual understanding is important.

It is more important to understand the fundamental concepts, various interactions among management process areas. You may read 4/5 books, and it is very possible that you will fail the exam. Conceptual understanding is of paramount importance as many questions are situational and almost all the questions test the understanding. It does not test your memorization ability.

Myth – 4: Only the materials from the R.E.P are authorized for PMP Exam Prep

Fact: No, the materials from R.E.P are reviewed by PMI.

PMI reviews the study material for the potential R.E.P for certain standardization and quality. There can be others who may provide a beautiful understanding on how to go for PMP examination and the examination seekers should not loose out on this.

As a matter of fact, for your reference, only the PMBOK Guide is the complete one. However, it has to be dissected properly by the teaching faculty, instructors and supporting materials to have the maximum benefit. The certification aspirants should do their own research to find the best.

Myth - 5: The score of PMP exam is measured in percentage

Fact: Percentage of score is not available.

PMP Exam rates you on various process groups, like "proficient", "moderately proficient", "below proficient" etc. on five process groups and on professional code of conduct. There is no percentage of score involved. Also, you can be at a “below proficient” level in certain process groups, but can still pass the exam.

Myth - 6: PMP is my ticket to management

Fact: No, it is not needed to be PMP to be good manager, but having a PMP certification definitely helps.

PMP is very much valued in the industry. But finally, it is truly up-to you to be a good or best manager. PMP shows a number of ways to manage scientifically.

Myth - 7: PMP is not needed by product companies

Fact: A number of world class product companies look for PMP certifiedprofessionals.

A number of product companies including Google and Microsoft seek PMP professionals. You can check their advertisements.

Myth - 8: Value of PMP has been diluted in recent years

Fact: No, it is still an exclusive club.

It is one of the best project management courses available with world class practices and methodologies such as EVM, Monte Carlo, Decision Tree, CPM, Six Sigma etc. It is also ISO certified. PMBOK continuously improves itself by adopting new practices and methodologies. Also it is one of the toughest exams to crack.

Myth - 9: PMP can not be applied in real world

Fact: No, it can be truly applied step by step in real world.

As a matter of fact, if you are using MS Project 2007 or Primavera, then it becomes very easy to apply the various principles defined in PMP like WBS, Activity Definition, Activity Sequencing, RBS, Resource Levelling, EVM etc.

Percentage of Completion – Is It Meaningful? (# 2)

2009-03-10T21:35:00.000+05:30

Part - 1 of Percentage Of Completion - Is it Meaningful?

Remedies:

Option - 1:

Ask the team member how many days it is going to take for completion, in place of % age of completion. If it is going to take 20 person days and 12 person days are already gone, it means that 60% of work should be done.

It is easier said than done as software development never works in linear ways. Rather it is unpredictable. And perhaps that it what makes it worrying and exciting at the same time. It may be due to other constraints, assumptions for which it could not be completed.

Hence, ask the developer that how long it will take to complete, like: will it be come 10 more days in place of 8 or will it be 5 person weeks in place of 3 person weeks? Get that information and also ensure that you get a commitment for new dates.

If those dates are put in the project report, it makes sense. A sample can be like below:

Option - 2:

For certain kind of projects, micro-managing is important. Then, one can have them segregated by individual modules for each important deliverable: like document completion, coding, unit testing etc. It must be noted that in reality, developers also do all these work simultaneously in place of doing them one after another. Hence, it should be helpful to them.

The above table can be expanded to include sub activities with certain main activities.

Option - 3:

However, percentage of completion also works, if you are using EVM technique.

To know the status of the project, just a couple of question needs to be asked:

- What is the SPI (Schedule Performance Index) for the project?
- What is the CPI (Cost Performance Index) for the project?

If SPI and CPI are below 1.0, then the project is not in good health, i.e., not performing well. The calculation for these is also known as EVM, i.e, Earned Value Measurement.

Also from a schedule perspective, if the SPI is below 1.0 (let us assume it is 0.9), then it means the deliverable is actually 90% complete and it is behind schedule.

Conclusion:

If your project is using Enterprise Project Management Software and Methodologies, the best way to report on status of completion is to use EVM Technique. Otherwise, in place of reporting percentage of completion, the proper way to know the completion status can be Option -1 or Option -2.

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Percentage of Completion – Is It Meaningful? (# 1)

2009-03-10T21:07:00.000+05:30

In many companies, normally Managers report with percentage (%) of completion for the deliverables in a project. Is it meaningful? Does it really convey what has been accomplished?

As a matter of fact, it does not convey the reality of the project. Also, in the current economic environment, when every penny is important for a company and its customers, appropriate data tracking and reporting are gaining importance.

Note: Though the following discussion is done by keeping a Software Development Project in mind, the principles are applicable in many project development environments.

Now, let us check the theory of percentage of completion.

Why is it Meaningless?

Reason – 1:

First a question - what does it mean when a team member says that his/her work is 90% complete?

Does it mean that his/her coding is 90% complete or his/her unit testing is 90% complete or (s)he was waiting for someone's approval and that is 90% complete? Or, is it a combination of all the aforementioned cases?

If it is combination of all the cases, then what are they? If any manager wants to write it down in a project report, then can (s)he really do it? Obviously, it is practically impossible to report on all the possible cases.

Reason – 2:

Another way to look at it, one day a developer in the team says that his/her deliverable is 90% complete. And the supervisor might think it will be complete in 3/4 days – considering the number of days allocated. After 3/4 days (s)he says it is 95% complete. Then, the revised assumption becomes - completion will be in 1/2 days. After couple of days, it is 99% complete - due to some other constraints. And it goes on.

So, what a manager can do to report correct status?

To be continued . . .

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Surviving Organizational Politics # 3

2009-03-10T10:50:00.001+05:30

This is in continuation with the series posted earlier.

Part - 1 of Surviving Organizational Politics and
Part - 2 of Surviving Organizational Politics

In Conclusion:

In the first piece I mentioned that there might be organizations where politics is played in an evil way and you might end up there. It is truly hard to work in those kinds of organizations and you should leave them as soon as possible. Nevertheless, as long as you are there, you have to survive and come out unscathed.

1. Behave as if you are in a herd, but think independently:

Organization comes and goes. Team comes and goes. People come and go. However, you must remember that:

You live with yourself longer than with anybody else.

So think independently, but act as if you are part of the herd they belong to. Otherwise, you will be left out.

2. Assume formlessness:

Have you seen water droplets on lotus leaves?

It is everywhere, but actually nowhere. Be like that: be with everyone, but do not support anyone.

3. Have an exit plan:

If you have realized that evil minded politics thrives in your organization, then it is time to call it quits. As in today’s world no one guarantees life long employment, but organizations can promise of a life long employability. And your ability to be employable comes mostly from your knowledge. However, in a highly political organization, you actually do not learn anything of value.

Finally, if you are in a company, there will be politics. And you need to know which side you are in. At the same time, you should have a clear plan for yourself on how well you can get with it. If you do not play it, then be prepared to languish or even die.

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Surviving Organizational Politics # 2

2009-03-10T10:42:00.001+05:30

This is in continuation with the series posted earlier.

Part - 1 of Surviving Organizational Politics

7. Never ever take anything important verbally:

In this age, verbal communication is useless. Ask for a written communication, always. If (s)he is right and ethical, there will not be any problem. In fact, they will prefer it. Otherwise, highly political people never prefer written communication.

If you need an important commitment, have it written. If the other person is not doing it, do it yourself and ask for confirmation.

8. Treat politics as a type of problem solving

A programmer treats his or her coding work with intense discipline and creativity: similarly, a designer for building new auto components or an architect building a skyscraper. If you treat politics with the same discipline and creativity, chances are high that you will be able to manage politics well.

9. Recognize the best forms of power

There are many forms of power such as referral, reward, punishment, expert, legitimate etc. However, the best forms of power are two – expert and reward.

From prehistoric age to this day, every form of reward has been constituted to display certain user of power under the hood. Use it both ways – for your sub-ordinates and your seniors (not superiors!). Generally the later form of reward for seniors are not there in a company – but then, institute one yourself.

10. Have your cheat sheet handy

There will be many conflicting interests working in an organization such as self-interest, ego, dislike, etc. and also there will be true desire for a successful project or product.

You need to have your cheat sheer handy and ready and it should include questions like:

What are the goals for this project this month or week?

What are the criteria to make sure that decisions being made are good for the project?

Are we using our power to best serve the project?

People may disagree with the questions, but they are disagreeing or agreeing on the right kind of questions. Even the highly political people can not avoid pointed questions like the ones above.

11. Divide and rule

It works with products, marketing strategy and it also works with politics. A group is an illusion. Do not run behind the conclusions being driven in a group meeting. As a matter of fact, rarely things work out in any meeting – hence the name “meeting”! So divide the group into people – people with influence, people with knowledge, people with power etc. and follow them one by one, separately.

12. Know your battles and know your wars

Loss of many battles is compensated by a single war. You need to ask yourself if the battle that you are in, is worth that much as it might have been spent well in certain other productive activities. So, if you have to walk away from certain battles for a bigger war to win, do that.

To be continued . . .

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Differentiating between Project Success and Project Management Success

2009-03-09T15:10:00.000+05:30

How will you know whether the project is a success or a failure? Will you consider a project to be a success if it meets its primary objectives? Will you consider the project to be a failure if the customer is unhappy, though you have delivered it on time, within cost and strictly followed the scope? Or will you consider the project to be a success if all the stakeholders are happy with the outcome, although it went beyond the estimated cost, schedule and scope?

Let us take some of the examples. Here, I am focusing on two constraints, which are “Schedule” and “Cost”. Of course, we have other factors, most notably being scope, and others like quality, risk, and customer satisfaction. However, below are some of the world famous projects and we can safely assume that their initial estimation of scope, schedule and cost were well defined.

Case – 1: Titanic Project

The epic movie by James Cameron based on the true incident of RMS Titanic sinking with love story of a rich girl and poor boy.

Schedule: It was over schedule. It started on 1995 expected to be released by mid 1997. However it was released late 1997 / early 1998.
Cost: It was over budget. The cost was USD $200 million, which was well above the initial estimate.
Final Report: The movie has been the highest grossing film world-wide with revenues of USD $1.8 billion.

Will Titanic Project be a failure as it was over schedule and over budget?

Case – 2: Iridium Project

A system of 66 active communication satellites with spares in orbit and on the ground. It allows worldwide voice and data communications using hand-held satellite phones. It was considered to be a dream project for Motorola.

Schedule: It was on schedule. It was completed on schedule, i.e., 11 years.
Budget: Budget was somewhat more than what was estimated. However, it was within limit. The budget was around USD $6 billion.

Final Report: The project went bankrupt within a year of its launch of its service and filed for Chapter 11 of bankruptcy.

Again, the question becomes: will Iridium Project be considered a success as it was on schedule and on budget?

Case – 3: Concorde Project

The primary objective of this project was the integration between Air France and BOAC.

Schedule: It was over Schedule. It took 7 years to complete.
Budget: It was over Budget. It took close to USD $3 billion and well over budget. |
Final Report: Both Government of England and France were happy as it combined Air France and BOAC.

Was Concorde Project a success as it met its primary objective?

Wrapping it up, we all know that:

- Titanic is considered to be a success though it was over budget and over schedule
- Iridium is considered to be a failure though it was completed on time
- Concorde is considered to be a success though it was over budget and over schedule

This brings up the differentiation between Project Success and Project Management Success. They are actually entirely two different concepts, which is normally misunderstood.

Typically a project is considered to be a success when:

- It has delivered on promised scope.
- It is within the schedule for the project.
- The cost for project go way beyond the estimate
- It has managed its stake-holder’s expectation well and the most important
stakeholder, i.e. customers
- It is of good quality

However, it is not actually the success of the Project; rather it is the success of the Project Management, if it meets the aforementioned criteria. Proper form of project management, i.e., delivering the project within the triple constraints of time, cost and scope can make the management process a success; however, the project need not be a success. Rather projects as shown by Titanic and Concorde are considered to be successful depending on the return on monetary investment.

This makes the role of a project manager more difficult. To address it, organization while starting a project, should primarily address three things.

1. Define target success for the project and the project manager
2. Define target success for the organization considering the project involved
3. Define failure for the project and the project manager

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Surviving Organizational Politics # 1

2009-03-09T11:37:00.001+05:30

First of all "Politics is Not a Bad Word". Live with it. In fact, it is evil only when it is played in a dirty way and which does not serve the project concerned and it does not add up to the final organizational goal. Otherwise, it is part and parcel of any project environment.

As Aristotle put it once: "Man is a political being"

I was never at it as my belief was – technocrats with project management capabilities will always prevail over the bureaucrats. Also, naively, I was always thinking it is unnecessary and it is done by weak minded and evil people. However, it is not always played in an evil way, though there are chances that you might end up in an organization like that, which is of course the worst case scenario.

Nevertheless, politics exists in any organization and you have to deal with it. So, let us take a hands-on approach to address it in a positive way.

1. Recognize it:

It is normally easy. In a meeting, discussion etc. you can easily find out whose say is final. He is your person. Sometimes people with tremendous amount of knowledge also hold power, and they may or may not have the final say. But, they are also your friends.

2. Ask for authority: (Managing up)

You have been asked to prime a number of features. Fine, you will do it.

However, here is the time to ask. Managers who are normally vague and sweet tongued without any commitment are very difficult to deal with. But, you have to spell your need succinctly. Ask – the resources you need, monthly or weekly meeting that you need to have, the expectations from your manager, etc. It is also called "managing up".

If the manager is not responsive, have your antenna up and alarm bell off. You are on your own.

3. Find the people who influence “Your Man”:

It is not only important that you know your man - with all the baggage of opinion, prejudices, biases he carries, but also other people who influence your man.

They are actually the indirect stakeholders in your project. And we all know how important stakeholders are in any project.

4. Remember no one is omnipotent:

Even the seemingly most powerful one will have someone to report to and have his power balanced. Leaving aside the founders, like you, they are also employees. You need to have the respect for authority, but clearly realize that they are not omnipotent.

5. Roundabout approach:

If you think that you can not directly convince a person, try to convince the people, who matters to your man.

This way you can impress the friends of “your man”. The person you want to get help support from, may not listen to you; but it will be difficult for him/her to decline his/her friend’s request.

Also, after convincing his/her friend, you can also very well come back to him/her and say that – “I have talked to X and Y and they all like my approach/idea. What do you think?” This time it will be difficult for him/her to ignore you.

6. In any negotiation, remember that it is a always a two-way street:

In history or day to day life negotiation has never become successful without a person (who is negotiating) holding something attractive. While negotiating, you need to have something, which the other person finds valuable. Otherwise, it will rarely work.

If you are forced, then clearly inform the consequences. Like:

"It has to be done with 2 people". Fine, it will be done. But, "it will be 7 person weeks in place of 4."

"We do not have more budgets to allocate". Fine, it will be done. But "it will not have X, Y, Z features".

To be continued . . .

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Is it 6 Sigma (6σ) or 4.5 Sigma (4.5σ)?

2009-03-07T19:20:00.002+05:30

Time and again, I have come across this question – does Six Sigma (6σ) really translate to 3.4 defects per million opportunities (DPMO)? Is there any shift which is not known to us and hence it is actually 4.5σ? We will check what it actually is and hence put it to rest.

Whether you are following DMAIC or DMADV methodologies of Six Sigma, you have to be familiar with the below terms and gather metrics such as DPMO to calculate the final process improvement. These are addressed as part of the Critical to Quality or CTQ. Below are certain terms to have a better understanding.

Certain Terms:

1. Defects: Anything that does not meet the customer requirement.

2. Units: Something which is measurable by the customer. It is measurable and observable.

3. Opportunities: Total chances of having a defect in an Unit. Like Unit, it is also measurable and observable.

4. Total Opportunities = Total Number of Units * Opportunities

5. Defects per Unit (DPU): Number of defect in 1 Unit

6. Defects per Opportunities (DPO): Number of defects in 1 Opportunity = Total number of Defects / Total Number of Opportunities

7. Defects per Million Opportunities (DPMO):

DPMO

= DPO * 1 million

= DPO * 1,000,000

We will take an example to understand it.

Example:

A quality professional for web development has been assigned the work of performance improvement for a website. His job is to improve the response time of the website. Below are the identifications done by the Quality Team as part of the CTQ.

Area of Work: Web Development

Customer Voice: "I am seeing a very slow performance in the page for more than 1 mil objects in the user interface and sometimes it takes over 5 minutes." It is also known as Voice of Customer. And it is much note for any project.

CTQ Name: Responsiveness of the web page

CTQ Measure: Time to load the page when it has 1 mil object (in seconds)

CTQ Specification: Less than 10 seconds

Defect: If the page takes more than 10 seconds to load

Unit: Every Page Hit

Opportunity: 1 per Hit. (As every page may or may not take below 10 seconds to load)

And the Quality Professional took samples for 1,000,000 = 1 million page hits. After applying the aforementioned terms of Six Sigma for DMAIC methodology, he found out that:

Defects = 3.4

Units = 1,000,000

Opportunities = 1

Total Opportunities = 1 * 1,000,000 = 1,000,000

Note: I have kept the sample as 1 million as it will enable a quick understanding. Also the defect is kept at 3.4 defects for a million opportunities (or DPMO) to validate the claim.

Now, we will find out the sigma value for this activity by using NORMSINV function. One can check the NORMSINV value via a scientific calculator or on a Microsoft Excel sheet.

Process Sigma

= NORMSINV (1 – (Total Defects/ Total Opportunities))

= NORMSINV (1 – 3.4/1,000,000)

= 4.50005

= 4.5 sigma or 4.5 σ!

Yes, it is 4.5 when you put the formula for 3.4 defects per million opportunities.

But then, the big question is - Why it is called Six Sigma (or 6 σ)?

Reason: A process in the longer run is not expected to perform at 4.5 sigma level. It means even though you make corrections, there are good chances that variations will be present in the process. Hence, seasoned professionals, while going by a methodology to implement Six Sigma (DMAIC or DMADV), generally mention that the goal is "to have long term sigma of 4.5". Now there is a gap of 1.5 and this is known as a shift, or more specifically Z-Shift.

As a matter of fact, when Six Sigma professional state that the process is following six sigma, it actually means:

Short team capability of the process is 4.5 σ and long term capability is 6 σ.

Some Japanese Terms

2009-02-15T11:59:00.000+05:30

Takeaway: Some of the terms which are truly interesting, applicable, and above all timeless. Though all of them are Japanese, the beauty of it is this – they are applicable to all industries and also in life.

Below are some of the terms which I have come across while discussing with some of great managers I have come across. They are practiced by many, most notably, Toyota and have been the cornerstone for many other companies, irrespective of verticals.

The terms are Japanese. And my experience with Japanese terms – they are broad, not narrowly defined to a particular meaning. You may find them to be used somewhere in a different context – here it is with respect to industries and day-to-day life.

1. Doryoku:-

Visible demonstration of hard work and commitment, which is rewarded over achievement.

The best example is of course the Baseball team of Japan, itself. They practiced long and hard, in brutal summer, each player throwing endless pitches to others, which may be meaningless or irritating to others.

And though Baseball is not the national game of Japan, they won the fist baseball classic championship in 2006.

2. Kaisen:-

Continuous Improvement

I think it has been used to the hilt by many. But then, it comes up again and again! Kaizen means continuous improvement, which is done in “small measures”. The beauty is however small it is, there is an improvement and it is emphasized.

This has been now a fundamental principle in modern Quality Management.

3. Genchi Genbutsu:-

Go see yourself to thoroughly understand the problem – the hands-on approach.

How many times you have come across people sitting in GM/PM/DM roles in a hi-tech company who have no idea of how technology works, forget if they written any single line of code in their life.

I am NOT saying they need to code, but do they know the eco-system. Well, these will be first companies who will be wiped out fast in the information age.

To understand a problem, you have to have your hands dirty.

4. Jidoka:-

Stop when there is a Quality Problem

As they say “Quality is always planned, designed, and built in – NEVER inspected in.”

Reason is simple, the Cost of Quality is higher when the defect is found later. Hence, the best possible strategy is to stop and check, whenever there is a quality problem.

5. Heijunka:-

Level out the workload or schedule

In modern management, as a Project Manager, you have to look for ways to level the workload or schedule. If the load is NOT evenly balanced, there is a disaster waiting to happen.

6. Nemawashi:-

Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options, and implement rapidly.

I think Google will be very good example of it. There decisions are very scientifically analyzed, very patiently planned, and during execution the speed is break-neck.

7. Hansei:-

Let us stop and reflect.

In Japan, parents usually tell their children “Please do the hansei”.

In industry, it can be – let us go through the design again, let check completely the acceptance test cases so that we do not miss out any, let us review the architecture of the system again.

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Why We like PMI-PMP?

2009-01-29T10:55:00.000+05:30

Takeaway: Anything which costs more or does not come easily definitely has something in it. PMP is not an easy exam and anyone who has given it will vouch so. More than that there are some reasons for which we like PMI-PMP.

Well, we all know that a number of industries are asking for it, it increases the chances of getting a better job, increases the chances of getting a better pay hike.Recently a very credible study put PMP certification on top for IT professionals. And the almighty Google also seeks it.

However, after working for some years in IT industry, we came to this conclusion. We Software Professionals in India always work overtime. The main reason I find is lack of proper management, as I had earlier posted in my article “Why IT Professionals in India Work Overtime?”

And yes, for anything, there will be naysayers. We am not going to debate on it. Like they tell PMP is "BS", PMP does not help etc. I am believer in this.

Here are the top 3 on why I like it.

1. No Gold Plating:

Your project has been delivered. People have made tremendous effort and have added some new good features, which incidentally were not asked by customer. Your customer is happy, team is happy, senior management is happy and your sponsor is happy.

Is the project successful?

NO.

The project is gold plated.

In IT, over 70% of the projects fail. As per PMI it is better that Project Managers stick to the original requirements than doing further.

At the same when people tell (and some top notch IT honchos), we work for the delight of customer, please be careful. Gold plating is actually a failure.

Reason:

- Your team over worked
- You did not pay your team for over work
- The features are actually wastages as they were never asked

2. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):

And the subsequent repurcussions of using WBS like AON, AOA charts, CPM, CCPM and other techniques. However, WBS is the root.

We have seen number of estimation techniques, like LOC/Base Lining, COCOMO, FPA, UPA etc.

PMI only talks of Work Break-down Structure.

Why?

P.S.: This is our interpretation. And we are convinced that WBS should be the only technique.

Most of the Project Managers think they can work in any project whether embedded, BFSI, avionics, telecom. They ask their teams to give estimates, then call them and play the game of cutting down estimate by asking a number of questions. And in the process learn something from the team members!

Now having WBS stops all these non-sense. To have WBS you need to have a good understanding of the system architecture and good understanding in the domain area. Otherwise, you can not create the WBS.

Actually if properly created and followed, it catches managers naked.

3. Ethics:

This is a recent introduction.

Ethics and value system for senior members of a team have been now of more importance than ever. We have seen a lot of scandals from world renowned corporations, and world famous corporate honchos. And in recent past, the incidents of scandals are really disturbing.

Seven Steps to Achieve the PMI-PMP Certification

2009-01-15T09:57:00.003+05:30

Takeaway: Learn how to get certified with PMP. Also, in the market, there are a lot of myths running and learn what exactly is the fact.

Step – 1: Prerequisites

Minimum 3 years of unique non overlapping "Project Management Experience", in which you have spent 4,500 hours in management activities.

For details, please visit: http://www.pmi.org/

Please note that by "Project Management Experience", it does not mean you should be a Project Manager or a Product Manager or a Program Manager. If you are Lead Engineer, or a Team Lead/Project Lead/Module Lead etc. and you have done management work, you are eligible.

Step – 2: Membership

Once you are sure of prerequisites, then go ahead. If not, please be careful. PMI does not tolerate any kind of malpractice.

If sure, it is better to get a PMI membership. For it, you have to pay an amount to PMI. Have an account at pmi.org and pay the amount.

P.S.: You may NOT be a member, but still can get PMI certified. However, if you are a member, then the overall cost is somewhat less and you also get the benefit of various journals and magazines from PMI.

Step – 3: 35 Contract Hour Program

You need to have 35 contact hour programs to take the test in addition to the criteria in "1". This is in addition to the Project Management Experience, and is termed as Project Management Education. And this is mandatory.

This is where we come in. Please refer our section at Teleox® - 35 Contact Hour PMI PMP Program

Step "1" and "3" are with respect to professionals with a Bachelor's degree or equivalent.

Step – 4: Experience Validation

PMI validates your claim of experience and hence requires you to put the experience in detail at their website. You have to prove that you have 4500 hours of Project Management Experience.

If it is found to be fake (they will have the contact details of your previous company, managers etc), your application is rejected. And PMI strictly follows it.

Step – 5: After the Validation

After your experience is validated (normally within a week), you will be invited to take the exam. PMI randomly selects application for validation. If you are not selected, you will be immediately informed.

For the final exam you have to a pay the exam fee.

After paying, you will have an ID, which will be required to schedule via Prometric. You can schedule in advance at a Prometric center near to your locality. (http://www.prometric.com/PMI/default.htm)

Ideally you should take the exam after 3/4 weeks of getting the contact program. One normally looses motivation.

Step – 6: At the Exam

You have to take a print out of the invitation for the exam and valid government issued identity proof. The exam is of 4 hours with 200 multiple choice questions.

If you have understood the PMBOK, time is never a constraint.

You will be notified on your pass or failure at the exam center itself by PMI. It will be reflected on your computer screen. You can take a print out of your certificate.

The final certificate will reach at your snail mail address afterward.

Step – 7: If you fail

You can go for another attempt and you have to pay additional fee.

For our services, please visit: http://www.teleox.com/

What is the Health of your Project?

2008-12-28T11:46:00.000+05:30

Takeaway: I have seen a number of status reports in my earlier company, which is being prepared by various PM(s). And mostly it is % of completion of each feature. However, does it really convey the status? I am sure, it does not. Here, we will have a simple question to know the status of the project.

To know the status of the project, you need to simply ask only these two:

1. What is the SPI for your project?
2. What is the CPI for your project?

If SPI and CPI are below 1.0, then the project is not in good health, i.e., not performing well.

The calculation for these is also known as EVM, i.e, Earned Value Measurement.

SPI --> Schedule Performance Index
CPI --> Cost Performance Index

To understand it, we will use a simple example.

Example: Say you have a software project (fixed price), which will have to complete 6 modules. Cost of each module is $10,000. And you have to complete the project in 6 months. After 3 months, you find that 2 modules have been completed and the current cost for the project is at $35,000. Now what is the SV, CV, SPI, and CPI.

Answer: We will use EVM here to calculate.

EV = Earned Value  The value being earned by the project with the current work completed till date.
PV = Planned Value  The expected value of work to be completed till date.
AC = Actual Cost The actual cost incurred for this project till date.

And all will be calculated in terms of money. This will somewhat difficult to understand initially. However, it will be clear shortly.

EV = 2 modules completed = 2 * $10,000 = $20,000
PV = [(6 modules/ 6 months) * 3 months] * $10,000 = $30,000
AC = $35,000

SPI = Schedule Performance Index = EV/PV = $20,000 / $30,000 = 2/3 = 0.667
CVI = Cost Performance Index = EV/AC = $20,000 / $35,000 = 4/7 = 0.557

Analysis:

By SPI 0.667 means, for every 1 day effort I am getting a return of 0.667 days of work.

By CPI 0.557 means, for every 1 dollar spent on the project, I am getting a return of 0.557 dollar.

It clearly means that the project is under schedule and over budget. And it needs remedial actions.

Why Go for Management Training or Career Path?

2008-12-21T10:31:00.000+05:30

The short answer is - career neutrality.

The long answer is:

You are a professional with a very good technical background. You work with the cutting edge technology and you work with the best in the world. But, how far in life you want to go. Technology is ever changing and truth to be told you need not know each technology from scratch. The fundamentals always remain the same. However, you will always hit a wall . . . if not now, sometime later in your career. So, where do you go from here. Now that everyone is talking of interoperability, vendor neutrality, what about something as career neutrality.

By career neutrality, I mean you can have switch to any industry and still have a satisfying position. Which one will provide such a thing - Management and only management. Period!