The Benefits of ISO Standards for your Business

This article is part of the series about ISO standards and ISO Certification and what that means for your business. The purpose here is to explain the benefits of ISO standards and why companies would implement it.

Development of an ISO Standard

Development of ISO standards is thorough, consistent and harbours the specialist knowledge of experts from each industry across the globe. This ensures credible and consistent frameworks for businesses to adhere to.

The development of ISO standards is continual, with meetings taking place daily across the world. A technical committee is made up of experts, who discuss and debate until a consensus is reached. The first draft of the standard is put to public review and voting takes place. Feedback is considered and the standard is redrafted if voting does not go in favour of the original draft. The process is repeated until a consensus is reached and the ISO standard is published.

ISO makes the world a better place

Consider what the world would be like without ISO standards. ISO standards make a considerable and positive contribution daily, to the lives of people across the world. Standards integrate a set of characteristics to a product or service in order to meet the expectations of the consumer.

The role of the ISO often goes unnoticed when a commodity meets the approval of the end user. However when standards are absent and a product/service does not meet with consumer expectations, be it poor quality or not working, it is very rarely overlooked. Together with ensuring quality, environmental friendliness and reliability, ISO standards guarantee the safety of products and services.

The ISO standards work to enhance many aspects of business, such as;

o Improving the development, manufacturing and supply of products and services to be more efficient, safer and cleaner

o Facilitating trade between countries and develop and fairer trade system

o Providing governments with a technical base for health, safety and environmental legislation

o Sharing technological advances and good management practice

o Circulating innovation

o Safeguarding consumers and users of products and services

o Providing solutions to common problems, in turn helping to make life easier

10 Benefits of ISO Standards

The ISO standards provide a host of benefits to the economy, technology and society as a whole.

1. ISO enables businesses to complete on markets around the world, due to the widespread adoption of the standards, products and services are developed according to the specifications meaning they will have international acceptance.

2. For innovators of new technologies, ISO standards help to speed up the distribution of innovations and their development into products. Customers can enjoy a broad choice of offers as well as benefiting from the effects of competition among suppliers.

3. Conformity of products and services to ISO standards provides assurance about their quality, safety and reliability for consumers.

4. ISO provide the technological and scientific bases underpinning health, safety and environmental legislation to aid governments.

5. ISO creates “a level playing field” for all competitors, helping trade officials and the existence of divergent national or regional standards can create technical barriers to trade. ISO are the technical means by which political trade agreements can be put into practice.

6. By defining the characteristics that products and services will be expected to meet on export markets, ISO gives developing countries a basis for making the right decisions when investing their scarce resources.

7. On an environmental level, ISO standards can help to preserve the air, water, soil quality, gas emissions, radiation and environmental aspects of products.

8. ISO contributes to the quality of life in general by ensuring that the transport, machinery and tools we use are safe.

9. The ISO facilitation process is essentially conformity assessment – checking that the products, materials, services, systems, processes or people measure up to the specifications of a relevant standard.

10. ISO guides and standards for conformity assessment represent an international consensus on best practice.

For more information about ISO standards and certification, contact IMSM, the leading consultants delivering on the implementation of ISO standards.

April 11, 2011March 25, 2018 Linky

Understanding ISO Certification

Following the article: “Understanding the value of ISO for your business“, this article will explain ISO Certification. ISO Certification indicates that a recognised independent registrar has examined a company’s quality system and found them to be compliant with ISO standards.

The process of developing and implementing a good, solid, quality management system that is also compliant is time consuming and expensive. So, does ISO hold enough value to justify these efforts?

The ISO certification process serves as a vehicle for improving all major interrelated systems that affect product quality, customer service and company performance. Therefore a company-wide effort is necessary to implement the process, which drives value through every level of a business. Company culture is at the heart of any business, and industry experts have cited that the most important component to ISO improvements should be attitudes within the company.

ISO Implementation

To get the most out of ISO implementation, training and awareness programmes work by way of getting employees involved. It is important that all levels of management buy in to the ISO process and be actively involved to derive maximum benefit.

The employees will be working with quality management systems on a daily basis and need to understand the effect it will have on their jobs. With significant input during the development of the procedures, the ISO certification process becomes much more meaningful to them, increasing the likelihood that they will embrace the process.

Value from within a business is fine and this value and pride in a business will naturally reach your customer base. As a measurement of value with any business, an ISO helps you to deliver, which is what your customer requires.

Successful implementation takes place when the ISO standards are developed to fit the company and not the other way around. IMSM works with clients to create a tailored implementation so that it can be worked in to the company culture without disrupting what is already in place, cohering employees to ensure that there is no resistance or the “way we have always done it” attitude.

ISO as a Step in the Quality Management Process

The value of ISO is very dependant on the company involved and how they view the ISO certification. If a company regards the certification as just a goal, once certified much of the work and improvements that went in to the achievement cease to continue. The companies that derive value from ISO see it as a step in the quality management process. The process often drives a “cultural change” that spurs them to look for ways to build on their new quality management system.

Such a cultural change within a business has a positive effect on numerous elements of productivity such as, the approach to product development and manufacturing, communication with vendors, and relations with customers and employees. As a result, the company will experience positive returns such as improved production, customer satisfaction and loyalty and employee enthusiasm and commitment. This payback will far exceed the original investment in ISO certification, and deliver to you far more layers of value and satisfaction than first thought.

Certification can be obtained from a company such as IMSM who only work with Assessors that have been successfully trained to the highest standard by an approved training body, who have a wealth of experience, to guarantee that their clients will receive first class consultation throughout their ISO journey.

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April 6, 2011 Linky

ISO: Understanding the Value of ISO for your Business

Definition of ISO

ISO, the acronym for the International Organization for Standardization, is an international standard setting body composed of representative from various standards organisations.

Source: Wikipedia

Before you can understand the value of an ISO, you really need to know what ISO is. ISO standards specify the requirements for operating procedures and systems, together with conformity practices and assessment. ISO standards operate in 176 countries across the world; they speak to business and trade on an international level.

The question of value is always with the purchaser. Each business will have their individual and specific reasons as to why they require an ISO. As with the majority of business decisions it will be taken in relation to increasing revenue, profit, growth or market status.

ISO Certification

ISO certification may be a daunting prospect for any business to take on, however once in place, the standards can improve faltering business processes. Common motivators include:

Improving business processes resulting in more accurate work and reduced costs,
Saving your business money
Reducing your carbon footprint
Helping to deliver your company aims and aspirations
Using the certification to differentiate from competitors thus providing a competitive edge.
Certain business sectors require, as a prerequisite, ISO certification, as they will only do business with ISO certified companies.

The external auditing process also delivers to any supply chain the reassurance that all processes and procedures are thoroughly and regularly reviewed. The certificate alone will not improve processes, but implemented correctly, the standards add real value.

Value of ISO

Value is initially derived from a clear understanding of what standard is most appropriate to a business and also the supply chain they operate within. It is important to understand which standards are needed for your business to deliver on business goals. It is important to know that the Assessors you will be working with meet the required levels of expertise for the standard in order to trust their guidance. There is no substitute for experience and knowledge.

However experience comes from working in the field, being able to put theory in to practice and have the experience first hand of how solutions work. Real value of an ISO is not found in a text book exercise, but part of the continual improvement model –

PLAN – DO – CHECK – ACT

For more information about ISO standards and what it can mean for your business, contact IMSM who is worldwide industry leading consultants delivering on the implementation of ISO standards.

Please subscribe to the RSS to receive more information about ISO Standards and what benefits they have for your business.

March 15, 2011April 11, 2022 Linky

Project Management Announcement: PMI Launches AGILE Certification

Agile is a topic of growing importance within the project management industry, and more project managers are embracing Agile as a technique for managing their successful projects including PMI who is launching an Agile Certification.

Growing Demand For Application Of Agile Practices

A recent statistic which emerged from PMI’s latest Pulse survey is that standardized project management practices result in better project performance. Many project managers who use Agile techniques for managing projects have seen the value of quicker delivery of projects to clients.

PMI research has revealed that 68% of organizations using Agile practices would find value in an Agile certification for project management practitioners. In addition, 63% of hiring managers would encourage their project managers to pursue an Agile certification.

Organisations have reported that the use of the Agile techniques have resulted in the following:

Early and continuous customer feedback – because the customer is continuously involved during development, resulting in an end-product to their satisfaction.
High visibility and influence over the project highlights problems earlier in the project.
Early measurable return on investment – allowing for reporting on defined deliverables early during the process.

Who Should Obtain PMI Agile Certification?

All PM Practitioners currently applying Agile practices in their projects or organizations who are adopting the Agile approach to project management are all excellent candidates for the PMI Agile Certification. Earning the Agile Certification could:

Demonstrate their level of professionalism in Agile practices to employers
Increase professional versatility in both project management tools and techniques
Show their project management leadership capacity by holding a more credible certification than training-only or exam-only based training

PMI serves the project management profession by providing practitioners with a toolbox of selected tools and techniques—and Agile is one of those tools. For example, those who have the PMP® and are working in an organization that is using Agile techniques, the Agile Certification provides an applicable knowledge base of Agile principles and concepts.

Important Dates For Agile Certification Launch

May 2011 – Candidates for the Agile certification will be able to submit an application for the pilot.
August 2011 – Pilot testing is scheduled to begin.

If you have questions that cannot be answered by the information on PMI.org/Agile, please contact PMI Customer Care based in your region:

North America/Latin America at customercare@pmi.org

EMEA +31-320-239-539 or customercare.emea@pmi.org

AP+65 6496 5501 or customercare.asiapac@pmi.org

March 11, 2011June 17, 2024 Linky

Understanding PRINCE2 and How to Implement

Today is the second article in the 2-part series for project managers to understand PRINCE2 and how it can be implemented. Now that you know that PRINCE2 is a process-based approach to project management, you may be interested in the history of PRINCE2.

What is the history of PRINCE?

PRINCE stands for Projects in Controlled Environments. It is a project management method covering the organisation, management and control of projects. The Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), now part of the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), first developed PRINCE in 1989. The intention was to produce a UK Government standard for IT project management.

Since its introduction, PRINCE has become widely used in both the public and private sectors and is now the UK’s de facto standard for project management. Although originally developed for the needs of IT projects, PRINCE has also been used on many non-IT projects. The latest version of the method, PRINCE2, is designed to incorporate the requirements of existing users and to enhance the method towards a completely generic, best practice approach.

How is PRINCE2 implemented?

The most important prerequisite to implementing PRINCE2 is awareness and buy-in at the most senior level of the organisation. Once this has been achieved, project staff (from sponsors right through to team members) can be trained to a level of competence appropriate to their individual roles. This training also provides staff with the skills necessary to oversee the PRINCE2 implementation, though often it is recommend to use an external consultancy. This can inject in-depth knowledge not just of PRINCE2, but of the ways in which both the method and the organisation’s existing business processes must be married together to create an environment in which PRINCE2 can deliver maximum benefit.

PRINCE2 training

There are different levels of training available for PRINCE2.

Overview: Aimed at managers new to formal project management methods, plus senior managers and executives considering the introduction of PRINCE2 into their organisations.

Foundation: For those who will be involved in projects, but not necessarily in a leading role, such as project support staff.

Practitioner: For anyone requiring an in-depth understanding of PRINCE2, particularly current or aspiring project managers.

Both Foundation and Practitioner training lead to optional examinations that will provide successful delegates with an internationally recognised qualification.

Visit the AFA PRINCE2 Training for more details if you’re interested. Also visit the Resources page for more training providers in the project management space.

Remember to subscribe to my RSS feed for future project management articles that will help you become the best project manager that you can be.

March 9, 2011June 17, 2024 Linky

Understanding PRINCE2 in the Project Management Context

Any project manager will come across many different project management methodologies and frameworks during their careers. Today I want to write about one such method, Prince 2 to help you understand it better in the project management context of achieving all of the project goals and objectives while adhering to classic project constraints – usually scope, quality, time and budget.

What is PRINCE2?

PRINCE2 is a process-based approach to project management providing an easily tailored and scale-able method for the management of all types of projects. Each process is defined with its key inputs and outputs together with the specific objectives to be achieved and activities to be carried out.

The method describes how a project is divided into manageable stages enabling efficient control of resources and regular progress monitoring. The various roles and responsibilities for managing a project are fully described and are adaptable to suit the project’s size and complexity and the skills of the organisation.

Project planning using PRINCE2 is product-based which means the project plans are focused on delivering results and are not simply about planning when the various activities on the project will be done. Driving any PRINCE2 project is the business case, which describes the organisation’s justification, commitment and rationale for the deliverables or outcome. The business case is reviewed regularly during the project so as to ensure the business objectives, which often change during the life-cycle of the project, are still being met.

Why usePRINCE2?

PRINCE2 provides organisations with a standard approach to the management of projects. The method embodies proven and established best practice. It is generic, non-proprietary and widely recognised. PRINCE2 also offers benefits to the organisation as a whole. These are achieved through the controllable use of resources and the ability to manage business and project risk more effectively.

PRINCE2 enables projects to have:

a controlled and organised start, middle and end
regular reviews of progress against plan and against the Business Case
flexible decision points
automatic management control of any deviations from the plan
involvement of management and stakeholders at the right time and place during the project the necessary controls and breakpoints to work successfully within any required contractual framework
a common language across all interested parties thereby ensuring effective communication channels between the project team, project management and the rest of the organisation

Please comment about your experience with Prince2 or any other methodology that is worth sharing.

Remember to subscribe to my RSS for the next article on Prince2.

March 2, 2011 Linky

5 Tips For Better Project Reporting

Every good project manager knows that communications management is an essential part of effective project management. Project reporting is about providing progress feedback to the project stakeholders. This post will provide 5 tips for reporting on projects to ensure you are efficient in how you provide the necessary feedback about your project.

1. Project status: Create a weekly Project Status Report to show your actual vs. planned effort, percent complete and actual vs. forecast spend. Specify the number of open risks, changes and issues, and state whether action by your Sponsor is required to resolve them. Also show the forecast amount of time, effort and money required to finish the project. Always try and forecast as accurately as possible. Never forecast optimistically, always conservatively.

2. Task completion: You need to regularly show your Sponsor your progress against the tasks listed on your schedule. Create a summarized view of your project plan and update it to reflect the percent complete for every task. Then append this summary view to your Project Status Report. This way, your Sponsor can drill down to see further information about each task, if they want to.

By offering your Project Sponsor both summary and detailed information weekly makes them feel like your project is an “open book”. They will have all of the information about your project and you will get more buy-in from your Sponsor and more support when it’s needed.

3. Milestones: You need to add Milestones to your project plan to show when the major project deliverables will be produced. You then need to report on the progress of each milestone to your Sponsor. Show the percent complete of each milestone, and again, forecast the completion dates.

Here’s another tip: You will get more out of your team if you motivate them to complete milestones, as opposed to tasks. That’s because people are usually proud of the things that they have achieved in life (i.e. milestones), as opposed to the things they have done to achieve them (i.e. the tasks).

4. Getting help: Project Sponsors don’t always want to hear “we’re on track and under budget” in their project reports. They just want to hear the truth. So if you’re behind schedule and you need help to get back on track, then tell your Sponsor about it in your project reports.

State exactly what you need from them. Show them that you’re doing the best you can and that you’re the best person for the job, but that you still need their help to deliver the project. If you need more time, money or resources, then ask for it. Don’t be afraid. And remember, the best time to ask for help is before you really need it. This gives you contingency, because it always takes time for help to arrive.

5. One version of the truth: Your project reports need to depict “one version of the truth” to your team. Keep them 100% accurate and be as open as possible about real issues that are affecting your team. Remember that if you communicate an issue to your Sponsor, then it becomes their issue to fix as well. Reporting issues is a great way to share the responsibility for fixing them.

The Project Status Report becomes the window to the world to share what is going on with the project on the inside. It also validates your position as project manager that you are actively managing and controlling the project activities to successful completion.

Please leave a comment and share any other useful tips for project reporting. Also subscribe to the RSS feed or to the Blog (to the right) for future project management articles.

February 22, 2011December 22, 2021 Linky

5 Reasons To Become a Certified Project Manager

You may be an aspiring or existing project manager. If you are new to this profession you are perhaps considering certification to become a professional project manager. If you are an existing Project Management Professional (PMP), you may be in doubt about your on-going training requirements. This article should give you clarity about the purpose and motivation for becoming a certified project manager and the benefits for staying certified. In this context certification refers to the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

To be Certified or not

Project management certifications matter. Especially given the current unpredictable market in which companies must operate and succeed. Project management certification makes for better project managers and reduces risk of project failure in an organisation.

After the first best practice project management standard was founded, it became apparent that following best practice and hiring certified project managers are crucial to successful project management and, hence, business success.

5 Reasons to become a Certified Project Mangager

1. Research is showing that today’s marketplace is demanding an increase in project management certification. Holding a certification and having the letters PMP, CAPM, PgMP, PMI-RMP or PMI-SP behind your name gives candidates access to greater job prospects and thereby places them in a higher salary bracket.

2. Project management, however, still remains a business skill that is acquired through experience combined with an internationally recognised project management certification, such as Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute. (PMI). The PMI certification currently has the largest footprint and is represented in 238 countries.

3. The Standish Group International, publisher of the CHAOS Report says that two-thirds of CIOs surveyed regard a PMI certification as valuable and the number of CIOs who require their project managers to be certified grew from 21% in 2005 to 31% by 2009.

4. Certifications such as the PMP and Prince 2 help unify teams as each member speaks the same language and uses identical processes when executing projects. This contributes to greater project performance.

5. Project management certification is also important from a governance perspective as certified members sign a code of professional conduct. This automatically provides the employer with confidence that the certified professional acts with integrity and executes tasks with soundness of judgment. This minimises risk within an organisation and enhances the chance of project success.

What comes after certification?

Project management certification is an on-going process and every three years certified professionals must recertify and maintain their professional status through on-going development and enhancing the project management profession by attending conferences, writing- and presenting papers, as well as transferring their skills. This on-going learning means that certified project managers stay informed about latest project, programme and portfolio management best practices earning professional development units (PDUs).

Project management professionals stay up-to-date, through the use of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), which assists project managers globally to apply certain standards in project management in order to meet business goals and business intent.

PMBOK

The PMBOK Guide presents a set of standard terminology, guidelines and tools and techniques for project management. It is non-industry specific and provides project managers with a basis from which to work and can be tweaked to suit each project manager’s project. Now in its fourth edition, it was first published by the PMI in 1987 as a white paper to document and standardise generally accepted project management information and practices.

Conclusion

It is important to remember that although a certified professional has dedicated thousands of hours and numerous years to pass the exam, exceptional project managers are those who combine that knowledge with passion and strong leadership abilities. The real test for being an excellent project manager, is in the constant application and enhancement of this knowledge.

Resources to consider for aspiring and existing project managers:
Want to do the PMP exam and become certified, I recommend the PM Prepcast, the best resource to help you succeed in the PMP exam.

For an existing PMP who need PDU’s, I recommend the PDU Podcast, an affordable and convenient subscription to earn PDU’s in your own time:

February 16, 2011February 16, 2011 Linky

A Project Manager Is As Good As His Last Project

Surely you have all heard the phrase: “a project manager is as good as his/her last project. Today I want to share a story with you that will also illustrate this point.

In December (our summer holiday time) we went to a beautiful beach town where many people enjoyed their yearly leave. In this small town there are many small traders who sell things from the side of the road, on the pavement. It ranges from jewellary, sunglasses, souverniers, clothes, etc. A lady who use to sell handmade dolls, walked across the road to give a doll to the daughter of a friend of her. When she crossed the street again to walk back to her stall, she was hit by a car and she died in hospital a few hours later from head injuries.

The following day there was a photo of the lady in the local newspaper with a picture of the 5 year old girl holding the doll that was given to her by this lady. She would always be remembered not only by her beautiful handmade dolls, but also by her last act of kindness, giving one of her precious dolls to a friend…

As a project manager I know this holds true for projects as well. People will remember you from your last successful project. For this reason it is very important to treat every project as if it is your last. It may be your last project for that specific company, or for that specific customer or with that specific team.

A project manager should not only look after his/her reputation, but also the perception of the project he/she is responsible for. You should be doing the right things, but also doing things the right way in the eyes of your customer. Work with your team to please the customer.

Sometimes the customer requires small things, like providing refreshments at a Steering Committee meeting for senior managers, to keep him happy. Your team requires your support, your guidance and leadership, and consistent communication regarding project related work. If team members are treated with respect and much is expected of them for delivery, they will live up to your expectations.

Creating a culture of collaboration where team members provide feedback and discuss problems openly, will contribute to a successful project. Building good relationships with your team as well as your customer, is an essential ingredient for making your current project worthwhile to remember. When coupled with on budget, on-time delivery you will be remembered as a good project manager, but even if you don’t achieve the triple constraint (on time,within budget and with quality), but through good communication practices you managed to keep your team motivated and the customer happy, you have hit the target to execute a successful project – one people will remember you by!

By the way, being called back by customers for additional projects, is one of the best recommendations (and compliments) that a project manager can hope to receive.

Please comment and share if you have had good experiences with ‘last’ projects.

January 19, 2011December 22, 2018 Linky

Virtual Teams – 6 Lessons for Success

Being the project manager of a virtual team can be quite a challenge. The normal rules for teams who are co-located do not apply to virtual teams. With the advances in technology it has become easier to organise and manage dispersed groups of people. This post will focus on the lessons to apply to successfully manage virtual teams.

Some advantages of virtual teams are that companies can hire the best talent regardless of their location. Similarly for projects, you may hire the best resources for the relevant roles on the project team to ensure you have the most suitable people to perform the project tasks.

One problem is that companies tend to treat their virtual teams the same way than they treat teams who share a location. Leaders and project managers need to realize that different guidelines and best practices would apply to virtual teams.

From a study done by OnPoint Consulting, it was found that virtual teams have common pitfalls:

Lack of clear goals, direction, or priorities due to communication challenges with dispersed teams.
Lack of clear roles among team members. It is very important for virtual team members to understand their individual roles and how their work impacts other team members.
Lack of cooperation and trust due to lack of face-to-face contact.
Lack of engagement. Virtual teams can be more distracted and there is a lack of dynamic face-to-face interaction.

In the book: “Virtual Team Success: A Practical Guide for Working and Leading from a Distance” (Jossey-Bass/A Wiley), there are 6 lessons for creating successful virtual teams:

1. Focus on people issues. It is easier to succeed when the whole team is engaged and communicating

2. No trust, no team. Sometimes in virtual teams trust is more at a task level than at an interpersonal level. It is important that the team meets face-to-face early in the team’s formation.

3. Soft skills are essential. Virtual teams who have been through team building and interpersonal skill development perform better.

4. Watch out for performance peaks. Many virtual teams face a performance peak after about 12 months. For virtual project teams this could be after shorter periods like 6 months. After that performance tends to decline.

5. Create a high-touch environment. Virtual team members need to meet at least once a year and for project teams regularly throughout the phases of the project.

6. Virtual team leadership matters. Leadership is the factor most important to the success of virtual teams. Team leaders in a virtual environment must be especially sensitive to interpersonal communication and cultural factors.

Better planning around the formation and management of virtual team can have a major impact on virtual team success. In a nutshell, these are some pointers to assist you with managing successful virtual teams who perform as expected and who can achieve synergy despite being physically apart. If you have experience working with virtual teams, please share some of your lessons in the comments section.

In the next post I am going to share some lessons that I have learnt from working with virtual teams and what the important factors are to manage consistently.

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“What does project management mean to me?”

January 2, 2011 Linky

Reflections and Lessons Learnt from 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP

As a conclusion to the series I did about the projects executed in preparation for the 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP, it is also necessary to do some reflections on lessons learnt. Success, pride and unity – could these words describe the effect of staging the 2010 FIFA World Cup?

If a successful event, pride and unity were part of the objectives, they have been achieved. All South African felt proud to be the host country and they stood united behind their team, Bafana Bafana or any other team that they have supported throughout the tournament. FIFA, teams and visitors were appreciative of the extent of South Africa’s preparations to stage a successful event.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan stated that South Africa’s government spent more than R33-billion over a period of four years on infrastructure and preparation for the World Cup. Close to R12-billion was spent on stadium infrastructure, R11-billion on transport infrastructure, and R1.5-billion on event broadcast and telecommunications.

Gordhan was of the opinion that it has increased the productivity of the people of South Africa, and that all the investment is part of the development and long-term planning for the country. It has earned us the reputation of a country that can actually deliver, and that is good for future growth

An estimated 130 000 jobs, most of them leading up to the World Cup, were created in the construction, roads and transport and hospitality industry.

According to the economist Dr A Saville some of the immediate positive results for South Africa were:

66 000 jobs were created in construction alone earning an average of R10 000 per month.
More than R2 billion went to low-income households as a result of job creation
Skills upliftment and more people in the formal sector
Increased economic growth in the preceding years

The 2010 capital projects such as stadia, airport terminals and transportations infrastructure were exemplary and as good as counterparts anywhere in the world.

Many lessons were also learnt about the National Security and Communications components of projects of this magnitude as reported by Brigadier S de Beer. Preparations for communications started in 2004 at the same time as the broader security measures. Communication formed an integral part of the planning committee and was supported from the top.

The 300 member team that was responsible for security pooled from their collective experience and they used the channels that were created to keep each other informed. Potential risks were evaluated and mitigation steps were discussed on a daily basis. Major lessons learnt here was the value of planning, tireless training and the simulation around all potential security scenarios.

According to Peter Richards, Managing Director of DV Project Management, some of the biggest lessons learnt came from trying to keep the projects aligned in a continuously shifting environment, both internal and external. Internal constraints related to financial resources where requirements far exceeded initial estimates and human resources were frequently stretched beyond required levels of competency.

A post-event survey conducted by FIFA confirmed their belief that hosting the event in South Africa would be a huge success. The survey results indicated that 83% of the tourists expressed an intention to return to the country and 94% said they would recommend a visit to South Africa to their friends and family. Visitors commented positively on the atmosphere in South Africa. This is a very positive outcome for the Tourism sector in South Africa.

In addition to experiencing pride and unity, the friendliness, hospitality and successful hosting of the event will be long remembered by all! And I believe many more lessons were learnt and would provide useful input to similar projects in future.

November 25, 2010August 25, 2019 Linky

3 Internet Marketing Tools for Business Owners to Plan and Organise

Recently I published a blog post on my linkymerwe.com blog to share 3 essential internet marketing tools that will help you to plan and organise your online marketing efforts. I received many comments of appreciation from the readers who have found it to be practical and helpful.

It is aimed at small business owners who have websites, but who are not actively marketing their businesses on the internet and those who are starting out with internet marketing. These internet marketing tools are invaluable and you will find action steps that you will want to implement immediately.

As a project manager I am really passionate about Planning and Organizing. This turns out to be a very valuable skill when you are starting out with Internet Marketing. Here are 3 essential internet marketing tools, to use from the beginning:

1. Marketing Plan

Every business needs a marketing plan, right? Marketing is one of the essential skills you need to develop (if you’re not a natural or experienced marketer) when you venture into the online world of marketing. To achieve this objective of having a marketing plan that you can refer to regularly for implementation.

It will remind you of your goals and the monthly tactics that you need to implement to reach your goals. I have been using this for the past 2 years and I recommend it to all my clients.

2. Tracking Sheet

Starting out with marketing your business on the internet, you need to build a presence on many sites that would generate exposure for you and your business. Similar to buying add space in your local news paper or magazine.

When doing marketing on the internet, you will find yourself registering as a user on many websites and social media platforms. To organise yourself better, you need to create a Tracking Sheet as a reference guide to all the URL’s, user names and passwords that you have to create in the process. You can also group all the websites into categories (website management, social media tools etc). I have created such a template, that you may download and use for free.

ACTION: Download the FREE Tracking Sheet (Microsoft Excel) and start using it immediately.

3. Password Manager

When you start registering as a user on multiple sites, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep track of multiple passwords. And if you lose that piece of paper on which you wrote it down, you need to go through the annoying process of resetting your password or waiting for the email with a new password to arrive.

One of the best Password Manager products out there and recommended by many top internet marketers, is Roboform. RoboForm password manager securely stores online and offline passwords and makes it effortless by automatically saving your usernames and passwords, then completing it the next time you logon. You will not need to remember another password as long as you have this software.

ACTION: Get the RoboForm software at a price that suits your needs.

Today you have learned about 3 essential Internet Marketing tools for planning and organizing your marketing efforts on the internet.

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