At the beginning of every new year people think about their goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. However, by the end of January, most people have forgotten their good intentions and fall back into old habits or routines and tend to do the same things they have always done.
I’m sure many of you have fallen into this trap, but there are always people who seem to have it together. What are they doing differently?
Good practices
Just like project management has been standardized by way of international standards and good practices ensuring consistent delivery and more successful outcomes, there are SMART ways to help you be more productive by keeping to your goals for the year.
Some experts recommend to have a vision by way of setting a personal theme as well as a professional theme for the year. This will take you beyond goals and resolutions and will help you to reach your objectives and become like a “heartbeat” for the year.
Based on your themes, you will still come up with objectives that will help you to achieve your goals and give you the best chance for success. If you don’t plan and prepare to win, how can you expect to win? This is taken from a Zig Ziglar “Born to win philosophy”.
There are numerous productivity experts and books available today that can help you reach higher levels of performance and it’s up to you to choose who to follow and what to implement. As long as you make it personal and you keep referring to your written goals on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis, there’s no obstacles that you cannot overcome.
How to make 2018 a successful year
Lastly, I want to share a wonderful resource on “How to make 2018 a successful year for your projects”, an eBook that was compiled by Elizabeth Harrin, containing ideas and tips from experts and inspiring project delivery professionals on how to make 2018 your most successful year ever? I was also privileged to be featured.
Some common themes that came up repeatedly are:
Agile – if you don’t know enough about it, you need to start learning
How crucial soft skills are for project professionals
Authentic and ethical leadership that will help to get the work done and set you apart from your peers
Enjoy the eBook, take responsibility for your personal and career development and implement those success strategies that will help you to make this year one of the best years ever!
When taking stock of 2017 and setting your goals for 2018, it’s a good opportunity to remind yourself of the top 10 qualities that will help to make you a great project manager, according to Brandeis University.
In the Infographic below, you will also find tips from experienced project managers. For more articles on project management skills and best practices, click here.
Ensuring the success of a project is vital for all project managers and their teams. The project manager is held accountable for the overall project but requires a team to complete the work.
No matter how detailed the project plan may be, even the slightest confusion about the roles and responsibilities of team members will cause major problems. Whether it is a 4-person, 10-person or an international team with virtual team members, they need to understand their roles and responsibilities on the project.
The best way to define each member’s role is to use a RACI matrix model also known as a Responsibility Assignment Matrix. This model is an essential project management tool that provides the project manager and team members with key information that clarifies the roles of the group.
What is the RACI Model?
RACI stands for:
Responsible,
Accountable,
Consulted,
Informed
The RACI Model helps you to identify who is responsible, accountable, consulted, or informed, for every task which needs to be done on a project.
RACI will structure and organize the roles of each team member or group within the project. Therefore, understanding how to use a RACI matrix model will be helpful in a project manager’s toolbox.
How to use RACI
You can apply the RACI model to your project by listing every task, strategy, key decision, and milestone. Here’s a break-down of what each component of the RACI model means:
Responsibility – Assigned to members who will be doing the work.
Accountability – Given to the person who needs to ensure that the task is done in a satisfactory manner. Typically, this person will sign-off on the task once completed. There should only be one accountable person per task.
Consult – For members who provide input before the task is complete. These people are highly active in the project.
Informed – This is for people who need to be informed about the status of a task, progress, and decisions. However, they do not need to be consulted directly or contribute to the task.
Good Practices with RACI
To follow the RACI model, project managers must identify the functions within the department and describe the key milestones needed to be completed to deliver the full scope of the project.
When you create the model, follow the matrix by creating structure roles down the left side in separate tables and enter the RACI codes accordingly.
When the RACI model is complete, review it with team members to give them the chance to resolve any conflicts or confusion. The model will settle any questions and document the responsibilities of an entire team. The best way to do this is to balance the roles and keep each task simple, yet meaningful.
Your professional reputation is everything when it comes to your career. In today’s business world, your clients and your next employer are all looking at the ‘digital you’ on the internet. Everyday over 1 million names are searched on Google. Your digital resume is available online in one form or another every day of the year and every minute of the day. If you are not leveraging your digital reputation then you are leaving yourself vulnerable in ways that can hurt your career and your future projects. Every professional needs to own how they look in cyberspace, so stop writing that status report for a few minutes and let’s focus on your future.
Why You Want To Manage Your Digital Reputation
Managing your online reputation is not about self-promoting or trying to get your next position, it’s about providing an accurate representation of your achievements and knowledge. It’s about how you are perceived professionally. It’s about the brand of you.
Whether you use social media or not, mentions of you, your company, even your project, may be on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc. People are talking about You; don’t you want to know what they are saying?
For years now, third party robots have been collecting and analyzing digital information about everything we do. Some of this information is in our control (i.e. social profiles), but most is not (i.e. other’s postings, credit card information, our app usage). All this information about you is your digital footprint whether good or bad, and it shapes your digital reputation.
Do you really want machines controlling what people know about you?
Take Control Of Your Digital Persona
1. Look at your digital footprint
When’s the last time your ‘Googled’ your name to find out what people see about you on the internet? The goal is to match your online professional self to your offline professional self. If you are a Six Sigma guru your social media persona should reflect that. Does it?
To take inventory of what information is out there about you type your name into Advanced Google Search. This is the most common way to check yourself and it’s free. Don’t forget to check your online aliases also, if you have them. They may haunt you at some point if you don’t. Check all the social sites you can think of to see what people are saying about you. This may take a few hours, but it is well worth the digital inventory to know where you stand.
2. Establish your business credibility on the internet
To build your digital reputation, you don’t need to be everywhere, but you need to be somewhere. For me, LinkedIn and Twitter are my virtual offices. Everything I post is business appropriate and helps establish my thought leadership in my chosen fields.
Facebook, on the other hand, is my living room. I like to keep this part of my digital life private for friends and family. On the internet, personal and professional details can get very mixed. You can use the private settings on social media sites to limit what people see about your personal life but, I do want to warn you that even behind a private firewall, you need to assume that information can, and will, leak. Do you really want your work associates to see those football party pictures? Think about how you want to be perceived.
3. Participate
You build a strong reputation by participating on social media sites. Posting your own information and commenting on other’s posts adds to your digital reputation and show up when you are searched. It’s helpful to join Groups on sites like Twitter and industry specific websites. When you comment in forums or digital communities, that information gets added to the internet’s vast collection of details on you. I use LinkedIn to write microblogs and post articles which highlight my expertise. Believe me, social media participation doesn’t take over your life – you don’t need to participate more than two or three times a week to build your reputation. Comments here and there add up over time.
Building and managing your digital reputation holds many positive benefits to you personally and professionally. As Dilbert® said back in 2013
“If you don’t have friends, followers, or social media influence, you are pretty much dead.”
If you leave me a comment I will do my best to answer and the bonus is that this will help us both improve our digital footprint. Keep up the good attitude.
About the Author: Lorian Lipton, PMP, is passionate about project management and everything digital. She provides project management consulting, training and coaching through her company The Digital Attitude, LLC.
Content is copyright of Lorian Lipton, The Digital Attitude, LLC 2017.
Every company struggles to manage projects and teams effectively. From small startups with tight deadlines to large conglomerates making long-term strategic moves, they all need to balance resources with requirements, and future work with current operations. In my experience with this whole range of environments, I’ve had varying degrees of success with project management tools. I’ve used big, cumbersome legacy tools and compared them with small, simple, free apps.
Nuvro, a new option that was recently released, promises to offer a balance. I’ve been trying it out, and it has a great, clean interface, but also intuitive options to get all the way down into the details. Nuvro is sleek like Asana, but has Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) features similar to Wrike. Teams of all sizes can reach peak performance using Nuvro as their tool of choice.
The tools I have experience using all include task assignment, organization, and tracking. Most of them consolidate project management and collaboration, not always with the most effective result. They have a lot of similarities, which helps becoming familiar with them. I have several frustrations with the options on the market today, and they all seem to share those frustrations, as well. Nuvro offers a fresh look, solving several of my frustrations.
As with most modern software, no one person or office uses every single function available. There is some degree of customization just by focusing on those PM features important to your organization. Nuvro, likewise, has numerous features, and here are the most important and game-changing for me and my organizations.
Elegant Design and Aesthetic
Projects, tasks, and task details are the first thing you see when opening Nuvro. Each is neatly organized in its own column, to get a quick overview. Each shows progressively more detail, and the amount of detail is selectable. Specifically, the project folders in the left-most column can be expanded and collapsed to your preference. The middle tasks column is high-level, while the right column with task details gives you the opportunity to address more immediate or short-term concerns.
I was quickly able to start a list of tasks, and see the convenience of the main page layout. Every single feature is not immediately visible, but that is actually preferable to many project management layouts. You have what you need, when you need it, and can quickly navigate throughout the site to find a plethora of options.
Nuvro is one of the few that gets the subtleties of an activity feed. I have used many project management tools that flood their executive displays with distracting, irrelevant activity feeds. Technical support might need a full audit trail of activity, which Nuvro provides, but we don’t all need to see it all of the time. Nuvro makes it available with a simple click of a tab in an expanded view for clarity. This is just one example of the right information at the right time.
Throughout the modules of Nuvro, this thoughtfulness for end users comes to light. There is great flexibility, while making the default view the most useful and intuitive one. I appreciate Nuvro treating me as a professional, with mature processes and practical demands for workflow management.
Workload and Availability Views
When I logon to Nuvro, it shows project folders and tasks. It also shows me a calendar of my assigned tasks organized by due date. This is convenient, because I can concentrate on those that are overdue or shortly due.
Often, the short-term tasks are paused, or have dependencies that do not include me on the critical path. Then, I can focus on tasks due in the next week or later, and begin to complete my portion of those duties. It makes sense to see immediate concerns up front, followed by less pressing issues.
Nuvro is leading by example in this area. Not only for myself, but for each of my teammates, these dashboards allow us to coordinate and plan for competing workloads. We can attend team meetings to discuss who has slack in the schedule and who is overworked. Our management can redistribute the load based on a simple layout that is consistent across the team.
Integrated Messaging
There are numerous time management and relationship management techniques for optimizing email, because many people get overwhelmed with it. Messages get lost, associates feel ignored, or opportunities are missed.
Nuvro improves on the old idea of email. It connects to tasks to make sure things don’t get forgotten, and limits the audience to only those already on my project team. I can concentrate on project details in Nuvro, and switch gears when I have to address the real world.
The methods and techniques you learn for managing your Inbox can be useful in Nuvro, but they should no longer be necessary. With its integrated solution, Nuvro messages are directly connected to calendars, coworker dependencies, and tasks.
Performance Views
Nuvro presents organization and individual performance information in a unique and novel format. Unlike any other tool I have used, Nuvro tracks performance in real-time, visible to the appropriate levels of the organization hierarchy. As with workload, managers can access this information in a consistent format across our teams. Performance dashboards show current productivity as a predictor of future results.
Managers can spot problems with individuals, make corrections, and establish team goals. Executives can use the performance information to evaluate teams and the entire organization. My organization is competitive in a friendly way, so executives sometimes challenge teams to push relative performance above each other.
The standard format of these charts allows management to compare and discuss issues across the organization. Tech support managers can discuss underperforming teams with engineering. As a group, managers can compare best practices for improving performance with a full history. This history can be aligned with major management style changes to identify when effective behavioral measures started and finished.
Maximum Organization
If you’re like most of us, you have brilliant ideas for how to organize your life, but the execution of those ideas leaves you sometimes disappointed. Some of us use sticky notes. Some use cell phones. Some use personal assistants, whether paid or unpaid, such as overworked spouses and family members.
Nuvro offers to consolidate that information, too. Instead of feeling disconnected at your desk, it has helped me realize my job is where I can reach the pinnacle of organization and scheduling. The todo list app is invaluable for projects as well as personal items.
To Do lists stay private from your associates, so you can feel free to include sensitive information. Of course, that is limited to compliance with any applicable laws and regulations. It helps me to see work To Do items for the beginning of my day organized next to extracurricular items for later. That way, I can remember to pickup snacks for sports on the way out of work, and I don’t need someone to bug me about it constantly from home.
Smart File Sharing and Collaboration
Like a network share drive, Nuvro’s online document manager hosts files that are common to the organization and team. Due to its tight integration, however, I find that I prefer keeping files in Nuvro. That way, I don’t have to open a separate window to upload or check on someone else’s uploads.
At the organization level, we stay consistent by maintaining:
Letterhead templates with the official emblem and approved formatting. This is the “blessed” version, and always current.
Company handbook for employees. We can use the comments to record that everyone does a bi-annual review.
Business development and sales decks. Since sales teams are constantly travelling, they need online collaboration more than most.
Feeling anchored with a flexible tool
Nuvro has helped inspire confidence that we have a firm grasp our projects, our progress, and our future. At the management level and the executive level, we feel more secure in citing precise numbers for individual projects, employees, and the organization overall.
Nuvro helps me personally feel settled, since I can focus my efforts on one tool, instead of multi-tasking through various software, apps, and mobile and desktop formats. The front line of the company can also relax, since I approach them less often for reports. When they periodically update the Nuvro site on their specific responsibilities, we can see that information rolled up at the top level.
Nuvro has improved the morale of our teams, and helped change corporate culture. It highlights the shared responsibilities of the team, but also frees diligent members from catching flak if a couple coworkers are causing the team to perform below average. We can use the performance graphs to identify precisely which parts of the team need corrective action.
Conclusion
Nuvro has built the better mousetrap. Although it’s inconceivable that email or spreadsheets will ever be replaced, they are constantly supplemented by tools that excel at their specific responsibilities. Nuvro does several things better than other PM tools, and integrates all of its features very tightly.
About Nuvro:
Nuvro makes online project management surprisingly easy with the mission to help you and your team improve work efficiency by providing easy, intuitive, enterprise-grade project management software.
Attention all existing project managers who are already PMP certified or who are preparing to become certified.
Most of you will know that the new PMBOK Guide, 6th Edition was released in September 2017. Here you will find a reference to a good summary of all the changes that were made in the new PMBOK Guide, 6th Edition. As PMP’s it’s good to keep up to date with what the Project Management Institute (PMI) considers as important when these Guides, that are used world-wide, are refreshed.
In addition, I would like to share a really interesting interview with Cyndi Snyder Dionisio, the chair of the team that worked on updating the guide. It’s published by Cornelius Fichtner as part of his PM Podcast interviews.
Business executives believe that organizations need to adapt to change in order to have a competitive advantage. Change management programs involve organizational buy-in, design of change initiatives and seamless implementation of those initiatives. In a survey of North American executives, 54 percent stated they have successfully rolled out change management initiatives at their organizations. However, employees can be weary of change if they do not fully understand the initiatives and have experienced past change program failures. In fact, 48 percent of employees think their organizations lack the capabilities to sustain change initiatives.
For businesses to be successful, executives have to create management strategies that promote staff retention, revenue generation and a positive workplace culture. All employees have to support the change programs for business to have success in the future. Some of the common change models include Holocracy, the McKinsey 7-S and Kotter’s 8-step change initiative.
#1 Holocracy
Holocracy philosophy is the distribution of power to specific teams and employees at all levels are subject to the same rules. Organizations using Holocracy are more adaptive to change and have a clearer company mission with built-in reassessment to address future issues.
#2 McKinsey 7-S model
The McKinsey 7-S model uses strategy, structure, management activities, core values, style, capability of employees and competencies to see how the organization works. The model eases change transition and equalizes staff roles.
#3 Kotter 8-step Change Model
Kotter’s 8-step Change Model creates a sense of urgency, builds change teams, forms a strategic vision, enlists volunteers, empowers action, produces short-term wins, supports acceleration and incorporates change. This model is easy for businesses to adopt even in traditionally hierarchical systems.
Traditional management practices are bogging businesses down and make them unable to compete in today’s global market. Executives have to prepare their teams to adapt to these change models so they can control the implementation process and enhance business benefits. To learn more about the top business management models for effective management, check out the infographic below created by the New Jersey Institute of Technology’s Online Master of Business Administration program.
According to Project Management South Africa, the relatively young profession is becoming an increasingly popular discipline that is in high demand at organisations using projects for strategic delivery.
Aspiring project managers should be aware of the duties of the role, by belonging to professional associations in South Africa that can help form a solid foundation from the start. By being exposed to the professional community will help you to recognise all that constitutes legitimate practices based on standards and guidelines and will show the world that you are committed to ongoing professional development.
But while project management comes with many responsibilities, there are certain tools and techniques that can make the job easier and will also lead to success. Utilising certain tools can help project managers plan, manage, and keep track of projects as well as facilitate the project team ranging from small to large. Techniques can also be beneficial to develop resource plans and to control budgets and schedules.
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM)
RAM is used to ensure each project activity is assigned a specific resource. A RAM can be used at a high level, a low level, or a combination of both depending on the size and complexity of the project.
One of the most widely known and used type of RAM is the RACI chart. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consult, and Inform. A RACI chart is simply a table with project activities listed along the left and specific individuals or groups identified across the top. This creates a grid where each activity and individual or group intersect. An R, A, C, or I can be placed in each of the intersecting boxes and at least one accountable individual or group is assigned to each project activity. For large activities there may need to be more than one individual responsible for completing the work.
Digital Project Software
Another tool to make project management run more smoothly is digital project management (PPM) software. Since many projects now have virtual teams, PPM software makes it simple to integrate all parts of a project into one simple management resource. Using online PPM software allows project managers to update assignments, track progress, and be informed in real-time, which can help managers make better strategic decisions.
By utilising tools and resources like a RAM and PPM software, project managers can fulfill their duties in a professional and competent manner that will contribute to successful project delivery.
Successful virtual project management depends on superior teamwork. Positive interpersonal relations are a must. This is an essential precondition for trust to develop. Trust joins people together virtually by bridging time, geography, and culture. However, according to a large, growing body of research, establishing trust on a virtual project team is highly challenging. There’s little time or incentive for acclimatizing. There’s also almost immediate pressure to produce results. During the storming phase, unresolved interpersonal challenges cause significant disruption. Deadlines are missed and budgets run over. Without trust, too often team members disband remaining “virtual strangers”.
“Virtual teams need special leadership … trust is essential … teambuilding exercises pay off, and … unless a combination of high-tech and high-touch is maintained, performance peaks are often followed by declines in the productivity.” (Creativity in Virtual Work: Effects of Demographic Differences: L.L. Martins, C.E. Shalley, 2009)
Problematically, 80% of distributed or virtual teams receive little or no training. Research shows a direct link between the “soft” qualities of a team, it’s “team-ness”, and the quality of software produced. Only 39% of software projects are completed successfully. 43% result in late delivery, cost overruns, and/or reduced features and functions. 18% fail. In one global survey, 75% of developers believed their own projects would fail.
Case Study of a Virtual Software Development Team
Here’s the story of how one distributed Agile software development team proactively addressed the classic challenge of establishing trust at the start of their project during the forming stage.
Team Profile
The software development team, consisting of 9 team members, is cross-functional and cross-cultural in composition. The team lead, Dr. Faisal Nasser Shehab, is an Enterprise Architect and Associate Professor as well author of “Emergent Leader Detection and Identification in A Virtual Team Environment: A Grounded Theory Study” The team is building a “Virtual Team Business Management System” based on Dr. Shehab’s research. Their mission is to provide organizations with “the knowledge, the framework, and services required to implement a robust and a mature virtual team management capability”.
Context
Last Spring, Dr. Shehab learned about a resource called the Prelude Suite™ that supposedly helps accelerate virtual team trust during formation. Aware of how disruptive and costly interpersonal challenges can be on distributed teams, he wanted his new team to start on the best possible note. After seeing the online demo and meeting the prospective resource facilitator, Dr. Shehab scheduled the Prelude Suite™ for the team.
Process
The team met together online for three sessions of about 90 minutes each. This process was guided by a trained facilitator. With each step, the team moved from a “me” to a “we” orientation. Throughout they used Self-Assessment, Self-Expression, Co-Creation, and Dialogue.
Each step features a set of exercises, team-based and synchronous as well as individual and asynchronous. Everyone meets together virtually in a private online platform called a Sandbox using rich media (Video, VOIP, Chat, Interactive Whiteboard). The following outline the team’s step by step experience.
Session 1: Tune Up
Exercise: iStar Self-Assessment™
Prior to their first session, teammates completed an online self-assessment called iStar™. Their resulting iStar Badges are automatically uploaded to the Team Constellation page. During this session, everyone produced their individual iStar Story™. This is brief, holistic positive thumbnail quickly written and easily shared round robin. This is a rapid yet meaningful way to build new awareness and understanding of team diversity and shared strengths.
They also reviewed their unique Elemental Table. This reflects the team’s overall make-up in terms of a range of soft skills. Teams are able to quickly, easily understand where change may be needed. Teamnates also receive an individual digital StarSmart Journal™, which allows for ongoing personal and professional reflection, goal setting, and measuring progress.
Exercise: Team Elemental Table™
Session 2: Practice
In their second online session, teammates practiced key soft skills together synchronously through a co-creation challenge using an online interactive whiteboard. First, they each create a personal iTag™ to symbolize their unique quintessential qualities and strengths. Everyone then shares their tags with each other. In the second exercise the team as a whole is then given a challenge to co-create a powerful digital symbol of their team spirit and excellence called a weTag.
Exercise 1: iTag™Exercise 2: weTag™
Session 3: Bridge
In their third and final session, teammates went through two exercises. The Team Alignment Plan™ enabled them to quickly, easily bridge their shared soft skill inventory with project work goals, tasks, and deliverables. This is final check for the team to assess if they have what they need to move back into operating mode. Their final team exercise produced a robust Team Charter reflecting the insights gained and lessons learned about themselves as a team.
Exercise 1: Team Alignment Plan (T.A.P.)
Team Member Feedback
“As a team leader, the Prelude Suite™ provided me with valuable insights into our team’s diverse strengths. This helped us to properly align team members with the tasks at hand. It also helped us to clarify our focus while affirming we’re on the right track. It was wonderful seeing how everyone came together online as a team. The weTag we co-created was a dynamic, truly creative way to spark team spirit and identity. I really enjoyed the simplicity of the interface and the process.” Dr. Faisal Shehab
“The Prelude Suite™ is the most unique team facilitation approach that I have encountered as a student and co-worker through my life time experience. This resource provides the most important thing for successful team formation – transparency. Moreover, it shows your own weaknesses as well as areas of strength. I highly suggest the Prelude Suite to any team that wants go through a proper facilitation and build transparent relationships in fast and smooth manner.” Georgy, Khetsuriani
“The Prelude Suite™ user experience model is fun and simple yet innovative and challenging. I rediscovered a great deal about myself and others in the team. The most important feature is not the technology we don’t see or the user interface but the ability of the program to create a shared sense of community.” Ferrel Son
“The ITag™ exercise was illuminating. It helped boost my confidence and belief in myself. Team exercise: helped with team bonding and awareness of traits of team members. Overall: first time with kind of experience. The collaborative approach makes it authentic and I will recommend the Prelude Suite™ to others.” Ifeoma Okafo-Eke
Outcomes and Benefits
These outcomes and benefits may be achieved by any virtual project team committed to a truly successful delivery. This simply requires three 2-hour online sessions, high-speed Internet connection, video, headphones and mike. Pricing, available upon request, is competitive and flexible.
About the Author: Howard B. Esbin PhD is the creator of the Prelude Suite™, training and certification that is offered via an online interactive course involving theory and practice. The unique learning design is informed by Howard’s academic graduate research and extensive management experience in international development, philanthropy, and the private sector.
The International Labour Organization, Education Canada, and UNESCO have published his writing. Click here for his chapter on virtual team creativityin Strategic Management & Leadership for Systems Development in Virtual Spaces.
Imagine living in a world where there are 66 million jobs with a growing demand of 2.2 million per year that have to be filled? These jobs require people to implement strategic initiatives, drive change and deliver innovation. Unfortunately, there’s a huge shortage, or talent gap as it’s called, to fill these roles which could result in in a potential loss of some US $207.9 billion in GDP through 2027 for 11 countries that were analyzed.
This is according to the “Job growth and talent gap 2017 – 2027” Report from the Project Management Institute (PMI) published in 2017, based on an assessment of project management employment and industry activity by the Anderson Economic Group (AEG).
Basically it states that there’s a widening gap between employers’ need for skilled project management workers and the availability of professionals to fill those roles.
Talent Gap
These are huge numbers caused by different factors like:
A dramatic increase in the number of jobs requiring project-oriented skills.
Attrition rates, including professionals retiring from the workforce.
A significant uptick in demand for project talent, especially in rapidly developing economies such as China and India.
This has resulted in an imperative to encourage more talent to enter the profession and narrow the talent gap.
With this motivation in mind, I want to introduce you to the Fast-track Growth Program for new Project Managers. It’s an online training program that will help transform an inexperienced project manager who really wants to do well on projects or your typical “Accidental Project Manager”, into a competent, confident and credible Project Manager.
We all know that project managers will face many challenges. That includes handling difficult team members, satisfying demanding customers and working towards impossible deadlines. We want more project managers to succeed and fewer projects to fail. To address the huge demand for skilled talent, we need motivated, independent and professional project managers who are willing to make mistakes, learn from them and still continue to deliver successful projects to the best of their abilities.
To assist new project managers on their journey, the Growth Program will fast-track and ease that transition into project management.
Here’s feedback from a few students who have completed the Growth Program.
Case Study 1
Mark works in the Retail Sector and was assigned to me for mentoring. After years of working as a Systems Manager, he was asked to manage a big project due to his experience and background knowledge of the product. The only problem was that he lacked project management experience and he had no prior training.
He was very motivated to learn fast and I invited him to join the Growth Program for new project managers. This was his feedback:
“The Growth Program taught me about soft skills and what my individual strengths are. The biggest benefit for me was that the Program really embodies the framework of project management and gave me valuable insight and a plan for future growth as a professional PM”
Since completing the Growth Program, he has become clear about the responsibilities of his new role, he knows where to start, what his next steps are, what additional training he requires and most importantly, how to plan his PM career. He gained much confidence and like other new PM’s I mentored, he has become very independent and mature in managing projects.
Case Study 2
Harshiela comes from a Change Management background and having worked on many projects before, she wanted to transition into the project management role.
She completed the Growth Program and had the following results.
“The Growth Program gave me confidence that I have the core knowledge and skills and ways of working that is required in a PM role. The training program highlighted my technical gaps which are development areas that I can fast track while making the transition from a Change Manager to a Project Manager.
I recommend the Growth Program based on the holistic approach looking at the technical skills, soft skills and competencies required. It also provided me with further learning and career options – it really gives the whole picture for someone starting out in the PM profession.”
Case Study 3
Roelof, a senior professional with a MBA degree, was new to project management and needed coaching. He worked through the Growth Program Training Modules and discussed it during coaching calls.
“It taught me the essential technical project management and soft skills that I needed, the importance of Governance to be an effective project manager, as well as the main pitfalls to avoid as a new PM.
I like the customised Personal Growth and Development Plan that gives me a clear direction and that I have reference material to use daily in my role as a Programme Manager.”
Virtual Project Consulting
As the founder of Virtual Project Consulting, it has always been part of my mission to help aspiring and existing project managers. One of the responsibilities I was given in a Programme Manager role in the past, was to mentor and coach the organisation’s new project managers.
From working with many new and accidental project managers, I understand their needs, the challenges they face and their desire to become effective in their new roles quickly. Hence the birth of the “Fast-track Growth Program for New Project Managers“.
It’s a self-paced online training program that will help students grow critical project management competencies, teach them how to overcome their biggest challenges on projects and increase their confidence and impact in the workplace.
If you fall into the category of an ‘Accidental Project Manager’ or you know some-one who does, have a look and enroll today as it may just be the training you need to make you more successful.
While it may sound simple, in reality, the tasks of an Agile Scrum Master cover a very broad spectrum. When managing and implementing the project is the need of the hour, the Agile Scrum Master must be equipped with good training and certain tools in their toolbox, so that they can accomplish and interact with their stakeholders, as and when required.
Proper Training
With the ongoing demand of Agile training, there are so many institutes on the rise that are offering courses like Certified Scrum Master Training and giving you a professional approach. The courses are designed in various stages and based on your skills, expertise, and levels; one can choose the desired course.
The biggest advantage is that the courses are available online, making it convenient for you to do from any part of the world. You only need to register for the course and you can study even in the comfort of your house or while traveling.
Benefits
On completion of the course, you will be awarded a certificate. With this certificate in hand, you are eligible to apply for a position in any organizations. In the initial level of the course program, agile management training will help you to grow the following skills.
It will give you a thorough knowledge and the key concepts of developing various forms of strategy
You will be capable of solving the issues as well as various risks that are part of agile management
Will be able to understand what type of software is required to manage properly
Test, analyze and validate various scenarios and implement working methodologies
Research the budget and make plans to finish the project within time
Motivate and influence the working team
Top 7 Agile Tools
Without the use of certain tools, the work of an Agile manager can be really tough. Keeping this in mind, there are so many tools available, that have been designed to provide all the essential features.
Some of the recommended tools have been mentioned below, which can be considered.
Active Collab: If you are managing a small business, this can be the tool of your choice. With the ease of use, it can be used very effectively as and when required. The key features of this tool include management of documents, communicating via email, prioritize and control tasks accordingly, and even working on the budget part. This tool comes in a package and makes it very easy to manage every single thing.
Agilo for Scrum: If communication is what you are looking for, this can be the perfect tool for you. Based on the progress of the project, it is designed to get automatically updated. This powerful tool can also be used to connect all the members at the same time. In case of any changes made, a notification is sent, thereby alerting every member. Even you can download charts and track your progress.
Atlassian Jira + Agile: This tool even allows you to customize the projects as and when required, while the communication part is also not compromised at the same time. Even for self-hosted projects or in the clouds, this tool can be used everywhere. Even, this has a special feature called ‘Release Hub,’ that checks your project before delivering to the customer.
ITM Platform: Comprehensive online project management software that is great for Agile projects with Task Management, Kanban Board and full Resource and Demand capabilities. Also mobile friendly, runs on all devices and can be integrated through API with other tools.
Pivotal Tracker: This is a great source for mobile users as well. With the capacity of tracking multiple projects at the same time, it also has other features like: communicating between members, updating the work completed so far and tracking the progress of the project. The easy-to-use features makes it a great choice.
Targetprocess: So, when you are loaded with data and charts, this can come to your relief. This is just not an available solution for scrum masters, but can even help an IT manager as well. With various customizable features, and loaded with suggestions and solutions, this is definitely a worthy consideration.
VersionOne: You need to report frequently? This is the tool for you then. Answering is very easy with the drag-drop feature. The dashboard has been designed in a way to give you easy access. With all these features, the ease factor is also taken care of, and you can communicate very easily with your team members or assign any work, and can even track the progress of the project.
The task of an Agile Manager is going to be much simpler if you have done training to equip you with the right skills and if you have supporting tools in the workplace.
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After wrapping up a project, it’s important to gain feedback from workers and stakeholders in order to improve business practices and help future projects to run smoothly.
Surveys are a valuable tool that project managers can use to collect feedback from team members who might otherwise not give their input. In addition to comments and ideas, surveys allow you to easily capture project closure metrics such as stakeholder satisfaction and employee engagement.
At the end of a big project, a closure survey can help companies to learn how all parties involved feel about the success of the plan and offer suggestions on how to improve. When conducting a project closure survey, it’s important to keep in mind both your audience and your end goal.
Who to Target
A project closure survey should gather information from all parties involved to gain the most valuable insight into the minds of employees and stakeholders alike. Managers should ensure that the survey reaches not only their team members but also anyone involved with the project and those who were impacted by the project, such as investors and key end-users.
With a large sample pool, it can sometimes be difficult to analyze and interpret the vast amounts of survey data collected. By breaking information into demographic categories, such as management versus team members, companies can address interdepartmental differences in opinion.
What to Include
Surveys make it easy for employees to express themselves by giving structure and organization to their feedback. Questions can pinpoint common themes and ideas regarding a recent project, and data can be easily be organized by using a five-star rating system. A good survey should include space for comments after each question as well so that people can expound upon their answers if they want to, or provide additional feedback.
In order to find out if the results of a project have met everyone’s expectations, there are several important topics a survey should cover. A project closure survey should generate information by asking questions about issues such as:
Has the project met the expected results?
Did team members feel that the parameters of the project were well defined?
Did the project team communicate effectively?
Were the right tools and processes used to complete the project?
Why or why didn’t everything go according to plan?
How successful was the project overall?
Every employee’s time is valuable, so a good survey shouldn’t be too long or complicated. There should be a limited number of questions, and the wording should be kept relatively simple. The language of a question can influence results, so to get accurate data, companies should be careful about how each question in a survey is asked. Businesses can customize existing online surveys, or hire an expert to help them create the ideal project closure survey for their team.
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At the beginning of every new year people think about their goals and resolutions for the upcoming year. However, by the end of January, most people have forgotten their good intentions and fall back into old habits or routines and tend to do the same things they have always done.
Every company struggles to manage projects and teams effectively. From small startups with tight deadlines to large conglomerates making long-term strategic moves, they all need to balance resources with requirements, and future work with current operations. In my experience with this whole range of environments, I’ve had varying degrees of success with project management tools. I’ve used big, cumbersome legacy tools and compared them with small, simple, free apps.
Projects, tasks, and task details are the first thing you see when opening Nuvro. Each is neatly organized in its own column, to get a quick overview. Each shows progressively more detail, and the amount of detail is selectable. Specifically, the project folders in the left-most column can be expanded and collapsed to your preference. The middle tasks column is high-level, while the right column with task details gives you the opportunity to address more immediate or short-term concerns.
When I logon to Nuvro, it shows project folders and tasks. It also shows me a calendar of my assigned tasks organized by due date. This is convenient, because I can concentrate on those that are overdue or shortly due.
Nuvro presents organization and individual performance information in a unique and novel format. Unlike any other tool I have used, Nuvro tracks performance in real-time, visible to the appropriate levels of the organization hierarchy. As with workload, managers can access this information in a consistent format across our teams. Performance dashboards show current productivity as a predictor of future results.
Surveys are a valuable tool that project managers can use to collect feedback from team members who might otherwise not give their input. In addition to comments and ideas, surveys allow you to easily capture project closure metrics such as stakeholder satisfaction and employee engagement.