Hiro Nakamura from NBC’s show Heroes has done the truly remarkable. The man from Yamagato Industries has broken all rules in project management and set new boundaries. Sure he can move time with his mind, bend the space time continuum and teleport. But yesterday he did something even more remarkable.
He executed a project using a comic book as the project plan.
Most project managers plan projects using some form of project management software or a Microsoft Project like tool. Even those that don’t use any project management software will, at least, use a spreadsheet like MS Excel to list all their tasks and keep note of their status. (These can get pretty complicated -as complicated as some project management software, with a variety of Excel Macros and built-in MS Excel functions set to automatically track and calculate the overall health of their projects.)
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Here is a rough translation of an internal memo to Hiro Nakamura (from NBC’s new television show Heroes). It is from the project management office of Yamagoto Industries.
While the PMO has been enthusiastically trying to recruit Hiro for a project management job, the memo points out two areas where Hiro needs to improve his project management skills.
These are lessons all project managers face.
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Collaboration is a word that is thrown around a lot when it comes to web-based project management. Understanding the types of collaboration out there and knowing what you are looking for, can help you make a better selection when it comes to buying project management software.
Since projects are about people working together to get things done, its natural that web-based project management software facilitates people working together- collaborating. This is one of the most significant innovations of web-based project management software. It is also one of the most casually used buzzwords. Here is a quick guide to help de-code what people are talking about when they say collaboration in project management software.
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Mark Phillips, PMP
The opinions expressed on this blog are my own (aside from the periodic guest post).
I am the principal project management theorist and practitioner for Vertabase. It’s my job to determine the optimal operating practices for the company and implement them, as well as to explore new methods for getting work done that can be built into Vertabase products. I am also an independent project management consultant and theorist, providing project management, research and product management services to private and public clients, with a focus on software development projects, system design and the user experience. I apply an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving and 24 years of experience as an entrepreneur.
I speak extensively on these topics at events for organizations such as the PMI, Adobe, CHI/IUE, the State of Michigan and HOW. My work has been published in publications such as C|Net, ComputerWorld Magazine and eWeek. I have appeared on project management and design podcasts, and am a moderator on Stack Exchange’s project management site.
Before getting into project management and technology, I worked on Wall Street as an economic and financial analyst, first at Morgan Stanley, then at Oppenheimer & Co where I was a Vice President. I write an economics column for a Michigan publication and sometimes, on this blog, you’ll find comments on economic and financial events.
I am a PMP and hold a Masters degree in Applied Economics from the University of Michigan and a Bachelors of Science [Econ] in Philosophy and Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. I live in Michigan with my wife and kids, our dog, a cat and a turtle.
There is a ton of confusion in the project management software market. A simple search on the term turns up hundreds of software packages. They range from high-end, super engineering type products which can be used to build bridges to simpler products which can make life easier for a two person design studio. How come there is so much confusion? How can someone get a handle on the type of product they need?
Part of the confusion stems from the definition of a project in itself. The Project Management Institute defines a project as “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique project, service, or result.” This mean it has a clear start and end-date and will deliver a product or service different from other products or services already offered. It means that the activities involved and the deliverables are unique and non-recurring. According to this definition, the more standard that tasks and deliverables become, the more the project becomes “operations.”
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