It is not uncommon for buyers of project management and/or PPM technology to fall into the trap of paralysis analysis losing sight of their basic needs.  Taking the time to understand their requirements and the technology that will best suit their environment needs to be carefully thought out and approached in a methodical manner.  A big part of the reason of the USB’s success can be attributed to not losing focus on solving pain in a very fundamental way.  The same can be said concerning successful enterprise software implementations.

Here are some questions you may want to consider during your evaluation process to help you focus on what really matters in your final decision:

1. Have your clearly defined your needs and requirements before jumping with both feet into your evaluation and selection journey?

2. What are the top major pain points that need to be addressed?  What is your strategy to remain focused?

3. How do you expect technology to solve your pains?  Can the pain points be addressed by improved processes or personnel?

4.  Have you addressed the pains of all final stakeholders and decision makers?  Do you have everyone’s buy-in?

5. Have you created a wish list of what you expect in the chosen vendor to deliver in terms of features, support and services?

Although better collaboration is on the top of the list of most progressive project-centric environments, right behind collaboration is the ability to control who sees what.  The truth is, the last thing a project manager would want is to have sensitive information fall in the hands of the wrong stakeholder.  Sensitive financial details and internal discussions shared with the wrong people can ultimately hurt and in some cases kill a project’s successful outcome.

When implementing a project collaboration strategy here are some of the security questions you may want to consider:

1.  What security measures and policies do you have in place to protect your data from external threats?  And what measures, procedures and certifications (e.g. SSAE 16)  does your vendor (especially in a SaaS model) take to ensure your data is safeguarded?

2. Are you leveraging all the security features of your collaboration platform allowing the control and audit of the flow of information shared with your different stakeholders?

3.  Do you have a crisis and risk management strategy in place to address security concerns once a cyber attack threat has been achieved?

4.  Have you defined your user profiles to determine which information needs to be shared with the different user types and stakeholders?

I look forward to receiving any comments and/or suggestions in bettering the security of mission-critical project data shared among project stakeholders and teams.

New product development organizations can learn a lot from the developing Groupon story.  Taking a product idea through a well thought out gated process needs to move beyond the product and include all the relevant value chains that will impact its success.  From the inception of an idea, until a product lands in the hands of a consumer, there are many people responsible for the development, production and final sale of a product. Leveraging the right people at the right time can mean the difference between success and failure.

When defining your new product development process, here are some questions you may want to consider to ensure you are including the people-side of the NPD equation:

1.  Are you taking into account the necessary skills and available talent to successfully develop your idea?

2.  Are you considering the impact of your new idea on possible available internal resources?

3.  Are the resources required aligned with stakeholder demands and corporate objectives?

4.  What is the financial impact of the necessary resources to the product’s success, as well as the entire portfolio of projects as a whole?

The origins of the Hollywood sign date back to the 1920s when real estate developers Woodruff and Shoults at the recommendation of Harry Chandler erected the sign in the Hollywood hills to promote their new development  project “Hollywoodland.”  At that time the sign actually included all 13 letters of the project’s name “Hollywoodland” and advertised it as a “superb environment without excessive cost on the Hollywood side of the hills.”  Constructed as just another billboard, little did the developers know that their sign would become an icon symbolizing the mother of American entertainment.  However unlike other great projects, the Hollywood sign took on a life of its own and over the last 90 years has faced changes, challenges and success as a consequence of its surrounding environment.  The truth is, a big reason for its iconic stature can be attributed to being at the right place at the right time.

The Hollywood sign  is a great example to the world of a project that is a product of its own environment displaying many different faces throughout its life.

Vision

Built by the Crescent Sign company in 1923, Thomas Fisk Goff designed the sign in which each letter was 30 feet wide and 50 feet high containing 4,000 light bulbs that would illuminate the sign at night.  The cost of the project was $21,000 that would equate to $250,000 in 2011.  The original intention and vision of the sign was to promote the Hollywoodland real estate development and remain operational for 18 months.  As the story goes the sign’s purpose took on a life of its own.

As the lead project manager and initiator of the sign, both Goff and Chandler jumped into this project not realizing the impact it would have on American culture.  That being said, the Hollywood sign project is an excellent example that can prove that a project’s final outcome is not necessarily linked to the original initiators.  The right timing and conducive environment can turn something quite ordinary into something incredibly extraordinary.

Execution

It took 60 days for the Crescent Sign company to complete the original Hollywoodland sign in 1923.  Although the sign did garner attention to sell homes for its original intention, by 1939 the sign fell to disrepair and was seen as an eye sore to its surrounding communities and by 1944 maintenance was stopped and the letter “H” was unintentionally destroyed by its caretaker.  In addition, during this period the signed was plagued by vandalism and the association to the tragic suicide of up and coming Hollywood actress Peg Entwhistle who plunged to her death from the letter “H” in 1932.

In terms of execution, the Hollywood sign project as a temporary structure was a success for its original purpose despite falling into disrepair in the years that would ensue.  Fortunately, the turn of events of Hollywood evolving into the symbol of American entertainment turned this temporary structure into a more permanent symbol with a rebirth in 1949 in which the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce took ownership, repaired the sign and dropped the letters “LAND” solidifying its place in history.

Outcome

The success of the Hollywood sign project from 1949 onward went beyond its original mission.  Although it became a symbol of Hollywood as we know it today, once again it faced deterioration reaching a low in the 1970s with the first O eventually damaged resembling a lowercase u, and the third O toppled over, leaving the severely dilapidated sign reading “HuLLYWO D.”  It was not until 1978, that Hollywood celebrity intervention took place when rock legend Alice Cooper among other notable entertainment big wigs led the charity effort to completely restore the sign by raising $27,000 from donors for each letter.  The new version of the sign got a facelift to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Hollywood and since then has been carefully protected and preserved by the Hollywood Sign Trust.

In the end, the Hollywood sign project was a success because of the people who recognized the value it delivered to their lives and the symbolism it continues to deliver to the world.  Although the sign has seen many peaks and valleys, its ultimate success lies in what and who it represents to American culture and the world of entertainment.

Fun Fact – Did you know that the original dilapidated Hollywood sign dismantled in 1978 sold for $450,400 on eBay in 2005?

You do not need to be a multi-billion dollar organization like the National Hockey League to experience deadlock decisions.  In fact, it is not unlikely to see buyers of project management and PPM software facing similar circumstances.  With hundreds of options at your disposable offered  in both Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and installed deployment models buyers can be easily disillusioned and fall into the common trap of “Analysis Paralysis.”  Consequently, understanding your needs in relationship to what the market has to offer can be the difference between a painful selection process and one that is well-informed and effective.

In order to make the selection process of a new PPM or project management software easier, it is helpful for the informed buyer to start with identifying the pros and cons of the most common business models in the market namely SaaS and On-Premise.

The following table can give you a good idea of what to expect when evaluating both SaaS and On-Premise deployment options:

In recent years, SaaS has become extremely popular with many organizations that lack the team to manage an application internally.  In many cases, SaaS provides the opportunity for any size organization to benefit from enterprise software without the technical know-how.  That being said, organizations that have the internal resources and infrastructure are consistently looking for the flexibility in choosing either option and having the latitude to move from either business models whether the cloud-based solution is hosted internally, through a third party or a combination of the two.

To learn more evaluation strategies concerning SaaS and On-Premise deployment options, feel free to check out my webcast on the subject.

In order to avoid the “Project Stall”, project managers must change their way of thinking. There is no simple remedy, however the first step is for project managers to accept the complexity of projects.  Acceptance then should lead to the successful management by following certain principles and guidelines proven to ensure the systemic management of projects.  The  complexity dilemma only exists as long as project teams fear it and try to fight it.  In fact once a proper handling takes place, complexity can even be used to a project manager’s advantage.

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Here are a few tips that can help you to better deal with the complexity of your projects:

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Top 10 Signs your are not ready to be a project manager

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As we enter 2013, we at Genius Inside are eager to continue our efforts to improve the way project managers work on a daily basis.  On behalf of the Genius Inside team I would like to extend our best holiday wishes and continued success in 2013 to all our customers and the entire project management community.

So what can experienced online shoppers teach today’s project managers?  The fact is, like the online shopping experiencing, project collaboration is continuously evolving allowing for many more methods to communicate, share and track information.  As a result, project managers can learn the following lessons from online shoppers:

1) Safeguard your information – experienced online shoppers understand that their information is open to more threats in the online world and take extra care in who they share their information with.  Similarly, project managers need to recognize that online collaboration and sharing can lead to sensitive information ending up in the wrong hands and need to put in place the appropriate security measures that control the flow of project information among all stakeholders.

2) Leverage the best technology –  savvy online shoppers know how to leverage the best online tools to find and get notified of the best deals available. In this same manner, project managers need to know what tools will best suit their project environment to maximize productivity and profitability.

3) Beware of information overload –  good online shoppers are experts at navigating the thousands of “etailers” available on the web.  Knowing where to go and what to avoid can mean the difference between many hours wasted finding that perfect purchase and maximizing your time online.  In this vein, project managers face the same challenge of encountering too much information that can hurt their decision-making process.  Finding the right balance between too much information and missing data will ensure a more effective managing of projects.

I am interested in hearing your ideas on other lessons project managers can learn from online shopping?  Feel free to provide your feedback and comments.

As the saying goes, “It’s difficult to teach an old dog new tricks.”  In order to successfully deploy a cloud-based PPM solution, an organization needs to prepare its troops for change.  The reality is, cloud-based PPM will introduce a new way to manage, track and share information across projects.

To avoid your cloud based PPM software turning into shelfware, the following questions can assist you in preparing your organization for the newly acquired system:

Does your organization leverage the cloud today?

Most organizations leverage the cloud in some form or fashion.  These cloud-based tools need to be considered when introducing a new platform to ensure that users will move to the new system.

Do you have a project governance framework in place?

Leveraging an existing framework will facilitate user adoption.  If there is no framework in place, building one with stakeholder buy-in and aligning it to the new system will increase its success.

Do you leverage any industry best practices (e.g. PMI)?

Similar to leveraging a governance framework, adopting standard methodologies to improve processes with the new system will showcase the benefits of the new PPM solution.

Do you work with dispersed and remote project teams?  Are mobile devices integral to your project workforce?

Organizations with decentralized project teams that regularly collaborate and work from multiple locations can quickly benefit from the easy access of cloud-based PPM software designed to be utilized via multiple web and mobile platforms.

Is collaborative document sharing mature in your organization?

It is helpful to assess the maturity of your current collaboration platform.  In a project-centric environment where the online sharing of documents is common, cloud-based PPM is less of a leap in change.

Is your organization ready for change?

With the introduction of any new process or technology the change management question cannot be ignored.  Including a change management component as part of your deployment plan of your new cloud-based PPM system can mean the difference between successful user adoption and the painful rejection of the new system.

As information workers in the project management world, whether your organization has a formal project portfolio management system in place or not, project based activities are increasingly ending up in the cloud.  Project documents will always be at the center of project activities and the sharing of those documents are commonly exchanged through cloud and web-based tools.  With that in mind, the future of project management relies on the effective use of cloud technology.  However, the manner in which cloud technology is leveraged needs to be a decision made by each project-centric organization based on their specific requirements and culture.

On the occasion of its 40^th anniversary, now almost 10 years ago, three gentlemen, who played a pivotal role in the Porsche 911’s success, told their inside story to “MotorKlassik”. What I learned from their story is that in many cases smaller project teams led by talented resources wearing multiple hats can mean better visibility within projects and more efficient results.  The former race car driver and development engineer at Porsche, Hans Mezger told the MotorKlassik that he was not only in charge of engine design, but also of road testing.  Peter Falk, one of the lead engineers, explained that the short development time was due to the fact that decisions could be made quickly and put into practice immediately (as their was no red tape to deal with at that time).

Another advantage the project team had at that time was their small size and close proximity rendering them nimble and flexible.  Peter Falk mentioned that it was possible to be sitting at your desk while looking out into the workshop conducting vehicle testing.  In today’s project environment it would be very difficult to manage a project in this fashion.  Although the people today at Porsche are still great innovators, the reality is the vision and creativity they strive to share with their project teams do not have the same freedom of movement and are often stifled by norms and regulations.  The truth is, there is probably no other industry in the world which has such stringent levels of legal regulation and constraints than does the automotive industry.  As a result, the ability to deliver successful results has become a huge challenge.

From R&D to the mass production of vehicles, car manufacturers must strictly adhere to the realities of regulatory compliance.  In addition, today’s project teams face the obstacle of being larger and in many cases working with globally dispersed teams that need to collaborate with minimal physical interaction.

By: Sofia Hess, Genius Inside Germany