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Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft Project’

In my last post I addressed our decision to use DSDM Atern for the projects generated by an SLR engagement. Now comes the decision on what I call the “engagement architecture”. What this phrase means is what are the tools we will use and how will we use them to actually execute projects. No one tool does everything needed to execute projects in an environment of empowered, collaborative teams executing an iterative methodology. Trust me, I’ve extensively looked for the “silver bullet” application that does it all and could only find several lead bullets and a couple of bronze ones.

We need to remember that we’re also talking about doing projects as consultants working with both our resources and the client’s. That means that the chosen approach must have negligible impact to the client’s IT infrastructure and not commit the client to additional long term recurring costs. When we leave the engagement, we must be able to fold up our tent and take our working environment with us. That certainly isn’t always true but our planning must be based on the most conservative scenarios. The only materials that must be left behind are sufficient documents to support SOX requirements and audits. For any client, the answer is one of three modes.

Mode 1 (primary)

The primary collaborative environment is Microsoft Groove 2007 (soon to be Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010). In this mode the client provides a copy of Groove to each team member. Groove functions primarily in a peer to peer architecture but has a server-based architecture available when/if needed. For small teams peer to peer is appropriate and convenient. That approach can definitely scale to larger sizes but at some point a server option may be more appropriate. I know many readers will start to groan at the mention of peer to peer. I have discussed the value of this approach before. A link to that post is here. It fulfills the requirement of leaving no lasting footprint on the client’s IT infrastructure (only user PCs), does not inflict a recurring cost on their business (there is a minimal onetime cost) and definitely provides a flexible collaborative environment for the project team. I will not elaborate on how Groove is used because I don’t want this post to turn into a pitch (it’s already more pitchy than I would like).

The brainstorming and creative component uses MindManager from Mindjet. I have found it to be very useful and its integration to Microsoft’s Office Suite is very beneficial. The use of the Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) is assumed. For project schedule management we use the venerable Microsoft Project tool. For the methodology and document control we use Project in a box. We use the client’s storage/portal for archiving project information or we can archive it on our own SharePoint server. The use of all of these tools can be adjusted based on the client’s preferences or the client can just use our default engagement architecture.

Mode 2 (cloud)

Here the primary collaborative environment is one of several cloud-based project management tools. There is a wide assortment of them available and we have a few preferences. But the client’s preferences are what count so we’ll review the options with them and go from there. The reason this is not our primary approach is that I’m not satisfied that all the security “rude surprises” are all know yet for that approach (see this link) and it can inflict a recurring cost on the client. However, it’s all the rage now, very popular and growing. It will mature in time to address all of my concerns. We acknowledge that and will be happy to not fuss too much with the client about it if that’s what they want. The bottom line is that it can work for this requirement.

Mode 3 (whatever)

This is simply the case when the client is a larger, more IT-mature organization and wants to do it their way. If this is their preference we say “yes, sir”, salute and do it their way. This is true of any consultant in the world. We will do the best to adapt the core parts of our approach to that environment to assure of project success. We won’t let the client shoot themselves in the foot (or at least not contribute to it) but we will be adaptable.

In conclusion

We’ve covered a number of tools at a very high level. Each of you has to find the combination that works for you. I believe these approaches work for us and our clients to deliver professional and successful results for each project. If anyone from the DSDM Consortium reads this please harass the Project in a box people to expand their tool from just a document repository to include some of the functionality described above. If anyone from Project in a box reads this please consider yourself harassed.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next time…

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This post will be short and revolve around a handy new piece of software I’ve come across. I will not try to do a detailed software review. I will focus on the basics and identify my interests. I believe that my interests should be similar to many of my readers. So let’s start with my needs and drivers. While that means talking about StrAIT Advisors offerings, I will make very limited reference to them. A blog post should not be a sales pitch.

My needs focus on project management and a project management office. Our SLR methodology is about using various tools to identify business process and technology improvements for our clients which improve the business IT alignment. The result of that work produces one or more projects. Those projects will have a major software component. That component will consist of making better use of existing client software, purchasing new software and/or some custom software development. There may also be a related project addressing computer or network hardware. The result being multiple technology projects being managed concurrently.

Today we use Microsoft Project for schedule management and we manually manage project documentation. It’s that manual management of documentation for several concurrent projects that is the issue. That approach works fine for a limited number of smaller projects but obviously doesn’t scale well. That brings up the concept of a PMO, or project management office. A PMO is what you need to effectively manage multiple projects. To do that successfully you need a tool to manage all that documentation with an audit trail. Such tools can be large and complex content management systems. StrAIT Advisors doesn’t need that. We need something lighter than a big system but still able to handle a substantial number of documents.

While shopping for such a tool I can across Project in a box from Prosis Solutions, Ltd located northwest of London. There is a free community version for single users. There are also affordable, server-based versions. I tried the community version but quickly bought a server-based version. The free version can use the provided methodologies but cannot create any. I need to be able to build my own and work with others. The screen shot below can represent any version of the product.

This example uses the provided DSDM Atern methodology, which is actually of the most interest to me. I like the ability to include an image with click-able areas, as shown on the left of the screen. Clicking on the image loads the appropriate collection of documents, as show on the right.

The package comes with Prince2, DSDM Atern and some related methodologies. Since Prosis is a UK based company, their primary focus is on Prince2 and DSDM Atern. I’m in the process of adding a PMBOK methodology (from the PMI). Based on my needs, I think that the Atern methodology may be the best suited for StrAIT Advisors. It’s an alternative to Scrum, which gets more press in the US.

I like the version control and audit trail. It seems to be a very adaptable tool. For more detailed information I suggest that you check out their site.

With the links provided in this post you can keep yourself busy and immersed in project management reading for days. Proceed cautiously. However, if you have a need for a very useful and adaptable tool, I suggest that you check out what you can do with Project in a box. I will let you know it goes for me in future posts.

If any Prosis people read this post, please comment on my ramblings and add your thoughts. I’m just starting out with this product and would love to hear more. Your company has been very helpful so far.

Thanks for stopping by. See you next time…

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In thinking about this topic, it occurred to me that the core issue for me is really the visual representation of influence mapping and the transition from unstructured information to a more structured form. Initial ideas are rarely structured. They are organic, like the way we think. However, structured information, like lists, makes the implementation of those ideas much easier to execute. We use MindManager 8 from Mindjet for our mind mapping tool and to provide the transition to a more structured form for the information. You can check out their website for more information on that tool. You can also look here for more information on mind mapping in general. To make my point I have created an example containing three maps. Each map can represent a project, group activity or a methodology (a collection of methodologies is the case for us).

The solid black lines represent normal hierarchical relationships. The dotted lines represent connections of influence. For example, Topic B3 and Topic C3 both influence Topic A2. In our example, the bolder red dotted line represents more direct influence and the smaller blue dotted line represents less influence. You have to set your own standards, like bolder lines representing more influence or one color representing more influence than another. For StrAIT Advisors, our methodology needed to be influenced by other methodologies. A screen clipping is shown below to illustrate how that actually worked for us. 
 

In our case, the dotted blue lines represent the influence of one methodology on our SLR methodology. Some steps were consolidated while others were not influenced at all. After any fine tuning needed for an individual client, the map is exported to Microsoft Project for project execution. In your case, the influences could represent the relationships between projects being handled by your Project Management Office (PMO). Influences between projects are much easier to show on this type of diagram than on a project plan composed of both projects and subprojects. They are much easier to change as well. In a project plan, the connections between tasks are actual dependencies, not connections of influence. Influence is too subjective and vague of a relationship for a project plan.

The need to capture unstructured ideas in team brainstorming meetings or just a casual meeting between collaborators is a vital part of the genesis of change. The conversion of those unstructured ideas into actionable projects is the next vital step. The use of mind maps periodically during the course of any project can be very useful, even if the ideas captured are just stored for the future. You can update them when ideas for improvement occur to the project team.

My core point for this post is that ideas start as unstructured things but must eventually evolve to structured things. Knowing how that process will happen is a key to being successful and adaptable. Identify your tools of choice before your project begins and make sure your leadership has buy-in into your approach. It will help in building credibility and communicating during the course of your project.

I hope this post has been valuable.  Talk to you again later…

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