Category Archives: Project Management

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The Best Business Apps To Show Your Boss

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As businesses become more and more tech-savvy, many are choosing to distribute iPhones as their default company phone. The iPhone’s wide variety of business apps can help streamline your company while increase productivity at the same time. If you want your company to use technology to gain an edge, here are 5 apps to show your boss that will make his (and your) job easier.

Dropbox

Sharing files among your colleagues can be quite the pain. Many businesses don’t have a standard system in place for transferring files, and many rely on email attachments which can get clunky. Dropbox allows you to created shared folders on your work iPhone and computer, and sync them with each other seamlessly. To share a file, simply place it in the share folder, and it will appear on your coworker’s devices instantly.

Evernote

Evernote is the premier note taking app for iOS, thanks to its simple design and numerous features. Rich text notes can be created, edited, and shared all from your iPhone, and can be accessed from any device with a web browser. Evernote’s notes also support photos, which sync just as quick as text notes.

Scanner Pro

Scanners are the butt of many jokes in an office, thanks to their propensity to malfunction exactly when you need them the most. Ditch the bulky scanner and grab Scanner Pro to streamline the entire process. The app uses your phones camera to scan documents, which can they be emailed with the touch of a button.

stack-of-iphones

Basecamp

Basecamp is the the most comprehensive project management tool for businesses of any size. The program allows your to share files, conversations, projects, and more through a simple user interface. Best of all, it can be entirely operated from the mobile application, allowing users to be productive on the move.

DoubleDutch

Planning large-scale corporate events can often be rather frustrating thanks to the hundreds of factors that go into planning a large conference. Between the attendees, presenters, and planners, numerous people need to stay informed of the event’s schedule. Enter DoubleDutch, an application that gathers all the information you need and allows attendees access everything from their smartphones. The application displays a mobile agenda that can be updated in real time, so guests always know exactly where they need to be. They can even create custom agendas in a few simple steps, or connect with other guests based on their interests/career. DoubleDutch also allows you to create custom polls and survey to collect information from your guests, so you can know exactly what they thought of this year’s speaker.

Tripit

Business traveling always seems to be more hassle than it should be. Between planning the flight, renting a car, and reserving a hotel, the process can get quite complicated. Enter Tripit, which simplifies the entire process. Simply forwarding your travel confirmation emails to a Tripit email account automatically creates your itinerary for you. It can then be shared among users, so all your coworkers know when and where you are heading.

As time passes, more and more business rely on strictly digital methods for managing their information, and the above apps build a solid foundation for running a well oiled and tech savvy company. Remember to try out any apps that seem interesting, and find what works best for you and your business.

Adrian King is a business consultant with a passion for technology. When he is not found working or spending time with his children, Adrian spends much of his spare time reading http://www.marketingtechblog.com/.

Book review, Project Management, Project Management Books

Book Review: The Project Management Coaching Workbook, Susanne Madsen

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This review features in the APM Project Magazine October 2013.

Project header

Book Title: The Project Management Coaching Workbook

Authors Name:  Susanne Madsen
Publisher:  Management Concept Press
List Price: £52.77
ISBN: 978-1-56726-357-2

Full review here:

Susanne Madsen,  a coach in the field of project management – has delivered projects for a number of years and now supports others in the project execution . The book is designed to work through what you want to achieve from your projects, provide insight and provoke thought processes to help you achieve your goals. It addresses common challenges faced, providing tools and approaches which can be adopted to engage with on projects with an aim to drive a more confident and effective delivery approach. Susanne combines these tools and approaches to guide you through the bigger picture of managing projects, considering team leadership, effective relationship building and attitude to managing projects.

I must say that on a whole this is a fantastic workbook, as it really considers vital elements of what needs to be considered throughout the project lifecycle. As this is written from a coaching perspective the first step which talks through what you want to achieve is great because it is written for you rather than a text book which has a rigid path of author stating XYZ. By making you think about what you wish to achieve and the type of PM you want to be it really plays on your experiences and makes you think about how you can improve all aspects of your style and approach.

Each section has tips for different aspects of PM for consideration which summarises and bullet statements which makes for easy following and quick referencing. There are also a number of exercises throughout each step with tables and sections to write in key information – this forms a great way to actually engage with the book and encourages you to actually reflect on practices and score yourself on various aspects.

As this is a workbook, it benefits all those in the project management delivery domain – it is great for the less experienced in that it is well structured and runs through a great deal of process and can be used as a training manual for constructive support. It is equally useful for the well seasoned project manager who is happy to review their practices and keen to ensure they have not fallen into bad habits. I would also recommend the use of this book for group sessions, gathering groups of PMs to work through each section in weekly workshops.

Susanne has clearly dealt with a great number of challenges in her career, whether they be personally or through coaching others. Her ability to grasp the various aspects and structure the book in a way which is not daunting but is interrogating strikes a very pleasing balance. I have read a number of coaching books and not found any to be as engaging or easy to use, the reason for this is a less formal but professional approach – this is the sign of an excellent coach who believes in what they do and will happily share their insights.

guest blogger, Project Management, Project Management Careers Advice

The Project Management Survival Guide

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Project management is a fast paced highly involving world of deadlines, information and teams. So how can you survive it all and come out with your and your colleagues sanity intact? Well Here is my survival guide.

Words to Live By

Each Project Management Leader should have the mantra of “Don’t Panic”, friendly text optional. Panic at any level will spread and cause mistakes, so if you feel it coming on, take a breath, count to five and trace the problem to its source, clearing up any other issues that may have sprung up around it in the process.

High Definition

Know what your project is about, have clear goals and make sure the investors and yourself know why the project has been requested, what will be produced during it and what the successfully completed project will have and when it will be.

Negotiation

No one likes to feel forced in to something so learn the art of negotiation, it is much easier to have a team member or employee do whatever task has been set willingly rather than have them fight you or become unhappy which will bring a very obvious note of discord that could disrupt the rest of your team.

Just Communication

Communication is vital to your survival, Don’t just talk at people, remember to interact with them! Listen and give appropriate well thought out responses when questioned as this will encourage others to do the same for you. It is also a good idea to document all communication and correspondence that goes on throughout your project as this will leave everyone on the same page and with a thorough understanding of each aspect of the job. This will be irreplaceable if something happens to a team member as their stand in or replacement will be able to review past notes and comments and pick up where they left off.

Building Bridges

Get your team working as one, even if this means going back to basics with team building exercises that is okay, one day spent on this could mean a much happier work environment with no miscommunication or unfounded resentments. Treat your team equally and help out with suggestions, mentoring or offering an ear for some counselling if needed.

Decisions, Decisions

Make sure there is a process for decisions when they need to be made, this way no one person has the “fate” of the project hanging on them, though is need be you can step in to make an executive decision – just remember that each team should be taught to see both sides of their point and you need to be able to do that too.

A Plan For Everything

You may not like hearing this but it has to be said; Plan for everything, even failure. Look at your project critically, what happens if everything goes wrong? Set aside some time to investigate this and work out some fail safes with your team, this way you’ll be prepared for every eventuality and you’re much more likely to succeed.

Vari thinks that survival guides are needed for most things from zombie apocalypses to engineering project management.

CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO, Project Management, Project management CV, project management resume

Bringing out personality in your Project Management CV

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As much as a balance of experience and competencies put into context are important on Project Management CV, personality is a close second. This may feel quite daunting as it can be difficult to bring the CV to life with a personal feel, but really it isn’t rocket science. Talking through you as a professional in your profile should really be a marketing pitch for employers which gives a snap shot of you, but don’t be afraid to present it in your own words – we are often encouraged to write this in a formal way but there are subtle ways of introducing your personality in there. Think about your management style and approach, if people are your thing then talk about how you engage people (briefly), you take a straight forward approach to implementing structure? Then say so, don’t worry about being too embroiled in PM terminology (there’s plenty of opportunity to get these keywords in further down the document. Now my favourite part of the CV, Key Achievements is the perfect place to really bring your personality to the document. This is where you talk about those extras that you do as a matter of course being a project professional and are what set you apart from others, so if you’ve already mentioned you are a good people person then you need to draw out a good couple of examples to qualify what you’ve said. If you have said you take a pragmatic approach to applying structure then this is also a brilliant place to talk through how and why you have done this with demonstrable examples. Really bring out your management style and personality to help the employer draw a picture of you.

Reflecting

Talking through your career experience you should look to add in context with the project details and competencies, then tailor the information to match up with your approach so it is wooden. I have come across so many CVs which are well written but read a little flat (missing the personality); the document needs to be informative and engaging.

It is really important to me to make sure a CV not only sells the candidate with all the right information but also to make sure the CV is akin with its owner – this is why a consultation takes place at the start of the our CV writing process – not only teasing out all the information, gaining a good understanding of your management style but also getting to know you and how you engage and articulate yourself.