Free Web-Based Collaboration Software

By Brenda Christie

One big change which has happened in the last decade is the advent of telecommuting or working remotely.  Traditionally you got up every morning and schlepped into the office.  Today, it is possible to get as much if not more work done through telecommuting.  And there are environmental as well as financial benefits associated with telecommuting, but that's a topic for another post.

Of course, telecommuting has its own problems, since it's not possible to catch up at the water cooler, or sit in a conference room for a face-to face meeting, or just drop by somebody's office.  There is videoconferencing, but that can get expensive.   So how do you manage a team that is geographically dispersed?  For team members working on common networks or for large companies, a tool such as an external SharePoint site or LiveMeeting can be used.

However, for smaller companies and freelancers, such solutions may not be feasible.  I've detailed below some Free web-based collaboration tools which I have used, which may come in handy for tracking projects, assigning resources, and even billing.  On of the packages also supports a white-space board for brain storming.

The three collaboration software below only require sign-up, which is quick and easy.

Asana

Asana is pretty easy to use.  Some of its features include the ability to

• Create a task, assign it to someone.  
• Set due dates.  
• Integrates social media in the form of comments and/or discussions.  
• Decide who needs to be updated on a task-by-task basis.  
• Member can also choose to not be notified.  
• Comments, attachments and activity appear on the associated task all in one place. 
• Can create sub-tasks.
• Has an email dropbox that will let you create tasks by sending an email.  The tasks are assigned to the sender.

Drawback:  

• Lacks usergroups so that all members can do the same thing, i.e., no hierarchy.

Glass Cubes

Glass Cubes has a better layout/structure. Projects are organized under workspaces in a tree layout which makes it easier to locate things.  Other features include:

• Allows sub-tasks.
• Facilitates billing by letting members track time spent on task.
• Allows you to embed comments in the task and notify some/any one by making a selection.
• Allows tasks to be categorized, i.e., scope definition, development, implementation.
• Allows reminders to be sent by email or text.
• Allows you to set meetings and conference calls.
• Has whiteboard capabilities.
• Documents can be edited online or downloaded to desktop.  They can also be locked for version control.
• Documents can be approved, or rejected.
• Site can be branded.
• You can create your own homepage.
• Allows you to run report of time spent on a project by member.
• Free version comes with 20GB of storage

Drawbacks:  

• Notification of changes is not automatic as is the case with Asana.  It has to be done manually.
• Has an activity list that can be annoying but can probably be turned off.

Trello

Trello is pretty straightforward once you get the structure set up correctly.  I found it a bit cludgy, but not insurmountable.  Everything is laid out on one dashboard and divided into multiple panels (To Do, Doing, Done).

Drop and Drag is used to move a task from one panel (stage) to the other.  Other things you can do with Trello include:

• Can Add a check list.
• Can move task from one place to another.
• Can leave comments.
• Has voting/polling capabilities.
• Attachments are downloaded to desktop.
• Member can choose to subscribe to a task for notification purposes.  Creator can also subscribe member.
• Works on iPhone and Android smartphones.
• Cards(tasks) can be linked to.
• Has an archive feature.
• Has Labels although I didn't see where they could be used.
• Has notification capability so member can see from the dashboard that something is waiting.
• Has online help guide.

Best,

Brenda Christie

What's Project Management Got to Do With It?

By Brenda Christie

There are lots of people who (i) don't understand what project management is or (2) think it's over rated  or (3) think it's not necessary.  Their response to project management, "Why Bother?"

Project management gives you the ability to engage,  plan and execute.  It gives you the ability to establish an environment in which to control the outcome.  This is very different from what happens during a fire drill or flying by the seat of your pants.  

Engage

By 'Engage' it is meant to identify all the stakeholders (individuals or groups) who could be affected by the project you've embarked on to complete.  Why be concerned about stakeholders?  Well think of it this way --  You buy a nice blue balloon, huff and puff to blow it up, and then out of nowhere, someone sticks a dart in it before you even get a chance to admire it.  Which is not to say that this is what stakeholders who are left out do, but there's always that possibility.

Other reasons to engage stakeholders include the fact that they are often the ones financing the project.  Putting that aside, they often have insight from a business perspective of different aspects of what the product or service should do.

Last but not least, you'll probably need their sign off to go live.  If you still need convincing, see "Who Are These Stakeholders Anyway?" for more details.

Plan

Think of this as planning for success.  Which isn't to say that you won't succeed without planning.  Project planning just increases the likelihood that you will succeed and minimizes the bumps and cost along the way so that someone will feel comfortable giving you another project to lead.

So what happens during the planning stage?  Some of the project activities included in the planning stage include creating a communication plan.  Answering questions about how do I let the stakeholders know where we are in the project?  Should I have a weekly meeting?  Will they all come?  Do they all need to attend?  Other questions answered during the project scheduling stage include what resources do I need?  What skills do they need to have?  Which of course goes along with what tasks have to be completed and which resources should be assigned to which task?

An interesting and handy skill for the project manager to have is facilitation.  This can be especially helpful, if not crucial, in a matrix environment where you don't have direct control over resources.  I'll talk more about the different organizational structures in a separate issue.  Just thought I'd mention it now, because just because you need a resource doesn't always mean it will be available, or you'll get it.  Something to keep in mind for when that OMG! moment comes along.

Which leads to another very important activity that happens during project planning.  Risk Management.  Risk Management entails planning for things you haven't planned for and having a fallback if and when it happens.  In a production environment this would be equivalent to having a contingency or disaster/recovery plan.  It is also often referred to as BAU, Business As Usual. If you don't already have a plan when a catastrophe happens, it is probably too late, and you may miss your delivery date, or worse, be out of a job.  Types of risk can include changes in laws that affect your project, changes in company policies that adversely affect your project, availability of products required by your project, etc.  Changes to the actual project plan, as in a stakeholder expands the scope of what the project should do, also come under risk.  How these changes will be handled gets addressed during scope or change management.

Risk can also be positive, in which case, you should have a plan of action for that too, in order to take advantage of it.

Execution

Execution is getting it done.  Yes, the idea behind a project is that it have a start and end date.  Projects do not live for ever by nature.  And when you're finally done, the key question which will need to be answered is, does it do what we agreed it would do.  Important fact:  You should not wait until it's all done, to find out whether it does what it was agreed would do.  Rather, what it does would have been outlined during creation of the charter and scope.  Whether it works would have been measured throughout the lifetime of the project.  Metrics for measuring the usability and quality of the service and or product, would have been established during the planning stage.  Actual usability (as in have we hit the mark) would be determined through continuous quality assurance throughout the life of the project.  These two activities generally come under what is known in project management parlance as Monitor and Control.

Conclusion

So in a nutshell, here are some of the reasons that Project Management is important.  It matters.  Project Management is used to ensure people get their money's worth.  Give them what they want, at the agreed upon price at the agreed upon time.

Best,

Brenda Christie

Who Are These Stakeholders Anyway?

By Brenda Christie

You don't want your stakeholder to be like this -- the Big Bad Wolf.

There are good stakeholders and bad stakeholders.  They all matter one way or another because they have influence - influence over your project.

Important facts that you need to know and keep in mind are (1) you need to know what they want (2) they can have agendas in direct opposition to what the project is designed to do (3) they can control the purse strings.

So who are these stakeholders?  Well, they can be high-level senior managers; they can be clerks. Stakeholders can also be users of the system you're eliminating.  In short, stakeholders are any persons who would be impacted by what you are about to do.  You need to know who they are.

One way to identify them is to deconstruct the deliverable.  Answer questions such as who will use this system?  Who will use the product of this system.

Your team members can also be stakeholders and as such can make or break your project. So a good question to ask about them is What do they hope to get out of the project.  Hint:  It's not always money.  It can be a chance to use a new technology, perform a different role, be in the spotlight.

So in addition to identifying your stakeholders, it is also necessary to get to know them and know what motivates them. 

Stakeholders are all very important people,and they do influence the success or failure of your project.

Best,

Brenda Christie

Monitor and Control

By Brenda Christie

Know your gremlins when they stare you in the face.

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Scope Definition

By Brenda Christie

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Project Scheduling

By Brenda Christie

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Risk Management

By Brenda Christie

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Facilitation - What's That?

By Brenda Christie

This is a "soft skill" found under communication skills.  Very important.

Please check back, or subscribe to this post, to see indepth discussion as it becomes available.

Project Scheduling - A Sane Alternative

By Brenda Christie

One of my consultants recently used an expression I found amusing.  It actually reminded me of a project management activity -- scheduling.  

The illustration he gave me to reinforce the expression was what some managers do when a project falls behind schedule.  The illustration is: several people are on a covered wagon being pulled by horses.  They want the horses to move faster, so they load up the wagon with more people so there are more people to beat the horses.   

I'm sure you've been on a least one project where this happened.  Instead of running several tasks in parallel to save time, or bringing in more experienced resources, negotiating with stakeholders to defer a task to a later time, etc., more resources are thrown at the project.

This can be risky unless there is a good communication plan to ensure all team members are aware of where each one is on the project.  This risk is somewhat minimized provided there is also a good quality assurance component to the project, as well as strong change management.  Throwing more resources to stay on schedule also has the tendency to increase the project budget.

I think it's a great analogy -- one which I'll remember for a very long time.

Can Good Leadership Be Learned?

By Brenda Christie

I had a conversation with a friend today, who recounted a story about a former manager he had.  At the end of the story, he commented that this manager was a good manager and leader.  While the story made me think just the opposite, it got me to wondering whether "leadership" is subjective.  

Before going further I should point out that there is a distinction between a Manager and a Leader.  A manager manages projects, tasks, things.  This is quite different from someone who operates on a much higher level -- a leader.

My idea of a Good Leader, is someone who inspires you to want to rise to the occasion for a positive outcome. It is a special person who believes in you, but is also candid with you on things you need to improve in order to grow.

A Good Leader is constantly evolving so as to have new horizons and dimensions into which to lead the team, and in doing so, bypasses the jealously so frequently seen today towards team members.

A Good Leader has conviction; after all, how can you convince someone of something if you don't believe in it yourself?  That's actually not an absolute.  After all, there is always Sales.  But then again, there are bad sales people.  I've met both good and bad sales people, and as I invested the time to learn to be a good sales person, know the difference.

Which begs the question, "Can Good Leadership be Learned?"  I think the answer to this question could be "Maybe."  

What do you think?  Is there such a thing as a turnaround leader.  Before answering, review the criteria:

• inspires
• is not afraid to be candid
• has conviction
• is genuinely interested in team members
• doesn't rest on his/her laurels, but evolves  
• is accountable

Now, tell us what you think.  Can Good Leadership Be Learned?  Is good leadership even relevant today?  Or is it an anachronism - a throw back to the past?

Add Project Management to the Mix

By Brenda Christie

It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that everything I learned about project management I learned while working on IBM mainframes.

It is true that on projects I led, because of my use of SDLC methodology (learned that through System Analysis training, as well), there was a clearly defined structure and path to creating and delivering systems.  And I would have to say that due to use of the SDLC, my projects fell within that 20% success rate.  Have to give my high energy levels and tenacity some credit as well.  Plus, I'm fun to work with!

But to be clear, what I learned thru studying project management supplemented what I already knew.  For example, I learned a name for my approach to application development -- Waterfall Methodology.  I found in Project Management principles and tools similar to what I learned while studying Economics, another topic I love.  At heart, I am an analyst.  So when Root Cause Analysis came to my attention, I was in my glory.

Root Cause Analysis comes under the topic of Lessons Learned in project management-speak.  I'll talk more about that later, as well.  For now, I was asked to teach the Engineers RCA while working in my current job, and to implement a means of capturing the elements and components of RCA thru the CMMS I manage.

Imagine that, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

More on Root Cause Analysis, project management and "fun to work with" later..