Product Management tools for Project Managers
– an interesting twist on familiar tools when viewed through the eyes of a product manager – By Sridhar Karnam …
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The value of brands and what project leaders can learn from them
– what would it take to differentiate yourself and your project from others? What would the value be? To most …
The value of brands and what project leaders can learn from them Read More »
Product Management tools for Project Managers
Tools that product management use that might be interesting for project managers to use. In continuation to our last week’s discussion about lessons that project management can learn from product management, let us examine some of the tools that product management uses that could assist in project management.
What can Project Management learn from Product Management?
In the last 5 years or so, we have realized that comparing these two roles is like comparing Apples and Oranges. Not many companies now overlap these roles. These roles over the time have evolved from being janitors of products and projects to management of them. Product management has learned a lot from project management. Let us examine what project management can learn from product management?
Game Theory – Is it fit for a dynamic and changing reality
As you start to utilize the idea of game theory, you may wonder about the reality of the environment we live in, the non-sequential and chaotic-at-times nature of projects. How do you ‘play the games’ when nothing is constant? How do you organize your thoughts and approaches when nothing but change is certain. The good news is that the field of game theory is an ever evolving area of research. In 2007 the Nobel Prize for Economics went to a team of researchers interested in what they termed “The design of economic institutions”
Game Theory for Project Managers & Leaders
So, how can project and program professionals take advantage of the game theory principles in our work? I propose that every engagement with or stakeholders is an opportunity to utilize these principles.
Now, before we explore the way we might use game theory as a framework, let’s remind ourselves that there are different types of games, and that ideally you want to engage in this work to find win/win opportunities and play cooperative games. Remember “use your powers for good”. Although once in awhile the situation might merit an occasional non-cooperative game.
Game Theory & Project Management
Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others. More formally, it is “the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers.” An alternative term suggested “as a more descriptive name for the discipline” is interactive decision theory.
You never know what you might learn at a conference
Equipped with a list of opportunities to leverage at each of the conferences, in addition to the information shared in the sessions and the networking opportunities with peers and experts, I was ready to uncover the hidden values of these conferences. Below I’ll share a couple of examples that you might consider adding to your list next time you attend a conference.
The Hidden Value of Conferences and Symposiums
If all you are planning on doing at the next conference you attend is to learn something from the sessions and the exhibits, my advice would be to save your money, focus on your work, and ‘get the dvd’. As we all know, attending conferences isn’t just about the sessions, the keynote speakers, or the product demos. The values you attain from attending conferences are all in the periphery, they are about the ‘X Factors’, those that help you , your team and your company get ahead professionally.
A paid but Impressive option – BaseCamp [BaseCampHQ.com]
“Basecamp’s focus on simplicity, clarity, and ease of use make it truly unique. You’ll love using Basecamp.” – 37 Signals …
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Third time is a charm – ProjectNet [Project.net]
“Project.net is a complete Project Portfolio Management (PPM) solution designed to capture, display, report on, and resolve the complex interrelationships …
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Next up – Project Open [project-open.com]
“Project Open is a comprehensive project management tool, fully integrated within an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.”- Project Open in …
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Up First Plandora [plandora.org]
Plandora PPM is an Open Source PPM powered by Sourceforge.net and is currently in release 1.10.4, and most recently updated …
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Managing your Portfolio – picking the solution that works for you…
– If the time has come to implement a PPM solution, what is the correct solution and is Open Source …
Managing your Portfolio – picking the solution that works for you… Read More »
Mind the ‘Strategy-Execution’ Gap
“Companies typically realize only about 60% of their strategy’s potential value because of defects and breakdowns in planning and execution.”- Harvard Business Review
Today’s challenging economic climate forces every company across the globe to keep a laser focus on the bottom line, and executives are under close watch to deliver key strategies. So why is it that so many companies continue to suffer from a strategy-execution gap? And what can the PM do to help close the gap?
What’s the color of the sky in your project world?
-Defining and Driving a realistic metrics strategy – The Risks and Benefits of metrics No matter your role in the …
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Strategy Execution through Project Success
– a case for project metrics. The right metric, driving the right behavior aligned with the right strategy. Think of …
Strategy Execution through Project Success Read More »
Corporate development & finance – Business value from the corporate perspective
Now it is time to explore how these services and capabilities are viewed by the enterprise in terms of true business value and competitive advantage. Corporate development concerns itself with the management arm of the enterprise, setting the strategy and priorities, and ensuring that the enterprise wide investments are aligned with future strategic goals.
Enterprise Architecture – Linking Teams to the Enterprise
Now that the linkage between the delivery and operations of the service has been established and the PM understands how the service enables a capability, it is time to make the connection between the delivery team and the organization.
I believe that helping the PM understand EA and its links to Business Architecture (BA) will help to crystallize the role that their delivery team plays in the broader scope of the enterprise.
Services Management – The life-cycle of a Service
Linking Project Delivery in the early stages to business value can be challenging at best, due to changing strategic goals of the enterprise. Also, understanding the full life cycle of the delivered service, including the total cost of ownership and the end-to-end life-cycle of the service can be a difficult task to assume and communicate.