Project Management Resources, Articles, Processes & Tools | gantthead

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| PROJECT MANAGEMENT | Business Intelligence | Career Development | Customer Relationship Management | E-Commerce | Extreme Project Management | Knowledge Management | OPM3® | Package Selection | Process Improvement | Program Management Office | Project Portfolio Management | Web Services and Application Development | Workforce Management |

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Ian Whittingham
Wikipedia identifies the origins of modern project management in the pioneering work of this web site’s eponymous inspiration, Henry Gantt. His seminal innovation was the development of tools that would aid in the efficient allocation and scheduling of resources by comparing forecasted, planned work to actual work performed, which became a cornerstone of Earned Value Management. Today, building on the work of Gantt and others through ingenuity and experience, project practitioners continue to develop and refine tools, techniques, processes and procedures that enable and support successful project execution. Following in Gantt’s footsteps, this department will bring you the latest in innovation, insight and advice, enabling you to achieve excellence in project management.

Business Intelligence

Craig Curran-Morton, MA, PMP
You can have lots and lots of data, but where is the intelligence? We will help you find it. Business intelligence seems like a relatively simple concept: A business has questions and a need to find answers to those questions. However, there are many components to the discipline, including data gathering, storage, access, analysis, communication, action and feedback. All of this can be very confusing even to the advanced practitioner. The Business Intelligence department will help you gain an understanding of the basics and put some perspective to all of the details.

Career Development
Bob Weinstein
Welcome to the Jobs Board! In this area we cover all aspects of employment from recruiting to retention, resume writing tips to interviewing (on both sides of the desk!) and everything in between. In short, I will supply you with all the tools you need to make that road ahead of you in your job search or recruiting effort look wide open and ready for you to tackle.

Customer Relationship Management
Mike Donoghue
Welcome to the Internet's best resource for information about Customer Relationship Management. This is the interactive age, where success, for most organizations, will depend on their ability to learn how to treat each customer as an individual. This site is dedicated to providing information that can help companies understand CRM--what it means and how to make it work for you.

E-Commerce
Gradually but surely, the Internet is affecting all businesses, and everyone is talking about e-commerce and doing business digitally. It is the New Economy, stupid, and the Old Economy business models are not valid anymore. Thats the buzz that is going around. Sometime back it seemed to be absolutely true. Well, the market has its own way of passing judgement. Now the so-called Old Economy business models are striking back, and there is more confusion and uncertainty. But two things are certain for the businesses to succeed. First, all businesses need to continuously change and evolve. Second, the technology will be the vehicle through which the businesses can succeed. In that sense, e-commerce and digital business are here to stay. To be successful, each and every business needs to leverage technology and integrate it with the business processes. This department is all about mastering the strategies and technology for e-commerce, and we intend to help you stay on the cutting edge of digital business and succeed.

Extreme Project Management
Doug DeCarlo
Today’s software development and systems implementation projects are increasingly falling into the eXtreme zone ... that arena of projects which is not only organizationally and technically complex, but also features high speed, high change, high unpredictability and high stress. These new breed, extreme projects defy the ceremony, monumental methodologies and well-intentioned practices of traditional, waterfall-like project management. Such approaches work well on projects which feature low speed and low change, but backfire on today’s extreme projects. The goal of our Extreme Project Management department is to connect you with the growing number of resources and people that can help you succeed in keeping today’s new breed, change-driven projects under control.

Knowledge Management
Knowledge Management means many things to many people. Ironically, the only thing that people seem to agree upon is that KM is an essential part of doing business. So whether you are building an Intranet, focusing on Customer Relationship Management or Business Intelligence I think we can help. So come on in, grab a template, ask a question or make a new friend. We'll do everything we can to make you successful.

OPM3®
John Schlichter
The current global economic climate has ushered in an era of uncertainty that throws the importance of Organizational Project Management (OPM) maturity into sharp relief. It is critical for organizations to renew their ability to create cost efficiencies, economies of scale and agility to adapt to the changing business environment through projects. Many organizations are turning to the Project Management Institute’s OPM3® Standard. OPM3 was developed with input from thousands of project practitioners and represents best practices in Project, Program and Portfolio Management. OPM3 incorporates the PMI's PMBOK© Guide, the most widely adopted standard for managing individual projects, and expands this into the domains of Program Management and Portfolio Management. OPM3 emphasizes choosing the right projects to advance organizational strategies and implementing the processes, structures and behaviors necessary to deliver projects successfully, consistently and predictably. Standardization of project work methods lays the foundation for achieving higher levels of maturity and excellence to create the organizational agility and resilience you need in today's marketplace. This department is dedicated to current and prospective users of OPM3 and operates independently of PMI, bringing together perspectives from those who advocate OPM3 and those who advocate alternative solutions.

Package Selection
The technology marketplace has experienced a surge of software companies focusing on several real business problems and creating their unique value proposition in markets like Supply Chain Management (SCM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), E-Procurement and now Wireless (to name a few). Selecting an appropriate package software solution is not a trivial task, given the number of vendors and overlapping choices. It can make decisions difficult and confusing.
The challenge: Selecting the vendor and package solution among hundreds of products, philosophies and promises and making the right choice for your organization to implement them.
The solution: This department is designed to provide you with the resources on how to overcome the challenge (processes and methodologies), tools to overcome them with (templates and deliverables) and an opportunity to learn from what others have done (articles and discussions).

Process Improvement
Michael Wood
Organizations exist to fulfill a value proposition with their stakeholders. To the extent the organization can do this, it prospers. Process Improvement, whether focused on re-engineering or continuous improvement, seeks to optimize and balance the value an organization can deliver over time. It must be born from committed leadership, measurable objectives and embraced by the knowledge workers of the organization. Process Improvement cuts across the organization laterally and horizontally. Pursued correctly, it can align the organization's operations with its strategic objectives. Process Improvement is more than projects, more than technology. It is a dynamic force that can change the way organizations think about and achieve their desired outcomes.

Program Management Office
Mark Mullaly
The Program Management Office is the focal point for project management in the organization. The reality is that the role spans a continuum of services that at its most basic serves as a centralized reporting function, and at its most involved assumes full responsibility for the portfolio of projects in the organization. Whatever the model in your organization, this department exists in order to provide you with the ideas, tools and information you need to succeed in your role.

Project Portfolio Management
Andrew Makar
Welcome to THE place for information on issues impacting the C-level (CEO, CIO, CTO) decision maker. This site is dedicated to providing information to help senior executives master the planning, management and effectiveness of their project related investments for both the short-term and the long haul. An emphasis will be placed on understanding implementation in a top down and bottoms up approach. We will discuss everything from the most effective ways to develop and implement business cases, to how to conduct ROI analysis, to the proper way to evaluate potential projects for development. In addition, enterprise wide approaches for measuring projects both on an individual and in an aggregate manner, metrics, corporate strategy and communications will be detailed for your reading pleasure.

Web Services and Application Development
Time to Market (TTM) is the greatest problem facing the software industry today. Nevertheless, managers' answer to the problem is usually to shorten the development schedule and place even more pressure on developers. There are alternatives! This department explains strategies and technologies that will help you optimize TTM. It describes best practices that will help you meet your challenging schedules, and technologies such as Web services that enable software on computers and mobile devices to economically connect and interoperate with each other across platforms, programming languages and applications. Stay tuned to this channel to learn how I can help you optimize Time to Market.

Workforce Management
Joe Wynne
What happened? You have migrated from crunching code to quieting conflict. Instead of completing deliverables you are delivering compromises. Why are these people-management issues taking all of your time? How do you get commitment from production teams, stakeholders and upper management? And where is the "Check for HR Law Non-Compliance" function in your project management software? Complex workforce management issues affect you every day, but there is hope. Proven great practices have been established, and there are many new services to support you. I will help you master universal, powerful skills that will enable you to be successful whenever you must get results through others.



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