"No....lie to him....he likes it!"
That is a quote that has always stuck with me from Mr. Mom. Classic movie! I had no idea that in the real world, it is the truth! I am noticing a huge issue and disconnect between the executives and their project teams. This was evident even today as I worked with a client.
The project team has been told that the project must meet a certain date which is literally one month away. The code for the project is not complete, they are weeks behind in testing, and the product is barely standing. However, they are still going to push untested code in production. The definition of in production is to put it on the desktop, roll it out, but tell people not to use it. Here is the best part.....according to the project team, this is what the executive wants. They are under the impression that he is fully aware of all of these facts and he would rather say that it was in production at a certain date than it to be pushed back and properly tested.
This is all to common in many businesses today. I bet that if a frank discussion was had with the executive, then a different decision would be made. I have been interviewing executives for my next book and I am being told from the executives that their teams would not do what happened at this client.....yet it was. How do we become so disconnected? How do we allow this to occur?
It is time for open and frank conversation and for PM's and executives to understand the reality of their relationship. Through education and understanding, you can have your cake and eat it too. I just want to make sure it is cake that I am eating (and not crow!). That is my rant for tonight!
No day but today,
Rick
P.S. "Jack, you're doing it wrong!" - Mr. Mom
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Calculating Return on Investment
I get many questions at seminars about ROI (return on investment) calculations. Many people utilize this measurement for project selection. There are several variations of the formula. Depending on the information that you have available, the complexity of the calculation can grow. Here are a couple that I use:
Simple: (net profit / total investment) X 100 = ROI
If you are projecting a profit of $25 on an investment of $160, then the calculation is:
(25/150) X 100 = 15.625%
More complex: Net Income + (current value - original value) / original value X 100 = ROI
This formula can be used for ongoing multiple year revenues. For instance, if you purchased $5,000 in stock which is now valued at $5,200 and you have earned $100 in dividends, the calculation is:
((100 + (5,200-5,000) ) / 5,000) X 100 = 6%
Hope this helps!
No day but today,
Rick
Simple: (net profit / total investment) X 100 = ROI
If you are projecting a profit of $25 on an investment of $160, then the calculation is:
(25/150) X 100 = 15.625%
More complex: Net Income + (current value - original value) / original value X 100 = ROI
This formula can be used for ongoing multiple year revenues. For instance, if you purchased $5,000 in stock which is now valued at $5,200 and you have earned $100 in dividends, the calculation is:
((100 + (5,200-5,000) ) / 5,000) X 100 = 6%
Hope this helps!
No day but today,
Rick
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Blogging a Status?
Interesting thought! I was reading an excerpt from Andy Wibbels titled "Blogs and Business: What You Must Know" and he suggested utilizing a Blog for project status.
He stated that "Blogs can provide an instant snapshot of a project's status, an archive of past reports, and an easier way to access deliverables. You won't be annoying your employees by clogging their inbox with an 8 gigabyte PDF."
Clearly he has worked with PM's that have a fondness for charts and graphs! However, it does provide an interesting thought. Many companies are looking for ways to go green and many have not invested in a Project and Portfolio Management type of technology. Some companies utilize Sharepoint for this, but it too can become cumbersome in navigation. Blogging can be a perfect fit for those.
I have seen many organizations still want the ill-fated printed status report. They must have their red/yellow/green! The question is, when is the last time a decision was made off that status report? When is the last time someone in your company stopped a project because it was red, or put more resources on a project when it went yellow? If the answer is "never", then maybe a change to the way it is done is warranted.
In any case, the article did make me think!
Until next time!
Rick
He stated that "Blogs can provide an instant snapshot of a project's status, an archive of past reports, and an easier way to access deliverables. You won't be annoying your employees by clogging their inbox with an 8 gigabyte PDF."
Clearly he has worked with PM's that have a fondness for charts and graphs! However, it does provide an interesting thought. Many companies are looking for ways to go green and many have not invested in a Project and Portfolio Management type of technology. Some companies utilize Sharepoint for this, but it too can become cumbersome in navigation. Blogging can be a perfect fit for those.
I have seen many organizations still want the ill-fated printed status report. They must have their red/yellow/green! The question is, when is the last time a decision was made off that status report? When is the last time someone in your company stopped a project because it was red, or put more resources on a project when it went yellow? If the answer is "never", then maybe a change to the way it is done is warranted.
In any case, the article did make me think!
Until next time!
Rick
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Quick Tip for WBS
There are many people that want to know how to get started doing a Work Breakdown Structure. Some people have never done one and don't want the first one to be at their company. I have two quick tips to assist:
1) Practice with a charity or a church. These organizations desperately look for volunteers and especially volunteers who can help organize and run events. This will give you an awesome opportunity to practice! Call the United Way and introduce yourself. There will always be an opportunity to help your community!
2) Here is a quick way to get started. Send out the scope to the team prior to the meeting and ask them to send back an Excel spreadsheet of the initial tasks that they can think of. From there, do a mail merge onto address labels and put those on sticky notes. Before the first meeting, go ahead and put the sticky notes on the wall. When the attendees come into the meeting, have them start putting the tasks in order before the even sit down. This will cut down the awkward silence that generally starts these types of meetings. In very short order, you will have a great network diagram to use for your project.
Of course, you could always use a technology like Nxt Note as well. Very, very cool technology! Check it out!
1) Practice with a charity or a church. These organizations desperately look for volunteers and especially volunteers who can help organize and run events. This will give you an awesome opportunity to practice! Call the United Way and introduce yourself. There will always be an opportunity to help your community!
2) Here is a quick way to get started. Send out the scope to the team prior to the meeting and ask them to send back an Excel spreadsheet of the initial tasks that they can think of. From there, do a mail merge onto address labels and put those on sticky notes. Before the first meeting, go ahead and put the sticky notes on the wall. When the attendees come into the meeting, have them start putting the tasks in order before the even sit down. This will cut down the awkward silence that generally starts these types of meetings. In very short order, you will have a great network diagram to use for your project.
Of course, you could always use a technology like Nxt Note as well. Very, very cool technology! Check it out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)