AITS.org

The Six Sins of PPM

mlkabik — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:06:02 +0000

Avoid These Project Portfolio Pitfalls

Implementing Project Portfolio Management can be a difficult task, but by making sure to avoid the pitfalls listed in this blog post by Jeff Monteforte you can give your organization a head start on success. Some of the warnings: don’t compare apples and oranges, leaving “certain” projects out of the portfolio, make sure you have organizations outside of IT (like finance) actively involved, and refusing to adjust your organization to fit PPM.

10 Essential Steps to Portfolio Management

mlkabik — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:04:02 +0000

These 10 steps provided by Heather Champoux are quick and insightful ways of making sure your project portfolio starts and operates without a hitch. First making the caveat that certain assumptions are made for the steps to work (such as an onboard executive management, defined processes and a standard PPM Tool in place), Champoux goes on to list steps that are sure to keep your portfolio management effort running as smoothly as possible.

PPM: Five Trends

mlkabik — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:02:01 +0000

Louise Allen and Carrie Nauyalis of Planview discuss in this article what they see as the latest five critical success factors in product and portfolio management. Drawing from a recent conference, Allen and Nauyalis include some that are expected – for instance, the importance of portfolio prioritization - are you doing work that has the maximum impact and that your customers will appreciate the most? Some of the top five are a bit more revolutionary – such as understanding how your product managers are going social, and what that means for your company and your own management style. The list goes on to suggest the types of analytics that are becoming more important, as well as resource utilization and agile management techniques.

Three Keys to Help Manage the Queue

mlkabik — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:00:15 +0000

Good project management is just as much about working on the right projects as it is having the right projects lined up for future work. Ty Kiisel gives three overarching tips on how to create and foster the proper flow of projects into an IT team. According to Kiisel, creating a successful management plan for the queue helps bring about empowered stakeholders and team members, allowing for a higher level of ownership and successful results. One of the tips provided is to create a system that works the way “people naturally work” – a process that fosters project flow discussions rather than hinders them.

The ABC of ITIL – Top 10 People Issues

mlkabik — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:06:49 +0000

This article from Computer World UK takes a look at ITIL problems from the human side: how do people affect the success of ITIL? First citing that people often look at ITIL not as a means to an end (but the end itself), the article goes on to explain how there must be total buy-in from everyone involved, consistent improvement, and allowing for ITIL to change processes that are already rooted in project teams.

Service Integration: What it is, Why you want it

mlkabik — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:04:57 +0000

So…what is Service Integration? This is a question that this post’s author, James Finister, gets asked quite often. Finister cites this definition as the most accurate description: “The management by a supplier filling some or all roles of the traditional retained service management organisation of e2e service levels delivered by multiple suppliers”. Recognizing the next natural question (why should I care about it), Finister explains how Service Integration can help a company manage and optimize vendor relations in order to save money and meet overall service goals. Finister finishes off with 10 top tips for Service Integration management and use.

Defining Effective ITIL Key Performance Indicators

mlkabik — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:02:46 +0000

From the PDF: In this article we will discuss an approach to defining effective Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in support of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL). ITIL is a set of best practices improvement framework focused on the management of IT service processes. The purpose of ITIL is to promote quality and efficiency in the use of IT by aligning IT services with business needs thereby improving the quality of IT services and reducing the long-term cost of IT services. Service Management is one of the best practices areas within the ITIL framework. Service Management is composed of ten practice areas divided into two primary groups – Service Delivery and Service Support. It is within these ten practice areas that we will discuss the need for Key Performance Indicators that align with service and business (organization) measures and the process used for establishing these measures.

“May You Live in Interesting Times” – The Impact of Cloud Computing

mlkabik — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 05:00:15 +0000

Cloud computing will have an increasingly profound impact on IT – which is saying something considering how volatile IT generally is. This article from the ITSM review takes a look at the potential upcoming changes to IT: decentralized workforce, migration of service operations outside the business, Service strategy and design becoming a core competence of IT, and the vital nature of service transition, for instance. The article’s Author, Kylie Fowler, also explains how we can “survive” the coming changes by developing soft skills like communication, understanding the overall business, and finding a niche.

Three years in a PMO: Lessons learned

mlkabik — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:06:14 +0000

NOTICE: THE AUTHOR HAS RESTRICTED ACCESS TO THIS ARTICLE SINCE OUR PUBLICATION. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

In reflecting on three years of establishing and maintaining a PMO, the Project Management Cheerleader lists what works, what doesn’t, and what would have saved time. With insights into management involvement, feedback, and best practice updates, this blog post provides three years of experience in a quick, concise read.

The Project is About the Product

mlkabik — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 05:04:46 +0000

Dave Gordon has an uncanny knack of explaining complex ideas in simple terms. For instance, Gordon sums out the problem with a common argument project managers make in regards to their experience with the particular product they are managing the project for – namely that they don’t need familiarity with the product in order to properly manage the project. Gordon disagrees, explaining how nobody would take a person seriously if they went to a construction site and declared themselves qualified to lead the project of building (despite not knowing anything about construction). While there is certainly some validity to having a good project manager being able to manage any sort of project – at some point it become important just how familiar they are with what is being built.