Data Analysis & Results, Inc.

Knocking the Stupid out of Job Search & Career Enhancement for Professionals

2016-05-16

This blog is updated often, please send suggestions to Info@DataAnalysis.com if you find great Job Search resources!

Career

What we at DA&R may be able to do for you...

We have an opt-in LEADS list where we email when we have or know of a specific opportunity. Sometimes contract sometimes employee... Let us know if you want on that list!
For senior professionals, see our Staffing - Experts Available page... If you have senior level skills contact ExecAsst@DataAnalysis.com for information on how to get a listing. It will be anonymous so that opportunities come through us, no one else will know. We will need an updated resume highlighting the skills on your expert blurb.
We sometimes have limited short-term opportunities to work, pro bono, on some of our accounts, for professional associations, and some volunteer, to freshen your resume, meet a lot of good people, and maybe get hired!

Career Enhancement

There are many thin gs you can do to maintain and grow your career trajectory... Important topics include learning and more important, applying what you learn to do more for your employer or nonprofit organization you volunteer for.

As you research and add best practices, tools, and experience to your professional expertise, take a minute and document as you go. Update your LinkedIn profile, resume, and other social media areas appropriate for your industry, or yearly performance documentation to ensure you have ready answers and can present a brief summary of the area including benefits of adoption to others.

As you see in-house or external jobs you may want to apply for, grab relevant keywords and make sure your materials contain them and synonyms.

As a leader, think about documenting your current practices this way as well. Many others in your organization or even outside your organization may benefit.

Career & Resume Coach

Are you confused, frustrated, and worried…not getting results from your job search and resume? Lost in all the advice others give? Ready for a change…want to listen to something new? The PIP System is the answer to the loud job battle-cry, “how do I get attention?” 6 years in development and some 100 case study participants, the PIP System offers a new approach to Career Success and Job Search that actually changes the way we think, who are, how we and others behave and, most importantly, how the market is hiring and how to sell you!

Doug Whatley is the best, period. He will put you through a process that will focus you and help you dramatically increase your traction… If you want very intellectual help from perhaps the best resume and career coach in the business, contact Doug Whatley, be persistent… Doug Whatley LinkedIn profile https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougwhatley/ and tell him we sent you! Doug has a massive network and has been known to place a few people with great organizations too!

Job Search Resources

Austin Job Seekers Network: www.linkedin.com/groups/1696057/ Run by a DA&R alumni and sponsored by the Hill Country Bible Church has many resources, meetings, job fairs, tutorials, and other very useful tips and events.
Launch Pad Job Club: www.linkedin.com/groups/3078 Is a longstanding great group that meets Fridays in Austin and has all sorts of resources for job seekers.
Austin Digital Jobs: (Facebook Group) www.facebook.com/groups/austindigitaljobs/ and their weekly newsletter Curated career links emailer #TGIF https://theamericangenius.com/tgif/
Austin Freelance Gigs: www.facebook.com/groups/freelanceatx/
Remote Jobs: www.facebook.com/groups/901954586546769/
There are dozens of local job groups as well, check your area with search terms in Facebook such as 'Austin Job'.
There are even sites dedicated to 'experienced' older workers:
https://jobs.aarp.org/v#index - http://www.workforce50.com/ - http://www.seniorjobbank.org/
Google and Udacity free job search classes - https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/04/udacity-and-google-launch-free-career-courses-for-interview-prep-resume-writing-and-more/

Volunteering Resources

Everyone should volunteer and it is especially important for job seekers. Expand your network, increase your skills, and give back, all at the same time! Volunteering looks great on a resume, especially if you have a gap... Don't limit yourself to local opportunities, you can do a lot remotely.

Attitude

Please be mindful of your attitude... We see so many people who have been laid off, sometimes multiple times, through no fault of their own and you can feel the anger still burning in them. Don't blame others, always be cheerful. Don't be what people in the industry call, "Damaged Goods" with a chip or martyrdom on your shoulders...

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." - Proverbs 17-22 NIV.

Wipe the Sink

2016-11-30

Who should read this: Everyone at every level, especially executives!

We see it often in early, mid-career, and even in very experienced people - the tendency to push hard problems to their manager. This inefficient tactic is often used in projects and operations, by well-meaning Business Analysts, Project Managers acting as Business Analysts, and supervisors, managers, and others doing staff work…

I was reminded recently of our human, work, and leadership responsibility by an employee action at a vendor I was visiting as a client. While washing my hands in the restroom I recognized an employee as they washed their hands. He tossed a paper towel toward the waste bin and missed. I looked at him, he looked at me then without acknowledging me or the missed shot, he walked out.

So what did I do? I finished drying my hands, quickly wiped down the sink area, then stooped down and tossed both our paper towels in the bin. As a long-time consultant I have always trained my people to leave each place at least a little better than you found it. As a project manager, executive, and member of the human race, I know that walking the talk is important so I try to lead by example and not just by decree.

Was I obligated the do this? Of course not, I was the customer. However it left a sour taste in my mouth that the employee was not engaged, aware, or cared enough to pick up after themselves.

I mentioned this to the office manager when we were alone. She moaned, "Yes, many of them are like that..." I asked her what should have happened. She replied the employee should have picked up the towel and tossed it in the bin. She said she would address the behavior with the employee and thanked me. Sheesh.

Now she has a disengaged employee who will be griped at by his supervisor which will very likely drive him further away and possibly be the straw that causes him to quit or worse become a zombie employee who shuffles through his day for dollars. Another horrible outcome would be a process-crazed addition to the "rules" and a page or two about restroom etiquette. This is how stupid rules are born... Good intent to modify unproductive behaviors yet just putting them down on paper or online can further damage morale of everyone, not just the offender.

Before we get to the obligatory Bullet point list of how to make this better, a real life example...We do part of our personal and business financing at Amplify Credit Union in Austin since they are also a client. When I visited one day, I noticed a couple of pieces of paper in the "airlock" entry door area. Several customers came and went as did a couple of employees. I happened to meet the long-term President & CEO Paul Trylko, in the lobby and we shook hands. He seemed just a bit distracted and asked if we could continue the conversation in a moment. I of course agreed. He stepped over to the airlock, picked up the papers, glanced at them, and tossed them in a trash can. He then returned to our conversation which quickly wrapped up. I saw at least four employees noticed what he did.

THAT is the way to lead by example! He did not ask someone to pick them up, he just did it. He was not negative. You could tell he just wanted a great environment for customers and employees. I bet he did not create a new set of rules or gripe to anyone for the oversight. I also bet more employees will take pride In their customer centric environment than if he addressed the matter in a negative way.

What could have helped turn around the negative situation I encountered at the other vendor? There is to gain by addressing the specific behavior with the employee or in creating a huge book of stupid rules... Now for the obligatory set of Bullet points I promised you.

Act as you would want your employees to act.
Everyone, especially management, should lead by example to set an example for all.
Review your policies to find areas to simplify and empower rather than stipulate or specify behaviors.
Think about your culture and if you would benefit from focusing on people and intent.

What are potential Next Steps?

Here is where the money, or at least ROI, grows… While there are books and how-to’s on Culture, Doing The Right Things, and Change Management, experience in both Change Management and your organization are critical to your project success. We have performed and advised on many projects and the most successful ones always include Change Management. Let’s sit down and review your current and future projects to see where Change Management can be affordably added to greatly increase your chances of success. Let’s get that planned ROI to actually materialize! Info@DataAnalysis.com +1-512-850-4402 to set a free initial consultation.

Knocking the Stupid out of Certification Training Risks & Rewards

2016-11-07

To Certify or Not to Certify, that is the question…

If you are a job seeker in a specialty that rewards certification, the answer is clear. Read below for how to get Project Management and Business Analysis certifications.

If you are an employer the choice is not so clear for two reasons… They may not be what you think! Employers read on for a fresh perspective on two considerations for you to work through… Reward and Risk. and how to frame your decision.

The Reward Aspect

Certification based training has two main rewards, one for your employee and one for your organization.

If you set up formal recognitions for taking training and a financial reward for certifying, people are more likely to attend, pay attention, and leverage the best practices they will learn.

It is great to take care of your employees and help them grow in their career. As they up their game using what they learned your organization will get better performance. Another blog will cover how to set up your program for high leverage.

The Risk Aspect

Certification training has two main risks...

Salary Structure Risk

One Risk is if your salary structure does not recognize certifications. You may experience attrition as a direct result of credentialing your employees. If your salary structure has ‘Golden Handcuffs’ or is at least in the mid-range of certificants in your area, you will probably be ok. Otherwise, good change management would be to increase your salary bands for certificants.

Disappointment Risk

Another Risk is more subtle… No matter how good your processes and people, no matter how appropriate the level of detail or control, certification training will open areas where improvement is possible. If the gap is big, your people may come back from training disgruntled or worse!

If your people feel they were sent to learn best practices yet when they return no change happens, they may get discouraged. They now know that there are proven best practices that could work in their organization yet they can get no traction toward improvements.

So unless you are ready to sponsor, manage, and actually change your organization, at least to some extent, you may be better off setting up an Internal Certification.

Internal Certifications

Internal Certifications can mitigate a good portion of both these Risks. They can be the best of both worlds for the organization, yet still add benefit to your employees.

When we have set up Internal Certifications in several organizations, both of the risks were addressed. When we have not set up Internal Certifications in at least half our clients there has been unnecessary churn...

Benefits include highlighting the type of behaviors you want to change with the training, pre-work, and follow up meetings and specific assignments to update processes for the better. The recognition can be higher and some of our clients even link their Internal Certification to enable promotions, bonuses, or raises.

Let's discuss how to set up an attainable, yet challenging and productivity enhancing, Internal Certification that benefits both your organization and your people.

Have you been thinking that your organization could do better? Not sure where to begin?

Contact us for a custom training assessment, to find out how easy it is to set up an Internal Certification or to find out how certification or best practice based training can help you and your people! http://www.dataanalysis.com/contact +1-512-968-0770 Info@DataAnalysis.com

The Data Analysis & Results, Inc. Story... Why We Are Here!

2016-11-21

Why Work With DA&R?

We love to help our clients with their problems, opportunities, and sometimes just a nudge to continue their never-ending process improvement and efficiency journey.

We understand Projects, Staffing, Consulting, and the importance of Cultural Fit!

Being senior leaders, we understand the limitations of most consulting, project, and staffing firms regarding how they must work.

Here are a few things we do not do:

Bid on projects that do not fall under our senior staff sets of expertise

Low ball a bid and then change order back up to size

Push work to low quality overseas vendors

Cold calling campaigns, either for candidates or clients

Resume trolling on the internet, including the big sites like Monster, Indeed, and DICE (although they have their place...)

Place all types of staff... We specialize in project, interim executive, mid-management, technical specialists, and business analysts

See Who We Are on our web for more about how we can help you!

Staffing / Staff Augmentation Placement

We are not a body shop. We know that successful placements require a strong culture fit with capable people, not an almost random word-association game of matching with huge candidate resume databases. Simple keyword matching does not really work. Using technologies like the old STAR system (which by the way was originally written and sold by senior DA&R technologists...) is a pale substitute for knowing your candidates and having a work or at least extended training or professional association project work.

DA&R advises careful wording of position descriptions that actually match both internal job descriptions and performance criteria. When all these are aligned, magic happens. We can help write and coordinate your approach to the needed staff and work to align organization and candidate goals, ensuring a great fit.

Project Placement

One size does not fit all... We work on project in all of the following ways Agile, Iterative, Waterfall (PMI), hybrid and of course we can and do adapt to the productive methods you have developed in-house. In our substantial experience, we have found that keeping what is working and adapting what is needed is the best approach. We can also start and perform projects in our methodology, both as a proof of concept for your executives and as a test to see if your staff is ready for wholesale change. In all our projects, we leave in place trained people, fully documented processes, and meaningful metrics (KPIs) that let you know the actual status for all your projects and their deliverables.

DA&R advises using our services on an important project... If we work on a small or less important project, we will likely siphon off expert resources from other projects. Let us help you with a key project first, make it and you look good, then trickle down the proven processes to the rest of your project portfolio. When sponsored projects are aligned with organization and staff goals, magic happens.

We have the flexibility to work with you to address your unique needs. While we do not have a cookie-cutter thick methodology, we do have a comprehensive set of flexible, proven methods that we can intelligently alter and apply to leverage our experience and substantial intellectual property around project and operations processes.

DA&R History

Data Analysis & Results, Inc. started when two huge California firms both asked us to do for them what they heard we did for another large firm.
Back then, we tuned massive databases.
(6 of the largest 20 databases in the world... other than military.)

Now we thank God that the first five, yes five, names for our firm that we chose were taken! We will not disclose them as they seem incredibly silly now...

So DA&R sprouted in 1985 to do full weekend database extracts, data cleansing, reloads, and many smaller performance tuning processes. At least twice we were able to help our clients avoid big hardware purchases by complex tweaking of their data, processes, storage and access methods, and some proprietary caching, etc.

Since then, we have planned and delivered many large projects. We have served our clients as an alternative to big money, big staff, big hassle large Big 5 consulting firms with equivalent or better people, processes, and of course agility. We can adapt to our client needs quickly!

As we like to say, "We are packed! Ready to serve on your site or remotely when and where you need us."

Now we tend toward executives with a big problem or opportunity...

Or a senior manager who absolutely knows their staff can do better,
but may not know exactly how to get them there.

Also we serve as "another pair or pairs of hands" for many of our clients when they get overloaded...

We have saved our clients millions of dollars over the big firms, and from what they have told us, they have gotten substantial value, more than they get from the big guys!

So here is our firm, *very* Senior people, great results over the years.The quandary has always been, how do we market? We are great project managers, business analysts, interim executives, planners, tech writers and more, but we and *not* great marketers... For ourselves anyway!

+1-512-850-4402 Info@DataAnlaysis.com Thank you.

Knocking the Stupid out of PMO Business Models

2016-10-19

This is a draft. If you wish to review drafts like this one and more detailed information, please email ExecAsst@DataAnalysis.com. This message will be removed for final version.
Why Think About PMO Business Models?

There are two main reasons:

Most current PMO Business Models simply do not work and are not sustainable...
To raise performance of your people or their processes.

If you are considering forming, own, are part of, or interact with a PMO or related project management or governance organization, and you feel that your PMO could be a lot more productive, smoother, and add more value, read on...

The rest of this article will show where you should put your improvement effort. Let's go over some of the main points for professional and immediately useful PMOs.

Project Management Offices have waxed and waned through the years, searching for a working business model. Many have failed, most that remain are in a constant state of having to justify their existence. Your PMO can overcome the distraction label and really help your functional units perform better. What is the problem with traditional business models for PMOs?
These and other symptoms or problems may need to be addressed...

You want to reduce friction between your PMO and functional units.
You want to increase performance.
Your PMO does not feel sustainable or permanent.
Your PMO has to constantly justify its existence.
Your PMO goals are in direct or indirect conflict with function unit goals.
Failures occur more often than needed.

Sustainability is absolutely critical to long-term PMO and therefore organization success. PMOs fail when they:

Bloat by implementing their own “good ideas”.
Are Directive rather than Advisory.
Overreach Authority.
Hire anyone who does not Directly Manage Projects.

First, What Doesn’t Work & Why.

PMO as Governance Enforcer, a distraction from executive direction to business units.
PMO as Reporting Mechanism.

Now, What Can Work & How! Best Practices.

PMO as expert, friendly advisor to executive direction to business units.
PMO – Virtual, with each process owned by project managers from all areas.
Now What? Next Steps…

Results Possible

Roadmap for aligning functional (business) and PMO goals.
Roadmap for process improvement and change management.
Specific Best Practices choices to implement, we recommend one at a time...:
Goal alignment.
Virtual tools and possibly a full virtual PMO.
Forms, Process, Document, and Facilitation.
People reclassification recommendations.
Org chart and reorganization recommendations.

Methodology Choices

Onsite PMO experts to take control of your PMO (Fastest, most Political).
Onsite PMO experts to mentor your management implementing best practices.
Onsite review, then periodic visits to jumpstart and mentor one at a time changes.
Onsite review then remote participation to jumpstart and mentor one at a time changes.

Want Help Implementing This Improvement? Call the A&I™ PMOgre™ Team and let us quickly set up and implement the PMO Roadmap that is right for you.

Let us execute on your goals using our A&I™ PMOgre™ methodology. Contact us DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com for help or just to talk over your situation. We are in-process with one client on a PMO best practices project and have completed many and many types of PMO best practice implementations, some with focus on:

Project Management, PMO, Project Processes, Project Improvement Areas.
Business Analysis, BA COE (Center of Excellence), BA Processes.
Agile Project Management, Business Analysis, & Software Development Processes.
Customer Service, Customer Satisfaction, & Improvement Areas.
SDLC (Systems Development Life Cycle), Application Development Processes.

Journyx sponsors webinars: "Project Management Office: What Works and What Doesn't - Virtual is Best. PMO Business Models." http://www.journyx.com/library/webinars/archive We have several in their list.

Two of our clients and a couple of other interested organizations asked us to deliver customized versions on-site and to help them work through their PMO issues. Contact us to set one up for your organization.

We would be happy to talk these topics over with you anytime! DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com

"By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established;" Proverbs 24-3 NIV.

Knocking the Stupid out of™ Training using Change Management

2016-10-19

Why: Normal training is just not effective!

We’ve all seen it. Professional Development Training Courses are requested, justified, vendors evaluated, and one selected. Conference calls are held, training is ‘customized’ (really just tweaked) from the same old playbook. The number of days or sessions is constantly reduced in the name of budget and time savings. Training is delivered; there is a buzz for the next two weeks that diminishes back to almost no real change as everyone returns to “The Matrix.”

This is our life, a seemingly infinite work queue with little or no time for improvement.

Is this what you want?

No? Think we can all do better? Read on…

A few of our training-only clients have serially resisted taking the extra steps needed to create real change in their organization. They say things like:

“We don’t have budget for that.”

“It crosses department boundaries that we do not have power over.”

“Can you do the four days of training in two or even one day?"

"Can you perform the training remotely?"

"Our people are too busy to attend in-person training.”

“We handle change management internally.”

“Do you know how much time and energy that would take?”

“You are just trying to expand the engagement.”

(This next one is true, but not for the reasons they suspect…)

“We don’t know how to really make training best practices stick…”

Harvard Business Review agrees with us! https://hbr.org/2016/10/why-leadership-training-fails-and-what-to-do-about-it

Do the Math

10 of your people for 3 days @ $100/hour (fully loaded or opportunity cost - $100 is low…) = $24,000 plus the training firm including travel, and you have a real expense. Are you really getting $50k+ worth of value from this exercise in frustration? How do you know? What has really changed? If the answer is nothing, stop wasting your money and staff time. Frustration

Why frustration? Your staff is exposed, assuming your training really teaches great fundamentals and world-class best practices (wow is that a bad assumption…) to a variety of tools, processes, and techniques that they are very likely not going to put to use. Some of the off-the-shelf material probably conflicts with your previously declared internal best practices. Have you made it clear to your staff that they are responsible for implementing real change by putting in place these fundamentals and world-class best practices?

No? Think we can do better? Read on…

What You Should Do

www.slideshare.net/lsaglobal/training-does-not-work

Do you want real change, automatically sustainable, with high value in your organization?

I thought so!

We want that for you too! What you should do to really

Knock the Stupid out of™ Training using Change Management

is outlined in detail below.

You must identify every single deliverable that would support your desired change. You must take ownership of all deliverables that do not have an owner.(Don’t worry, delegate that ownership after this change management project…)You must influence the owners of each deliverable you need to change. You will need at least one short document, one presentation, and a short project plan with everything laid out to perform this work.You must collaborate on the changes to each deliverable.You must work with each deliverable owner to roll out and cement each change.

There are multiple considerations in planning your Change Project -- many more than can be addressed in a short blog. For a cost-effective analysis to help you hone in on just what matters, contact us.

Project Management for your Change Project

Here is an incomplete yet useful list of some of the types of documents you might choose to change for your project to really be adopted so your organization reaps the full possible benefit:

Project

Charter, Scope Statement, Project Plan (Processes, not project details…)
Most of the heavy lifting is done in the probably new: Change Management Plan
Requirements of all types: Text, Models, Prototypes
Project Documents such as Schedule, Risk Register, Communication Matrix (which contains Stakeholder Register, RACI, and more), Project Logs, Status Reports
Standing and other Meeting Agendas
Any others?

Human Resources

Job Descriptions
Interview Scripts
Open Position Descriptions
Training Plans
Compensation Plans
Performance Plans
Any others?

· Business Unit or Line of Business or Functional

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Business Processes, Models, and Rules
Organization Charts, Roles & Responsibilities
Workflow, Reviews, and Approvals
Desktop Procedures
Policies, Governance, and Compliance
Training, “Cheat Sheets”, Repository Historical
Metrics and Processes to measure and improve
Standing and other Meeting Agendas
Any others?

· Technical

User Manuals, Technical Manuals, Support, Operations Instructions
Test Plans and details, Acceptance Criteria
Online Help, Error Messages, and “Wizards”
Metrics and Processes to measure improvement
Standing and other Meeting Agendas
Any others?

Deliverables:

a. List each document identified in your above analysis to change (or to create if not there!) in your Schedule as a deliverable.

b. Add any project documents to support your efforts. These should be, at a minimum

i. Project Plan – for small efforts, this could contain information normally present in your Charter and Scope Statement. Your plan should lay out the main process steps you will take to handle your Scope, Resources, Risk, Time, and Cost.

ii. Schedule – repository for detail about deliverables, resources, estimates, actuals, and any other data you need.

iii. Project Logs – lists of Actions, Issues, Decisions, Risks, Glossary, and anything else you need to keep track of.

Dependencies: Order (your best guess) deliverables to complete first (such as job description prior to performance goals…). Resources with names, or at least roles, for every deliverable. These are the people who will approve and collaborate. Work & Duration: If you want this granularity, add these Estimates and leave room for Actuals and “Estimates to Complete”. Dates: As with any other schedule building, Don’t Type In Any Dates! This is what the scheduling software is for…

Authored by Darrel Raynor, PMP, MBA (The Management Advisor guy) Google+ DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com www.linkedin.com /in/DarrelRaynor

With: Human Resources input from Doug Whatley (The Contrarian Voice guy) www.linkedin.com/in/DougWhatley

If you Want Help Implementing?

Contact us DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com for help or just to talk over your situation. Results from prior Training coupled with Change Management has improved operations and projects. We are in-process with several clients on realizing full benefit from training once it is aligned with their business objectives and not just tossed against the wall to see what sticks...:

Aligning Training with desired best practices.

Aligning performance expectations with desired best practices.

Project Management Office (PMO) and Business Analysis COE (Center of Excellence), possible roles in the change process.

Simple Change Management planning for your own internal training efforts.

Speaking engagements to bring these tactics to your larger organization.

We would be happy to talk these topics over with you anytime!

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:26 NIV.

Management & Technical Resources to Learn - Actually Useful!

2016-10-18

This is a living document. If you find a Project Management, Business Analysis, or leadership tutorial or other information you think should be listed here, or if any links cease working, please email Info@DataAnalysis.com.

Here are what we have found to be useful tutorials or other types of aids to understanding... Thank you and enjoy! Let us know if these have been helpful to you in studying for an exam or in managing your projects and career.

How to submit Professional Education Course Hours for Re-certification Credit

PMI - http://pdu.pmi.org/pdf/tipsforPDUs.pdf

IIBA - http://www.iiba.org/Certification/recertification.aspx

Useful Training & Business Areas

The KHAN ACADEMY® micro video lectures stored on YouTube teaching math, history, healthcare, finance, and many other subjects are free and incredibly useful. Here is one short video that explains various math concepts needed for the PMP, CAPM, CBAP, CCBA and other professional certifications. https://www.khanacademy.org/math/probability/descriptive-statistics/variance_std_deviation/v/range--variance-and-standard-deviation-as-measures-of-dispersion

For New Management or any manager who is floundering or who wants to improve:

http://firstround.com/review/this-90-day-plan-turns-engineers-into-remarkable-managers/

How To Cut Down On Constant Interruptions During Your Meetings

http://info.tractioninc.com/blog/business-coaching-how-to-cut-down-on-constant-interruptions-during-your-meetings

How The Words You Speak & How You Speak Them Affect You & Others

http://www.lifehack.org/293677/how-word-choices-transform-your-mind

Business Analysis Resources

Aris Express is our favorite modeling tool, free, at least for the first level, and also has this great poster! This is the best taxonomy of simple models, as they all should be! Enjoy. http://cdn.ariscommunity.com/media/poster/aris-express-poster-21-1.pdf

Wow. These Testing Mind Maps were exactly what I could have used on dozens of projects! Great brainstorming and productivity helpers! http://apps.testinsane.com/mindmaps/
also see this fine Agile testing tutorial: http://apps.testinsane.com/mindmaps/uploads/html/Agile%20QA%20-%20Capabilities%20and%20Skills.html

PMP and other PMI Certification FAQs & Resources

Exam changes 1/11/16 http://www.pmi.org/certification/exam-changes/pmp.aspx

PMI® Project Management Professional (PMP)® Examination Content Outline
http://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-exam-outline.pdf

PMI® Project Management Professional (PMP)® Handbook
http://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/project-management-professional-handbook.pdf

PMI® Professional Code of Ethics http://www.pmi.org/About-Us/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics.aspx

e-SIM - Electronic Exam Simulator http://www.pmstar.com/pmp-simulator/ from PM Star, our favorite and close to the exam.

Earned Value Management (EVM)

http://www.tutorialspoint.com/earn_value_management/

www.projectlearning.net/video/ev/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news8_3_july10

http://www.projectlearning.net/video/ev2/

Recent Blog by an African PM trainer...

http://www.pmta.co.za/blog/earned-value-management-made-simple

Critical Path sites…

http://www.tutorialspoint.com/management_concepts/critical_path_method.htm

http://www.headfirstlabs.com/PMP/criticalpath/HeadFirstPMP_CriticalPathDrill.pdf

Microsoft Project

http://www.projectlearning.net/microsoft_project_knowledge_base.htm

Good MS Project software tips newsletter: MS Project Tips Newsletter/Blog and an installable tutorial (Firefox & IE only...)

http://www.projectlearning.net/project_companion_for_newsletter_subscribers.htm

Amazon.com can help you get what you need!

http://amzn.to/1L4t5nN

MIT Open Courseware - http://ocw.mit.edu

Massive Open Online Courses - mooc-list.com

Microsoft Outlook

Darrel Raynor (From our LinkedIn posting)

Want Help Implementing Improvements? Call the A&I™ PMOgre™ Team and let us quickly analyze, advise, and help you implement the productivity improvements that are right for you.

Let us execute on your goals using our A&I™ PMOgre™ methodology. Contact us DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com for help or just to talk over your situation.

Several of our clients asked us to continue to help them hone their project management, business analysis, and related leadership processes, templates, and training. Contact us to set one up for your organization.

We would be happy to talk these topics over with you anytime! DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com

"For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul." Proverbs 2-10 NIV.

Knocking the Stupid out of Status Reporting

2016-10-17

Do you feel like way too much of your time and your staff time is taken up compiling, endlessly updating, and delivering status reports? Do you have repetitive, long, vague, probing status conversations anyway? There are several ways to improve the entire process of status reporting. Key status topics including how to implement a reasonable status process:

A&I™ Irritating Research™ Surprising what people actually do.
Symptoms. Problems, & Opportunities.
What Doesn't Work & Why.
What Can Work & How!
Data. Status must simply be a subset or summary of data, not opinions, whitewashing, or vague blocks of text...
Documents. Status must pull from and link to your project documents.
Methodology Choices. and If you Want Help Implementing?

A&I™ Irritating Research™

On two software development projects (over US $15m each) we studied how people actually use status reports. Not what they asked for, but the decisions they make based on status report data. What we found turns conventional wisdom on its ear, so we proceed with Knocking the Stupid out of... Status Reporting! What best practices can we apply to improve the mix?

[To implement, you need to understand the five basic project dimensions and that they need to be listed in terms of their overall flexibility on each project. See future blog on "Knocking the Stupid out of... Project Dimensions: Flexibility". Scope, Time, Cost, Quality, Resources (People and other). The least flexible should drive most metrics and status. The most flexible make up most of the domain for your Corrective Actions.]

Symptoms, Problems, & Opportunities.

You want to reduce time spent compiling and discussing project status.
You want to increase performance of your projects and your people.
Your current status process does not feel efficient or effective.
Your project teams complain about status data that does not reflect true project status.
Your status reports do not suggest what should be done: corrective actions.
Your status reports are not reasonable across different and different types of projects.

What Doesn't Work & Why.

One mandatory format for all project status. It just does not work...
No mandatory process or template for status. Projects will report babel.
Missing or inconsistent application of status best practices.
Random questions from many people, all trying to come at the project from a different point of view and a 'filter' of one important project dimension.

What Can Work & How!
Data

Use just data or extrapolations of data with Recommended Corrective Actions.
The only interesting data is that which supports specific types of project decisions.
Provide links back to base data, use footnotes and comments to foster trust.

Documents

Schedule views with milestones, to show baseline estimate, actual, estimate to complete:
Time & Scope Milestone Tracking Gantt.
Cost Money spent and planned table.
Resources Hours worked and planned table.
Quality varies by type of project, defects, rework, survey results, or other.
Project Logs to show other interesting information.
Issues Log for blocking, new, solved, and aging issues.
Risk Register for new, occuring, and expiring, risks.
Decision Log for new decisions made (can also hold pending decisions).
Defect Log (or other quality document) for quality problems.

Specific Best Practices choices to implement, we recommend one at a time...:

Format your status report into four sections:
VARIANCES in Time, Scope, Cost, Resources, Quality with a Recommendation:
Requested for more than project authority or politically sensitive.
Taken for within project authority and not overly sensitive.
DATA from your project documents above, including one or two graphics:
Schedule Tracking Gantt view if Time or Scope is less flexible.
Schedule Budget view if Cost is less flexible.
Defect Graph (or other quality data) with extrapolations.
NEW list of line items from your project documents: Deliverables, Issues, Risks.
DONE list of line items from your project documents: Deliverables, Issues, Risks.
Ask your Stakeholders what decisions they make from status reports and meetings.
Ask them what data they need to support their most important and likely decisions.
Adjust your Project Management Documents and Processes to obtain that data.
Work with your Stakeholders one on one to get their buy-in.

Methodology Choices.

Onsite PM experts take control of your Status Reporting (Fastest, most Political).
Onsite PM experts mentor your management and staff implementing best practices.
Onsite review, then periodic visits to jumpstart and mentor one at a time changes.
Onsite review then remote participation to jumpstart and mentor one at a time changes.

If you Want Help Implementing?

Contact us DARaynor@DataAnalysis.com for help or just to talk over your situation. We are in-process with one client on updating their status best practices and have completed other similar engagements with status best practice implementations, some with focus on:

Program Status normalization to reduce redundant effort on many status reports.
Collaboration around status live in meetings using views instead of static reports.
Business Analysis, BA COE (Center of Excellence), BA Processes inclusion in status.
Agile Project Management, Business Analysis, & Software Development Status.

We would be happy to talk these topics over with you anytime!

"...teaching you to be honest and to speak the truth, so that you bring back truthful reports

to those you serve?" Proverbs 22-21 NIV.