The Coward's Guide to Conflict

When you are managing a project there is a lot of conflict arise, some readings will help you to get the idea a way to dissolve it.

Listen & Live Audio | ISBN: 159316002X | 2003-05-16 | MP3 | 79 Mb
Comments: If you like this book, please buy.

What successful people know about conflict resolution centers on techniques, motivation and challenges for the person who is afraid of conflict and tends to avoid any situation that would create potential conflict with others. Provided in a friendly guiding tone, each chapter includes real-life examples, in the workplace and at home, and explanations of the conflict-resolution principles, exercises to coach the conflict avoider, and suggested action steps to apply to the reader's own environment.

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Project Budget

There are lots of different kinds of costs – fixed and variable costs, operational and capital costs. In planning project costs for small costs I like to distinguish between ‘cumulative’ and ‘lump-sum’ costs.

The cumulative costs are those that increase as you do more, or as tasks take longer – for example, when you are paying a contractor an hourly rate. The lump sum costs are those that will cost a particular amount – for example, when you have a quote from an electrician for lighting and power points. Lump sums can vary, but generally only under particular recognisable circumstances, such as when we later ask the electrician to add a new safety switch to the fuse box. In this case the electrician will have a legitimate reason to ask for more money.

Wrapped up in the need to budget is the need for a source of funds. Identifying and making firm friends (or at least developing a grudging mutual respect) with the person through whom you obtain the funds is very important.

You need to ensure that you can afford the unexpected – such as the people you are paying an hourly rate taking longer to get things done than planned; or needing to/wanting to do some things you did not initially put in the budget. You can do this by going back to the source of the project funds and asking for more money. Alternatively, you can add a contingency figure to the figures in your budget. This is generally to cover for small additional costs. A project managers’ rule of thumb is to always add 10%. If you have reason to expect to need more, you can consider adding more. But remember that a high contingency may stand out, and need to be justified. A really high contingency may prevent the project from going ahead (which may be the best outcome if the chances of cost overruns are high).

Microsoft Excel (or other spreadsheet program) is a good place to record your budget, although you can equally use a pen and paper (and calculator if needed).

ACTIVITY:
Identify what costs you will have, estimate how much they will be, and distinguish between cumulative and lump-sum costs. Then add 10% to see the impact of a modest contingency.

Regards

MZA

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Collective Communication Using Google Wave

Below is the site linked to the above articles: 'Google Wave'
http://wave.google.com/help/wave/closed.html

I know that some of your still are not aware of this technology but 'still malu nak angkat tangan' you can ask request for invitation.

Regards

MZA

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Project Execution Related Template

You can download and use this template as a guide in project execution

Click the link below:

All Project Execution Share Document
http://www.scribd.com/full/27373591?access_key=key-3nvrx81apxhd1zu5vfn

Sample Embbed document
1. Project Execution and Control - Kick Off Meeting

Regards

MZA

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Fundamental Purposes of Control

The 2 fundamental objective of control are:
1. The regulation of results through the alteration of activities.
2. The stewardship of organizational assets.

Physical Asset Control
Physical asset control requires the control of the use of physical assets. It is concerned with the task of asset maintenance, whether preventive or corrective. Even the timing of maintenance or replacement as well as the quality of maintenance is also maintained. If the project uses considerable amounts of physical equipment, the PM also has the problem of setting up of maintenance schedules in such a way as to keep the equipment operating condition while minimizing the interference with ongoing work. Physical inventory, whether equipment or material, must also be controlled. It must be received, inspected, and possibly stored prior to use. Records of all incoming shipments must be carefully validated so that the payments of the suppliers can be authorized. The same precautions applied to goods from external suppliers must also be applied to the suppliers from inside the organization. Minor details such as project library, project coffee maker, etc. must be counted maintained and conserved.

Financial Resource Control
The work of accountants for conservation of financial resources has resulted in an excellent tool for financial controls. It is difficult to separate the control mechanisms aimed at conservation of financial resources from those regulating resource use. Capital investments control work to conserve the organization’s assets by insisting that certain conditions be met before capital can be expanded and those same conditions usually regulate the use of capital to achieve the goal of high return on investments. The techniques of financial control, both conservation and regulation are well known. They include current asset control, project budgets as well as capital investment controls. These controls are exercised through a series of analyses and audits conducted by the accounting for most of the part.

The importance of proper conformance to both organizational and client control standards in financial practice and record keeping cannot be over-emphasized. The parent organization, through its agent, the project manager, is responsible for the conservation and proper use of resources owned by the client or owned by the parent and charged to the client. It is not possible to define in general, what might be required for any given project. The firm should however make sure that it has legal counsel competent to aid it in meeting this responsibility. The mind-set of the conservationist is often antithetical in the mind-set of the PM, whose natural intention is to use the resources rather than conserving them. The PM however has no choice but to live with it. The warring attitudes must be merged and compromised as best they can.

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Control

Control is the last element is the implementation cycle of planning-monitoring-controlling. It is an act of reducing the difference between plan and reality. Control is focused on 3 elements of a project-performance, cost and time.

Performance:
•Unexpected technical problems.
•Insufficient resources.
•Quality problems, etc.

Cost
•More resources required.
•Scope of work increases.
•Budgeting was inadequate, etc.

Time
•Technical difficulties took longer time to solve.
•Task sequencing was incorrect.
•Governmental regulations were altered, etc.

These are only a few mechanistic problems that can occur. All problems have a human element too. Humans by action or inaction, set in motion, a chain of events that leads to a failure of the budget, quality problems, etc. Frustration, pleasure, determination, anger and many other emotions rise during the project development. It is over this welter of confusion, emotion and general cussedness that the PM tries to exert control. Such combination of human and mechanistic problems, call for PM intervention and control.

In systems as complex as projects, the task of defining the problem is formidable and thus knowing what to control is not a simple task. Another reason control is difficult because, it is often quite impossible to know how the error occurred.

Regards

MZA

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Project Roles and Responsibilities

Hopefully, you can use this list to educate your team members about the various roles on a project team.

Executive Steering Committee
Sets the strategic vision and objectives for a given program or project. The team leads efforts to build consensus through the organization to support the project or program’s objectives.

Governance Board
Formal team of executives from across the organization that ensure projects will meet/are meeting enterprise goals.

Project Sponsor
Provides clarity of the project vision, and directs the activities of the project team. Allocates funding and resources to the project. Provides executive authority necessary to overcome organizational obstacles and barriers. The guardian of the business case, and ultimately responsible for project success.

Performing Organization
The organization whose personnel are most directly involved in doing the work of the project. This organization usually provides sponsorship for the project.

Project Management Office
An organizational body or entity assigned various responsibilities related to the centralized and coordinated management of those programs/projects under its domain.

Project Stakeholders
Persons or organizations (customers, sponsors, performers, public) that are actively involved in the project or whose interests may be positively or negatively impacted by executing or implementation of the project.

Program Manager
Person responsible for the centralized, coordinated management of a program (group of related projects) to achieve the program’s strategic objectives and benefits.

Project Manager
The person assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives. The project manager is responsible for coordinating and integrating activities across multiple functional lines, and managing stakeholder communications. The project manager accomplishes the above by managing project scope, time, cost, and quality. Finally, the project manager applies project management, general management and technical skills, as well as team management, negotiation, financial and business acumen, combined with an understanding of organizational politics to meet project objectives and to meet or exceed stakeholder expectations.

Project Team
All the project team members, including the project management team, the project manager, and for some projects, the project sponsor.

Functional Manager
On projects, the person responsible for ensuring agreed-upon project tasks are completed using pre-defined resources under the manager’s control within scope, time, budget and quality constraints.

Project Team Leader
Responsible for ensuring that agreed-upon project tasks and assignments are completed on time, on budget, and within quality standards for personnel under their realm of control or influence. The team leader should be knowledgeable of the principles and practices of project management and understand the business unit’s strategic and operational issues.

Technical Manager/Liaison
Responsible for the technical implementation of the project as measured against the project requirements, quality targets, and budgetary constraints, and timelines. Ensures technical deliverables are consistent with the overall technical strategy of the enterprise.

Business Analyst
Primary interface between projects and business partners. Responsible for understanding current and future processes, including processes for the entire enterprise. Documents business requirements, generate business cases, assists in defining project benefits/ costs, and participates in project reviews

Regards

-MZA-

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Project Requirements and the WBS

The project manager is responsible for controlling a project's requirements. To start the process of managing requirements the project manager works with the team to create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

A couple of things to keep in mind regarding a WBS are:

1. A WBS should identify the level tasks to be completed, and relate to the project’s deliverables.
2. The customer(s), project sponsor, and stakeholders are actively involved in creating the WBS.
3. The WBS helps avoid future "scope creep".

As you can see the WBS is an important project artifact. The WBS accomplishes several things:

a. It assists the project team to identify and create specific work packages
b. It is another way of communicating the project's objectives to the team
c. It is the foundation for future project planning and activity sequencing

In closing, a WBS summarizes deliverables, shows work relationships, helps the team to estimate costs and perform risk analysis, and assists the team to identify project assumptions and dependencies.

The WBS is your friend. Start taking time to create one for every project.

regards

-MZA-

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Introduction to Project Management

Introduction to Project Management: Slides Presentation

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Project Charter Version 2.0

This Project Charter Template will help you to define the scope of your project. Writing the Project Charter is typically one of the most challenging steps in the Project Life Cycle, as it defines the parameters within which the project must be delivered.

Its sets out the project vision, objectives, scope and implementation, thereby giving the team clear boundaries within which the project must be delivered.

This Project Charter template will help you to:

1. Identify the project vision and objectives
2. Define the complete scope of the project
3. List all of the critical project deliverables
4. State the customers and project stakeholders
5. List the key roles and their responsibilities
6. Create an organizational structure for the project
7. Document the overall implementation plan
8. List any risks, issues and assumptions

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Seminar Keusahawanan Peniaga Dan Penjaja Kecil Negari Selangor

Tarikh: 11 August 2009
Tempat: Bangunan SUK Selangor
Peserta: 130 Orang Ahli dari Persatuan Peniaga dan Penjaja Kecil Negeri Selangor
Tajuk: Motivasi Perniagaan, Konsep Pemasaran Bersepadu, Promosi Produk (New Media) dan Pengurusan Kewangan











more training at:
http://xpress.thedreamsoft.com
http://www.thedreamsoft.com
contact no : 1700 808 809 untuk maklumat dan latihan

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Seminar Keusahawanan Peniaga Dan Penjaja Kecil Negari Selangor

Tarikh: 11 August 2009
Tempat: Bangunan SUK Selangor
Peserta: 130 Orang Ahli dari Persatuan Peniaga dan Penjaja Kecil Negeri Selangor
Perasmian: Dirasmikan Oleh Y.B. Tuan Haji Yaakob bin Sapari (Exco Kerajaan Negeri Selangor)
Tajuk: Motivasi Perniagaan, Konsep Pemasaran Bersepadu, Promosi Produk (New Media) dan Pengurusan Kewangan









more training at:
http://xpress.thedreamsoft.com
http://www.thedreamsoft.com
contact no : 1700 808 809 untuk maklumat dan latihan

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PBT Kedah-Pengurusan Projek

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Pak Andak dalam- Yakin

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Lagu Akhir-Senjakala

Senjakala...Untuk Semua


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Building KLCC

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Building Confidence 3

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Building Confidence 2

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Building Confidence

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Siri 3: Heritage Hotel Cameron Highlands 27-29 July 2009

Final Project Closing

View more presentations from Megat Zainurul anuar.

Series 3

1. Involves gaining stakeholder and customer acceptance of the final products and services.

2. Even if projects are not completed, they should be formally closed in order to reflect on what can be learned to improve future projects.

3. Outputs include project archives and lessons learned, which are part of organizational process assets.

4. Most projects also include a final report and presentation to the sponsor or senior management.

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Simulation Game: Building Construction Continued

Pemenang 'Building Construction' akan di umum di Siri Ke:3 di Cameron Highlands.



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Simulation Game: Building Construction 1

Role / Peranan
Project Manager: Memberi arahan untuk membangunkan bangunan seperti yang terdapat didalam plan yang dilukis oleh arthitect.
Observer / Pemerhati: Membuat permerhatian secara menyeluruh dari awal hingga akhir proses dan merekodkan 'Lesson Learn'
Architect: Melukis pelan bangunan dan menyerahkan kepada Projek Manager
Contractor: Menyiapkan bangunan yang seperti yang terdapat didalam pelan dengan mengikut arahan dari Projek Manager

Klick link untuk mendownload video penuh: http://www.divshare.com/download/7824938-ee8

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contact no : 1700 808 809 untuk maklumat dan latihan

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Project Manager and Communication

What Is Communication?
Communication is defined as a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. Use of these processes is developmental and transfers to all areas of life: home, school, community, work, and beyond. It is through communication that collaboration and cooperation occur.



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Project Cost Control

Cost control are important aspects of project management. Cost data for a project may be associated with activities or groups of activities or with resources, such as personnel or equipment. For example, consider a project that consists of several subprojects, each of which is contracted to a different company. From the contracting company's point of view, each subproject can be treated as one cost item; all the company needs to know is how much each subproject is going to cost.

On the other hand, another project may contain several activities, each of which requires two types of labor, skilled and unskilled. The cost for each activity in the project may have to be computed on the basis of how much skilled or unskilled labor that activity uses. In this case, activity and project costs are determined from the resources used. Further, for any project, there may be several ways in which costs need to be summarized and accounted for.
In addition to determining the cost of each individual activity, you may want to determine periodic budgets for different departments that are involved with the project or compare the actual costs that were incurred with the budgeted costs.

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