Sufficient Reference Documentation Documentation is always the last thing to do in any project's list. No one really likes doing documentation so this is one of the lowest priority in anyone's list. We will do it later is the usual thought but unfortunately later usually never comes. Project Managers should always ensure that this is part and parcel of any activities in their plan and a gradual documentation along the way will ensure that there is no large pile of paper work to be done at the end of the project. This will ensure that there can be a proper transition for ongoing support as well as a reference point for current and future support team members as well future projects. Come end of the project and everyone moves on to other projects and tasks, the memories of the project team will diminish and who know even if they are engaged for future enhancements for the current project, their memory of what was done my not be as fresh so will involve another learning cur...

All projects have to come to an end. The end of the project is a beginning of a new phase in the project life cycle. Ongoing support can be seen as the icing on the project cake, after all the ingredients have been prepared, mixed together and cooked to perfection. Most of the points here are more related to technical projects but are still relevant to other areas too. The process of handing over and the quality of ongoing support is a delicate operation and is equally important as the previous phases of the project. A number of areas should be considered in this process: Current skill sets of supporting staff Adequate resources to sustain ongoing support Sufficient reference documentation Proper ramp up planning Align expectations of business partners. Current Skill Sets of Supporting Staff An evaluation of the current skill sets of the supporting staff needs to be done to determine if : additional training is required for technical and business skill sets are requi...

To successfully complete a project, there are several key factors that need to be in place. First and foremost is that you need to know the strength and weakness of your team. Not always will you be able to pick and choose who you work with so this assessment is crucial in order for you to make the best use of your existing resources. Having only 1 or 2 extremely strong resources may sound like a good deal but do they have a back up in the event that they become unavailable for some reason or another ? Expect the unexpected. illness, accidents, family crisis are some of the events that could happen however unlikely they may be, and can put your resource planning in disarray. An evenly balance team is much better so that the load can be shared between team members to cover any eventuality. This is where knowledge of their strengths and weakness is important so that you know which team member can help to cover which areas.

Here is a study that proves that money is not everything to motivate your team.

After all the hype from the World Cup in South Africa, one very driving lesson that can be applicable for any Project Manager is that the sum of the team is worth more then any single star player. France, previous world champions, had a team full of great stars like Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, Patrice Evra and Nicolas Anelka. Italy had Fabio Cannavaro, Simone Pepe and  Daniele De Rossi. England has Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Ledley King and Peter Crouch. Portugal had Cristiano Ronaldo, Simao, Tiago and Deco. Big names in their own right but when put together somehow could not deliver the goods. Similarly when forming a project team, you may have the brightest resources available, but if the team does not gel together and work effectively, then the outcome of the project will surely be in jeopardy. A good project manager is able to bring all these resources together and unite them in a common goal. It is not an easy task to gather and moti...

In the movie Invictus, Matt Damon who play the Springboks South African side captain François Pienaar, gives a rousing inspirational speech to his team when they faced the awe-inspiring All Blacks New Zealand Rugby squad in the Rugby World Cup finals. Intimidated by the huge reputation and stature of the New Zealand team, in particular Jonah Lomu played by Zak Feaunati, the Springboks were in sore need of some inspiration. In his rousing speech, Matt Damon inspired the team saying that who ever was nearest to the huge player, was to hold on to him no matter what and rest assured help will come. In any project, there will be times when the team members will need to be assured as there may be some doubts as to their capabilities to complete the task at hand or they may have reservations in the capability of the team to be able to complete the project due to some slippage in the schedule, additional requirements etc. The core of Matt Damon's speech is a great assuring piece,which ...

Every PM will have this nightmare of things that can go wrong in a project. Just like Robert Green in England's opening match with the USA in this year's World Cup finals in South Africa. At a crucial point, when everything was looking good for the England team, Robert Green made a tragic error and allowed an equalizer for the US which turned out to cost the England team their 3 points for the match. In every project, there will come a time when someone will drop the ball. What happens next is the crucial part. Rather then focusing on the event that caused the ball to be dropped, the PM will need to rally the team and help them to move on to complete the project, no matter how critical that event was. This is something that should be learnt from this match as this happened relatively early in the match and there was still plenty of time to rectify the situation. As a project manager or captain of the team Steve Gerrard should have rallied his troops and step up a gear to ...