Now Available: Steelray Project Analyzer 2.1
March 1st, 2010What’s new in this release?
We’ve improved your user experience with the fourth generation of Steelray Project Analyzer for Microsoft ® Project, Project Server and Primavera P6.
This release includes a number of fixes and improvements, including:
- Redesigned scorecard so you control how you view the results;
- Criteria Categories so you can better control organization;
- Updated 14-Point Assessment calculations that are currently DCMA compliant, with improved error handling;
- Nearly 20 new MPM Import Readiness Criteria for determining readiness for import into Deltek MPM. Prepare your Microsoft® Project file for import into MPM. SPA will now run checks on Deltek MPM criteria.
You can download this latest release using the following:
http://www.steelray.com/spa/spa-2.1.0.322-setup.exe
Managing Project Resources
February 24th, 2010By Laura Bamberg – Global Sales Administrator
Project managers know resources can be as scarce as dollars. Even when you have enough resources, managing them can be difficult for several reasons, any of which could cause project failure. What are some ways to manage resources to head off failure at the pass?
Consider Strengths & Weaknesses
A construction project manager wouldn’t contract an electrician to do plumbing work. So why would a project manager make a similar mistake? If your sponsor is requiring someone to handle a project area in which you know they will fail, you have to push back.
I’ve recently heard a recurring theme through our various social media outlets. Just because one team member is efficient in one area doesn’t mean you can’t use them in another and expect the same success. But how do you know whether to make that decision? One way is to pay close attention to evaluationsand the team member’s effort for the project duration. Is someone showing an aptitude for something you didn’t expect? If so, put them to work using those skills next time and see what she can do. You might be very pleasantly surprised.
I read a blog post by Simon Buehring regarding project failure that I have to take issue with. This is just my opinion, but Buehring states that you should blame causes when a project fails, not the project team. I can see where this might be valid. If an outside vendor didn’t provide a necessary piece of equipment in time for one of your team members to finish a task on schedule., that’s a cause for failure and not the responsibility of the team member. However, if that team member was simply not doing his or her job, blaming the vendor would be completely wrong.
Buehring wrote “By understanding that your decision to allow your staff to miss a crucial deadline (and not you yourself) caused project failure, you [are] better able to learn the lessons of the failure.” While this is true, it’s worth pointing out that there are still two causes of the failure – the team for not holding itself accountable and the PM for not holding the team accountable.
Pick Software that Fits
There are so many project management software packages out there that it can make your head spin. I recently chatted with one of my LinkedIn PM group members about that this. My advice was to pick one that fits your company’s business goals. This doesn’t have to be complicated, I promise! You want something that’s manageable enough for small project work but expert enough for complicated projects too.
Set Up Task Updates
A good Viewer for Microsoft Project gives you the capability for many things, and one of those is the ability of project team members to update the PM via a task update tab. As long as you set up the notification ability in your project schedule, each member on your team can let you know if a task is going to slip, for example. This makes collaboration a breeze!
Use All Resource Tools in Your Software Package
Resource sheets that show the names of each team member, how much effort they’re putting into your project and how much each hour of their time costs is just one way we can help. The Resource Graph view is a way to make sure you haven’t over-allocated your project team by alerting you with red color in the graph. The Task Usage View shows you every piece of information relevant to each resource, and each task that resource has to complete. If you think your current software can handle this better than we could, give us a try – especially if you don’t use a project management software package at all – and let us know if we’re wrong.
Give Them Room to Vent
When you’re closing out a project, do you look back over the course of it and determine what your strengths and weaknesses as a PM were? Did you have a positive attitude for the duration of a project, even if was difficult at times?
Project resources could end up being one of the biggest constraints on a project. Managing them well is never more critical than when you’re working on a challenging project. The temptation to complain right along with them is great, but they need to see a positive role model in these situations. Give them room to vent – but don’t let it become a habit. Explain to them that all they have to do is change their perspective – a challenge can be an opportunity.
Cross Training
When you’re working on your project schedule and you notice that one of the constraints is that you don’t have enough backups for resources, you can immediately plan for cross-training. One way to do that is through resource slack. If there isn’t someone to fill in for a lost resource, whether that person was taken away to be used on another project, out sick for a time, etc. – your project would be in trouble.
Put Yourself to Work
I once had a boss who said she’d never ask me to do something she had never done herself. I feel pretty confident that it wasn’t true, but it’s a nice sentiment. When things are chaotic and a project is really backed up, do you step in to lend a hand? If not, is it because you think you’re too busy or you just aren’t expected to? Even though it challenges your time table, you might have to put yourself to work to keep your project on schedule.
I hope these suggestions help you when it comes to managing resources. Yes, the strategies you’ve been taught, some of which we’ve included, are useful and can make a positive impact on your project. But we can’t stress to you enough how much the right software makes a difference, and believe us when we tell you that this isn’t just because we sell it! It’s because we believe in what we sell. We are innovative, we are determined to provide the best tools and expertise, and we know that our software can significantly help you with that.
As always, let us know what you think. We value your feedback, even if it’s something you think we don’t want to hear. We design our software according to what you tell us that your needs are, and after speaking with customers about this specific topic for the last several months I can tell you we’ve succeeded. However, we still want to hear what you have to say!
Now Available: Steelray Project Viewer 3.9.9.10
February 12th, 2010What’s new in this release?
- A problem related to printing in landscape mode was fixed.
- A problem for Linux users with the SPV folder was fixed.
You can download this release using the following:
http://www.steelray.com/download.php?prod=spv
Do I Want an iPad?
January 29th, 2010by Brian Leach
Do I want an iPad?
It depends on which of the two voices in my head that I listen to . . .
The voice that says I want one has a pretty simple argument. It says: ”Last week you really wanted a Kindle. This is a Kindle, but with color, web browsing, music, video, and thousands of apps. Surely that’s worth a few hundred dollars more. What’s to think about?”
The other voice is also compelling. It says: ”You carry around a laptop in your backpack. The laptop has all of those things, and you use it to get work done. You also carry around a smartphone which gives you pocket-sized email and web browsing. With your laptop and your smartphone, why in heck would you need this ‘in-between’ thing?”
If you’re only looking for a eReader, it’s still hard to top the Kindle. Spending a few hours reading from the iPad’s backlit LED screen cannot be as nice compared to the Kindle’s paper-like glareless screen.
In a few months, I can see myself in a coffee shop or an airport gate, watching an iPad owner typing on a BlueTooth keyboard, staring at a propped up iPad tethered to a power outlet to preserve the battery. I’ll wonder why they aren’t using a laptop.
If the iPad were a new model of iPhone or iPod we’d all be laughing. If it had a fold-out keyboard and Apple called it a NetBook Mac we’d be similarly unimpressed. If it was only an eReader, it wouldn’t compare well with Kindle.
It’s the perfect companion, however, for the DMV line, the Doctor’s waiting room, the coffee shop, the auto repair shop, or anywhere else where you’re jonesing for today’s newspaper or wishing the TV would be showing something other than John & Kate Plus Eight.
I can certainly see why people who don’t carry around a laptop or a smartphone might be attracted to this strangely named new toy. But what about people like me, power users who live on the early part of the adoption curve? And that’s exactly the conflict. Power users don’t need it. Early adapters must have it.
We’ll see which voice wins . . .
Tell Us Your 2010 Wishlist
December 29th, 2009What new features or improvements would you like to see in Steelray Project Analyzer in 2010? We’d really like to hear from you, so let us know by contacting Steelray Support.
Exporting Microsoft Project to PDF? Don’t bother!
December 29th, 2009Just send your project files to your team and let them open it directly with Steelray Project Viewer. You’ll save time, and they’ll see every major view, just as if they’re viewing it in Microsoft Project.
Now Available: Steelray Project Viewer 3.9.9.8
December 28th, 2009What’s new in this release?
- A problem related to blank tasks was fixed.
- The work column format now honors the settings in Microsoft Project (Tools | Options | Schedule | Work is entered in), which means the work is now displayed in either hours (the default) or days depending on what the setting is for the file.
You can download this release using the following:
http://www.steelray.com/download.php?prod=spv
Project Closeout
November 17th, 2009By Laura Bamberg – Global Sales Administrator
For project managers, one of their favorite processes is closing out their project. This can involve some celebration, especially if the road has been long and laden with pitfalls successfully navigated!
However, at the close of a project, how often do you get to say it was finished on time, on budget, with no scope creep or numerous changes? If I were to poll all of you, I would bet that doesn’t happen often. Instead, it seems that simply closing a project within a few months of its planned closing date constitutes a success. So how can you make the project closeout phase help improve the success of future projects?
STUDY YOUR LESSONS
My first piece of advice is to study this scenario before you get to it, in the form of lessons learned or previous project audits. What happened with a similar project that led to problems with closing on time and budget? What could be done differently? If the same factors that negatively influenced that last project are immutable, what kind of work-around can be constructed?
Let’s say one of the main issues with a previous, similar project was the failure of managing stakeholder expectations, in that the stakeholders wanted something that was impossible to provide, so they ended up taking what they could get, but only after compromising the project schedule. If you’re working with the same stakeholders, chances are they are going to be just as challenging this time around.
Who could go to bat for you? A trusted member of either your company or someone in the client’s company, to explain the project needs in a way the stakeholders can understand, or at least advise you on how to do it? Did you provide enough information previously, or did you present it in a way that alienated them to some degree? Review what happened and institute better ways of managing stakeholders.
CLOSE PERTINENT DOCUMENTS
Michael D. Taylor wrote a recent blog post about closing contracts that project managers should read if they use the procurements process. I was reminded that some project managers fear contracted work because they fear the legal complexities involved. But I’m also reminded that this is the reason why their lawyers are involved to begin with. A brief meeting to ensure the contract is ready for closure is a good idea.
RELEASE STAFF
Taylor also wrote that a project’s close involves releasing personnel to other tasks. However, if you do so without performance evaluations, you are missing a golden opportunity. Take this chance to re-evaluate who was used for what work. You may find that you made the wrong choice when you see how another team member could have done it better. Remind yourself to monitor performance next time in a case like this. Are you utilizing your team’s talent correctly?
DOCUMENT YOUR LESSONS
Do you document lessons learned? If not, is it because it’s not expected of you because your company, as a general rule, doesn’t value them? Are they completed as rote? If so, take some time at the close of your project to run through it, start to finish, in your mind. Take this responsibility seriously.
It may be frustrating after months of documentation, and you may be ready to pop the champagne cork already, but lessons learned are valuable to you and to your team, as well as your company. If you want to present a better case to those stakeholders, there’s nothing like a black and white reminder of why the project could have ended better! Future projects will go better when projects are closed effectively.
Engaging the Team: Project Management Kickoff Meetings
November 3rd, 2009By Laura Bamberg – Global Sales Administrator
How do you use a project management kickoff meeting to ensure your team effectively communicates during your project? Michael Sisco wrote that this is the single best occasion to give common goals to the team and to motivate them.
When I think back to all the meetings I sat through at previous companies, mostly I remember how useless many of them seemed. It made me think about what all those facilitators could have done to better engage us for the duration of the work ahead. A great kickoff meeting is simply a start to making this happen, but it is very important to set the right tone of this meeting and to cover as much of the “big” stuff as quickly but clearly as possible.
The more I learn about project management, the more I realize how important two things are – planning and documentation. Sisco recommends using a clear-cut agenda, and I would advise that you have it distributed before the meeting (but not more than a day or two so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle). Let everyone know that if they have something to add it will be addressed at your next meeting.
The length of the meeting depends on the magnitude of the project. Here are some things to keep in mind:
- If the team is newly put together, doesn’t know each other well, or if there are several new members to an existing team, explain everyone’s roles. If there is a high level of distrust, work on it now before it blows up in your face mid-project. Also identify stakeholders and brief the team on any necessary information regarding the stakeholders.
- If this is a new team, or there are several new faces, it’s also a good idea to discuss your change request policies, and if you don’t use a change control board, explain what methods will be used to avoid deviating from these policies down the line.
- Review significant expectations, and let everyone know there will be time to discuss these in greater depth when the need arises so that you don’t slow down the meeting pace.
A well-run kickoff meeting doesn’t guarantee the ultimate success of a project, of course, but it certainly gives the team a push in the right direction.
Delivering Project Plans to Your Team
October 28th, 2009By Laura Bamberg – Global Sales Administrator
Recently one of our salespeople was talking to project managers on the trade show floor at a conference and discovered that many of them still print their project plans to pdf documents and distribute to their team and stakeholders.
If you prefer to use a program like Excel, it’s important to note that this is not helpful for delivering project plans over the long term any more than printing to a pdf. What if the team members need to add information to your project plan? This is not at all feasible for them. This reminds us that Steelray Project Viewer saves project managers time and prevents the hassle of trying to print plans to a pdf or strictly using Excel.
It would be simpler and faster to send an e-mail to your team, telling them where the mpp file is located so they can see it. The team can open it with our Microsoft Project viewer, and there will be no problem trying to get it to print correctly to a pdf or making sure everything exports to Excel perfectly. It is almost the same as if you had created it in Microsoft Project.
What are some of the other ways that our Viewer can help?
- There is no need to update to a third-party server – instead, store it on your server, and there is no need to create a new pdf.
- A pdf gives you one view – our Viewer gives you a sight-line to overdue tasks, incomplete, and tasks beginning this week, as well as tasks assigned to a person and more.
- Filter and navigate your view. Drill down to all parts of critical project information.
- A pdf file limits your zoom levels because you only have two options – bigger or smaller. Our Viewer allows multiple zoom levels with different timescales.
- The Viewer is also a navigator – it allows you to search in the same way you would use a search engine on the web.
- A team member can send a status update to the project manager’s email inbox.
- If you like using Excel and feel comfortable with it, you can use one of our Excel templates that’s included with our Viewer. You can also export tasks to Excel, as well as html.
What holds you back from using a better tool? Could it be that there are many products that cost a great deal of money out there, each vying for your attention and budget? Some companies charge a monthly fee, which actually costs you much more than the cost of our viewer.
We love to hear your feedback, so keep it coming! We’ve enjoyed our conversations with you on Twitter and LinkedIn.