Are You A Project Manager Or A Project Mangler

Writen by Luc Richard

Which one are you? An effective IT project manager, able to deliver software on time, according to specs, and within budget, or someone referred to by your peers as a project mangler? Find out with these Top 10 Signs You're a Project Mangler.

10. Your .mpp attachments are considered to be more harmful than the Netsky virus.

9. You think your job description is limited to running around and asking people "Are you done yet?"

8. Your record for the "longest consecutive number of days without changing your project plan" is 3, which was achieved over a weekend.

7. You don't publish your project plan for fear developers might find out what the REAL dates are.

6. When the first 90% of your project is done, the second 90% begins.

5. You couldn't write a line of code to save your life, yet you tell developers how long it will take them to complete their feature.

4. You only work from 9 to 5 but expect developers to work evenings and weekends to meet your deadlines.

3. Your best motivational skill: telling people you're working from home tomorrow.

2. You DO think that 9 people can have a baby in 1 month.

And the number one sign you're a project mangler...

1. Your name is R. U. Dunyet.

Luc Richard holds an MBA with a major in high technology. For the past 10 years, he's been managing the development of software applications. He is the founder of The Project Mangler (http://www.projectmangler.com), an online resource that publishes free articles, stories, and other ready-to-use tools to help developers, team leaders and managers deliver software projects on time, according to specs, and within budget.

The Top Ten Ways To Stop Procrastinating Now

Writen by Kerul Kassel

10. Procrastination Condemnation - Lose the Labels! All those things you call yourself, such as lazy, scattered, disorganized, not good enough, incompetent, or stupid, for example, aren't helping you get things done, are they? You've learned to believe them, and you think they've become something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you look around yourself, though, you'll see evidence that you can accomplish quite a number of things without delay.

9. Procrastination Exaggeration – Are you really procrastinating, or are you simply focusing on other priorities? It's possible that those things you're not doing shouldn't get done until sometimes later, perhaps not at all. Focus on only the most significant areas first, and the rest will come.

8. Procrastination Temptation – If you hang out with people who coax you to procrastinate, it's time to start surrounding yourself with better examples. If you know certain that situations are too enticing and will lure you from following through, create a work-around plan that will help you prevent yourself from "taking the bait".

7. Procrastination Alienation – Recognize that you're not alone, and are, in fact, in excellent company. Most people procrastinate about something, sometimes about many things. In a recent survey on procrastination, almost 1/3 of respondents who identified themselves as procrastinators had a post-graduation or higher education.

6. Procrastination Inclination – At the moment you are about to procrastinate, stop for just a moment to acknowledge the pattern, even if you continue on to put off whatever you were going to do. Awareness and acceptance that these are your current patterns is a necessary step in procrastination extermination.

5. Procrastination Perspiration – You probably think that the only way to stop procrastinating is to use will power and discipline. While that certainly can work, it can cost you a lot of energy and struggle. By allowing yourself to begin recognizing what is specifically in the way of following through, and creating simple new patterns, progress is pretty painless and immediate. For more information, sign up for the New Leaf Systems ezine at http://www.newleafsystems.com , and the soon-to-be-published book The Power of Procrastination.

4. Procrastination Exploration – What is your procrastination costing you? Do you have a procrastination reputation? Do you continually have to make procrastination explanations or reparations to others? Are you in procrastination isolation so nobody will know what you're not doing? Is your credit history in procrastination degradation because of paying bills late? Are you in procrastination desperation because you might lose your job or significant relationships? Sometimes understanding how badly you're paying and in exactly what ways can provoke you to seek assistance.

3. Procrastination Consultation – Talk with friends about how they overcame procrastination. Buddy with them on their own projects, holding each other accountable to get things done. Hire a procrastination coach, someone who has worked with hundreds of people and not only knows about procrastination generation, but has helped many veteran procrastinators with procrastination renunciation.

2. Procrastination Transformation – nothing helps you achieve more easily than knowing all the steps you need to take, having a plan to take them, scheduling that plan into your calendar, creating incentives to make following through more attractive (and consequences to make it less attractive!), and putting some accountability supports into place. This, combined with a simple procrastination meditation, will get you back on track quickly and easily.

1. Procrastination Emancipation – Once you've fully understood that one of the big reasons you have been procrastinating is that you're focusing only on finishing (and that's too daunting) you'll begin to instead concentrate on starting, which is a much more approachable and manageable way to get thing done. All you need to do is keep starting, and finishing will take care of itself.

Kerul Kassel | New Leaf Systems

Member: National Speakers Association, International Coach Federation http://www.newleafsystems.com 407-957-1494, (fax) 407-957-4814

Kerul Kassel works extensively with people who are procrastinators, or think they are, and who want to operate more optimally in personal and professional areas. She's helped corporations such as Sony, Hilton, and Volvo, and has presented at professional conferences in the US and abroad. Kerul is currently writing a book entitled "The Power of Procrastination" and is conducting a survey (which she'd love for you to take: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=32694765277 ...you might even win a complimentary coaching appointment). She also offers telephone classes open to the public, which can be found through her website at http://www.newleafsystems.com

Ten Top Tips For Creating Good Business Requirements

Writen by Niall Kennedy

Creating good business requirements will go a long way towards ensuring the success of the project and eliminate design and development risks that result from poor business requirements documentation. Here are the Top 10 Tips for Writing Good Business Requirements:

1. Develop a clear understanding of the problems that the proposed software is being designed to solve. This will ensure that the subsequent business requirements document addresses those problems fully.

2. Identify all project stakeholders and involve them in the business requirements gathering process from the start. Work to build trust and establish credibility early on so you can maintain stakeholder support throughout the project. Learn the individual personality traits of each stakeholder in order to be able to better manage them during the requirements phase of the project.

3. Clearly document all business data including workflow, current problems, anticipated risks, and required performance metrics. Use project-approved tools and methodologies to ensure that the documentation conforms to the client's requirements.

4. Use approved templates for all documentation. Ensure that terms used throughout all documentation either exist in the project dictionary or are added as required. No one reading the business requirements document should encounter unfamiliar terms that cannot be quickly resolved by reviewing the project dictionary.

5. Identify potential privacy and security issues early on so these problems can be mitigated to a level which satisfies the stakeholders that these risks have been managed properly. This helps to build trust and ensures that stakeholders remain committed to the project.

6. Make a concerted effort to identify and document all risks, the impact of these risks on the project's costs and timetable. This will avoid unexpected project delays as well as help control runaway costs.

7. Conduct both group and one-on-one meetings to insure that all business requirements, risks and concerns are identified.

8. Present a draft of the business requirements document to key stakeholders for preliminary review and tentative approval. This helps to ensure that the final business requirements document will be more easily accepted by all stakeholders when it is presented.

9. Rewrite the draft business requirements document to address any issues discovered during step #8. This may requires repeating the stakeholder meeting process until you are sure that all issues have been identified and documented.

10. Present the completed business requirements document to all stakeholders in a formal meeting. Take notes in order to maintain the collective project memory and be ready to address any issues or concerns which may be raised.

Niall Kennedy is an internet marketing consultant. Positive is a UK provider of professional Business Analysis. Contact Positive at http://www.Be-Positive.co.uk for more information about Requirements Documentation.

All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. Copyright Be-Positive.co.uk

All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. Copyright Be-Positive.co.uk

Ten Ways To Leverage A Professional Speaker

Writen by Ron Kaufman

Hiring a professional speaker can be an effective way to raise an issue, educate an audience or drive home a business message. Use these top ten ideas to get the most value from your investment.

1. Use pre-event publicity to build interest in your speaker.

Use posters to announce the speaker and the topic.

Send a memo describing the speaker's credentials.

Encourage your staff to visit the speaker's website.

2. Fully inform your speaker about your business.

Provide information for the speaker to study well in advance: annual reports, newsletters, press releases, etc.

Answer the speaker's questionnaire as completely as possible. Don't hold back useful insights or information.

3. Put your speaker in touch with people in the business.

Give your speaker access with management and staff prior to the event. Telephone conversations are a good start. Face-to-face meetings are even better.

4. Put your speaker in touch with your customers.

Encourage contact between your speaker and your customers. Let customers know in advance that a speaker will be calling to gather their ideas and suggestions.

5. Be candid with your speaker about your culture and your competition.

Let your speaker know what's really going on in your industry. Be sure he or she understands your competitive advantage and the actions being taken by others.

6. Review and use a speaker's introduction.

Your speaker should provide you with a 'speaker's introduction' in advance of the actual event. Customize this to link with your event theme or business issues.

The person introducing the speaker should be prepared and enthusiastic. The introduction starts the speech!

7. Reinforce the message with take-home handouts.

Help people remember and apply key points with an attractive take-home handout. Handouts can be as extensive as a customized notebook, or as simple as a laminated wallet-size card.

8. Arrange for audio and video taping of your speaker.

If your speaker is properly prepared and effective in delivering an important message, the cost of professional audio and video taping can be a very wise investment.

9. Improve room setup with your speaker's input.

Be sure your speaker has access to the venue prior to his or her presentation. Professional speakers have vast experience with room layouts, acoustics, lighting, etc. Small improvements can make a very big difference.

10. Allow time for questions and answers, but ensure you get good questions!

When the schedule allows, a Q&A session lets your audience go deeper into the topic with the speaker.

Get good questions by letting your audience know in advance that a Q&A session will follow the normal presentation. Allow a few minutes for discussion among audience members before taking the first question. Make sure one or two participants are ready in advance with excellent questions to help 'get the ball rolling'.

Provide microphones for your audience to ask questions. Otherwise, ask your speaker to repeat each question clearly before providing an answer.

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling "UP Your Service!" and founder of "UP Your Service College". Visit www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at www.RonKaufman.com.

10 Motivational Triggers That Make People Buy

Writen by Rojo Sunsen

1. People want to make more money. They may want to start their own business, get a higher paying job or invest in the stock market. This will make them feel successful.

2. People want to save money. They may want to invest for the future or save for a big purchase. This will make them feel more secure.

3. People want to save time. They may want to work less and spend time enjoying life's pleasures. This will make them feel more relaxed.

4. People want to look better. They may want to lose weight, tone their body, or improve their facial features. This will make them feel more attractive.

5. People want to learn something new. They may want to learn how to change their car oil or build a deck. This will make them feel more intelligent.

6. People want to live longer. They may want to get in shape, eat better or gain extra energy. This will make them feel healthier.

7. People want to be comfortable. They may want to relive aches and pains or want to sleep in a more comfortable bed. This will make them feel relieved.

8. People want to be loved. They may not want to be lonely anymore or want to start dating again. This will make them feel wanted.

9. People want to be popular. They may want to be a famous celebrity or be more popular in school. This will make them feel praised and admired.

10. People want to gain pleasure. They may want satisfy their appetite or sexual desires. This will make them feel more fulfilled.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.