BradEgeland.com - Blog - BradEgeland.com

Technology and the Creative Solution

5/29/2014

Everyone wants to play with the latest and greatest toy, right? And when it comes to bring to reality that solution your client wants on their creative project, the urge is to implement the most cutting edge technology as possible. Come on…we’ve all felt it. Chances are, we’ve all had more than one client come to us begging us to use the technology they’ve suggested because they “heard” somewhere that this latest tech innovation would do everything they needed and more. All problems would be solved. Or maybe they just thought it would be cool and they had a big enough budget to cover it.

So, the big question after all this temptation is this… Should we ever really let technology drive the end solution? The smart answer – the only real right answer is “No.” (Not even the best project management software for creative agencies should drive that decision!)

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5 Reasons Why...(you need this software)

5/28/2014

Very soon - as in within the next few days - reviews are going to start showing up on my site. Reviews that give my readers exciting reasons why they should try a product out. Not your old boring reviews that compare one product to another and go through the motions to a final summary or conclusion.

No, what I want to do here is create more of a "WOW" factor for the review genre. I want to tell you why this product should be on your list - and to do that I will give you my top 5 reasons why it's worthwhile for you to try out...in my opinion, of course. You may find differently, but this is my blog so I'll at least tell you what I think and then let you decide.

I know it's sometimes hard to consider project management software and other related software (CRM, document management, mind mapping, performance monitoring tools, etc.) as exciting, but my hope is that by focusing on the top 5 reasons why you should give a piece of software a try you might find it interesting. And I won't post losers on here - only ones that I think have some solid, redeeming qualities. So please keep checking back. The first installment will be published in the next couple of days. Thanks! And happy software hunting and project managing!

Note: if you are a PM or PM-related software vendor or service and think your offering should be included...contact me through the contact form on this site and we can discuss. Thanks!

What it Takes to Lead - Pt1

5/28/2014

What does it really mean to "lead"? Well, if you've ever led a large project, you know that project leaders do a lot more than plan, organise, control, coordinate, and budget. While such activities are important and must be done, project leadership goes beyond those functions. In other words, leadership involves more than being logical, analytical, and sequential - that is, it's more than simply applying the thought processes originating in the left side of the brain.

A holistic perspective on leadership includes the "people side" of project management, and it embraces the future rather than preserving the status quo. Thus, leadership is dynamic rather than static. It involves looking at the present and determining the steps to move on to some desired future state. Leadership, not surprisingly, requires being results-oriented. By developing a vision and goals, the project leader gives the team a sense of purpose. The leader also helps align people and other resources to focus on achieving results, thereby increasing a project's efficiency and effectiveness. Consequently, the emphasis is on what and why, rather than how. At all times, judgments are based on the big picture, which is the vision.

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Better Coaching Using the GROW Model

5/28/2014

In my article, 'Why Project Managers Should Coach' - I outline the benefits of coaching your project team to produce better results. In this article, I look at a coaching technique that will help you become a better coach. First, let's understand why you should coach.

Why Coach

Coaching helps people develop and become better at what they do. The coach and coachee should look at what needs to change to help the coachee improve their performance. Do this by examining the current reality and understanding the starting point. Are they missing anything? What will they benefit from in terms of skills and training?

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Do We Really Need the SOW?

5/27/2014

Can one document make or break a project engagement? Seriously…we do lots of planning and lots of prep work, but no two projects are the same and some projects have certain documents and some don’t. What makes one document that much more important than another?

For one thing, requirements are extremely important. I always say they are the lifeblood of any project. How do you build a solution without requirements? But roll back a little farther. What gets you to those requirements? What helps to even kick the project off right in the first place? How do you know what the project is about? Word of mouth? See how far that will get you.

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Should You Outsource?

5/21/2014

Usually we want to do things on our own. It is the easiest thing to do, produces the least paperwork, requires the least amount of planning, and the least amount of legal interference (which most of us wish to avoid like the plague). It’s what we’re used to, it’s where our product and project expertise lies, and it’s usually the path of least resistance.

Next in line is the concept of bringing in outside consultants to work on the project as needed. For example, you may need a particular software expertise on your project and everyone in your organization with that expertise is booked on another engagement. Since you need the work performed now – not in two months – you bring in an outside expert for, say, five weeks to get the task completed and you move on.

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Let's Have 1,039 People Work on Our Creative Project!

5/20/2014

No, 1039 isn’t code for anything. And it actually came out as ten thirty-nine when spoken this morning by my little six year old daughter concerning getting some work done on the new house we are moving to soon. It was her way of saying let’s have more people work on it to get it done faster. It was in reference to my son saying that two of his friends wanted to help us put in some trim in the rooms around the flooring.

It was a great thought on her part…throw more people at it and get it done as soon as possible – mostly because she wants to play on the playground equipment that I’ve already built in the backyard. But let’s consider this concept a little further…let’s think of it in terms of the creative projects we manage on a daily basis. Is it a good idea? Is it a bad idea? What implications does it have for our projects in terms of personnel? In terms of cost? In terms of timeline? In terms of quality and risks?

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Authority Does Not Always Equal Responsibility

5/14/2014

Sooner or later you’re going to run into this issue yourself if it hasn’t already presented itself as a problem on one of your engagements. You have a project, you have a team. You are ultimately responsible for the success of project and you are ultimately responsible for the work of the project team. You assign the work, you oversee the work, and you report all progress on the work. Sounds like a typical project, correct?

Now also consider where each individual team member stands. Each one of your team members has three or four other project managers that they are working for on other engagements and they even have a resource manager who is their ultimate authority, who is responsible for their performance reviews and raises, and who also is assigning them work from time to time that has nothing to do with your project. You have the work you need them to do. You have the assignments that you’re making. Beyond that, you have to hope they are understanding the meaning of the project and their role in its success to perform the work you need them to perform and to do it well. But you truly lack the authority to ‘make’ them do it.

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Cow Tipping, CRM, and Why This Matters to You

5/12/2014

Have you ever heard the term “cow tipping”? I have…and I always assumed it was real and doable. One night about 33 years ago – in the dead summer and the black of the night – I went out with some friends and cow tipping was on our list of things to do that night. We ended up in a pitch-black field, in southern Iowa (prime cow country) at 2am looking for some cows. When I found one…basically by bumping into him (and it felt like running into a 1,000 pound brick wall) because I couldn’t see him…I pretty much decided that this wasn’t for me. I took off rather quickly…as did everyone else I was with that night.

Recently, I took a little poll of my Facebook friends from Iowa to see if anyone, anywhere, had ever actually tipped a cow. All had heard of it, only one other had tried it, and none succeeded. Wikipedia deems it nearly impossible and basically calls it an urban legend. I wish I had known that back in 1981, but oh well…

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Cutting Through the Chaos

5/12/2014

Over the years, IT project management has gained a reputation for failure, with many high-profile projects being abandoned mid-stream, costing millions or even billions of pounds. Governments are not good at running IT projects because of the committee structure and too many vested interests. Labour's disastrous NHS computer scheme lost an estimated £12.7 billion when The Coalition decided to scrap it in 2011. The FireControl project was scrapped in December 2010, wasting £469 million after failing to deliver a new IT system, which aimed to replace 46 fire and rescue service control rooms with nine regional control centres. Although these are just two of the most high-profile UK government failures, businesses and governments around the world are experiencing similar IT project failures and associated losses. To put some figures on the performance of IT projects, we can look at a decade of Chaos Reports from the Standish Group.

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