Tips
and Techniques
November/December
2005
Editorial | Viewpoints | Papers | Case Studies | Tips & Techniques | Community | Scene | Publications
- A Project Management Primer by Nick Jenkins
- Role & Responsibility Charting (RACI) by Michael Smith, James Erwin and Sandra Diaferio
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A Project Management Primer
by Nick Jenkins
Project management can be a difficult and thankless task. When things go wrong you shoulder the blame and take responsibility. When things go right the credit goes to the team and rarely do you get singled out for a pat on the back.
Yet projects come with astounding rewards. Astute business managers know that it is not the cleverest technical specialist or the smoothest talking salesman who adds real value to a business. It’s the people that can get things done. People who consistently delivers soon gains a reputation for solving problems and will be rewarded accordingly.
Using the ideas in this primer you should be able to plan, control and execute any project. It is a model that should be easy for the whole team to understand and, with a bit of luck, will allow you to deliver your project on time, on target and under budget.
Read the full text at A Project Management Primer
About the Author:
Nick Jenkins is an IT manager with twelve years experience in software development,
testing and project management. He started his working life as a software
developer in Perth, Australia, where he helped author a book on developing
educational software. He later moved to Sydney in his first management role
where he helped establish the Access Testing Centre (ATC). Since then he
has worked in IT management roles in London, Boston and Sydney for companies
like the address management specialist QAS Ltd, enterprise security firm
ISS Inc. and the Asian telco giant Singtel-Optus. Now he is living and working
Prague in the Czech Republic where he is trying to learn how to speak Czech,
drink slivovice (plum brandy) and ice skate.
Role & Responsibility Charting (RACI)
by Michael Smith, James Erwin and Sandra Diaferio
Responsibility Charting is a technique for identifying functional areas where there are process ambiguities, bringing the differences out in the open and resolving them through a cross-functional collaborative effort.
Responsibility Charting enables managers from the same or different organizational levels or programs to actively participate in a focused and systematic discussion about process related descriptions of the actions that must be accomplished in order to deliver a successful end product or service.
Read the full text at Role & Responsibility Charting (RACI). A template is available at RACI template.
About the Authors:
Michael Lee Smith is a Senior Business Process Consultant at Educational
Testing Service (ETS) in New Jersey, USA. In his current position, he
is part of a team implementing Six Sigma. He instructs, provides support
and manages process improvement projects. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt.
Mr. Smith has more than 35 years experience in human resources and process
improvement in the telecommunications, engineering and business services
industries. He has a website where Human Resources, Training, Six Sigma,
Project and Process Management information articles and forms are available
for free use: http://www.mikesmith-hr.com/default.asp He
can be reached at
ms@mikesmith-hr.com
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