Can a Project Manager communicate too much?

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Project Management | 0 Comments

There is always a great deal of discussion in the project management field around the ‘core’, ‘key’ or ‘vital’ skills of a Project Manager; undoubtedly, one of the top responses is communication. I would agree with this, a project manager’s role is to ensure that tasks get progressed as agreed, and to an agreed timescale etc, and a key way of achieving this is to ensure everyone is aware of what is going on = communication. This is important for communication within project teams, suppliers, stakeholders, the business, and wider interested parties (hence the need for us to develop, maintain and implement communication plans).

However, is there a point where communication becomes a negative activity, overwhelming, turns people off, and no-one takes note?

Is there a time when there is too much communication? Would this lead to risk of project delay, poor quality, extra cost, or failure?

What types of project management qualification are there?

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Education, Leadership, Project Management | 1 Comment

I have often been asked what is the ‘best’ or a ‘good starting’ project management qualification? This is a tricky question to answer, as there are many elements to this, and I would also suggest that there is no such thing as ‘best’. I do however strongly reccommend having some sort of project management qualification, be this a full blown university degree or a professional qualification, supported by continuous professional development (CPD). When applying for jobs, or advancing your career, there is a noticable trend thet Human Resource departments are looking for applicants to have a range of qualifications, even if these are only a ‘tick box’ to get to interview. More importantly, I think it is essential that project managers and project teams have an appreciation and understanding of standard project management approaches and techniques – this will improve your approach to projects, ability to undertake projects, and improve chances of sussesful project delivery and benefits realisation.

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Book Review: The Contract Scorecard by Sara Cullen

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Book Review, Leadership, Management Information, Project Management | 0 Comments

The Contract Scorecard
by Sara Cullen

It is not often that I can sum a book up in five words – this book makes business sense!

How often have contracts for outsourced services been created, because they ‘had to be’, and then just left on the shelf to gather dust? How many of us see a contract as a key tool to help deliver a business benefit which the organisation requires, as opposed to a legal article that is only used if we are suing the supplier or they are suing us? To both of these questions, I would suggest the answer goes something like ‘most of the time’. This is a worrying situation. My view is that yes we need to be aware of the legal consequences, but a contract should not be established for this reason alone – it is not just a bat to be wielded when a contract goes wrong – we need to take control long before this.

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Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE)

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in GIS, Management Information | 0 Comments

What is INSPIRE?

INSPIRE stands for Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe, and is a European Directive that came into force on 15th May 2007. INSPIRE aims to create a European Union (EU) spatial data infrastructure (SDI). This inititative will enable the sharing of spatial information among public sector organisations, and help to better facilitate public access to spatial information across Europe.

There are a series of milestones to full implementation, with final completion in 2019. This may sound a long way off, but there are earlier milestones which need to be met, along with planning, development and delivery of the overall directive.

To ensure compatability and usability of INSPIRE, there are a series of implementing rules covering the following elements:

• Metadata
• Interoperability
• Network services
• Data sharing
• Monitoring and reporting

For further information, see the European Commission INSPIRE website.

Is the use of social media reaching saturation point?

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Management Information, Social Media | 1 Comment

I have been wondering recently whether the use of social media, and the various tools available, is reaching saturation point?

There are a wealth of social media platforms and tools now available, including email, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Xing, YouTube, Google+, blogs, discussion forums and many others. The range of interaction types, wealth of information, formats and time relevant data is, to put it lightly, overwhelming.

I have a view that we may be reaching a point where we are unable to manage, take in, process and analyse all this data, particularly where it is used for business or project decision making – are we able to cope, or are we reaching sensory overload and distraction?

The likelihood is that there are going to be many more social media tools, applications and data streams in the coming years. Are we going to change our way of interacting with this data and knowledge, or will there be new tools to help us synthesise and filter this data to our individual, team or business needs.

What are your views on this potential social media overload, and what strategies are you planning to implement to help you manage?

Esri European User Conference (EUC) 2011

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Education, Events, GIS | 1 Comment

Esri España is proud to be hosting the 2011 Esri European User Conference (EUC), October 26–28, 2011, at the North Convention Centre, IFEMA, Feria de Madrid, in Madrid, Spain.

Why attend?

• Learn about the latest advancements being made in Esri technology.
• Hear from Jack Dangermond, founder and president of Esri, about the present and future directions of GIS and Esri.
• Strengthen your GIS knowledge and skills.
• Connect with Esri product specialists and GIS professionals, both regional and international.
• Explore GIS topics in a variety of tracks to be announced in the coming months.
• See how to best leverage your current GIS investments.

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Cheap ArcGIS for home use

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Education, GIS | 0 Comments

Great news! If you have always wanted to try out, practice or develop your skills in ArcGIS, but could never afford the licence… here is the solution. ESRI are offering a one year licence, including some extensions, for non-commercial use – under their ArcGIS at home programme. A great way to improve your skills and undertake some self-guided development and CPD.

For further details look at the ESRI website or contact your local ESRI dealer.

Should project management basics be taught at school?

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Education, Leadership, Project Management | 4 Comments

Should project management basics be taught at school? In my view, Yes. I am not talking about extensive depth or discussion of project management, but the basics as a life skill for all. I think that project management ‘essentials’ such as work breakdown structures, planning etc should be taught so as to benefit all in whatever career path or sector they work in later in life. What are your views?

Directed learning from home – the end of an online course

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Education, Leadership, Management Information, Project Management | 0 Comments

Over the past 2 months I have been undertaking an online distance learning course from Villanova University courtesy of Arras People. You can read my series of views and comments on my learning experience of the Advanced Strategic Project Management certificate on my blog and on the Arras People blog.

My Blog:

• Advanced Strategic Project Management – the CPD continues!
• Advanced Strategic Project Management – Half way through online directed learning course
• Directed learning from home – the end of an online course – this page!

Arras People:

• Directed learning from home – does it work?
• Directed Learning from home – the Half Way Story
• Direct learning from home – the end has come!

What project management techniques and tools do you use?

Written by Ed Wallington | posted in Project Management | 2 Comments

With such a wide range of project management (PM) approaches, techniques and tools available and marketed, which do you use and why?

I include projects, programmes, portfolios and project management offices (PMO) under the umbrella term of project management. I would welcome and be interested in your views, comments and recommendations.