#390 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT DASHBOARDS: DATA, DECISIONS, & HORSESH*T – MALCOLM PEART

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A project controls colleague of mine recently wrote:

“Really, I never had to deal with delivery directors / managers who did not understand or appreciate the effort which goes behind a digital data fed dashboard”

Sarcasm, according to Oscar Wilde, may be the lowest from of wit but it’s the highest form of intelligence.  While being humorous at the expense of those who demand dashboards it’s a sad truth that most demanders have no idea as to the effort required in producing a dashboard.  For them dashboards can be instantly tailored to any whims or fancies at the flick of a switch or the stroke of a key on a keyboard. Continue reading

#389 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT IGNORANCE & BREAKING LAWS – MALCOLM PEART

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Project Management – it’s not covered by a discrete law but when it’s practiced under a contract it’s open to accusations of negligence, just consider the UK’s Hedley Byrne case.  Project Management is seen as a risk mitigation measure and, contractually speaking, this requires a duty of care by its practitioners and/or the legal entity represented.  Ignorance of legal requirements is no excuse for not knowing they exist. Continue reading

#388 – PROJECT EMAIL ECONOMICS – MALCOLM PEART

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Economics concerns itself with the determination of the most logical and effective use of resources to meet private and social goals for some form of benefit.  While primarily concerned with industry and business, its concepts of opportunity cost, supply and demand, present value, and mutual interdependence economics is also applicable to email; one of our most utilised forms of communication but, possibly, the most hated. Continue reading

#385 – PROJECT TRUST, RESPECT, & TOXICITY: IMPOSSIBLE MENAGE A TROIS? – MALCOLM PEART

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People!  People in positions of authority wish for popularity, they may demand respect in one way or another but, above all, being trusted is perhaps the most desirable.  Trust, they say, needs to be won, respect is awaited expectantly but not necessarily given enjoyably, and popularity is fleeting.  In the absence of trust and respect, and despite any feelings of friendship or congeniality, toxic environments can prevail even though their obnoxiousness is well known as is the souring effect on human relationships. Continue reading

#384 – TOP LINE PROJECT REPORTING – BOTTOM LINE PROJECT MANAGEMENT – MALCOLM PEART

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Projects are about businesses and business is about money.  Very few firms are not-for-profit and profit margins are fundamental to ensuring a company’s survival in the dog-eat-dog world of the markets they operate in.  Profit declaration is an essential part any company’s annual report and a quick, but not necessarily accurate indicator of its financial health. Continue reading