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PROJECT KNOWLEDGE |
the project learning
newsletter | |
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Dear Project Manager, |
Volume 7, number 2 |
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Welcome to the second Project Learning newsletter
of 2009. You may have
noticed that we've changed the
newsletter's title to Project
Knowledge. This is to
reflect its purpose and also the
purpose of our blog, which is to
share our knowledge of all
things project. I hope you
like what we have to say.
In this current
global economic downturn we
often get reminded that people
have to do more with less.
Invariably that means less
money; sometimes it may mean
less people, sometimes less time.
Imagine the situation; your
project's budget has just been
cut, the person you were
expecting to come on board isn't
being hired, yet you still have
to deliver your project on time
(ideally early).
Experienced any of these
recently? Here's a few
things to think about:
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Is your project plan up to date?
When did you last update it? Are
you still on schedule?
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Do your resource assignments reflect how the work will really
be performed?
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Do you know, and can you communicate, which tasks influence
your project's critical success
factors?
If
you can answer these questions
with confidence,
congratulations. If not,
does your project need a little
TLC?
In this newsletter, we've a few
things to help you do less with
more. You can
test your Microsoft Project
knowledge with a 10-question
quiz. Why not
download some tips and tricks
that were warmly received by an
audience of Project users?
Finally, if you're a Project
Mentor user, find out what
fellow users have to say and why
they find it helps them get more
from Microsoft Project. |
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Sincerely
Andy Jessop
CEO and Founder
andyj@projectlearning.net |
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Technical
Tips and Tricks |
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In
conjunction with Microsoft, we
recently delivered a collection
of high-impact tips and tricks
to a wide and varied audience of
Microsoft Project users in
Wellington, NZ. Within the
session, we covered subjects
that included:
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Calendarising your projects
to match the way that you
work.
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Create flexible, structured
schedules that plan what you
need to do and how you need
to do it.
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Identify schedule changes
quickly and easily,
reviewing their impact on
your project’s key
deliverables.
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Plan, allocate and delegate
work to your team more
effectively.
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Create meaningful reports
that meet the varying needs
of all your project’s
stakeholders.
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Capture actuals, evaluate
variances and re-plan work
to keep your project on
track.
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Create programmes of work
and manage key dependencies
and resource utilisation
across multiple projects.
We
received some excellent feedback
from the attendees, so we'd like
to share these tips and tricks
with you. We've broken
down the delegate handouts into
three parts;
following a typical project's
lifecycle. Just click on
the link below for part 1:
Microsoft Project Tips and
Tricks #1
All of these tips and tricks
come from Project Mentor, the
computer based training package
for Microsoft Project.
Why not...
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97% User
Satisfaction for Project Mentor |
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A couple of months ago we
sent out a survey to our worldwide Project Mentor user base. We had a
fantastic response, with an unprecedented Ninety Seven Percent of users saying
that Project Mentor is great value for money and that they would recommend
it to their friends and colleagues.
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From Saudi Arabia to South
Africa; from the UK to the USA, users have voiced their approval that they can plan
and manage projects better with the help of Project Mentor. Here's a few
sound bites:
"It's in
many ways better than classroom based teaching, because it provides better
long-term retention."
"With a
tutor it is a one time event. With Project Mentor you can revisit and do
exercises at your own pace."
"It
offers cost-effective, expert instruction delivered in a flexible way."
"If you
intend to use MS Project on an on-going basis, it is a lot less expensive than a
class."
To read the comments in
detail, and to find out just which companies and individuals find that Project
Mentor helps them, just follow this link:
Project Mentor user feedback |
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Plus, as a general thank-you
for all the feedback, we've donated $1 for every response received to UNICEF to
help them with a great project that will help transform lives in the developing
world. To find out more about this worthy project, just follow this link:
A million reasons to have water |
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Test your MS
Project knowledge |
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Prize draw winners |
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If
you have read this month's tips
and tricks, you'll probably be
aware that there is more to
Microsoft Project than meets the
eye. So, why not find out
how much you know about
Microsoft Project by having a go
at our Microsoft Project Quiz?
We've complied a sample of ten
questions so you can test your
current Microsoft Project knowledge.
Each question carries a weighted
percentage score and covers a
particular skill set that would
be used in the planning and
management of a typical Microsoft
Project plan. Against each
multiple-choice question there
are four possible answers plus a
'don't know' option. For
each question only one answer is
correct. Once you've
answered all of the questions
you'll be provided with the
answers - including an
explanation of why your answers
are correct or incorrect plus
the opportunity to print the
answers out. You'll also
get a bar graph of your overall
score.
With only ten questions we
cannot guarantee this assessment
is an exhaustive one, although
it should provide you with a
reasonable test of what you
currently know. Just click
on the link below to go to the
quiz.
Take
the quiz
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P.S. |
Please note that we do not store or analyse the results of any quizzes
undertaken - they are solely for your benefit.
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The
winners of the draw of new
newsletter subscribers are:
January
2009
February
2009
March
2009
Each of them will receive a $10
Amazon voucher with the
compliments of Project Learning. |
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This newsletter is published by: |
Project Learning International Limited, PO Box 41-143, Lower Hutt, 5047, New Zealand. |
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Microsoft and the Microsoft Certified Partner logo are acknowledged as trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
PMI and the R.E.P. logo are registered trademarks of the Project Management
Institute Inc.
(c) 2000-2009 Project Learning International Limited. |
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