ProZen Consulting

ProZen delivers high quality IT professional services, Business Analysis and Project Management to growing businesses. http://www.prozenconsulting.com

[prozenconsulting-blog]

Ten easy ways to improve your SEO now

Advice for those who want to improve their website’s search engine rankings and to work more effectively with their SEO provider

[prozenconsulting-blog]

How to Identify Critical Path Tasks on Projects?

The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) defines the critical path method or more commonly termed critical path as “the sequence of schedule activities that determines the shortest duration of the project.” The critical path methodology technique can also be applied to “determine amount of float” on various logical network paths in a project schedule network” that reflects minimum total project duration.

What is a Critical Task?

Any task in a project schedule network becomes critical if:

It has no slack

It has a Must Start On or Must Finish On date constraint.

It has an As Late As Possible constraint in a project scheduled from a start date.

It has an As Soon As Possible constraint in a project scheduled from a finish date.

It has a finish date that is the same as or beyond its deadline date.

Note that a task stops being critical when it’s marked as completed, because it then can no longer affect the completion of successor tasks or the project finish date.

Identification and close monitoring of all critical tasks in a project is a first step to ensure they can be better managed. Fast Tracking & Crashing techniques are most commonly used by Project Managers to manage critical tasks on their projects.

ProZen Consulting, Calgary Project Staffing & Consulting Services Access more resources at http://prozenconsulting.com

[prozenconsulting-blog]

4 Steps for Handling a Key Employee's Departure

4 Steps for Handling a Key Employee's Departure. http://goo.gl/mag/2gNHwdh

[prozenconsulting-blog]

Fast Company: The 8 Steps To Creating A Great Storyboard

The 8 Steps To Creating A Great Storyboard. http://goo.gl/mag/2ZDiqa0

[createthatwow-deactivated202409]

“The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.” - Henry Kissinger

[prozenconsulting-blog]

3 Choices you have

[prozenconsulting-blog]

7 Steps to choosing a recruiting partner

Your criteria for a staffing partner should be the same as for any new supplier. Quality, service and price are the key elements in making your final selection. Some factors to consider are:

Hiring Process: Once the staffing agency understands your needs, can they promptly fill your requirements? Potential applicants should be thoroughly screened, evaluated and interviewed to accurately assess their skill levels and ensure the best match for the position.

Turnaround time (TAT): Use your own benchmarks to derive efficiencies you are looking for. If it takes you 75 days to fill a role internally. The agency should be able to do better! 

Recruiting Costs: It would be a good idea starting with your own benchmarks and what you are looking from an agency to provide you. Agency markups range from 30% for direct hires to all the way to 150% in some special cases!

Performance Guarantees: The staffing agency should offer a guarantee that the associate will meet your company’s needs. Front-line employees should be empowered and trained to resolve customer concerns quickly and effectively.

Specialized Services: Ask if the staffing agency provides a comprehensive menu of specialized services. An extensive range of services managed through one point of contact can ultimately improve the responsiveness & efficiency. 

Competitive Advantages: Make sure that the staffing agency you choose for your company has some significant competitive advantages that allow them to find the best applicants for you and also save your company money in the long run.

Candidate Benefits: Compensation for temporary workers should be competitive. Staffing agencies that offer incentive programs attract and retain the best people. Staffing agencies should provide worker’s compensation, medical and dental insurance.

ProZen Consulting, Calgary Project Staffing & Consulting Services Access more resources at http://prozenconsulting.com

[prozenconsulting-blog]

Inc. : 10 Tips to Help You Hire Right

Inc. : 10 Tips to Help You Hire Right. http://goo.gl/mag/DwAvltX

[prozenconsulting-blog]

Lessons in Employee Engagement!

A short animation on the future of employee engagement by INVOLVE. www.involve.co.uk. This informative and entertaining video breaks down engagement in to these simple ways! All employers can leverage these strategies to keep the employee morale high and increase productivity!

ProZen Consulting, Calgary Project Staffing & Consulting Services Access more resources at www.prozenconsulting.com

[prozenconsulting-blog]

Guide to Effective Communication! This simple animation underlines the need to communicate timely and effectively.

[mightybuxx]

Just another tool for online collaboration? No, Holy Grail of project management.

”Ha!” you can say. “Why do I need askcow, if there are many web based applications arranged for the same?”

”Ha!” we’ll answer. “Try to employ them online at least for few months.”

We’ve tried to do...

[prozenconsulting-blog]

sounds promising in the crowd of online #project #management #pmot

[zenhabits]

You will never change your life until you change something you do daily.

Mike Murdock (via zenhabits)

Very True, Small life changes make big difference!

[a-drop-of-purple-deactivated201]

[prozenconsulting-blog]

Planning Vs Plans

"Planning is important though plans are of little importance"

[prozenconsulting-blog]

“People forget how fast you did a job, but they remember how well you did it”

Howard Newton

[prozenconsulting-blog]

“People forget how fast you did a job, but they remember how well you did it”– Howard Newton

How do you define a successful project? Primarily a project needs to deliver on few fundamental  parameters. Some of the key measures are described in this blog that will form basis for majority of the projects; 

Product of Project : This can be a new service, a product or a repeatable process that sponsoring organization intends to use for strategic, operational or business advantage

Cost or Investment: Meaning the budge allocated for the project should be met and there are no major changes to baseline budget

Project Schedule: Project timelines are met for key deliverables so project’s product is relevant for the intent it is commissioned. This is especially true in the technology domain where go to market time can make or break company’s fortunes.

Project Scope: Has project maintained the agreed scope of work and identified deliverables on time and at desired levels of utility? If there are either missed requirements or ”gold plating with increased costs or time, in both cases it points to an element of failure.

Reporting Metrics: Is there an agreement on measurement metrics to identify and report on key milestones and deliverables while your project is in flight? If key parameters aren’t defined, it is practically impossible to measure the progress made or how much more time or budget will need to complete the remaining scope.

Stakeholder Expectations: This is a tough one, especially when various involved parties have differing stakes in the project. It is important that your key stakeholders perceive the project outcome to be inline with their expectations.

Transition to Operation: Very little thought and planning time is given on the sustainment aspects of a project delivery. It is critical that sufficient time and resources are engaged for ensuring there is smooth hand off & required transfer of knowledge between project & supporting teams at project completion & acceptance in to ongoing operations.

To conclude, your stakeholders will decide whether project was well-managed. Someone (perhaps your sponsor) will decide whether or not the project was a success. Some of the above measures may form the basis of this success. So to help stakeholders understand and decide get project success measures documented and agreed to from the start!

ProZen Consulting, Calgary Project Staffing & Consulting Services Access more resources at www.prozenconsulting.com