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Casual Articles - Introduction to Project Managment
So many contractors go out of business because their construction cost estimating is too low or too high. When the amount estimated in not high enough the company can lose a lot of money; when the estimate is too high you lose the job to a competitor and gain a bad reputation. If either occurs enough times it can result in total failure for the company. Human error is something that will always happen to some degree, and if you want to cut mistakes out completely, you need construction cost estimating software. It can seem overwhelming knowing which is the best construction cost estimating software for your particular company, with such a huge variety available now days. Prior to beginning your search you should read the following guide to ensure you have a clear idea of what you need.Commercial or Residential The first decision to make is whether your company is primarily in the business of commercial or residential building, as there is different construction cost estimating software for each. If you feel your business falls pretty much equally into both categories,there are programs for you as well, however you may find they are more costly.Work With Your Existing Software Contractors will usually have several existing programs in use for bookkeeping, ordering and planning, and a program that will be compatible with most of these will make life a lot easier. This will mean you can get the most out of your construction cost estim
Richard graduated from the police academy in 1985. This person started out in traffic at the Los Angeles Police Department then later on transferred to the Special Weapons and Tactics or SWAT team.The unit where Richard was assigned in saw a lot of action even though this group is only called in as a last resort to end a siege. This made the individual ready to confront anyone, which is one of the things employers look for in recruiting a private detective.Someone called the office one day and asked if Richard was interested in this position. Sensing this could be something exciting, this person went down to the employer’s office to get an idea of the things that are happening.The private investigator office in Los Angeles wasn’t that big. This had a few tables and chairs with a few people working. The one in charge explained most of the agents are out on field assignments. The job doesn’t entail being in harm’s way most of the time since stealth is key getting the job done.Being able to get more information about the job, Richard left and will call to respond to the offer in a few days. The salary in the LAPD didn’t pay that much and given that it won’t be that dangerous, it was easy to decide and switch to this new job.Richard will soon find out that some of the colleagues in the private investigator agency came from other departments within the force and the military. A lot of the people who worked there graduated from a school th
The purpose of this paper is to gain an understanding of project management and to give a brief overview of the methodology that underpins most formally run projects. Many organisations do not employ full time Project Managers and it is common to pull together a project team to address a specific need. While most people are not formally skilled in project methodology, taking a role in a project team can be an excellent learning opportunity and can enhance a person’s career profile.
What is a Project?
A project is a temporary and one-time exercise which varies in duration. It is undertaken to address a specific need in an organisation, which may be to create a product or service or to change a business process. This is in direct contrast to how an organisation generally works on a permanent basis to produce their goods or services. For example the work of an organisation may be to manufacture trucks on a continual basis, therefore the work is considered functional as the organisation creates the same products or services over-and-over again and people hold their roles on a semi permanent basis.
What is Project Management?
A project is generally initiated by a perceived need in an organisation. Being a one off undertaking, it will have a start and an end, constraints of budgets, time and resources and involves a purpose built team. Project teams are made up of many different team members, for example, end users/customers (of a product or service), representatives from Information Technology (IT), a project leader, business analysts, trainers, the project sponsor and other stakeholders.
Project management is the discipline of managing all the different resources and aspects of the project in such a way that the resources will deliver all the output that is required to complete the project within the defined scope, time, and cost constraints. These are agreed upon in the project initiation stage and by the time the project begins all stakeholders and team members will have a clear understanding and acceptance of the process, methodology and expected outcomes. A good project manager utilises a formal process that can be audited and used as a blue print for the project, and this is achieved by emplo
Big corporations spend millions of dollars on creating a recognizable brand and protecting it via trademarks and copyright. If branding is so important to big corporations should it also be important to small business and the sole proprietor?I would argue that branding for a small business should be way down the priority list for the sole proprietor.If you are a sole propritor, your brand is you - your personality, your face, your style, your selling skills. Your customers don't recognize you by the logo on your car or the logo on your personal website. They recognize you by you. You are your business and your business is you.Don't spend valuable money on creating a logo or a brand name. As a sole propritor or small business your limited resources should be portioned towards such things as growing your business and expanding your advertising.If you already have a logo, don't plaster it everywhere. Sometimes its better to just put your own face on advertising materials. For example, look at most real estate brochures and marketing materials. A majority of the time you see a photo of the real estate broker. That's because the real estate broker adds a human element to a the business. It's not a logo that sells a house, it's an actual human being - a real estate broker.A brand is quite important to a big corporation. It's not as important to a sole proprietor. Think about adding a personal touch when creating an image for your bu
What is a Project?
A project is a temporary and one-time exercise which varies in duration. It is undertaken to address a specific need in an organisation, which may be to create a product or service or to change a business process. This is in direct contrast to how an organisation generally works on a permanent basis to produce their goods or services. For example the work of an organisation may be to manufacture trucks on a continual basis, therefore the work is considered functional as the organisation creates the same products or services over-and-over again and people hold their roles on a semi permanent basis.
What is Project Management?
A project is generally initiated by a perceived need in an organisation. Being a one off undertaking, it will have a start and an end, constraints of budgets, time and resources and involves a purpose built team. Project teams are made up of many different team members, for example, end users/customers (of a product or service), representatives from Information Technology (IT), a project leader, business analysts, trainers, the project sponsor and other stakeholders.
Project management is the discipline of managing all the different resources and aspects of the project in such a way that the resources will deliver all the output that is required to complete the project within the defined scope, time, and cost constraints. These are agreed upon in the project initiation stage and by the time the project begins all stakeholders and team members will have a clear understanding and acceptance of the process, methodology and expected outcomes. A good project manager utilises a formal process that can be audited and used as a blue print for the project, and this is achieved by empl
Access Part I of the article by visiting my Small Business Branding Blog.Although Jane was nodding in agreement during my entire rant, I sensed she still needed more convincing to fully understand what to do after your brand is developed.Let me share some background...After going through my brand design process, we determined Jane's market position as a 'Life Coach' was much too vague and didn't speak to her true passion of helping people let go of their past in order to embrace their future.In a few short weeks of assessments, soul searching and refocusing, we repositioned her practice to emphasize her process, which serves as a conduit between the anchor of your past, and the door to your future.Although Jane had begun to fill her calendar with appointments, and recently created her first wait list, she wasn't enjoying the process of growing her practice. The time and freedom she expected as a small business owner didn't exist.Instead, she was in her office five days a week, working with clients six to eight hours each day (with all her admin work being completed after hours) and by weeks end, is completely exhausted.Caffeinated CoachingOur private coaching day started with a cup of java delivered to us at my offsite training facility, where I began my rant about designing a relational business model to meet the nee
What is Project Management?
A project is generally initiated by a perceived need in an organisation. Being a one off undertaking, it will have a start and an end, constraints of budgets, time and resources and involves a purpose built team. Project teams are made up of many different team members, for example, end users/customers (of a product or service), representatives from Information Technology (IT), a project leader, business analysts, trainers, the project sponsor and other stakeholders.
Project management is the discipline of managing all the different resources and aspects of the project in such a way that the resources will deliver all the output that is required to complete the project within the defined scope, time, and cost constraints. These are agreed upon in the project initiation stage and by the time the project begins all stakeholders and team members will have a clear understanding and acceptance of the process, methodology and expected outcomes. A good project manager utilises a formal process that can be audited and used as a blue print for the project, and this is achieved by empl
There is no doubt that life is full of choices and one of the toughest choices of all is deciding which career path to take. There are no guarantees and sometimes success in the workforce depends a lot upon luck and due diligence. Taking a job in corporate America makes a lot of sense because you get a regular paycheck and you know exactly how much it will be.Often you also find yourself with benefits such as health insurance for yourself and your family. Most corporate jobs also offer retirement benefits and a pension. Lately in corporate America we have seen these benefits cut and layoffs and so there is no guarantee on any of that either and yet most people seek stability in their career.Owning or starting a small business is not necessarily a stable and ever and the failure rate of small businesses is quite high. Then there is the franchise offering, which often looks enticing because you buy a business model already prepackaged and they will train you on how to do the business. Even so there is no guarantee that this will work either. The failure rate for franchising companies or Franchisors is 80% in the first five years.If you buy a franchise from a company, which is new and it goes out of business then you will not have the support, which you had anticipated. A more established franchisor due to supply and demand may not offer you as good of terms in a way of royalty payments and franchise fees. Please consider all this in 2006.
Project management is the discipline of managing all the different resources and aspects of the project in such a way that the resources will deliver all the output that is required to complete the project within the defined scope, time, and cost constraints. These are agreed upon in the project initiation stage and by the time the project begins all stakeholders and team members will have a clear understanding and acceptance of the process, methodology and expected outcomes. A good project manager utilises a formal process that can be audited and used as a blue print for the project, and this is achieved by empl
Building a house or any facility requires permits that indicate strict adherence to government and, in some cases, even international requirements. Construction, like other professional fields, has its areas of specializations. Architects take care of the infrastructure material and design. The civil engineer enters the picture when constructing larger facilities that often involve elevators. The electrical engineer takes care of the proper wiring of the house or building. And of course, the HVAC or heat, ventilation, and air-conditioning contractor takes care of temperature control. The HVAC person is an expert on cost-efficient and practical HVAC systems, equipment, installation, and maintenance.Because of the importance of the HV AC technician’s job, there have been moves to further professionalize HV AC contractors through certifications and training sessions for technicians.Training for HVAC practitioners is available online. Technicians can prepare for certification exams by watching HVAC audio-visual presentations or reading books on construction trade educational programs. There are also seminars sponsored by institutions and fairs held by HVAC manufacturers that are good venues for HVAC professionals to connect and get updated on the newest technology and applications in refrigerants, system evacuations, and commercial air conditioning, as well electronic, automatic, and programmable controls, among others. It is important that HVAC professional
Project Management Methodology
Generally, projects are split into three phases Initiation, Implementation and Closure. Each phase then has multiple checkpoints that must be met before the next phase begins. The degree to which a project is managed will depend on the size of the project. For a complex project in a large organisation that involves a number of people, resources, time and money, a more structured approach is needed, and there will be more steps built into each stage of the project to ensure that the project delivers the anticipated end result. For a simple project in a small organisation, agreed milestones, a few checklists and someone to co-ordinate the project may be all that is required.
Initiating a Project
All projects start with an idea for a product, service, new capability or other desired outcome. The idea is communicated to the project sponsors (the people who will fund the project) using what is called either a mandate or project charter. The mandate is a document structured in a way that lays out a clear method for proposing a project and should result in a business case for the project. Once the business case has been approved a more detailed document is prepared that explains the project and it is known as the ‘The Project Definition Report’ (PD). The PD is not only used to provide detailed information on the project, but is the report on which an assessment is made as to whether the project should proceed or not. Some of the key areas it covers is the scope of the project, results of any feasibility studies, and what it is intended to deliver. As well this document will identify the key people involved, resources required, costs and expected duration as well as benefits to the business. A project usually has
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