Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Tips on Skills based training / imparting a technique

Encourage different types of comments.

Explain that you will briefly describe one technique at a time—and keep your mouth shut. Invite participants to type their comments related to the technique. Suggest different comments based on responses to these types of questions:

  • What excites you about this technique?
  • Have you ever used or experienced this technique?
  • What additional details do you know about this technique?
  • How would you use this technique?
  • What aspects of this technique make you uncomfortable?
  • Why will it not work for you?
  • How would you modify this technique to better suit your needs?

tips on SDLT - self directed learning teams !

This is from Thiagi newsletter Feb.2011. I'm grateful to Mr.Siva Sailam Thiagarajan for such wonderful insights into training ! This is about SDLT. Self Directed Learning Teams, while impating online training.
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Online SDLT

For nearly a year now, we have been fortunate to conduct a monthly online training session sponsored by the Training Magazine Network (and ably coordinated by Gary VanAntwerp). In the process, we learned (and relearned) several useful things:

  • There's wisdom in groups. The group as a whole knows more than you do.
  • Webinars can and should incorporate activities.
  • There is a big difference between online training sessions (webinars) for groups of less than 20 and groups of more than 50.
  • Most participants have varying amounts of expertise and experience on most training topics.
  • Most participants are also capable of taking a basic idea and working out details of transfer and application. By explaining too much, trainers deny opportunities for participants to share what they know and how they plan to use it.

Based on these principles, we have created an online structured sharing activity incorporating the concept of Self-Directed Learning Teams (SDLT). Here's the flow of this activity.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

PMP Training : Day 2

Project Cost Management
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Planned Value - Earned Value = Net Gain /Loss.

There are ' cumulative value' and ' current value' for any project.

AC = Actual Cost. There are current cost and cumulative cost.

Unless they specify, it's cumulative cost.

Some words and acronyms used in project management.

SV = Schedule Variance = PV - EV. Planned Value - Earned Value.

CV = Cost Variance EV - AC.

SPI = Schedule Performance Index = EV / PV.

CPI = Cost Performance Index = EV / AC .

CSI = SPI/CPI.

CSI = Cost Schedule Index.

EAC = Estimated Completion.

EAC = BPC / CPI.

ETC = Estimate to Complete.

BAC = Cost Baseline. = always in S curve.

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PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT
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What is quality?

Quality is - meeting the specifications ( according to management).

From customer perspective : Satisfaction, utility value and fit to use.

Quality always comes with a cost. Cost of conformance.

Cost of non-conformance is failure.

There are 3 quality guru s.

1. Phillip Crosby. 14 quality principles.

2. Joseph Disn. 3 quality principles.

3. Deming.

" Baseline is the snap shot of the present scenario".

Net Search : ' Tools and Techniques' for program quality control.

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CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
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Here are the responses to conflict

1. Problem solving or confrontation.
2.Compromise.
3.Forcing.
4.Collaboration.
5.Smoothing.
6.Withdrawal.

POST LUNCH ( OB related topics)
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In a communication network, number of communication channels = n*(n-1)/2.

Communiation skills
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Communication process.

Encode-> channel -> message -> decode -> medium -> noise -> decode.

The other 2 sessions. Project Risk management & Ethics in project management.

PMP Training - Day 1 : Hotel Aditya

Presenter's name : Ramesh Chepur. Find him on Linked in.

Find out user group for PMP in Hyderabad.

Visit on the Net : PMBOK 2008.

You need to get 123 answers right, out of 175. Nearly 70%. 25 dummy questions will be there but we don't know which are dummy.

Result : Proficiency : High / Medium / Low. Even low proficiency is pass but may not have market value.
3 attempts in 12 months. Exam fee : $405. Additionally, we need to pay $129 for PMBOK downloads. ( I need to learn to activate my ICICI bank net banking prov + SBI credit card).

Pay $10 and become a local PMI body member.

Claim 60 PDU s in the next 3 years. There are 9 knowledge areas in PMP.

Take the exam before August 2011. Exam pattern is going to change.

visit
http://www.pmp.org

There is no penalty for changing the exam date.

For exam : PMBOK : read at least twice before the exam.

There are 2 books available for PMP exam preparation.

1. PMP exam guide by Kim Heldman. Rs.500/-.

2. There is also a book from Tata McGraw-Hill. Please find out from Walden or book selection centre.

Time for preparation : 50 to 75 hours of ' serious' preparation is required.

A project has 4 charactaristics. Time, Scope, Cost, and progressive elaboration.

There are 3 constraints for the project. ( Net Search : ' Constraints for the project' or 3 constraints for the project). Time , Scope and cost.

In a project, an output becomes an input to another / next activity.

Identifying the stake holders is essential for project's success.

There are 3 types of organizations.
1.Functional org
2.Matrix Org ( which has rows and columns)
3. Projectised org.

Authority of a project manager is weak / balanced/ strong - respectively - in the above mentioned org s.

Almost 99% of all I.T. organizations are projectised organisations.

' Projectised Org' has the least communication gaps.
(Test)
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESS
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Output defines the process.

A ' Phase' may contain many processes.

PDCA : Plan, Do, check, Act.

'Project Charter' is the approval issued by the sponsor.

PROJECT INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT
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In project integration management, all the 5 process groups are involved. In no other knowledge area, all the 5 process groups are involved.

In Execution, my ' project management plan' forms the basis !

Total number of processes in Project Management Processes' : 42.

Initiation : 2
Planning :20.
Execution : 8.
Monitoring and contorl : 10.
Closing : 2.

A Project Manager does only 10% of all the active work. The rest is communication.

Net Search : ' Scope Management during the project'.

TO DO :
1.More learning on ' Project Scope'. All the I.T/ Software johnnies understood this. I could not !
2.Refer to the page no.350 of PMBOK book. Project Document. Project Management Plan context.

' Any change request / defect repair request should be approved by the Change Control Board (CCB). '
JAD : Joint Application Development. By both the client and the vendor. This is done mostly, but not confined to , military.

Net Search : Organizational Process Assets'.
Net Search : Project Management Jokes

SCOPE means , ' doing all the work and the only work'.
WBS : Work Break down structure.
Scope Baseline : It's the most important. It has 3 documents.
1.WBS. 2.WBS Dictionary. & 3. Scope Statement ( net search, this ! )

Performance Breakdown Structure : (a) Schedule baseline (b) Cost baseline (c) quality baseline.

There are 4 breakdown structures in a project

1. Work Breakdown Structure.
2.REquirement breakdown structure.
3.Organizational Breakdown structure.
4.Risk breakdown Structure.

Cost baseline, performance & schedule baseline - are the most important to the senior management. ( Test)

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Net Search : Project Management Tools.
There are 3 kinds of dependencies. (a) mandatory dependency (b) discretionary dependency & (c) discretionary dependency & (d) external dependency.

PROJECT ESTIMATES :
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There are 4 kinds of estimates for project estimates.
1.(rough) order of magnitude method.
2.Analogous Estimate.
3. Parametric Estimate
4.Bottoms up estimate. &
5. ' Weighted Average Estimate or PERT or 3 point estimate'.

Accuracy : will increase from method 1 to 4. But so will, time and money.

Difference between Lag and delay. Lag means, a delayed start. Delay means, late in completing the work.

PERT formula : O + ( 4*M)+P
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6


Where
O is optimistic estimate.
M is most likely outcome
P is pessimistic estimate

The result is always closer to the ' most likely.

Obs : This trainer speaks in a low and steady voice and is not tired at the fag end of the day. Maintains the same energy.

Critical path method : Shortest duration of time for the project is the longest path on the critical path.

Float or slack indicated a non critical activity. Postive difference between the early start and late finish is - float. Where there is zero float or slack, the task is ' non criticial'.

Important :
visit this web site ;

http://www.deltek.com - for ' MOnte Carlo method of analysis. Critical Path method.

More net search on : Earned value management system.

( Day 1 training is over : made quite a lot of notes ! )

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