http://www.iplanware.com/blog Latest about portfolio, project and resource management and other news and views Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:50:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/16/what-is-portfolio-management/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/16/what-is-portfolio-management/#comments Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:25:00 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=622 Unsure as to what portfolio management is? If so then read on. (If you want to dive into the detail and learn about some of the techniques used in portfolio management take a look here instead). First off, let’s clarify a quick point. You will often hear people referring to portfolio management, project portfolio management and even PPM. In reality [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2012/01/16/what-is-portfolio-management/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/analysing-resource-supply-and-demand-for-project-selection/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/analysing-resource-supply-and-demand-for-project-selection/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:10:06 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=588 Our previous posts have looked at NPV and project scoring to help us screen and prioritise our project pipeline. In this post we are going to add a further dimension to the project selection process – resource supply and demand which helps organisations understand if they have the capacity to take on new projects. All [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/analysing-resource-supply-and-demand-for-project-selection/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/selecting-projects-using-strategic-alignment-and-project-scoring/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/selecting-projects-using-strategic-alignment-and-project-scoring/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:02:45 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=581 In our previous post we look at using NPV (net present value) to decide if a project was worth investing in or not. We also looked at why NPV cannot be used to prioritise projects or choose between competing projects. Therefore the next tool in the PPM practitioner’s toolbox is strategic alignment analysis. Strategic alignment [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/selecting-projects-using-strategic-alignment-and-project-scoring/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/evaluating-projects-using-npv-net-present-value/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/evaluating-projects-using-npv-net-present-value/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:01:29 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=578 Net present value is a financial technique which uses a projects costs and returns over time to determine if the project will make a positive return. Importantly it takes into account the time value of money – i.e. that a £ earned today is worth more than a £ earned a year from now. As [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/evaluating-projects-using-npv-net-present-value/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/selecting-your-project-pipeline/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/selecting-your-project-pipeline/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:00:51 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=575 One of the key processes in a PPM solution (project portfolio management) is project selection – ensuring you do the right projects. A PPM approach requires tools to help decision makers evaluate, grade and prioritise project requests. The starting point for project selection is to create an inventory of all your current approved projects and [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/10/18/selecting-your-project-pipeline/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/09/08/iplanware-ppm-hutt-city-council-case-study/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/09/08/iplanware-ppm-hutt-city-council-case-study/#comments Thu, 08 Sep 2011 09:22:58 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=549 Organisation: Hutt City Council (HCC)     Download Case Study Website: http://www.huttcity.govt.nz/ Staff: 60 IT staff Region: New Zealand Industry: Local Government Implementation Partner: 3SixtyNZ (http://3sixtynz.com/) Business Need With the ever increasing challenges of delivering IS solutions within the organisation, HCC needed a better understanding of how their projects, business as usual (BAU) and IT [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/09/08/iplanware-ppm-hutt-city-council-case-study/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/07/19/new-features-make-project-portfolio-management-even-easier/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/07/19/new-features-make-project-portfolio-management-even-easier/#comments Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:07:17 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=542 The new release of iPlanWare PPM has a number of features that make portfolio modelling, analysis and project selection even easier. Project scorecards form the cornerstone of a portfolio review and approval process. The latest release of iPlanWare makes scorecards faster to complete and review. In the new portfolio scoring area you can quickly score your [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/07/19/new-features-make-project-portfolio-management-even-easier/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/31/iplanware-continues-international-expansion-with-appointment-of-reseller-in-australia/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/31/iplanware-continues-international-expansion-with-appointment-of-reseller-in-australia/#comments Tue, 31 May 2011 09:21:39 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=533 PM-Partners Group Partners With iPlanWare as Reseller for SaaS PPM Software to Enterprises In Australia. iPlanWare today announces that PM-Partners group has been appointed a reseller of iPlanWare’s PPM software in Australia. iPlanWare is committed to being the PPM solution of choice for organisations wherever they are based,  and the agreement with PM-Partners moves this [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/31/iplanware-continues-international-expansion-with-appointment-of-reseller-in-australia/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/17/new-release-of-iplanware-ppm-capacity-planning-budgets-and-more/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/17/new-release-of-iplanware-ppm-capacity-planning-budgets-and-more/#comments Tue, 17 May 2011 16:07:20 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=525 Release 3.7 of iPlanWare PPM includes a host of new features to make your project or resource based organisation more productive. Resource capacity planner Still trying to perform resource planning and capacity planning in an Excel spreadsheet? The new version of iPlanWare PPM builds on an already strong PPM offering to deliver advanced resource capacity [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/17/new-release-of-iplanware-ppm-capacity-planning-budgets-and-more/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/10/iplanware-capacity-planning-and-what-if-scenario-modeling/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/10/iplanware-capacity-planning-and-what-if-scenario-modeling/#comments Tue, 10 May 2011 12:26:09 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=501 Are you struggling to understand if you can take on more work, or how to best fit projects around your available resource? These are the types of questions capacity planning in iPlanWare helps you get answers to. Most organisations have a reasonably fixed supply of resource, so they have to make decisions about what projects to [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/05/10/iplanware-capacity-planning-and-what-if-scenario-modeling/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/31/iplanware-ms-project-connector/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/31/iplanware-ms-project-connector/#comments Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:52:19 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=478 The iPlanWare MS Project Connector is a powerful plugin for MS Project and provides an integration link between MS Project and iPlanWare PPM. Using the iPlanWare MS Project Connector you can export project plans from MS Project into iPlanWare and import plans from iPlanWare back into MS Project. Simple to use and effective! Once plans [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/31/iplanware-ms-project-connector/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/18/creating-a-project-management-office-pmo/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/18/creating-a-project-management-office-pmo/#comments Tue, 18 Jan 2011 09:09:08 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=467 Why implement a PMO? A compelling reason is that organisations who implement a PMO deliver more projects on time and on budget and are able to make better decisions about how to allocate their resources. A recent study by Gartner Group discovered that nearly 70% of organisations that have implemented a PMO report that project [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/18/creating-a-project-management-office-pmo/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/10/trapped-in-project-management-spreadsheet-hell/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/10/trapped-in-project-management-spreadsheet-hell/#comments Mon, 10 Jan 2011 17:35:24 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=441 When organisations start implementing project management and portfolio management processes they quickly realise they need a tool to help them. Think of all the things you need to do – keep a central register of projects, track who is doing what and when, build resource forecasts, produce status reports, deliver fancy graphs to the executive [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/10/trapped-in-project-management-spreadsheet-hell/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/09/responsibilities-of-a-project-management-office-pmo/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/09/responsibilities-of-a-project-management-office-pmo/#comments Sun, 09 Jan 2011 15:34:27 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=435 In most organisations the PMO has five main responsibilities: Set standards for how projects are run The PMO builds up a common set of practices, principles and templates for managing projects. Standardisation means project managers can move more easily between different projects and new project managers get up to speed faster. Creating project management templates [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/09/responsibilities-of-a-project-management-office-pmo/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/07/what-is-a-project-management-office-pmo/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/07/what-is-a-project-management-office-pmo/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:23:59 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=430 Definition of a project management office (PMO) Quite simply, in a project based organisation, the project management office (PMO) is a department or group that defines and maintains standards around project management for the organisation. The main functions of a PMO are typically: Set standards for how projects are run and ensure project managers follow [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2011/01/07/what-is-a-project-management-office-pmo/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/13/iplanware-ppm-r3-6-now-available/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/13/iplanware-ppm-r3-6-now-available/#comments Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:28:14 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=257 The feature most customers ask for is the ability to create their own custom data fields within iPlanWare. Release 3.6 of iPlanWare provides this ability – system administrators can log in and start creating custom data fields and painting them onto pages and dashboards. So if you have some data you need to store in [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/13/iplanware-ppm-r3-6-now-available/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/18/iplanware-on-youtube-project-management-videos-and-more/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/18/iplanware-on-youtube-project-management-videos-and-more/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2010 19:59:56 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=249 Head over to http://www.youtube.com/user/iplanware to check out product tours and feature demonstrations.]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/18/iplanware-on-youtube-project-management-videos-and-more/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/15/iplanware-release-3-5/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/15/iplanware-release-3-5/#comments Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:34:39 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=368 Portfolio management, portfolio management and more portfolio management. Release 3.5 of iPlanWare PPM introduces some killer features to help organisations select the right projects to run, align their projects with strategic objectives and prioritise their project portfolio. So combined with the other features in iPlanWare such as resource forecasting, project management, resource management, timesheets and project [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/15/iplanware-release-3-5/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/04/14/how-to-lose-50-of-your-sales-opportunities/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/04/14/how-to-lose-50-of-your-sales-opportunities/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:22:22 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=238 As I have mentioned in a previous post, most software vendors either take a SaaS or an on premises approach to software deployment. Very rarely do they offer both and I have never understood the sense in this. Here is another commentator exploring this further by looking at iPlanWare, SurarCRM and Wavemaker in particular. The [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/04/14/how-to-lose-50-of-your-sales-opportunities/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/03/16/teamworks-release-34/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/03/16/teamworks-release-34/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:34:24 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=226 The March 2010 release of iPlanWare PPM introduces an alternative way for organisations to schedule resources. Most PPM tools use a Gantt or task based tool for scheduling. While this is great for work that needs a timeline based schedule, it is just not flexible enough for resource centric scheduling. For example scheduling tech support staff [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2010/03/16/teamworks-release-34/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/24/teamworks-release-33/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/24/teamworks-release-33/#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:07:01 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=202 The next release of iPlanWare PPM includes some very exiting tools to help organisations with their capacity planning and forecasting. A major problem when undertaking capacity planning is being able to capture the resource demands for projects that are still in the pipeline.  Typically you won’t have full visibility of who is doing the work or the [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/24/teamworks-release-33/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/23/teamworks-accelerator-speeds-implementation-time/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/23/teamworks-accelerator-speeds-implementation-time/#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:23:32 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=204 A useful tool for organisations that wish to speed their implementation of iPlanWare PPM is the iPlanWare Accelerator. Even though most organisations are up and running within a matter of days (typically less than 30 days even for large implementations), we wanted to make the process even quicker and transfer more of the knowledge of [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/23/teamworks-accelerator-speeds-implementation-time/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/09/how-to-do-resource-capacity-planning/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/09/how-to-do-resource-capacity-planning/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2009 08:15:22 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=183 If you are a software development or professional services organisation, getting your resource levels and skills mix right is pretty key. Resources are probably the biggest cost to your business and also the biggest revenue generators. The method to do this is called capacity planning or resource forecasting. If you are after an example of [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/09/how-to-do-resource-capacity-planning/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/26/comparison-of-teamworks-ppm-to-microsoft-project-server/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/26/comparison-of-teamworks-ppm-to-microsoft-project-server/#comments Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:12:11 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=168 Organisations evaluating iPlanWare PPM often consider Microsoft Project Server as an option. We felt it would be useful to provide a comparison of the two products and why we believe iPlanWare PPM is a better option for organisations that are serious about optimising their project management and resource management. Single integrated solution iPlanWare is a single [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/26/comparison-of-teamworks-ppm-to-microsoft-project-server/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/04/17/governance-tools-in-next-release-of-teamworks-ppm/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/04/17/governance-tools-in-next-release-of-teamworks-ppm/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:01:45 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=163 Two new tools are included in the next release of iPlanWare PPM to help organisations improve their project governance (check out the online tours.) Project lifecycle processes. All projects have stages they must follow from start up to close down. Within these stages, actions and decisions need to be undertaken by the project manger, stakeholders and [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/04/17/governance-tools-in-next-release-of-teamworks-ppm/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/04/16/why-freeware-software-is-not-free/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/04/16/why-freeware-software-is-not-free/#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 18:27:18 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=149 Every couple of weeks we get contacted by someone asking if our project management software iPlanWare is free (of charge). When we politely tell them that actually no, it is not free (here is the pricing if you are interested) they always seem a bit disgruntled. So, after I explain that our employees have bills to pay, kids to [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/04/16/why-freeware-software-is-not-free/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/03/04/saas-cloud-hosted-and-asp-software-are-all-the-same/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/03/04/saas-cloud-hosted-and-asp-software-are-all-the-same/#comments Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:18:23 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=137 I don’t really understand why software vendors keep introducing new terminology for the same thing. I guess it is the marketing departments trying to give the sales team something “new” to take to prospects. In early 2001 when iPlanWare started offering our software as an online project management solution (i.e. customers didn’t have to install any software) this was [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/03/04/saas-cloud-hosted-and-asp-software-are-all-the-same/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/20/simple-risk-management/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/20/simple-risk-management/#comments Fri, 20 Feb 2009 07:26:11 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=133 You will find many definitions of risk management available and I don’t intend adding another. But in a project management context, risk management is a way of managing the uncertainty around your project. A risk in its simplest form is something that may happen and may have a positive or negative impact. But most people [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/20/simple-risk-management/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/12/benefits-of-saas-software-vs-onsite-software/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/12/benefits-of-saas-software-vs-onsite-software/#comments Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:59:45 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=125 Increasingly most prospects we speak to are willing to consider our software as a traditional onsite solution (i.e. upfront licensed purchase) or as a hosted service (SaaS / Software-as-a-Service / Online software). For many, hosted software is something new to them and they often like us to summarise the benefits. So here they are: Agility.  You will [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/12/benefits-of-saas-software-vs-onsite-software/feed/ 1 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/08/habits-of-effective-project-organisations/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/08/habits-of-effective-project-organisations/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 09:30:52 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/blog/?p=100 Over the years we have worked with many organisations across a range of industry sectors. We believe we have identified some common traits that winning organisations display when organising and delivering their projects. Take a look, you may not agree with all. Indeed we may have also missed some. But we are sure organisations that display most of [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/02/08/habits-of-effective-project-organisations/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/22/more-than-half-of-managers-use-spreadsheets-for-resource-management/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/22/more-than-half-of-managers-use-spreadsheets-for-resource-management/#comments Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:39:54 +0000 admin http://www.iplanware.com/pm/?p=79 A recent survey found that four out of five project managers see resource management as one of their most important tasks. Yet more than half rely on spreadsheets to perform this important process. Why, when there are software solutions available that will streamline the whole resource planning and resource forecasting process. Let’s be clear what [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/22/more-than-half-of-managers-use-spreadsheets-for-resource-management/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/19/why-we-offer-software-as-a-service-and-installed-solutions/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/19/why-we-offer-software-as-a-service-and-installed-solutions/#comments Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:55:35 +0000 admin http://wordpress.mji_devel.mjiconsulting.com/teamworks/blog/?p=57 With a few exceptions most software vendors have either chosen to provide their software exclusively as software as a service or as an installed solution. I have always found this rather odd. In fact this was backed up recently when in discussion with an analyst from a research company. He wanted to understand our strategy [...]]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/19/why-we-offer-software-as-a-service-and-installed-solutions/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/12/recession-drives-demand-for-ppm/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/12/recession-drives-demand-for-ppm/#comments Mon, 12 Jan 2009 18:12:31 +0000 admin http://wordpress.mji_devel.mjiconsulting.com/teamworks/blog/?p=23 Doom and gloom is everywhere at the moment. But one software sector is still booming according to CIO.com - hosted project management solutions.]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2009/01/12/recession-drives-demand-for-ppm/feed/ 0 http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/05/iplanware-teamworks-featured-in-project-manager-today-magazine/ http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/05/iplanware-teamworks-featured-in-project-manager-today-magazine/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:16:49 +0000 admin http://wordpress.mji_devel.mjiconsulting.com/teamworks/blog/?p=47 The November 2008 issue of Project Manager Today magazine features a review of iPlanWare (previously named TeamWorks) by Steve Cotterell. Thanks to Steve for a well written piece. If you don’t subscribe to the magazine you can register for a free trial of their online version. Visit http://www.pmtoday.co.uk for more information.]]> http://www.iplanware.com/blog/index.php/2008/12/05/iplanware-teamworks-featured-in-project-manager-today-magazine/feed/ 0