The Available Free Project Management Templates 

September 19, 2013

The available free project management templates to the business world are useful in many different fashions. Not only can you begin to use them immediately in your next business venture, but you can actually see how efficiently they work in a real world scenario.
The offer of free project management templates from a supplier will never include all of the templates they have to offer. Instead there will be a limited number of them available. This is usually done over the internet with a free downloading option. How you use this free offer to evaluate the product is your choice. Many just rummage thru them to see just what they contain. This is advisable as a first step. This allows for the new users to see just what type of content the template has to offer them.
When you are analyzing the free project management templates, it is advisable to take some critical notes on what you are discovering. One of the critical items you need to note is just how easy the template is to use. Ask yourself, does it follow intuitive thinking? The easier the template is to use and follow, the faster your project manager will be able to document the particular process the template is designed to generate.
Another item to note is what does the final product look like? Most free project management templates have the format and style of the finish document already set in place. Make sure the type of document that is produced will be acceptable by your organization.
The two main reasons an organization is looking at free project management templates to use include the ability to save time in the documentation process of your project. The second is for the consistency that will be generated in using such a project management tool. Both of these are relevant points and should be considered when evaluating the templates you have downloaded.
No all free project management templates that are available today are equal. Know what you need out of this type of tool before you begin to evaluate them is essential. This will make the decision process of choosing the right one for your organization the easiest.

Five Tips to Help You Excel in Project Management (Part 4)

Hi,

Let's go straight to Tip number 3: Learn to be a power negotiator

The manner in how you behave during a negotiation can have a dramatic impact on the outcome.

When you walk down a crowded street you negotiate the path you take. A couple negotiates their relationship before and during marriage. Although you may not realise what’s happening, for example you take out the garbage tonight and I will do the dishes.

Nowhere do we seem to need good negotiating skills more than at work where we negotiate with staff, clients and suppliers.

And of course of the negotiation is one of the skills that needs to be acquired by managers
Over the years I’ve noticed that some people are very good at getting terrific deals.  Most others simply get what the other party is willing to give. What’s the difference?

The first group knows how to negotiate.

These principles are always at play in the negotiation process, and will help you smoothly achieve your goals:

·         Know what you want before negotiating.

·         Get the Other Side to Commit First

·         Concentrate on the Issues

·         Aim for a Win/Win negotiation.

·         Always Congratulate The Other Side

·         Ask Questions

In our next article we will explore tip number four: Be a positive thinker. Please join us.

Project People Limited

Five Tips to Help You Excel in Project Management (Part 3)

Hi,

Lets go straight to Tip number 2: Communicate to be understood

Communication is the most important skill in managing a project. You spend years learning how to read and write, and years learning how to speak. But what about listening? What training have you had that enables you to listen so you really, deeply understand another human being? Probably none, right?

Communication is important for any project. It is next to impossible to have a successful project on any level without good communication. Most project managers only practice one part of communication, the speaking. However, the second part of communication is to listen. Listening is a vital part of the communication and it takes a lot of work. Individuals have to listen with their ears and their reasoning open and judgment closed. The reason is, when most have a conversation instead of listening, the other person will spend that time thinking about the rebuttal. Listening to what the person is saying and seeking to understand is a step in the right direction toward communication success. The best way to begin a conversation is by creating an object; know what you want to accomplish with the conversation and work toward that end.

Next week we will explore tip number three: Learn to be a power negotiator. Please join us.

 

Project People Limited

Five Tips to Help You Excel in Project Management (Part 2)

Hi,

Lets go straight to Tip number 1: Give Attention to Details

Details are critical for the following points

It is important not just to have a vision but also to know what are the scope and all exclusions of the vision.

Don’t just understand the project’s objectives but have a detailed direction on how to achieve those objectives

Project plan. A well defined and clearly communicated project plan taking into consideration all known factors like time, cost, risks etc

In our very lives today details are not common place. An average Nigerian working professional does not run a budget, neither does he have a retirement plan. He just wakes up everyday and goes to work without a clear cut mission of how long he intend to stay on the job and step-by-step plan to get him out when the time comes. The same attitude is carried on to our projects. Projects are different from processes. We must have very detailed parameters governing not just our projects but also our lives.

I have discovered people will naturally yield and give more to a vision than a need. The vision therefore must be very clear and unambiguously defined. What is the use of a vision that stakeholders cannot relate to because it is not well explained. As a manager with project team to guide and provide leadership to, you must adapt the vision to each person and their role. This is necessary for simplicity sake. Though details must be achieved on all that has to do with the project at hand, simplicity should not be compromised.

Next week we will explore tip number two: Communicate to Be Understood. Please join us.

Project People Limited

Five Tips to Help You Excel in Project Management

Hi,

I have been privileged in my many years of professional activities to meet many project managers both home and abroad. I discovered that we have so many schooled and certified professional but very few real leaders. According to a Survey Carried out by KPMG of 252organisations, technology is not the most critical factor that determines project success. Inadequate project management implementation constitutes 32% of project failures, lack of communication constitutes 20%, and unfamiliarity with scope and complexity constitutes 17%. Accordingly 69% of project failures are due to lack and/or improper implementation of project management methodologies.

The above project failure indices are directly or indirectly the project manager’s shortcoming. The most popular definition of leadership I believe is influence. As a project manager, the ability to inspire the entire project team toward achieving the desired goal and project objective is key to successful project implementation. Some project managers are simply administrators, while some are project coordinators. However, the game of being a ‘leader’ project manager is far more than just administration or coordination. I gave presentations and facilitated workshops on this subject in our numerous professional forums. Many times, beyond the presentation, it was the debate with the novice and the experienced project managers about what are the most important skill set that drives me to further increase my study and concepts in this area.

I made sure that my points are not out of head knowledge or some form of pseudo perception of the ideal. I have carefully studied exceptional project managers and have documented my discovery not just for classroom purposes but for life application.

All the points mentioned below are crucial for superlative project governance:

• Give attention to detail
• Communicate to be understood
• Learn to be a power negotiator
• Be a positive thinker
• Be as flexible as you can

We shall expatiate further next week. Please join us.

 Project People Limited

Guidelines for Effective & Efficient Meetings

One of the essential ingredient for team building, making group decisions, solving group problems and achieving

a group consensus is a meeting.

The project manager should abide by the following guidelines for ensuring efficient and effective meetings that hold the attention and interest of all team members:

1. establish a meeting policy

2. Only call a meeting when there is a real need

3. Make the purpose of the meeting very clear

4. prepare an agenda

5. Follow the agenda

6. Encourage participation

7. Include a team-building element

8. Issue mistakes.

9. Follow up on all task assignments and action items

  poor meetings are usually a result of poor preparation and inept or incompetent chairperson.

  
Project People Limited also provides Trainings and Certifications that increases the employability of individuals and deliverable of organizations.  

For our offers:

• PRINCE2
• PMP
• ITIL
• BUSINESS ANALYSIS
• M_o_R
• PCPM(Professional Certificate in Project Management)

For more enquirires: 
Call: 08188094965, 08064861659
E-mail:admin@projectpeopleng.com

Project Management Jobs in Nigeria 2013

Find Project Management Jobs in Nigeria:

• British Council Nigeria Recruitment 2013 for ELT Project Manager

The British Council Nigeria is looking for a suitably qualified and experienced individual to fill the post of ELT Project Manager. The role is based in NIGERIA.  

Apply Now

• Personnel Logistics Assistance Services in Nigeria

Our Client a leading global operator is seeking a Personnel Logistics Assistant with experience in offshore logistics on large-scale capital projects in the petroleum industry and . . . . .

 Apply Now

•   Senior Project Manager/Asset Manager job in Nigeria

Spencer Ogden is working in partnership with a Nigeria based Oil and Gas Exploration Company based in Lagos, to help them bring on board a new Senior Project Manger/Asset Manager to take ... . . Apply Now

• Contractor Administrator job in Nigeria

One of the major engineering companies within the oil and gas industry is looking for a contract administrator to work a 12 month renewable role in Nigeria.
Apply Now

Essence of Communication in Project Management

In any other discipline or business the importance of communication cannot be overemphasized in managing projects. Statistics show that seventy four percent(74%) of  projects are unsuccessful. One of the many factors that contribute to the failure of these projects is poor or insufficient communication. The importance of communication in the success of a project is immense. Careful communication planning and setting the right expectations with all the project stakeholders is extremely important. Face to face initial communication within the project team to establish the team dynamics and learning the customer's expectations are the keys to success when starting a project. The success of a project is a matter of effective communication.
 

What’s the most important skill a project manager has? Communication. Project managers spend about ninety percent of their time communicating. Think about it: meetings, phone calls, memos, emails, reports, presentations, and the list goes on and on. Project manager spend

LATEST PROJECT MANAGEMENT JOB OPENINGS IN NIGERIA

Find the latest project management job openings' in Nigeria:


PROJECT QUALITY MANAGER
We are a Global Recruitment Company based at New Delhi, India with a large Network of associate offices in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and liaison offices abroad .
Our forte lies in Recruitment in the technical fields of Information &Technology, Healthcare, Education, Telecom, Oil & Gas, Engineering, Construction and Hospitality Industry. We have emerged as the leaders in India for Global Recruitment through our firm commitment to quality & service. APPLY NOW

OPERATIONS MANAGER
Brunel Nigeria is a leading indigenous EPC company with a world class reputation for delivering technical, project and operational support services to the Nigerian Oil & Gas industry.
This role will see you managing a team of Production/Rig officers and Field Service Managers as well and managing all the company’s facilities including the H/Q. APPLY NOW

PROGRAMME ASSOCIATE
The objective of the Program Associate position is lead the coordination of project work in consultation with the Chief of Party and Advisors. This position will also link logistics with the technical program work with support from the Project Advisors and the Directors. APPLY NOW

PROGRAMME MANAGER
The Programme Manager is responsible for overall technical and programmatic implementation, oversight and coordination for specific assigned MSN programme activities and projects. APPLY NOW

Project Management Practices critical to Building Strong Relationship

Relationship building depends on so many factors which we are aware of but treat them as trivial matters. A relationship involves two or more persons, place or thing and for it to be efficient and effective it must be reciprocal or mutual i.e every party involved must play their roles and adhere to respective rules and guidelines. Relationship building takes place in institutions like marriage, organizations like ProjectPeople Limited and in every other occasion, situation or circumstances. An example of a job that has to do with relationship building is a Customer Care Executive: he/she has to build a relationship with the customers, manage customers’ expectations and make sure that customers are satisfied

One of the factors which relationship building depends on is management. Management has various meanings in respect to where it is being practiced. However, nowadays when we look around we find all sorts of management skills such as Business Management, Strategic Management, Catering Management, Body Management,  Project Management and so on. Management can be defined as the organization and co-ordination of the activities of a process such as business, company, relationships; in order to achieve the defined objectives. The success or failure of every process deeply relies on its management i.e the personnel involved in managing the project.

                The most effective, efficient and versatile management skill is the project management, why project management? Because

1. Every process such as business can be seen as project which undergoes the various project management processes for it to be successful

2. project management involves a lot of other management skills like communication management, risk management and more.

                What is a project? it can be said to be a temporary endeavor  that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Therefore we can say that building relationships can also be seen as managing a project to achieve a particular aim or project management practice due to the fact that the relationship building process and the project management process are similar

CURRENT PROJECT MANAGEMENT JOBS IN NIGERIA

Find current professional job openings in Nigeria:

• CONSULTING PROJECT MANAGER
• PROJECT MANAGER
• PROJECT ASSISTANT
• PROJECT PLANNER
• MANAGEMENT TRAINEE
• PROJECT MANAGER/HEAD OF SERVICE DELIVERY
• PROJECT MANAGER IN ABUJA
• PROJECT MANAGER IN KWARA
• HEALTH PROJECT MANAGER
• PROJECT GENERAL MANAGER 

Project People Limited also provides Trainings and Certifications that increases the employability of individuals and deliverable of organizations.  

For our offers:

• PRINCE2
• PMP
• ITIL
• BUSINESS ANALYSIS
• M_o_R
• PCPM(Professional Certificate in Project Management)

For more enquirires: 
Call: 08188094965, 08064861659
E-mail:admin@projectpeopleng.com  

E-Learning in Project Management

Electronic-learning(e-Learning) is another interactive way to gain your qualifications.
Project People Limited has introduced their fully accredited and certified solution for the PRINCE2® qualification. This solution is a stand-alone e-learning course that allows delegates to reach PRINCE2® Foundation and Practitioner level qualification WITHOUT having to enter the classroom!. PRINCE2^® Foundation and Practitioner e-Learning provides a cost effective and flexible way to learn the syllabus whenever and wherever you want!  The course’s professional narration and clear presentations will guide you through the PRINCE2^® methodology step-by-step where you can monitor your progress and test your knowledge. PRINCE2® Foundation and Practitioner e-Learning breaks new ground in levels of innovation and interaction in distance learning and offers delegates a desirable alternative to traditional classroom training. This course is for:

• Individuals
• Coporate

Project People Limited

Project People is a world class leader in project management, business analysis, and information technology training. Project People’s unwavering commitment to understanding client needs allows us to partner with our clients to increase business performance, mitigate risk, and resolve challenges. With our local dedication and global presence we partner with our clients and ensure maximum business result by developing methodologies and techniques based on industry best practices. We are committed to aiding our consultants and customers in delivering world-class solution through cutting edge innovation and world-class training.

Our practical and hands-on training is based upon leading Project Management methods. We help our clients gain insight into best practices world over by giving true life scenarios from across the globe. An important supplement to our training is that our clients will be exposed to the intricacies of passing rigorous PRINCE2® Practitioners and PMI exams in one attempt.

Professional Project Management Jobs In Nigeria

 

Find professional vacancies in Nigeria:

• PROJECT QUALITY MANAGER 

•  AGILE PROJECT MANAGER FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

•  TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGER - ENTERPRISE NETWORK AT AIRTEL NIGERIA 

• SPECIAL PROJECT COORDINATOR

• PROJECT COORDINATOR

• PROJECT MANAGER

How To Make Yourself Internationally Employable

This article will reveal a new trend which can greatly increase your value at work or your
employability if you are a job seeker.

In the past it was believed that technology was the most critical factor for project success in global organizations. However it has been discovered that, 69% of project failures are due to lack of Project Management methodologies, or improper implementation of the same.

Despite this revelation, there is a marked growth in global projects worldwide.

As we recover from the turbulent economic times, organizations are taking on large projects that involve cross-functional teams. There is consequently an increasing demand for employees to have project management skills; Skills that will keep their entire team on target to complete each project on time and on budget.

The project manager job outlook is clearly improving.

During May 2012, more than 235,000 online job listings included requirements for project management skills. Also, a study published by the Anderson Economic Group revealed that an average of 1.2 million project management positions will need to be filled each year through 2016.

There are broadly two Project Management Methodologies: Project Management Professional (PMP) and PRojects IN Controlled Environments (PRINCE2®).

As of February 2012, there were approximately only 473,000 active PMP certified individuals worldwide and about 500,000 for PRINCE2® since 2009.

With this glaring shortage of project managers, large companies will be forced to look abroad for their staffing needs and certified project managers will literally shop the world for choice employment.

So how do you get a share of the pie?

5 Characteristics of a Project Manager

I have been privileged in my many years of professional activities to meet many project managers both home and abroad. I discovered that we have so many schooled and certified professional but very few real leaders. According to a Survey Carried out by KPMG of252organisations, technology is not the most critical factor that determines project success. Inadequate project management implementation constitutes 32% of project failures, lack of communication constitutes 20%, and unfamiliarity with scope and complexity constitutes 17%. Accordingly 69% of project failures are due to lack and/or improper implementation of project management methodologies.

 

 The above project failure indices are directly or indirectly the project manager’s shortcoming. The most popular definition of leadership I believe isinfluence. As a project manager, the ability to inspire the entire project team toward achieving the desired goal and project objective is key to successful project implementation. Some project managers are simply administrators, while some are project coordinators. However, the game of being a ‘leader’ project manager is far more than just administration or coordination. I gave presentations and facilitated workshops on this subject in our numerous professional forums. Many times, beyond the presentation, it was the debate with the novice and the experienced project managers about what are the most important skill set that drives me to further increase my study and concepts in this area.

 

I made sure that my points are not out of head knowledge or some form of pseudo perception of the ideal. I have carefully studied exceptional project managers and have documented my discovery not just for classroom purposes but for life application.

 

All the points mentioned below are crucial for superlative project governance:

• Give attention to detail
• Communicate to be understood
• Learn to be a power negotiator
• Be a positive thinker
• Be as flexible as you can