Project Coaching Cooperative Management & Coaching Life is a progressive movement which is only understood in retrospect               Soeren Kirkegaard

Collaborating isn't just a passing trend. The new imperative is "collaborate or die!" No one can be an expert at everything, and today's competitive landscape doesn't allow for second-rate performance or inefficient processes. By collaborating project teams can get access to streamlined processes and best practices. This is leading to larger and larger networks of coevolving individuals. Interdependence is the key word in a world of projects working as teams that come together, create value, and disburse, sometimes in the blink of an eye. Teams must be empowered to make decisions and understand the distributed decisionmaking process. They must be able to make decisions as requirements are refined and possibly changed. But, there is not a single key to success; it will come from a blend of concepts, practices, and tools. Project management will need to understand how to balance the old and the new. For example, good project initiation - organizing staff and agreeing on scope, objectives, and collaboration/communications channels - are just as important for today's projects as they were for yesterday's. The difference between saying you're part of a collaborative team and in fact being a collaborative team involves enhancing collaborative skills - it doesn't happen automatically. It is a matter of understanding - balancing face time and online time is important; What tasks are best accomplished face-to-face and which can be accomplished electronically ? When do we need to have a meeting to get a common sense, and when is it time 'to get the work done'? Every collaborative project needs a collaboration facilitator. Virtual teams can get off track easily; you can't walk by team members' offices and invite them to chat over a cup of coffee. Starting any new project can be nerve-racking. Is the timeline realistic? Are the necessary resources available? There are a mulititude of "what ifs?" that can plague your planning process. Discover the ins and outs of estimating project costs and timelines, evaluating project progress, managing and recovering from mistakes, and launching and completing a project on time and on budget. Active user involvement is imperative - Users are not outside the development team acting as suppliers of information and reviewers of results but are active participants in the development process and closely involved throughout the development life-cycle. Tight budgets. Tighter timelines. Reduced resources. Unexpected obstacles. Typical delays. Each IT project presents it's own set of challenges. As a project manager, you must be ready to predict, prevent, and plan for all of them-keeping each project on time and on budget. Meeting the needs of everyone involved in a project only adds to the stress Coaching is vital, when Management is driven by relationships, collaboration, and alliances, rather than schedules, task lists, and control. It's a matter of defining reachable goals - and to be fully committed. Through ProjectCoaching you all can learn from experienced managers, and it is having the expert IT project manager by your side each time you tackle a project. You'll learn to prepare for the unknown and prevent crises before they happen. The smallest event can knock your schedule out of whack -- increasing your stress and concerns. This comprehensive project management resource gives you what you need to know in order to: Conduct an effective project launch Keep a project on track Hold effective status meetings Prevent project bottlenecks Maximize Microsoft Project Address inaccurate estimates Incorporate lessons from a past initiative in a new project Establish a Project Management Office Having someone who coaches and watches team dynamics, sets up communications channels, nudges people into maintaining contact, periodically cleans up runaway message lists and discussion threads, facilitates decisionmaking sessions can make the difference between success and failure on a collaborative project. In the stress of high-speed projects, it is easy for people to focus so tightly on their own work that they forget to communicate with others. Systems grow incrementally. Iteration is inherent in all software development and must be used continuously to improve the system being developed. Rework has to be explicitly recognised in a development life-cycle, when not, the return to previously "completed" work is surrounded by controlling procedures that slow development down. Often, this leads to bloated task lists in which one-, two-, and four-hour tasks are sprinkled throughout the project plan. No matter how much you know today, you'll have to know more tomorrow. Things may have to be developed differently; Thinking in iterative and incremental terms is necessary to converge on an accurate business solution. By keeping each period of time short, the team can easily decide which activities are necessary and sufficient to achieve the right products. Moreover time boxing and partial solutions to be delivered can satisfy immediate business needs. Good planning, sharp skills, and discipline are the key ingredients to succeed with any top IT project. You can get easy access to real-world experiences and practical insights on how to execute plans through project planning, leadership, risk management, and post-project reviews. Discover how to: Build and hold a strong project plan Win project approvals Reduce project costs Effectively communicate project goals Plan ahead for unforeseen circumstances Manage scope changes properly Evaluate the project's status Empower your collegue team members network - interdepend - collaborate

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