If Web 2.0 tools offer the promise of better project communication, what does “better” look like? This presentation explores several SaaS offerings that promise improved project communication and team collaboration.

1. Project Management 2.0Innovation or Hype? Project Management Institute Southwestern Ontario Spring Symposium May 7, 2010 Bill Neaves, M.Eng., PMP DMA Systems Inc. www.dmasystems.ca bneaves@dmasystems.ca

2. What to Expect Project Communication Failure: The root of all Evil Project Failure and Communication Failure Core Communication Concepts Transactions vs. Collaboration What is Web 2.0, anyway? What’s wrong with what we have already? Why is this interesting to project managers? Some examples SharePoint, One Hub, Basecamp, Entry.com Implementation considerations Hosting, cost Security and other management issues

3. Project Communication: Why Projects Fail Root Causes Interpreted Missed deadlines not communicated Team members not talking Requirements not communicated clearly Decision-makers not receiving information they need

4. Why? Managing Complexity Communication is always a 1:1 exchange Links = (No. of People) x (No. of People - 1)/2 10 people = 10(10-1)/2 = 45 links 1 message to 10 people = 45 chances for miscommunication

5. Project Communication: Back to Basics The Problem: Greatest threat to the success of any project is a failure to communicate. Biggest PM’s job is communicating, but communication of often neglected in project planning & methodology Solution: Effective Project Communication (4 Elements)

6. Who, What & When: Project Communication Cycle Authorizes We do… Assigns Work Issues, Escalations StatusReports Sponsor Initiates Progress Updates Issues Time Sheets Team I want… Project Manager Request Changes Deliverables Collaboration Transactions Customer Structured ???

7. Collaboration is Like Teenage Sex Because… Everyone is talking about it all the time. Everyone thinks everyone else is doing it. Those who are doing it are: doing it poorly sure it will be better next time not practicing it safely Everyone is bragging about their successes all the time, although few have truly experienced success. Done right, it multiplies.

8. Collaboration: Done Right Good collaboration means that project participants: Communicated well Debated openly Worked together to achieve objectives that everyone understood

9. Technology: Project Information System Support and facilitate all project communication needs.

10. What’s wrong with what we have been using? Local Personal Storage Can stakeholders get important information at the right time? Potential loss of key project information Network File Shares How easy is it to control access? How do you manage changes & document version? How to prevent files from being lost or over-written? Email Personal Information Overload 1-Day Symposium Plan over 6 months means > 600 emails per person Risk of losing important project communication in the flood Information Channeling Discussion may also exclude other key stakeholders Over time, people may move in and out of the thread through the CC list Enterprise PM Software Depends on process maturity Burden of ownership

11. Web 2.0: What is it? Web sites that promote interactive information sharing by enabling users to interact with other users or to change site content. (Wikipedia) Web Applications Content Sharing Recommendations & Filtering Social Networking

12. Web 2.0:How big is it? Time to reach an audience of 50 million: Where are we? Starting this year Gen Y will outnumber the baby boomers 96% have joined at least 1 social network If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest YouTube is world’s 2nd largest search engine Wikipedia has > 13,000,000 articles (78% are non-English) Radio: 38 Years Television: 13 Years Internet: 4 Years IPod: 3 Years 100 million users in 9 months iPhone app Store: 1 billion downloads in 9 months! Source: Socialnomics09: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

13. Why is this interesting to Project Managers? Project Management 2.0 Traditional project management software implies project manager acting as a proxy in all project related communications. New tools bring collaboration into the planning process…changing not only the technology, but process as well. Andrew Filev, January 2008 http://www.wrike.com/projectmanagement/01/15/2008/Definition_of_Project_Management_2_0 Benefits to the Team: Decentralized Control Bottom-up Planning Open team Communication Broad access to project documents Adaptability to changing circumstances

14. Why is this interesting to Project Managers? Business Environment: Small is Big Small Project Environment Limited planning No documentation Do it yourself (small team) Multiple skillsets Small budget Release ASAP Web 2.0 Media Enable: Small Teams Smart, motivated people Limited planning Clear vision Focused scope Fast pace Iterative approach Rapid release LeisaReichelthttp://www.slideshare.net/leisa/social-project-management

15. Project Management 2.0: The New Toys What do they let people do?

16. SharePoint: What is it? Microsoft’s team collaboration product Enables individuals in an organization to easily create interactive web sites 3 versions WSS 3.0 (free) MOSS (extended capabilities) Enterprise (includes InfoPath) Resource:http://sp.spforpm.com

17. SharePoint: What Can it do for Project Teams? Single Point of Access Role-Based Security Shared Lists Task List Issue Log Risk Register Document Management Charter, Project Plan Team Work Product Built-in Version Control Team Collaboration Announcements Calendar Contacts Discussions Wiki MS Office Integration

18. SharePoint: Task List from Excel to Gantt Chart Copy & Paste to SharePoint Task List Build Task List in Excel Display List asGantt Chart

19. SharePoint: Pro and Con Pro Rich Technology Platform Flexible, Adaptable Reporting / Dashboard capabilities Resource Management (limited) In-house or External Hosting Options Easy to Get Started Large Support Community Con Do-It-Yourself Kit Help needed to get beyond basic functions Potential to fragment information Add-ons required for multi-project roll-up Office integration does not include MS Project

20. OneHub: What is it? Secure, customizable workspaces for collaboration and document sharing Easy-to-use site templates Widgets enable sharing different kinds of information Task List Calendar Discussions Files Wiki Activity Tracker Resource:http://www.onehub.com/

21. OneHub: What Can it do for Project Teams? Single Point of Access for Multiple Projects Friendly URL (e.g. http://pmiswoc.onehub.com/) Role-Based Security Shared Task List Document Management Charter, Project Plan Team Work Product Built-in Version Control Multiple File Upload Team Collaboration Announcements Calendar Discussions Wiki Activity Tracking

22. OneHub: File Upload Create New Folder Browse to Files Upload – Captures file names and completes the job.

23. OneHub: Pro and Con Pro Quick, Ready-to-Use Collaboration Space Easy to Get Started Instant Access to Commonly Used Tools Company Financial Backing(http://www.ignitionpartners.com/ ) Con Limited transactional capability Potential to fragment information No multi-project roll-up No desktop integration No resource management

24. BaseCamp: What is it? Secure, on-line project management system focused on communication and collaboration Part of a suite of on-line business applications (www.37Signals.com) On-Demand Access to Project Management Team Communication Time Entry Add-ons & Extensions Mobile Access Billing Reporting & Analysis Resource:http://basecamphq.com/

25. BaseCamp: What Can it do for Project Teams? Multi-Project Dashboard At-a-Glance overview Drill-down to details Milestones Flexible Milestone definition Integration with iCalendar(e.g., Apple iCal, Mozilla Lightning) Document Management Charter, Project Plan Team Work Product Flexible Notification Team Collaboration Tools Message Board, Chat, Writeboard Integration with CampFire Shared to-do List Assignments Time Entry Integrated with To-Do List Manual Entry Reporting via CSV export

27. OpenID link to Google profile

28. Secure, Friendly URL(https://dmasystems.basecamphq.com/clients )

29. One-click to Create ProjectAdd People Project is Ready for To Receive Information

30. BaseCamp: vs. MS Project Add To-DoItems

31. BaseCamp: Messages

32. BaseCamp: Pro and Con Pro Emphasis on Simplicity Easy to Get Started & Learn Instant Access to Good Team Communication Multi-Project Dashboard Calendar Integration Time Entry Capability Mobile Potential Large User Community Con Potential to Outgrow the Software Limited Transaction Capability Limited Scheduling Primitive Time Entry No Resource Management

33. TeamHeadquarters: What is it? Secure, Web-based Enterprise Project Management Focus on IT Operations Integration with ITIL Best Practices Incident / Problem / Change / Release On-Demand Access to Help Desk Project Management Portfolio Management Time Entry Resource:http://www.entry.com

34. TeamHeadquarters: What Can it do for Project Teams? Integrates Help Tickets, Time Entry, Projects & Portfolio Information Plan and Track Many Small Projects Scalable for Large Projects Document Management Charter, Project Plan Team Work Product Built-in Version Control Team Collaboration Tools Announcements Assignments Journals Workspaces Reporting Gantt Chart Portfolio Views Resource Utilization

35. TeamHeadquarters: Interactive Gantt Chart Select Gantt Chartfrom Project Menu Click & Drag bars to create task links. Modify Dates & Team HQ offers to modify other affected dates

36. TeamHeadquarters: Pro and Con Pro Strong Transaction Support Rich user interface Easy to handle small projects ITIL Alignment Integrated, portfolio-wide information Resource Management Multi-project roll-up Experienced SaaS vendor Con Time and Effort to Get Started Tied to IT Operations Business Model Collaboration Space Limited Desktop Integration

37. Cost Comparison & Company Profile

38. Other Providers EasyProject.Net ProjectManager.com VPMI GoPlan CoMindWork LiquidPlanner

39. Choices: Is Software-as-a-Service Right for You? Benefits Low start-up cost Quick access to applications that embed best practices Low IT support demand (no on-site resources to maintain) Minimal footprint on end user workstation Enhanced reliability, availability & security vs. internal hosting Service level agreements to manage availability & support But Beware of… Long term cost of ownership Transfer control to the vendor for a key business function Security and confidentiality: Where is the data? Vendor viability & shifts in the SaaS marketplace Reliability is only as good as your Internet connection Interfaces with other business systems KaamEtan(1999): http://www.focus.com/articles/information-technology/saas-model-right-you/

40. Implementation: Observe, Interact, Create

41. Thank-you! Questions…