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Deep Blue and the AI

And its not another chess game. Way back in 1996, a super chess power named Garry Kasparov agreed for a match with IBM’s Computer [it was still ‘computer’ without the intelligence aspect amplified] named Deep Blue. Was the name an inspiration from Deep Throat?Or is just the phonetics? The incredible then happened. Deep Blue won the first match. History was created. Unbelievable! If it stunned the world, the chess champion shattered would be an understatement. Kasparov would recollect later about playing with computers but none like Deep Blue. Kasparov, as the reigning champion, was so confident about his strength that the might of the machine that made its move in the chess match was no match. It wasn’t just the champion, but the pundits and public never for once doubted. No one doubted. Just the same no one expected. Computer to dethrone the champ? It happens in the time when google was probably in incubation and software was limping its way in to our lives. The impact was limited, restricted to few and used by fewer. Times when people remembered phone numbers of their contacts and reliance on ‘hardware’ like computers was confined to space, defense and research. All things around too hardly smelled anything close to ‘software’, and programs was yet to be synonymous as software just as search with google. It was in this exciting backdrop, the fight between a human brain versus a relatively unknown machine was pitted. It might sound Ayan Randish, but there is no such thing called a ‘collective brain’ and should it exist, then it will not be mortal but machines, and rightly positioned, Deep Blue was a result of many a mind with innovations and inventions. Chess is an amazing, sophisticated and brilliant game where the mind is really placed at a premium. Its philosophical too ‘you cannot reach the white square without stepping into a black’, and game is a strategic one, just like wars fought with ‘horses and bayonets’. A great tactical move or act of blunder – whichever way, that’s the game of chess. So imagine Kasparov moving a pawn, what should Deep Blue do in response? Defense or offence? So the machine had to think of all possible scenarios and also think further about the countermove. Its about preempting and predicting to an accuracy that’s alarming, and even freaking IQ. A normal mind cannot fathom as much, and hence Kasparov was deeply respected for his intelligence and ability to look ahead – way ahead that he could do the mental math to break all barriers or detect a breach from a distance. That was baffling. Even more would be Deep Blue, for it shocked not just the millions of multitude, but Kasparov himself was baffled by the way the system battled “But a computer, I thought, would never make such a move. A computer can't ‘see’ the long-term consequences of structural changes in the position or understand how changes in pawn formations may be good or bad.” So when he conceded, rather, Deep Blue won, Kasparov would acknowledge the brilliance and the intelligence “I GOT MY FIRST GLIMPSE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON Feb. 10, 1996, at 4:45 p.m. EST, when in the first game of my match with Deep Blue, the computer nudged a pawn forward to a square where it could easily be captured. It was a wonderful and extremely human move.” Kasparov will go on to win the next game and eventually the championship, and we all recall that near to impossible win of Deep Blue and cheered the challenge posed to the champion. Today the odds are reversed as we almost revere AI to the point of ubiquitous in our lives. There is no aspect in our life that AI has not penetrated. All along we lived without the knowledge of its existence. And our dependence on data is almost complete for even simple and mundane chores are reflective in our inability to store data in a machine than carry in person. Why call it artificial? We have seen advancement exceed advancements in AI. We have seen job creation to job destruction by the very intelligence. It works both ways. Automation and robotics disrupted human lives by replacing their services and unseated their position and unsettled their lives. That’s the typical trade-off for change. Its not the cry of a luddite but all things come at a cost and technology today is the most powerful inclusion. Kasparov would state “my instincts told me “. So a celebrated chess champion still relies on his behavioral response. Till that day, artificial will be artificial. Then again, wasn’t it a terrific wake-up call that made us stand up and salute. We owe as much to Deep Blue in enabling us to deep dive in AI. And what the future holds…… machines might rule but will never master the creator.
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The PRINCE2 Practitioner Open Book Exam General Tips

The PRINCE2 Practitioner exam is an open-book format which enables those taking the exam to access Book(s) prescribed by Axelos.

PRINCE2 Practitioner Examination format 
 . Objective testing 
 . 8 questions - 10 question items per question, each worth one mark 
 . 44 marks or more required to pass (out of 80 available) - 55%  
 . Two-and-a-half hours (150 minutes) duration, no additional reading time  
 .  Open-book exam (official PRINCE2 manual only)

Open-Book -General Tips.
 
Open-book – is in support and not as main ‘source’ 
It’s easy to be misled that answers are inserted in the book and all one has to do open and everything will unfold. Progress is based on preparation. So an unprepared attempt relying on the open-book completely will expectedly make no headway as the exam is not about rote learning or remembering and recalling answers. In a scenario-based exam, the challenge lies in applying the learning in the given context for which the open-book can serve as ‘aid’ and can never replace the hard hours bunt to bridge the knowledge gap. So open-book serves more as pointers and reference and surely not the study-material during the exam. 

Well-versed with core concepts and subject matter.

The recommendation is to become conversant with core concepts like reading the back of your palm. How else you would able to know what lies where. In the pile of information, searching for the reference to the untrained eye is like being blindsided. The open-book will act as a guide in offering direction to look for material that can be useful while attempting on the answers. The more conversant, the easier it is to track and trace, which saves you time to spare while attempting the hard questions. Besides, you can check and confirm the probable answer by verifying the open-book, provided the answers were known prior and not by chance or second-guess. 

Read, and read again.

the question If you can’t get it in the first read, try again. The instinct is to eyeball or examine hastily the exam paper to run through all the questions. Understanding the question is the key in answering, and scenarios, in particular, poses the need to read the finer details for better grasp and reach. It is very much possible to miss out on some information or become confused. Enhanceyour comprehension.

Engage. The exam is not extempore effort.

Participation without prior preparation results in poor performance. Exceptions aside, it will be ill-advised to attempt an exam without the groundwork and grooming. One has to engage with the exam planning and readiness to clear the exam in the first attempt. There are mock exams, study aids available, and sample papers similar to that of the final exam. Attempt as many to empower with the relevant knowledge and understanding so as to acquaint and anticipate. It’s never extempore.

Don’t overestimate or oversimplify.

The confident mind can feel supremely strong and takes it easy and consequnetly, complacent. It is not the same as being cool before an exam. A sense of caution is expected than fear or foreboding, at the same time lethargic and laidback attitude will not take you far. Human, by nature, assume the worst and hence overestimate – which impedes progress and success. Open-book, as stated above, is again reiterated not to be interpreted as book of answers. This might make the 'smarts' ones to oversimplify or the 'unprepared' fraught with exam fear to overestimate. Attempt on its merit.

DOs and Don’ts.

DOs,
You are allowed the access of the Axelos-approved manual. You can mark or add handwritten notes on the manual that can be referred. You can also use post-it notes for identifying sections or jumpstart to a page. You have to validate the admission of the referenced book by clearly by presenting to the webcam. Open-Book should be emptied of any material concealed intentionally or inadvertently. You need to open the book and flip pages in front of the camera to ascertain about hidden notes or papers. You can take the exam from an authorized examination center or your training provider or online. In case, you are doing it online from a place of your choice, ensure complete compliance. 

Don’ts,
You cannot attach or affix any sheet or papers other than the allowed ‘book’. Any inserts or attachments or pullout that violates the rules and guidelines will disqualify your candidature. You cannot have hidden notes inside the book, and hence a prerequisite that the ‘Open-book’ should be subject to inspection of the web camera before the start of exam. You cannot use any additional information, like sheets or papers other than the book You can always call on us to clarify any doubts or queries about PRINCE2 exams. For contact information, please click the link http://www.icertglobal.com/contact-us or visit our website www.icertglobal.com

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PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam Question Paper Pattern Guide

If you have PRINCE2 Foundation certification, then the calling is to commit to the next level and complete - The PRINCE2 Practitioner certification. As a PRINCE2 Practitioner certified professional, you are empowered with the knowledge and understanding in applying your learning to a real-time situation or scenario, and expected to lead and manage projects in an environment that supports PRINCE2. 

 
Prerequisites
 
The prerequisite to appear for the PRINCE2 Practitioner examination, as stated by the governing body Axelos, is to possess 
 
a ‘proof of passing’ from one of the following:
 
PRINCE2 Foundation 
 
Project Management Professional (PMP
.  Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)
. PMA Level A® (Certified Projects Director) 
. IPMA Level B® (Certified Senior Project Manager) 
. IPMA Level C® (Certified Project Manager)
. IPMA Level D® (Certified Project Management Associate)
 
Exam Format 
 
The exam format is as follows:
Objective testing

8 questions - 10 question items per question, each worth one mark

44 marks or more required to pass (out of 80 available) - 55%
Two-and-a-half hours (150 minutes) duration, no additional reading time 
Open book exam (official PRINCE2 manual only).  
 
 PRINCE2 PRACTITIONER QUESTION PAPER PATTERNS  
Please note that this exam is available for participants registered Accredited Training Organization.
 
 Sample Paper,
 
Having completed the certification course, it is strongly recommended that you try the ‘free Sample PRINCE2 Practitioner Exam’, offered by Axelos. This will present an overview and help you become familiar with the exam pattern, type of questions, severity of questions and so on. It arms with you awareness and helps you to prepare with a sense of anticipation. You have the option to take the test soon after completing the course to assess you own level of understanding and knowledge transfer or you can prepare prior to the test to get a first-hand evaluation of your own competence in cracking the exam. 
 
Objective Test , 
 
The objective test will vary slightly from the usual objective answers, wherein, one correct answer needs to be selected. PRINCE2 Foundation follows this pattern of answering. However, in PRINCE2 Practitioner, there might be questions that may have more than 1 correct answer, and hence be informed about this departure from the tradition ‘objective answers’.
 
Knowledge Areas, 
 
There will be eighty questions in all and each carry 1 mark. You have to score a minimum 44 to clear the certification exam, which is 55%. The question will be posed from knowledge areas and hence it’s imperative that you cover all topics and become conversant with the syllabus areas.
The PRINCE2 Syllabus contains 15 defined syllabus areas covering each of the seven themes, each of the seven processes and an overview area also covering the principles and tailoring PRINCE2 to a project environment.
Within the Practitioner Examination, there will be 6 “theme” questions, each testing one of the 7 themes, and 2 “process group” questions, which will test 2 of the 3 groups of processes as identified below.
Each of the eight questions will test a minimum of 2 syllabus topics from within the syllabus area. Syllabus Area,
Business Case theme ,
Organization theme ,
Quality theme,
 Plans theme ,
Risk theme ,
Change theme ,
Progress theme ,
Starting up a Project and Initiating a Project Processes,
Directing a Project, Managing a Stage Boundary and Closing a Project Processes,
Controlling a Stage and Managing Product Delivery Processes.
 
Open Book, 
 
Within each question the syllabus area to which the question refers is clearly stated. The exam is to be taken with the support of the PRINCE2 Manual only. Remember, you cannot use any other book or resource, that is i.e. no material other than the Question Booklet, the Scenario Booklet, the Answer Booklet and the PRINCE2 Manual is to be used and ‘Open Book’ conditions as have to be complied. We will discuss about open book more in detail as a blog post. 
 
Types of Questions
 
You can expect the 80 question posed in the certification exam. And they are presented in 5 different formats as detailed below. Classic Multiple Choice Questions: the typical objective-type question wherein you need to select a right answer from the given choices Multiple Response: you have to select 2 options from the list of 5 options. This marks the exception in the pattern by prompting for more than 1 answer. Matching: the options on the left column need to be mapped to the correct answer in the right. Please note that there is only one match and there are possibilities of multiple matches. Meaning for 5 options on the left column, it is entirely possible that option 1, 2 and 3 can have the same mapping on the right column. Sequencing: ‘position events in a sequence’. You need to answer the options like stacking in a sequence. Assertion/Reason: You need to evaluate two statements a (an assertion and a reason) and confirm if they either, or both or neither with the help of reasons detailed in the question. 
 
Capturing the Answer  
 
In the answer leaflet, make sure the oval shapes are completely filled with PENCIL only. You have 150 minutes to answer questions. Hence your time management and answering ways should be 100% fill. Its an electronic submission and correction and hence filling the oval shapes that you find as the correct answer should be neatly and completely is the compelling factor. Failure in doing so may result in the making the answer null and void as system will be unable to ‘read’.

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Enhancing automation, collaboration, and customer experience

The Internet growth has reshaped service and its outlook. The ITSM best practices and processes put in place so that organization can step-up potential, performance and profit. The service aspect, unlike the software, is not the cynosure yet the product lifecycle will be incomplete, if not, stunted without service in its place. More often, repeat orders [read as customers] are the key business drivers, and in order to gain confidence and increase traction, improve service. In the ITSM realm, the stress of service is on information and technology (IT) – as the definition states design, delivery, manage and improve IT services within an organization to meet its business goals. Process optimization: The most pressing issue as highlighted by a number of service management experts is Process Optimization. How can you maximize efficiency at minimum cost? Process Optimization. The key is to identify the areas which have the best impossible impact to effect. A typical scenario to understand optimization is automation. Setting auto-response to any query, instead of acknowledging receipt manually is the basic automation that goes unnoticed but very effective. Process optimization will ensure compliance adherence, increased accountability and avoid wastage. Self-service: Self-service is a hard-biting issue that still finds itself lagging and lacking for want of a better system. ITSM should be optimized to offer the experience of self-satisfaction. While customer-satisfaction is paramount, the interest of the self shouldn’t be delayed or discarded. The Self-service issue was a priority in the previous year 2015 which went unaddressed as expected and given the lacuna, the need to close the gap and plug holes took precedence over other priorities for 2016. Any issue important can be read as a good opportunity to make the most and hence focus is on improving the service standards. IT – business alignment: The synergy between IT and Business always results in a greater yield. to understand IT-Business alignment, you need to understand how and where does IT and Business connect. How are your meeting with customer captured? And how does technology enable business? You might want to look at dashboards that typically summarize the events and present critical information to empower informed decision-making. Its very much a strategic call, like IT Governance with risk and compliance management. The insights posited as trends or ‘Opportunities’ for 2016 is more of reflection from the remnant and projections for future. While Process Optimization was closely followed by self-service, the value of aligning business needs to increased customer satisfaction too was a pronounced call for action. Strong indication was sounded for Automation mainly to streamline process and resources and avoid waste of time and material. The list also featured Budgets, Digitization ESM and ITAM. While Budget and Digitization are prospects, ESM and ITAM stem from the remnants of 2015. The Status of 2015: The trends of 2015 was studied to understand the reach and addressal; and the understanding is that Services found wanting and fell short on Self-service, Service beyond management and IT Asset Management. The table below depicts the findings. Self Service: When user is self-empowered, the dependence on others can be cut down to improve productivity. Usually time-chokers, when issues have to be resolved by ‘someone’ always burdens the user with increased reliance on resources. Instances when access to a particular site is blocked that not only interrupts your work but arrests the thought flow, scuttling spontaneity and slowing work as a result, all in the aspect of security? There is always a better way to get things done without compromising security and still serving the self-service. The ITSM can step-in to sort out the mess and streamline flow to avoid interruption and enhance engagement. The service desk inexplicably, fails to empower self-service Service management beyond IT: It is also known as Enterprise Service Management (ESM), which can optimize service management to pass on benefits to other departments like Human Resources, Finance, to improve delivery. If you have to follow-up on a leave request or a loan applied, will it not be necessary to touch base with HR for eligibility and approval, and pass the request to Finance to disbursement? The services that can make the entire process seamless, cutting out the delay and accelerating the request-response will result in greater satisfaction. IT Asset Management (ITAM): Software management is significant because of its need and value, and also the adherence, compliance and audit check makes it increasingly important to manage your assets. Its observed from industry practice and use that aligning asset management with service management will result in substantial cost reduction. You will be able to better control and become cost-effective through screening and shortlisting to prioritize and take preventive measures to ac\void any attack or breaches in safeguarding your assets and value. Some of the critical shortcoming in 2015 were lined up for redressal and remedy in 2016 and prominently featured were self-service and IT Asset Management. You may please access the white paper which requires registration. For more information about our ITSM programs, we request you to visit our website http://www.icertglobal.com/ all-courses or call the nearest branch close to your locality.


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It's the way you type, not what you type—AI's evolution!

Password could be a pain, particularly when you have multiple web sites to access many sites. The consumer complains that passwords are fast becoming a psychological burden – an albatross that weighs down the person with too much data dumped in the head that’s hard to decipher. And apparently one can sense discomfort and disconnect. It’s like having too many keys to open one room and woefully, you can’t pick out the right one which will unlock. And the real hassle is when password is forgotten and the allowed number of ‘attempts’ gets exhausted, the system locks, leaving you stranded but the chore running back and forth with the back-office executive walking-through the password retrieval process leaves you fuming ‘is technology a boon or bane’. Anything will have its downside – including technology. You might want to have a turnkey system that does the trick and get you going.

 
Password, PIN and Breach
Recent times have witnessed worst security breaches because of weak passwords. How private information lands in the public domain makes it a necessity to ensure that safety mechanism are in place and hence stronger password. But too many passwords? Why? Google has single sign-on to access all its application. Why can’t life be simpler? Or are we complicating in the name of security? The easy way out would be to have one password for all sites so that you really don’t squeeze hard your memory like sifting sand from grains. If it makes your life easier, then think about the breach and there it goes – with one key all of yours is ‘gone for good’. It was this paradox that actually turned out to be the problem statement. Single-point of entry is swift but so would be the theft. In this era of technology, and digitalization, all access points are fortified through authentication. Multi-tier security system or secured transaction or secured authentication service. Still, we are not done with the password for an alternate method that’s more convenient and confident. Almost everyone with digital experience would have yearned for that day they could dispense with password or PIN (Personal Identification Number) which earlier was recommended to be bolstered from breach by creating an alpha-numeric string with a heady mix of special characters to safeguard from sabotage, and now some institutions like Banks make the usage of special characters mandatory visualizing that invincible predator preying on vulnerable victims, and soon emerged phishing as one the worst attack on data integrity. With reputation in ruins, name in tatters and business rocked in its very foundation, damage control and image building exercises not only resulted in spiraling costs with a dent on the bottom-line, but kept the stakeholders on tenterhooks. So it would, by no stretch of imagination, become too much to bear for all the stakeholders and so far the necessity of the hour and lack of alternative left the end-user with no choice but coin the Password or PIN as complex as possible and remember it for good and retrieve on-demand. Further, it was strongly discouraged in storing the information in hard or soft copies, and science dealing with encryption and decryption made it even more mystique and technology related to secured socket layer took over.
 
Abacus – the painkiller? 
It is possible to solve every puzzle? At least, for the password related problem Google believes it can achieve a breakthrough by getting rid of the stiff impositions of barriers – NO PASSWORD.
 
How in the world would you access your information whether it’s an email or your bank account? Google assures that there is a ‘fix’ and will test with bank first and based on its success, offer for others. Dan Kaufman, Head of advanced technology and projects at Google, commented at the company’s I/O developer conference “We have a phone, and these phones have all these sensors in them. Why couldn't it just know who I was, so I don't need a password? I should just be able to work," 
 
How does it work?  
The technology uses biometric data and supporting information to identify and authenticate access. It uses Trust API to determine ‘trust score’ by employing and engaging different parameters like facial recognition, location, typing styles to ascertain the identity of the user. To access sensitive information, the ‘trust score’ should be high, and that’s the reason the testing begins with a financial institution. The higher the score, clearer is the identification and access provided, else, denied. Interestingly, Kaufman, has this to say about authentication "What we're going to do with this is be able to get rid of the awkwardness of second-factor authentication," Google assured to introduce this ‘password-free’ feature to every android developer by this year-end. 
 
Is there a Precedent for ‘No-Password’?
The answer is in the affirmative. Yes. Let’s not take away the shine off Abacus and assess on its own merit. Scandinavians will be familiar with this concept of logging into their bank accounts using behavioral biometrics and not a password. The password is queried only when the usual signs and symptoms fail to be detected and is treated as a legitimate case in validating the customer identification . In Norway and Sweden, major banks employ BankID for doing daily banking transaction to booking tickets or applying loan or paying taxes online. It was estimated that by 2014, BankID is used by over 3 million Norwegians (over 75% of the adult population(pdf). BankID can identify the user through a combination of factors like assessing the way the screen is swiped, the pace at which data is keyed – meaning the pressure with which you punch-in data is critical to analyze and evaluate your identity. It is behavioral science at an advanced level that any change in pattern or shift in style will trigger the system to confirm with a ‘password’ prompt. The system has studies the user to identify as its customer. This is made possible by behavioral biometrics layer of BankID. So Behavioral Biometrics is nothing new; the anticipation is the evolution of technology in this space of biometrics in the context of identity crisis. We may to have wait till the year-end to see what the future unfolds.

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Artificial Intelligence Provides Alerts for Project Managers

This blog is written in the backdrop of Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai heralding “Artificial Intelligence’ as “We will move from mobile first to an AI first world." in the recently held Google I/O 2016. Science becomes spectacular in its endeavor to make possible the deemed impossible, reminding Robert Kennedy “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” Sometimes it’s so surreal. When the movie ‘Minority Report’ , a concept conceived in the late nineties and hit the silver screen by 2002, the reviews about the sci-fi was superb and many wondered what could the world be in 2054 as set as timeline in the movie. It was half-a century away. Everything can be put in place past the event or outcome but possible to predict something to happen with precision? Plausible? From a technology perspective, the spectacle that dazzled us with 3-D, touch screen depicting data on-demand, transportation and logistics, the movie ported us to a scientific space of sophisticated software and advanced intelligence.

 
Artificial Intelligence as the key driver
 
The breakthrough in AI is simply breathtaking. and going places that Mars may not be the final frontier. Today you can key-in or just use voice for search – any kind of search. Different people have different needs and the system is so intelligent and efficient to identify the ‘searcher’ to serve customized results and also recommendation on the screen. IBM is working on digital advertising screens that can play advertisements best suiting the consumer’ preference using the RFID technology, picking their shopping flair and taste from their payment cards and phones that use RFID chips. A Japanese company has created digital signage that can organize through The customer facial recognition software and cameras helps to identify the gender, age and range in displaying advertisement best fitting the democracy - Typical customer-centric campaigns to promote products and services. If anything, AI is growing from strength to strength. Look no further for evidence – just search for something in Google and check how soon and swift the results came through. Does it rain or shine? The forecast for the week? Or check the kids play Mariocart or Xbox where simulations or gesture-based gaming to the driverless car. In the movie Minority Report, the newspaper will update itself for latest news. Today, why don't you check the Google news page which is almost there with its updates, though not auto-refresh. There is much more than that meets the eye. This is an era of information overload and hence developments sometimes are overshadowed or even go unnoticed. Impressively, human’s pursuit to make ideas to realities is relentless. 
 
Artificial Intelligence and Project Management
 
What’s the probability that the lead programmer in the team will show up for work tomorrow? Will the server hold up till the end or tank all of a sudden? Will the project meet its deadline and deliver? Your guess is as good as anyone. For the scope of this account, let’s confine to human resources and hardware. If Big Data is growing powerful with predictive analysis as a powerful and potent tool, what will happen Artificial Intelligence is employed to study and predict personnel about presence and performance. Can the Intelligence available alert about the impending change(s)? Can we leverage on behavorial biometrics for human identficiation and expand its scope to mine data? In Seoul, AlphaGo, an AI system created by Google, crushed Lee Sedol, an 18-time world champion who is regarded as the decade's top player of Go - an abstract strategy board game. The victory meant that "AI-calculated-faster-than-a-human”. Agreed, but the AI-calculator was again created by human mind and its very unfair to state Seedol lost, rather collective brains won that day. So if Big Data can do the imagined and beyond, can it rise up to the challenge is by providing statistics and information about human behavior, more from human physiology and psyche? Efforts are underway and research is ongoing, like ‘social character’ , or ‘Human Genome Project ‘providing insights into genes, which hopefully can wade into rough waters to understand the incredibly complex human system. Though the goal of this study of Human Genome is to create personalized medicines, use analytics to check a cure is within a particular timeline, can it not encompass behavioral traits as well? The if-only theory that a Project Manager applies in analyzing team’s composition and hardware infrastructure – “if only the server didn’t shutdown without warning”, “if only the programmer didn’t fall sick”, “if only the architect didn’t drop his papers ”, “if only there was a backup before the power failed”…….all these can be written as useful Use Cases with alternate scenarios. From a Project Manager’s desk, Technology in the form of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence can empower at arriving at informed decisions – especially about health reports of both men and machines, then risks can be mitigated to a greater extent and the assurance of the success of any undertaking will be expectedly high. Artificial Intelligence, in this context of human understanding and analysis, is extremely challenging given the multi-layered, multi-dimensional and multi-faceted undertaking that’s complicated in its complexities. Many doubt its possibility, but then so did the skeptics when “Minority Report’ was released. Spielberg views sounds psychic “I wanted all the toys to come true someday. I want there to be a transportation system that doesn't emit toxins into the atmosphere. And the newspaper that updates itself...” Mankind shares the same sanguinity that Artificial Intelligence arms the Project Manager with the ability to view way ahead in predicting scientifically about a project holistically - the entire ecosystem.

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Reading Risks Right or Missing Targets? A PM Case Study.

Profile A high-tech company in the travel industry has bagged a contract from a reputed Client for data migration with phased delivery over a period of ten quarters. The project plan was created based on the requirements available. Since the project spanned in time, the data points presented covered only a year, which was deemed good to start by stakeholders. The visibility was for only one year and hence the limitation with data available – which is expected and accepted in this kind of engagement. The budget for the said timeline was apportioned. The team identified to undertake the project was present in different locations as a strategic call. The Pain Point It will be the assumptions that will turn out to be the worst of risks. The stakeholders agreed it was a long tunnel but not quite certain about the length. Since it was a time bound, the requirement gathering was focused for the first quarter as agreed by the stakeholders and signed-off. Assumptions can become one of the major risks. The team initially settled on a framework only to change after the first sprint. The change would impact the team composition calling for ‘sourcing’ soon after launch that sent the human resources scrambling for talent. The need of the hour is never met and that’s the lesson learnt and hence due diligence paid to the selection from talent pool. With new resources inducted, there was already burn on time and cost, the knowledge transfer turned out to be to be too steep and the project plan revisited to factor the changes. There were different verticals within the team which started concurrently, and it was the approach of the scheduled milestone that sent the alarm bells ringing as one of the core development team failed in meeting the deadline and thereby derailed further developments adversely impacting other teams as the output will be the primary feed for them to move forward. It had a typical domino effect shaking the entire team. When the causal analysis was conducted, the results unearthed many issues that seemed to be swept under the carpet. Communication weren’t open and transparent; accountability absent and leadership clueless as team members tried passing the buck and concerned about safeguarding their position. The most baffling will be the lack of attention to basic details. There should have been a single point of contact for escalation; People Management and Stakeholder management. The root cause clearly spells poor communication and lack in understanding. The bottleneck undoubtedly was communication management. Clearly the opportunity would have been squandered if not for the milestone. It was the worst wake-up call for a company known for its intellectual capital and track record. Analysis revealed that the actual against planned in the project plan left a gaping hole and lacked foresight for risk mitigation particularly to problem faced as such a scenario was never contemplated. How? That’s why the absence to attention on basic details. Too much rode on assumptions. The impacts due to the imbalance resulted in # changes in the team composition which proved too expensive at that point in time as investment and Knowledge Transition and team ramp-up # Conflicts in the mid-management The squabbles stressed the need for conflict resolution through effective people management and stakeholder management. Troubleshooting It was back to basics about team-building with open communication, more transparency and greater accountability. The team met frequently till all onboard were on the same page. Having ceded grounds, it’s more prudent to save and salvage and move on. Since it was the first milestone, the impact on the short-term goal was severe and long-term could be contained. The positive impact can be captured as # Commitment from the stakeholders on requirements and delivery # Transparency /Clarity to all the stakeholders Recommendations The Plan B that somehow missed the plan should be prepared. The alternate scenario for worst cases should be assessed and addressed. The assumptions must be studied again and stakeholders should provide clarity in closure. The team should be cohesive and engage effectively to expedite delivery. The Start of the Day and End of Day of meeting must analyze the day’s target and plan for next day deliverables. The leadership to introduce SPOC and take stock at regular intervals (smaller intervals as possible) till things are streamlined and then schedule the standard stand-up meetings


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Apples, Oranges, and Big Data: A Fresh New Perspectives

Didi President Jean Liu said "Our company's legal name is called 'little orange,“ so apples and oranges today do have a connect – as companies. While it was gathered from industrial sources that Didi was on the lookout for working with investors on products and technology, Tim Cook of Apple Inc., said in an interview that he saw opportunities for Apple and Didi Chuxing to collaborate in the future. It also presented him an opportunity to better understand ‘critical Chinese market’ as reported.

 
The investment and other investors
Apple Inc made news recently by investing $ 1Billion in Chines ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing. This move is also interpreted in the market circles of Apple trying to make peace with Chinese government after it shutdown iTunes in the country. Apple was forced to view the impositions seriously after China pulled down iTunes and iBooks. In the wake of such developments, its significant to note that Billionaire investor Carl Icahn, who is Apple’s largest outside shareholder sold his apple shares stating Beijing could “come in and make it very difficult for Apple to sell there”. The crackdown by China forcing Apple to bring down the curtains on Apple’s s iTunes Movies and iBook services pushed Carl to pull the trigger to sell his shares. Ironically, Apple’s manufacturing plants are located in China, and despite the investments pumped, didn’t prove a deterrent for China to shut down iTunes, which did sour the ties shared. So investing in Didi, instead of Uber, Apple is trying the smoothen the rough edges and improve relationship with China. Apple’s investment is the biggest so far, alongside with other investors like the Chinese technical heavyweights Tencent and Alibaba . 
 
But why Apple chose Didi?
One theory that was floated was Didi shares a good equation with the Chinese government. Didi’ initial strategy was e-hailing taxis. When the Chinese government clamped e-hailing as illegal, Didi collaborated with the taxi companies by providing Didi’s mapping and routing systems. Didi’s partnership with Haibo, a Shanghai taxi company is telling about its willingness to offer space and not crush competition. Didi, is putting up a stiff competition to its American rival Uber through its strategic partnership and expansion with the US based Lyft and Grab in Southeast Asia and also investments with Olacabs in India. It’s also widely speculated that Apple is pressing on the pedals to speed up its own electric cars that’s been in the pipeline. Apple, in this context, faced with foreign policy pressure of China for ‘foreign online services’ that disallows competing directly with local companies, investment with Didi is strategic given that Apple Pay is supported in Didi's cab-hailing app. Besides, the investment hopefully should become a beachhead for further developments in the automotive segment. The advantage with Didi is its peer-to-peer service is legal in China as it works together with ‘labor companies endorsed by government and leasing companies to confirm conformance of automotive regulations by its drivers. 
 
The Billion and Big Data (Collected from public domain.)
Didi says “it’s doing 3 million rides per day compared to Uber’s 1 million”. Didi Chuxing referred to as “China’s Uber” completes more than 11 million rides a day with 87% of the private ride-hailing market in China. Today, Didi is profitable in 200 out of 400 cities in which it operates and holds 99 percent of the taxi-hailing market, according to company vice president Stephen Zhu. Didi provides Apple with a rich data source for its self-driving vehicle push. It also could provide benefits to Apple’s mobile ecosystem. Ride-sharing apps are closely linked to payment services, such as Apple Pay. They also can be the foundation for other mobile commerce transactions such as deliveries “We understand the Chinese market,” Tony Qiu, director of Didi’s strategy group, commented “We know every day where people are traveling from or to, so we try to aggregate those demands.” Tim Coulling, of Canaly - an analysis firm opined that Apple has good reason to want to link up with a company that boasts 300 million users in 400 Chinese cities. “What this gives Apple is access to a large user base of people within China from which they can harvest data,” he said. Apple may be able to make use of data about driving habits and China’s complicated road system for its mapping functions as well as development of a car. · Derrick Cogburn, an associate professor at the School of International Service at American University, said almost every tech company is in the race for big data that informs product development and marketing. They are “all collecting lots and lots of aggregate data about our patterns and our habits,” he said.

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Your Next Steps After Filling the PMP Exam Application Form

As a prelude to appearing for the PMP® Certification exam, few pointers worth to ponder.

 
1. Fill the PMP® application form
 
Filling the form can be time consuming and extensive in preparation with an eye for details. Please be informed that PMI® will provide 90 days to fill your form online during which you can edit and make changes but cannot cancel the application. PMI® will post a mail to your valid email about the completeness of application.
 
2. Response from PMI® about Application’s completeness
 
Once you submit the PMP® application, PMI will get back in about 5 days about the ‘Application Completeness Review’. Soon after you submit the PMP® application, it becomes mandate to appear for the examination within one year of submission. This is again for the benefit of the participants to stay concentrated about the exam. A lot many aspirants develop cold feet due lack of time constraints, unexpected events, and hectic work schedule or plainly lack of preparation. Also, some aspirants wait to become completely conversant and extremely confident before they can start filling the form. These are exceptional cases, besides PMI offers you enough time for the kind of confidence and conversance one can work upon and build in due course of time.
 
3. Make the Payment
 
This is the third step. Once your application is vetted for veracity, reviewed and ratified, the PM will post a send you a confirmation email with an advise to make the payment towards the PMP® examination fee. Now you can make the payment. You can visit ww.pmi.org and become a member by paying fee of $139 which can save $11 and also provide soft copy of PMBOK and study aids.
 
4. Scheduling the Exam
 
After the form is submitted, you will receive a mail from PMI® stating ,
Your application is approved ,
You will receive confirmation that your application is approved. Further, the email will provide the payment link to pay the exam fees. For PMP® certification fee, PMI members will have to pay USD $405 while for non-members, it will cost SD $555. 
 Or 
The application is under Audit process. The PMI audit will seek to substantiate certain details recorded in the application form. The applicant will receive an audit document which needs to be printed, verified and signed by the supervisor/manager as mentioned in the application form with the respective company seal. The printed hard copies need to be posted through ‘traceable’ post. Note: there is no need to get worked-up or become anxious. It’s just PMI is cross-checking with the information provided in the application and validating any gaps observed. It can happen due to oversight despite checking and double-checking some information or may be certain data failed to capture. PMI will provide 90 days for you to post the required documents back to its head office. Its advised that you always you’re your superiors informed about your certification endeavor and they will do the needful when taken into confidence. PMI will require 7 days to approve your application, subject to the orderliness of the submitted hard copies, and will mail you the link to make the payment and schedule PMP® Examination date.
 
5. Appear for the Exam
 
The PMP® certification prep courses, multiple model papers, study aids, Resources available and the numbers of hour spent preparing will definitely make a difference. As stressed in our previous blog posting, preparation stress the need of heightened anticipation – which is what we meant as ‘state of readiness’ so that the date scheduled by PMI will not take you by surprise, and also you can keep sharpening axe. Practice and preparation are the keys.
 
 NOTE: You must retain the unique PMI Eligibility ID located on your scheduling notification. This number will be required to register for the examination. [courtesy: www.pmi.org. to read more, click here} “I try to prepare for everything beyond the extent of preparation. Taylor Swift” We wish you success!!
 
images courtesy: goo.gl/f6SME8

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7 Habits of Highly Effective People: A Project Manager View

Penned by a Project Manager

 
When my friend passed this book, it had a sacred aura as if a parchment of scriptures was being handed. Amused thoroughly by this hand-over ceremony, I was more intrigued to read the title “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” Another Motivational book? Perhaps. But I have seen guys hooked to 'Good to Great' by Jim Collins like a manual even citing page numbers and personally enthralled with sheer statistics in Malcolm McDowell’s ‘Outliers’. Come on, to quote Beatles were ‘also a band’ that did the gig and grind in German clubs for hours before they achieved the cult status made my eyes blink with disbelief. So in a way, Stephen Covey’ 7 Habits as its referred by my contemporaries made me feel nervous like holding Fluid Mechanics by PK Bhansal or Thermodynamics that did give the jitters then, when we were new and naïve as newcomers. The fear is either misplaced or we reel locked up in a panic room. As Truman said ‘we have nothing to fear but fear itself.’ The title alone was enough to get me going because it doesn’t assure to make you successful but to succeed follow the 7 habits. The more I read, the more I wanted to apply the learning to my professional sphere and as a Project Manager, Interestingly, we can apply the 7 habits into project management practice. Socrates said ““I cannot teach anybody anything. I can only make them think.” So a book that makes one think is an amazing resource of education – the eternal spring of knowledge. Louis L'Amour was exquisite “Reading without thinking is nothing, for a book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think.” Without much ado, here are the 7 habits BE PROACTIVE, BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND, PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST, THINK WIN-WIN, SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD, SYNERGIZE, SHARPEN THE SAW. 
 
Proactive:
 
It’s all about ownership and shouldering responsibilities. It’s the reactive that are influenced by other factors to indulge in blame game. It will be pertinent to point L'Amour to stress about being proactive “Up to a point a man’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and movements and changes in the world about him; then there comes a time when it lies within his grasp to shape the clay of his life into the sort of thing he wishes to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune, or the quirks of fate. Everyone has it within his power to say, this I am today, that I shall be tomorrow.” You can only manage things that are under your control. The proactive persons devote their time and effort on things that can be controlled., primarily through Circle of Influence ·
 
These are the group of the people who will focus on issues in take care of things those are under their control · 
 
They don’t blame other for the actions as their focus is more on the solving and resolving. Basically solutioning.
 
à You can relate this with Risk Management & Stakeholder Management,
 
Begin End in Mind
 
It’s the ability to vision objective with action plan. Every organization has a mission statement and any undertaking (read as Project) will have its goals and mission. The prototype or blueprint is basically the model of the end-product. If development is connecting the dots, then planning is all about creating and placing and positioning the dots. Begin End in Mind typically stresses on the scope. You should know what needs to be done and also what is NOT to be accomodated. You can plan on your resources and apportion tasks and assign by preparing the project plan.
 
 à Relate this with Overall Project Plan – (Scope, Quality, Time & Cost)
 
 Put First Things First
 
Plan all the tasks that can be done first by specifying the severity and assigning priority. It’s about organization, management and execution. Balance it out. You don’t have to burn out. Revisit your project plan for prioritization as some developments might mandate that some tasks take precedence as against the planned action item or a resource originally delegated for a particular requirement need to be deployed elsewhere. à Review of the Project Plan and Execution
 
 Think WIN-WIN
 
Spell success mutually. It has to work both ways. We are all in together and so should the benefits that are accrued as a result of the association. The budgeting must ensure the project doesn’t bleed and scope should be contained from bloating. It wouldn’t be fair-game if the vendor emerges as the victor at the cost of customer as a victim. Don’t over-price or undervalue. Be reasonable so that it’s a collaborative and co-operative effort wherein all the stakeholders involved share the results to realize the returns on investment.
 
 à Relate with Communication Plan
 
SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD
 
Perhaps the toughest. We seek to be heard before hearing. The loudest is one who is heard, lest voices are drowned in the din. We are quick to judge than reason; prejudice prevails above principle. We want to have the last word and have to be right always. Learn. And for that listen first. A willful listener who is genuinely interested and not merely pretending to hear. There are instance we hear with the sole intent to give it back not as a reply or response but retort. Also, there is the element of sub-conscious bias that creeps unnoticed and adversely influences our decision and deliberation. The essence of communication is to understand as well as to be understood.
 
 à Relate with Conflict Management
 
SYNERGIZE
 
Fundamentally teamwork. Synergy by definition is “the working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects”. It is indeed true that “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” Meaning we draw strength from each other that makes us formidable team and a force to reckon. It would be a mistake to obscure an individual’s contribution – there are some stars that shine brightly. How the individual contribution broadens the funnel of opportunities and possibilities for team members makes it even more significant. Some team members come forward to wear multiple hats or some are made to multi task to further project’s progress and team’s interest. Synergy is the collective strength and combined effort expending in achieving a common goal.
 
à Relate with Conflict Management and People Management
 
SHARPEN THE SAW
 
It was Abraham Lincoln’ who famously quoted “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Work smart. It’s wise to invest time in figuring out the best possible ways to get the work done efficiently so as to enhance productivity. The best output in the given timeline, sometimes limited time always calls for smart work. Its left to you in managing the given time and to optimize, you must reinvent yourself and be at it. Its always about conserving your energy to combat challenges and crisis that comes in the way of work. The monotony of work – to be at the desk from dawn to dusk drains you down. Wont you feel weak and worn out? You want capitalize on newer opportunities or crash out because of overdoing? Try to lead a balanced life. Take your mind off by mediation or relaxation or spiritual activity. It helps to unplug once in a while to recharge and revitalize yourself.
 
 à Relate with Monitoring and Control
 
The above article was penned by one of the panel members who is an active and experienced Project Manager. iCert Global is a global learning provider specializing in the fields of Project Management amongst other offerings. You can learn more about Project management by signing up for our PMP® or PRINCE2 programs. We wish to thank you for visiting our blog and hope your stay was productive and purposeful.
 
images courtesy: goo.gl/R9UsNt

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Advance your career with CBAP certification for success.

There was an interesting and exciting write about Business Analysts - The 21st century business analyst is a liaison, bridge and diplomat who balances the oftentimes incongruous supply of IT resources and demands of the business. Forrester's research found that those business analysts who were most successful were the ones who could "communicate, facilitate and analyze." Business Analyst, as a role and title, is often connected with IT industry given its dominating presence and dependence in the scope of business. This is not to discount or discredit Business Analysis in other industries but this article’s premise is clearly IT. It’s the customer who drives the business. The stakeholders help create the ecosystem and the principal players play their part to progress and ensure profit. The endeavor should end in business value. The eyes are set at the topline and bottom line, and any business venture should demonstrate capabilities to monetize. The bottom line is the backbone. We have always toiled to profit in any profession and in software parlance Solution, as a way of business, is created based on the customer’s problem statement. In business, the most difficult part is to please is your customer. Try as you might, they are never content. It’s an uphill task and times, unreasonable too. It’s unwise and unfair to expect the customer will record the requirement in their Business Requirement specification. The specification is subject to change as it evolving in nature but the scope should be pinned right at the start for change in scope can prove catastrophic.

 
Who is a business analyst and the importance of business analysis?
 
Mind Is always applying to matters and in that sense we are all analysts. Business Analysts is a specialized skill wherein a smart combination of strategic smartness as that of a diplomat and analytical approach of an intelligence community. A Business Analyst should be able to handle aspects of both functional solution and technical solution in response to the business need in proposing a solution that s holistic and realistic. Requirement gathering can be done through conventional ways like elicitation, ideation, brainstorming, or employ modern tools like prototyping, wireframing drawing the big picture or the end-product. Who knows the scope better than a Business Analyst? Business Analysts are not just touch points but the interface between the organization and the customer, translating business needs and providing feasible solutions that can be implemented at the agreed cost – which effectively contains scope. As the primary window for requirement gathering the Business Analyst is better placed at a vantage point in assessing and analyzing the scope better. Continuous dialogue and constant touch helps in shaping up the specification to systematically document the scope and bring on record ‘the out-of scope’ aspects as well. The customer of today is more empowered with data points at their fingertips and fluent in system architecture and talk technology as good as your technocrat. So quintessentially Business Analyst ought to be 2 steps ahead to preempt the perils and possible scenarios. Its that sense of anticipation that heightens the alertness which really sells. In case of scope creeps, it will become an undersell. Therefore, the best to identify the scope is left to the Business Analyst and contain will become imperative upon the executor (Project Manager).
 
Why Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP®)?
 
 As a professional, you need to establish credibility and build trust. CBAP® certification criteria make it a mandate to possess 7500 hours of hands-on business experience which makes it extensive in terms of learning in terms of time and talent. Its given to understand that CBAP® certified professionals are ‘experts in identifying the business needs of an organization in order to determine the best solutions’ as stated in iiba.org. Just like PMP® for Project Management following the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® ) Guide, organization these days are stressing on the significant of a CBAP® certification for Business Analyst which follows The Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide V2.0.) and is fast gaining currency as one of the best known benchmark for business analysis. CBAP certification enhances the human capital of an organization and builds competency in business analysis practice. Also the recognition and career advancement potential for the professional makes it a synergetic growth for the organization. It enables effective work with stakeholders associated and helps better understand the profession as an expert. 
 
As mentioned by iiba.org, CBAP® trained managers or provide CBAP trainings enjoy following benefits:
 
 • CBAPs are acknowledged as competent individuals who perform a role which is increasingly    recognized as a vital component of any successful project.
 • CBAP can be identified as individuals with an advanced level of knowledge and qualifications
 • CBAP follow established standards as outlined in the IIBA BABOK® Guide V2.0.
 • CBAPs produce reliable, quality results with increased efficiency and consistency
 
Records sourced from IIBA.org states that there 6208 registered professionals and the number is growing at a staggering pace. There are 6 knowledge areas as prescribed in the BABOK® Guide V2.0.which you will have to become proficient to pass the certification. Our CBAP® certification course will provide the necessary training and learning based on BABOK® Guide V2.0.Some key modules are listed below for reference as part of the course agenda:
 
 .Introduction to CBAP
 .Enterprise Architecture 
 .Developing A Solution Scope
 .Developing A Business Case 
 .Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities,
 .Elicitation Techniques · Requirements Planning
 .Risk Analysis and Management Enterprise Analysis/Business Case
 .Enterprise Analysis Tasks 
 .Requirements Management and Communication 
 .Managing the Solution Scope Requirements
 .Traceability 
 .Inputs to the Solution Scope
 .Managing Requirements Changes 
 .Risk Analysis 
 .SWOT Analysis
 
 
images  courtesy: goo.gl/W37UgV

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Manage Multiple Projects Successfully with MSP Certification

Amazing. Astounding. Awe-inspiring. The technology revolution has taken the industry by storm and dazzles with “disruptive technology “ or ‘creative destruction. Buzz words by the horde appear on the headlines startling you by its sheer ‘sentence-construct’. Many couldn’t decipher disruptive technology then but we are now used to and even conversant to the point of expecting more. If you are someone juggling with more than one assignment – then talk of multi-tasking. Now when its managing multi-projects, then the unknowns and unexpected changes complicates to a severity hitherto undefined. So as one entrusted with the Program management, how do you anticipate the unexpected and negotiate the unforeseen changes? Please note that a program is a portfolio comprised of multiple projects. Its common knowledge that managing large-scale programme can be very complex in terms of planning, organizing and execution. The business environment has changed drastically with the advent of mobile apps in every sphere of life and digitization of every dot, which demands completion at a pace that’s fast and yet cost-effective. While the scale and size in project and programs are growing, qualified professionals who can consistently perform and contribute are found wanting. We recommend MSP® ( Managing Successful Programs). Your organization would want to continually improve, manage multiple projects to the minute detail, manage stakeholder expectation, provide value for investment, capitalize on business opportunities and become an enabler of change – which is why MSP® is strongly proposed to be pursued by your Personnel managing programs. MSP’s framework enables organization to break down complex programs in to manageable interrelated projects, balancing on the budget and staying on time without compromising the quality. Thus it’s a strategic approach to accomplish a complex engagement through transformation activities whereby a file is split as dossiers, organized, implemented and executed to achieve the intended outcome or business result, in other words, business value.

 
 MSP® sets out successful programs
 
Pcubed has found MSP to be an effective platform upon which to develop a program or assess the effectiveness of those already underway. MSP® sets out how successful programs - portfolios of projects - can and should be accomplished. It emphasizes that a program will involve considerable resource commitment from a number of areas: "a significant budget, lengthy timescales, potential disruption of extant projects or programs, and major business or organizational change."
 
MSP® helps in delivering business outcome/output
 
MSP® is a flexible though not prescriptive business framework and best practice that helps organization with its pragmatic approach to realize present project objectives and enhances its business operation and processes. It enhances organization efficiency, makes resources effective and encourages innovation. The business goals, objectives are strategically aligned so as to improve operational efficiency, and act as a catalyst for delivery capabilities. Since MSP is developed from collective experience and expertise, it adds tremendous value, and benefits largely from the insights from experience.
 
MSP® is good enough for any type of organization
 
Big or small – the size is no constraint at all. So long the senior professionals, usually mid-level managers or higher are trained in MSP , preferably Practitioners will serve well to measure up to the organization’s expectations in terms of yield. the certified MSP Practitioners are adept in handling exigencies and resolving issues with enhance decision-making prowess. MSP certification is globally recognized and hence the talent pool of any organization with certified practitioners enhances its image and builds trust and credibility about the workforce. It must be acknowledged that given global competition, compounded by other factors internal and external, one cannot completely insulate from failure but MSP helps organization to stay as competitive with its cutting edge a fair chance to succeed in the most demanding market that offers little latitude.
 
images courtesy: goo.gl/n9BBdt

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Certification Competency Elevates You to Elite Status!!

The more the merrier. Just as our quest is insatiable so are the expectations. Try meeting a hiring head or a business investor and you will be questioned more about your skillset. Yes! Your primary skills are a given. While the focus on primary skills is paramount, the stress is always about developing additional abilities considered vital in competitive analysis. Those interested in your profile would want to know ‘more’. It’s the additional information that elicits more interest. A quintessential professional is versatile – like a player on the field ready to be placed in any position. So possessing the technical skill (read primary skill) wouldn’t provide that edge over peers, rather when supplemented and complimented with strategic and leadership traits places you in a formidable position clearly pushing your boundary further. With business needs growing with greater unpredictability and technology advancement defying expectation through groundbreaking innovations, the landscape seems to be shifting perpetually, and hence there is admittedly a paradigm shift from the professional perspective without an exception. With time Individual assessment has changed. The organization is looking to fill the slot as Musterberg stated “finding the best possible man, how to produce the best possible work, and how to secure the best possible effects”. What it takes to become top performer with top potential. Potential is the possibility of an individual to do more than current contribution. Aon Hewitt defines potential as the assessment of an employee’s ability to rise to and succeed in a more senior or expanded role. Potential considers individuals’ performance, character, capability and motivation. Today, the critical talent is evaluated in terms of knowledge, skills and abilities. The PMI Talent Triangle™ clearly lays emphasis on ‘more than’ technical skills by subscribing to Leadership and strategic & Business Management As inferred from the PMI’s ‘Pulse of the Profession 2016’, the most successful organizations seek added skills in leadership and business—competencies that support and sustain long-range strategic objectives. The ideal skill set—a combination of technical, leadership, and strategic and business management expertise—is embodied in the PMI Talent Triangle™. When organizations focus on all three skill sets, 40 percent more of their projects meet goals and original business intent. As one of the leading educational powerhouse enabling to become professionally trained and certified, especially PMP®, PRINCE2, ITIL, Six Sigma, we interact with professionals on a daily basis. They are the folks wanting to stand out in their sphere of work. And we regularly hear how ‘Certification’ validates competency and enables your candidature as ‘eligible’. What is the value add You bring to the table? Your bona fide already vetted, increased scrutiny would be on the ‘what else’ as the key differentiator. It’s always about ‘what more do I get’ and it applies to one and all. With the raw aggression witnessed like never before, it will be hard sell in promoting your profile given the spiraling number of applicants competing alongside and here is where ‘the more you have’ makes you leapfrog into the short list – a short one. So dear Professional, what makes you so elite and eligible? Is the spotlight on you to single out in a crowded room? How do you distinguish yourself to differentiate? We, at iCert Global, besides the benchmarked certification courses also offer career counseling whereby our expert panel will engage with you to chalk out the future course of action to steer ahead the crowd and cacophony. We conduct exciting programs that shape your personality and profile to become more competitive and complete . Follow the link http://www.icertglobal.com/all-courses.php to get a glimpse of our offering and feel free to schedule a call with us. Together We Win!


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PMP Certification Boosts Salary and Rapid Career Growth

Did you know the average annual salary can go up to $81,000 USD? It’s exciting to study the top 10 countries with the highest median annual salaries for project practitioners. Your resume gets only 6 seconds to strike an impression. The threshold is that small a window. The initial credibility has to be telling to take the conversation forward. The door opener ought to be something valuable. As testified by Project Managers in a survey published in techrepublic online journal, many accounted PMP® certification as ‘the compelling factor’ in being counted. Else they won’t consider your CV. So the counsel is a PMP-packed profile will surely get past the screening process. Experience can further be strengthened with education. The PMP® certification is more about the science of project management in delivering successful projects. Certification is a clear indicator that you possess the relevant knowledge and expertise. Research undertaken by PMI® shows that Organizations that fully understand the value of project management and place a high priority in creating a culture that recognizes its importance report 71 percent of projects meeting original goals and business intent versus 52 percent that place a low priority on it. Besides, chances that one can clear the checks and balances created by PMI are favorably presumed to be equipped with expertise and proficient in their profession. Does a PMP® certificate make a Project Manager more successful in managing project with time, scope and budget? There is a business value to every deal signed. What’s the assurance the Project manager will deliver? Study reveals that a certified Project Manager, when weighed from all distinguishing parameters, has a better shot at success. And more often delivers. For that kind of competence, the PMP® professional commands an attractive compensation as compared to their non-certified counterparts. The ninth edition of PMI’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey states that “those with a PMP certification garner a higher salary (20% higher on average) than those without a PMP certification.” Before we arrive at why salaries surge for certified PMPs as compared to the non-certified, let’s first deliberate why certifications count at all. Statistics reveal seven out of 10 projects fail. So what’s the best bet that a certified professional will perform? The PMI's 2008 Pulse of the Profession research found "that having project managers without PMP certification results in a lower percent of projects coming in on time and on budget—especially when less than 10 percent of the project managers in the company are PMPs. Organizations with less than 10 percent of project managers who are PMPs are also much less likely to indicate an increase in projects successfully meeting the goals and business intent." This is not to drive home that certification alone is the clincher as there are other factors that do impact project completion, but one cannot downplay or undermine the significance certification lends to success. That’s the point. The grind in getting a PMP certification is certainly rigorous given the prerequisite of practical experience and the hours invested in preparation to earn the credential. And the paycheck as well. The informed insights as published in PMI’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey In the United States, keyed out project managers in the pharmaceuticals industry reported the highest median salary ($125,500), followed by those working in agriculture, mining and natural resources ($120,640) and consulting ($120,000). Other industries posting high median U.S. salaries include aerospace ($115,000), engineering ($112,000), utility ($110,425), government ($110,000) and information technology ($110,000). The median salary of U.S.-based respondents holding a PMP certification was $111,000 versus a median salary of $91,000 for participants without PMP certification. Interestingly, the median salary was based on a number of key demographic factors, especially the Country of employment, PMP status, and years of project management experience, project team size and budget. Some of the salient highlights listed below for your immediate attention: 

 
Number of Years of Experience in Project Management
 
The median salary ranges from $47,657 (USD) for those just starting out in the project management field to $131,972 (USD) for those who have been in the field for 20 years or more. This represents an increase of 177% from low to high experience in the field. The difference in median salary is not as striking in China. For those with less than three years’ experience, the median salary is $21,073 compared with $29,178 (USD) for those practicing project management for 20 years or more.
 
PMP® Certification Status
 
The majority of participants in this study have the PMP® certification. Those with the certification earn more than those without in virtually all of the countries, though differences do vary by country. The largest differential is noted in South Africa where PMP® holders have a median salary 47% higher than those who do not hold the certification. Another telling factor is the length of time a person has held the designation of PMP® In nearly all countries, median salary steadily increases with PMP® tenure. In Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, the median salary of those who have been certified for 10 or more years is more than double those who have been certified for 5 years or fewer.
 
Position
 
Within the various levels of project managers, salary appears to increase with added responsibility. The rate of increase again varies by country. In Belgium, the median salary increases from $55,927 (USD) for a project manager I to $77,738 for a project manager II to $89,482 for a project manager III. In Saudi Arabia, program managers earn a median salary of $79,962 (USD), and portfolio managers earn upwards of $11,500 (USD) more than program managers and over $23,500 (USD) more than the highest level project managers.
 
 Project Size
 
The size of projects managed, in terms of average number of team members and average project budget, also appears to have a positive correlation with annual salary. For instance, in South Africa, those managing projects with larger teams (20 or more people) have a median salary that is 72% higher than those managing teams of one to four people. Likewise, in Hong Kong, those managing projects with budgets of $10 million or more earn 81% more than those with projects under $100,000 and 54% more than those with projects with budgets between $100,000 and $499,999. The detailed report can be accessed vide PMI’s Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey. This article should help you decide about choosing the course about career acceleration development, especially Project Manager aspirants and Project Manager at the start of the career. Good luck with your endeavors.

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Does Certification Still Matter? Find Out Its True Value!

More often parroted of any other virtues and clichéd by now, the strength and success behind every organization is always attributed to its assets – human assets. And corporate capitalize on their human capital. It’s only a natural corollary in terms of objectives and accomplishment for every organization to get its recruitment process right. Skill and strength go together. Given the backdrop does Certification count? We will come to it soon…. ‘ whatever carried you this far won’t take you no forward’ – is well worn by now but that’s the truth of the matter. Someone who wish to be employed or already employed needs to hone skills; keep sharpening the axe and as much a software is updated with frequent release, the software professional is expected to shop for more soft skills. Technical competence is the cornerstone on which the career is built. Scenarios wherein recruitment would routinely involve the rigor of clearing an online test was ensured without refrain. ‘Online’ exams which came free, without cost was clearly the challenge in the candidature being shortlisted for the successive round. Certification from a reputed governing body was a clear indicator about caliber and still some selection process did involve sitting for an unscheduled test. Didn’t Certification count? Present times poses perplexing pathways to steer past peers without nudging or edging but succeed through outshining others in advancing one’s own career path. Could be chaotic and would it send alarm bells rings given the competitive spirit of the market? Education is paid its due respect; experience is rewarded but the proof of the pudding about your expertise and experience can be coalesced in certification. Let’s elaborate: a PMP certified professional stands for someone with stipulated education and substantiated experience without which the eligibility criteria will fall short. Certification is met with instant recognition. Still second thoughts about certification? Yes and No. We will help you cast your doubts aside. Will your mentioning about your competency on a piece of paper and pass as Resume advance as compared to an Accredited Governing Body attesting your proficiency as a ‘professional’. Certificate, too, is a piece of paper – with a difference. Incredible difference. It’s all about recognition and reward follows. Not the other way around. Yes, there is the acid test one must endure to prove proficiency and experience is baptism by fire. As a prelude to the final performance, we at ICert conduct online exams for you to self-assess your standing, and if you successfully pass our exam then a Certificate is awarded in your name recording the grade as well. http://www.icertglobal.com/free-resource.php Try cracking the exam. And check for yourself the ‘value-add’ of our certification. The results will speak for itself. While you are at it, we at iCert wish you the very best in your endeavors. Get Certified; Get Recognized.


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Reflect on the past year & embrace the opportunities ahead

When the clock chimed 12, and crackers burst open ushering the new year , greetings galore and goodies strewn around, it was a moment to reflect about the past and look right ahead with renewed hope. How did we fare in 2015 and what’s the forecast for 2016? This probably is deliberation of many a minds both from a personal and professional perspective. 2015 witnessed some great happenings which will make a geek beam with pride – gadgets, gizmos, apps and what not. India observed with heightened expectation the numerous startups, the growing number of entrepreneurs, the surpassing rise in technology as never was the adage ‘happening today, history tomorrow’ proved so plausible. And in all these, the overriding factor and dire demand proved to be the digital presence and exceptional soft skills. Just as we are increasingly online and extremely mobile, the medium and means have changed dramatically. As much as technology is becoming the key differentiator, technologists are the game-changers. 2015 was more about delivering technology at doorstep. Brick and mortar gave way to online offerings and our niche product offerings to professionals saw a surge in Live Virtual Class and e-Learning with corporate accounts in our clientele. In all it was a successful year, having posted results close to the projections. So the ride was bumpy sometimes and smooth as well. Farewell 2015. The road ahead is full of opportunities if one knows how to count and capitalize. There is going to be exciting and engaging times . ‘Education never ends’ – it’s for a lifetime. Knowledge is the key and Technology-enabled services will be the touchstone. Today there is a surplus in headcount if supply is anything to go by, but do they really meet the demand? That’s a million-dollar question. There is indeed a growing gap – from both the employers and employees standpoint. The fitment is really a hard-find. Hence, grooming the greatest asset – human capital – is the critical need as exponential growth in technological developments makes it mandate to embrace existing and emerging technologies. It’s the innovation in serving the digital experience that holds the key to unlock the fortune. More than reaching out to the customer, much will rest on customizing. The blended training is a tested approach and going forward we need to try other practices with technology leading from the front. We will have to rejig our offering by stacking with latest learning and impart to the niche segment. The focus will be on Big Data, Cloud Computing, Digital Marketing, SalesForce and list is expected to grow. 2016 – Welcome!


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Are Project Managers Necessary for Successful Projects?

What if, there is no Project Manager for the project? At times, people often ponder 'why do we need Project Manager as they neither code nor do QA validation and their effort is of no use to the delivery'. Assume there is a team of 10 in which 6 are developers and 3 QA engineers and 1 Development Lead and all are exceptionally good technically and functionally. They are all aware how to efficiently code and of course all QA engineers are experts in Automation. So in that case do you think we need Project Manager to handle the project? The point is, rather than getting into a debate on whether we need Project Manager, its worth discussing on whether people in the team can take care of required project management activities. In general Project Manager is related to Captain for the Project which means he/she has clear vision & direction for the project. One should know the objective of the project, and who are the primary stakeholders and secondary stakeholders; When we should reach where (Milestone details with target dates) and its dependencies and its owners. Another focus area will be communication. Communicating right things to right people and at right time - which includes Risk Management (Dependencies, Issues, & Risks) tracking with right people at right time apart from the Status reporting. When we mention status reporting, people at times think status of the project deliverable, though this is one aspect of the status reporting, but more than that project status should get the visibility on Planned Budget/Effort/Project Scope Vs Spent Amount/Spent Effort/Delivered Scope. This in turn fixes the spotlights on the entity called Project Manager to get the visibility of high level and detailed level also to the respective stake holder. People in the top hierarchy should get the visibility on Budget Spent Vs Ready Scope. The crew might be exceptionally competent in their sphere of work but beyond the call of work is an unfair expectation as it might hamper productivity and thats why and when a Project Manager is pressed into service. In nutshell, Project Manager helps to get predictability of the project all times with relevant information to the relevant stake holders….

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Agile complements traditional project management But How?

Agile doesn’t trade places with traditional project management which is centered around water-fall methodology. Hence Agile doesn’t counter against PMI®, long known for its project management credentials through PMP, rather it complements… Let’s get the insight on why do we recommend Agile. It is to be noted that PMI features PMI-ACP® as one of its flagship certification which is fast gaining grounds, if the traction is any indicator. We are one of the leading lights in knowledge and certification of PMI-ACP® and regularly conduct training and workshops on key locations around the globe. Let’s move on to the narrative. 

 
Cost/Schedule Creep…
 
Agile talks about how we can be adaptive for changes for the projects which doesn’t have clear scope or which has evolving scope. However Agile doesn’t address about how one should manage the cost/effort against the change and in nutshell Agile talks/encourages the changes of the scope, Cost, effort and in reality as the project runs based on the budget and cost in most cases. Agile can complement within the schedule/cost however there needs a cap for the cost and schedule to avoid the major creeps on the same. PMI standards protect the projects from these variances or it gives us the better predictability on the same. 
 
 Big Picture Vs Progressive evolution
 
 One should have big picture in mind which is very important to achieve the final goal. While agile emphasize on changes and adaptiveness, it doesn’t define the boundary wherein PMI plays a key role . We can be adaptive to changes as long as it is within the final goal of big picture. Without having final frame in mind, one cannot evolve in the right direction which means PMI gives you the right direction to evolve rightly. To my view without high level plan in hand, running the project in agile may never predict any time. We need a high level plan to assess ourselves on where do we stand in terms of goal achievements. Agility within the project (Scope, Cost & Schedule) is always recommendable so that we always have grip on the project. Project should aim for success and that success is defined based on Scope achievement within agreed time and cost factors.

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For Business or Brotherhood: A Path to Success and Unity

I am in the middle management and certainly at the crossroad when in conflict with customer and colleagues. This is not made up but picked right from one of the conversation, no, a heated discussion when a team member protested “aren't you supposed to stand by us?” averting their desperate look, I swivelled my chair and stared hard at the table with my eyes focus nowhere in particular but mind probing endless paradoxes and possibilities. Stand by whom? We will have to get educated not to take things personal but when someone slams ‘your idea makes no sense’, how can you detach and differentiate ‘it’s not me that’s criticized but my idea? So that means they are both different? Isn't my thought born out of me and interpreting as impersonal and remain impassive?” Impasse. Don’t dismiss that as banal, as everyone without an exception, at some point in time have introspected on similar lines. “Is it an individual’s interest or collective that matters? Should I have to prove standing by you? Client’s interest precedes and prevails above everything”, the hush in the room was so audible and I knew of touching a raw nerve, and their grievance wasn’t without ground. But if we start listening to such calls and concede ground on behalf of the crew, then there will be no option but pull the shutters down. Clients run the business – we manage. Attitude is all that counts. But a demoralized crew is more dangerous than a deadly weapon, and slighting their service will be huge let-down. So I counsel with an admission “agreed not all calls are fair but we should learn to overlook few just the same way they have accommodated our careless mistakes as ‘oversight’. Eventually business is about give and take, and no need to take things personally. It’s strictly professional. Alright, here is the call: prove them wrong by laying out the outline for closure and I will even it out.” Their eyes lit up. “Wait. What if we fail to deliver?” they sank into their seats. One developer took it up with me “WE WILL DELIVER”. That’s the spirit. I wanted to hear that and those words only. Management are sometime like middlemen who speak for both the side without letting the other down. Not fence sitters, but firmly on the ground. Project Managers must engage stakeholders, who are keen about the bottom line, while also ensuring the team’ morale never suffers at any cost nor become a casualty. It’s difficult to please everyone and unwise to even attempt or aspire. Set the priorities and take calculated risks. It’s not like one’s interest should be affected in order to meet another – that’s a compromise. Make it a win-win for all. Successful Managers are those who factor both the interest – commerce and camaraderie and maintain to sustain a long standing relationship that’s rich in its yield [revenue from client and retention of employees]. The subject is dealt very well in Project Management Certification course, especially in Stakeholder Management, Human Resource Management. You might want to visit know more about our offering http://goo.gl/VljmtT


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Risks vs. Opportunities: Understanding the Key Difference

Risks Vs. Opportunities 

 What is Risk?
 
Risk is an uncertainty which could lead to an impact (positive or negative) to the project. When we mention uncertainty, it is related to probability. When the impact of the probable event is positive we call that as opportunity and when it turns negative, we term that traditionally as “Risk” (Negative impact). Does it mean should we care about only negative impacts or Risks? As much as Risks are important to monitor to minimize the probability and impact, its equally important to maximize the opportunity and the impact of positive impact. Risk à Reduce Probability à Reduce the impact Opportunity à Increase the Probability à Maximize the impact Example, we send the RFP (Request for Proposal) to our customer to get the deal which definitely is very uncertain to get the deal and make the profit out of that.
 
 What are the threats?
 
Competitors are our threat who have same level of competency or more 
 
What are the Risks and Opportunities?
 
commercially, if we spend money on developing prototype and the deal doesn’t materialize then it’s a loss to us. Hence developing prototype can be considered as Risk/Opportunity. hence, we should try to maximize the probability to get the deal .
 
What are the Risks involved?
 
The Risks (Negative Impacts) as identified can be Loss in profit
 
How to reduce the Negative Impact ?
Have alternate business plans
 Credibility with employees
 Have the backup plan for the resources 
 
What are the Opportunities (positive Impact)? High chances to get the deal as we have all things ready Team motivation
 
How to increase the Positive Impact ?
 
Create a prototype
 Resource Plan People, 
Software & Hardware 
Have the ramp up plan ready and it will be easy to kick off the project on time
 
Learn more about Risk and Opportunities by visiting our Project Management certification courses http://goo.gl/fbuV2m

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Quality Management: A true test of the tester’s expertise.

The iron triangle of project management has scope+ time+ cost and at the core rests the Quality. Meaning none of the axes can be compromised, which consequently impact Quality adversely. So what’s about Quality? Well, everything boils down to Quality. Standards are Quality measure. High standards attributes to High Quality. Well, when thoughts transcend from personal experience as Project Manager, I always ensured the quality team has the final word on everything shipped much to the chagrin of the development team. They often sparred as to ‘who called the shots?’ and I will put my best foot forward “I do” to the eerie silence of the team. A team is a bunch of individuals with their own talent, and that’s why we refer recruitment more as Talent Acquisition. No matter the nomenclature associated, no two individuals are going to be the same. Like-minded perhaps, but unlikely twins in thoughts. So it’s a mixed pool. Fundamentally its still the make, sell, support, and the Quality team falls under the support bucket while developers act as the breadwinners in the ‘make’ stream, and hence feel privileged and even entitled. At the inception of the project, when the Developers roll up the sleeves and get busy writing Unit Cases, testers too are full of activity preparing test cases. So the any claim of entitlement is very juvenile in judgement and I dare say never to expect anything additional other than the allocated. One incident always enlivens and worth narrating. He was a super-duper geek that touching his code is deemed an insult. It’s like rinsed with Listerine mouth freshener every five minutes that the teeth are sparkling white and fragrant. One should marvel at the pride taken in their work that they come down to challenge “check my code and any bug, I am toasted else you are roasted”. I found a demure girl, belying her age, walking up to the rock star “I am sorry but there seems to be a bug”. A volcano just erupted. When the pride is pricked, what else can you expect? Fireworks. I was observing the exchange from a distance but didn't intervene. They are professionals and ought to conduct like one. A dent to his dignity, he mounts a ferocious attack justifying every nook and corner while the tester patiently hears him out. After a full fifteen minutes of explanation, the girl calmly states “I understand but it’s a bug”. The developer slams his forehead and unloads a heap of curses in which one expletive burst out unbeknown. Now discipline and decorum can never be conceded at any cost. Since the unfortunate exchange happened on the floor, the shrill pitch made heads turn around. The lady was unmoved and strangely didn't emote at all but retained her composure. The developer, in sharp contrast, was belligerent and a nervous wreck. However sharp you might be, team play takes prominence and position. Both approached my desk and my silence spelled ANGER. My glare at nowhere but all ears, I wanted to hear one word ‘sorry’ instead he defied everything that’s sacrosanct and conduct hardly propriety. I demanded ‘Apologize. Now’. It was not a counsel but a command, and reluctantly he budged and muttered the apology. He might be a rock star but that lady’s attitude made her much taller and he dwarfed in stature. I then requested the tester to walk through the bug and she clearly made her case which was watertight. Confounded with the bug and confused as how his code can be cracked, the developer was at his wits ends and close to tears. Passion is different to taking things personal. After all to err is human. Managing people is far too different and difficult than project. My call still remained unaltered ‘the tester will have the final word’ and pausing “if the client finds fault in the UAT [User Acceptance Testing], it will the tester who will be taken to task”. Even that developer smiled. Much rests on the shoulders of the tester who are gate-keepers. Nothing can or should slip or creep between their legs. With an eye for details and investigating instincts to sniff something unusual, they treat every test case as a suspect and once convinced of merits pass it for clearance. That tester demonstrated typical traits expected – the poise, politeness, profound knowledge, patience, perseverance, while the other (Developer) displayed pettiness. Her signature statement was bereft of sentiment but well stated “I am more concerned about the Quality of the Project just as you are about the principles of Project Management.” Well said! Quality Management is a key knowledge area in PMP® Certification exam. For more details visit http://goo.gl/U4Rtez

images courtesy: goo.gl/FtgC51


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Emotional intelligence (EI) and its effect on Management

Many of us are familiar with AI [Artificial Intelligence] but what is Emotional Intelligence? And its relevance in Management, especially people management? One respondent quipped ‘ego’. Though not entirely off the mark, it addresses just an aspect. Look before you leap; right. Do you think before acting? Emotional intelligence (EI) is a term used to describe the ability of an individual to recognize their own and other people's emotions, to discriminate between different feelings and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour [courtesy: wiki]. The term EI gained recognition in 1995 and thereafter evolved as a model, namely ability and trait model. So far we have studied human behaviour, but seldom self-behaviour consciously. As individuals, we often introspect about our actions, and those who dig deeper to understand emotions and then associate with actions to adjust and adapt are better as decision-makers states studies. How effective as Managers? More than anything and anywhere, Emotional Intelligence most needed when negotiating with a colleague or peer or team or superior. Man exhibits myriad emotions. To handle and navigate needs successful soft skills for our decision ought to be rationale, objective and holistic. In a chaotic world with its cacophony like – snarls created after caught in traffic jams or embroiled in a heated exchange - it can be anything trivial to most trying of circumstance. Conflict is common occurrence but the choice to respond rest with us. Calm, collected and composed even in the wake of a storm can’t be seen in everyone. It’s a calling at a very high level and hence those who EI is way above are really adept in adjusting response/reaction and revel at interpersonal relations. The ability to recognize, relate, identify, empathize with others plight, connecting with others, commendable communication and control crisis are typical traits. In other words, high Emotional intelligence (EI) proves very effective in man-Management. Emotionally intelligent leadership are recognized by strong sense of self-awareness whereby that can detect one’s emotion and direct appropriate response mechanism. That call is critical. As highlighted above how we choose to respond is always our choice. Failure to manage might prove to fatal to one and all involved. Develop skills to be aware and evaluate the emotions of others, so as to react suitably to the situation. Leaders’ hallmark lies in this reception/response that has a direct impact on gaining confidence enhance performance, Employee retention to total satisfaction. They speak less and listen a lot. Not hear but listen to understand the underlying emotions. The tone, tenor, language, gestures gives scope to study and gauge emotions. Leaders always choose the words and measure before delivery – again in the right tone and tenor. These are exceptional skills to anticipate and in some case pre-empt – emotional intelligence is all about this and such Leaders prove to be remarkable in management. It might sound new to some or even niche, but make no mistake - only the fittest survive. Emotional intelligence is treated as a critical factor in assessing your management skills complementing human capital [education, certification] and fitness aspects. Yes, very much! Project Managers are expected to have a high emotional intelligence, as important and credible as the Project Management certification. One is a testament about your psyche and other about education, expertise and experience. Please visit our http://goo.gl/IRCmJz to know more of our offerings.


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HR Are Humans, Not from Mars: Understanding the Human Facto

One of my close associate failed to show up for work – very unusual given his propensity to be punctual and as the days dragged on, strangely there was no sign of him. His mobile wasn’t reachable. His absence made me shiver with apprehension. A week later, he did report – to quit and be gone for good. I slumped on my desk and the lump in my throat just choked me. Why? Why? “My health mate. Docs scanned, said this and that, none of which I understood other than surgery”. As an act of solidarity “what can we do to help you?” He wasn’t himself. With that tired look, unenthusiastic and awful body language “pray if you can. I have to meet the HR”. After the meeting he came straight to me “HR is asking to serve the notice period. I have to board the train by noon. I came to hand over my papers and walk out and all he is concerned is about notice period‟.” His agony and anguish, in the given circumstances, was unquestionably understandable but for the time served he hardly understood or got to know better of HR. I am very close to HR as we discuss everything under the sun and sometimes the stars and galaxies too. He is a good-hearted guy but with a stoic face that betrays emotions or rather he hardly expresses and reserves a smile especially dealing with official matter. So when my close chum came out disheartened and disconsolate, little did he know that the HR empathized with his plight personally but discharged his duties professionally? The HR would later confide with me “I feel sorry for that guy, but if I came across as cold-hearted, I just can’t help it. I am paid to win heads and meet your needs. It’s strictly business.” What a character! His benevolence is blanked out like that thick fog on a wintry morning and what comes to the fore is akin to a policeman on a beat - Strict and stocky. This is not to be dismissed as delusion because dealing with humans can be far more complex and conversations, if gone haywire, can become catastrophic. I, serving in any capacity, always advocated promoting a culture where everyone can question and be questioned. “Give them what they want and get what you want‟- will avert grudges and grumbling within. There is discord and discontent, as disturbing, could prove detrimental and that’s where HR has a larger role to play in leveling the play area. Of course, I have been fortunate to mix and mingle with some fabulous HR personnel. And continue to do so……. PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT is one of the 10 knowledge areas in area in PMP® Certification exam. For more details visit http://goo.gl/U4Rtez


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Why Do Projects Fail? Key Factors Behind Project Setbacks.

It’s a generic question but with specific answers. It can be a half-baked cake or badly-burnt dish or unfinished construction or a software gone haywire. Whilst the main reasons attributed are scope, schedule, execution or implementation, the causal analysis always reveals that the failure in capturing the business requirement is the root cause of all failures. It’s not that vendors are to be blamed; sometimes clients themselves can’t define precisely the requirements and hence find Agile handy to tweak requirements and vendors too believe it’s the best way to earn the client’s confidence and all stakeholders are on the same page. It’s all hunky dory and everyone goes home happy. Fact can’t be far off from fallacy. At every sprint if the scope is touched, it constitutes a creep. Waterfall will readily admit it as a change request but Agile will accommodate. It’s a subject in itself to deliberate about waterfall and Agile methodology but for now let’s get back to the topic: why do Project Fail? Communication Gap. The Business Requirement Document from the client is the feed which is passed and a complementary Software Requirement Specification document mapping each and every requirement is prepared by the vendor. If proper scrutiny and vetting is done at this stage, there would be no need of Gap Analysis document, which inevitably would be scripted sooner and the Impact Analysis document as well. Why is the need for these documents when BRS should suffice? Firstly BRS suffices? In most of the cases, the answer is a resounding NO. Is it possible putting to print all the finer details when only the outline can be conceived and then dwell deeper to mine information and incorporate into the document? Corporates spend much time in identifying the need before the solution, and it’s a disaster when the cart is put in front of the horse when a solution is sought before the need, with its nuances, can be transcribed. We have seen constructions completely demolished and rebuilt because the plan doesn’t match with the work-under progress and hence scrapped and sketch is revisited. The million-dollar question would be is it possible to put everything on the paper before releasing as Project requirement? Yes and no. It would call for a tremendous vision to envisage the final product, and usually thought-through and prototypes built as per the sketches. And despite that vendors fail on their part to deliver – as committed at cost on time for reasons as enumerated above. While the blame-game can be played all day, if only the communication was open, clear and concise, much ado about mishaps and mismanagement can be mitigated or methodically brought to closure. You might be interested in checking out our PMP or PRINCE2 courses to know more about managing a project.

images courtesy: goo.gl/SPZKgy


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Explore diverse management styles for effective team growth

Coercive Style – This style in Project Management is possible when the Project Manager is technically and functionally knowledgeable enough to give detailed direction to the team. Though there is not much risk to the project in this style as the Project Manager has all the details to the last very point, many may not agree with this style. As the solution is provided by Project Manager, team may lose interest after some time with this kind of practice. In this style of project management, there is no or less chances for innovation. This style will fit in some mission critical projects in water fall methodologies, however this may not go well with Agile methodology as everyone should own the responsibility and accountability of the delivery made by the project team. Authoritative Style: In this style, Project Manager gives the direction to the team however team has space to come up with the solution and implement the same. Project Manager has complete vision of the project and helps the project team to understand the vision and let them to execute the same. In this style, project team gets assistance and guidance. In this case project Manager needs to have very good functional and some technical expertise to exercise this type of management style. Affiliate Style: In this style Project Manager is more friendly with the project team and also takes care of the needs including the career goals and personal needs. In most cases, when the team has right set of technical and functional skills where the team needs very less guidance from the manager on the project delivery this style will fit aptly. Democratic Style: In this style everyone in the team has a say in the project execution and planning. In this case, to arrive at the proper project plan, it takes longer time as everyone in the team involves in the planning and at times its very hard to come to a conclusion when more than one people have different opinion. Coaching Style: Any Project Manager is required to play the role of coaching at some point in time of the project execution. This too comes along with democratic style where project manager encourages the project team even in their times of failure. This skill/style is more required when the project team is inexperienced and needs more hand holding. We have gone through the different styles of project management, and its clearly visible that we may need to exercise different styles at different phases or times of projects. Depending on the complexity, maturity of the team, stakeholders, we have to decide what type of style would best suit the need of the hour.


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Roles of Project Manager in Different Types of Projects

Here I would like to share some of the project management styles that would be effective in certain environments. We can consider some of the common project environments and what type of project management style will go well with those situations 

 
 1. Customer is well organized (Clear Scope, fixed time line & Efficient project Teams)
 
 This is an ideal scenario however this may not be the case in most projects as there will be some challenge if the project team is not engaged well, and if there is high chance team will lose the interest which will damage the work. So in this type of environment Project Manager needs to be more organized and more people -centric to manage the project to be successful as the focus needs to be on the people more (in terms of engaging them well).
 
 2. Difficult Customer (Scope changes, Demand fixed timeline & Efficient Project Teams)
 
This is most common scenario which we can see in most of cases. The challenging part is Stakeholder Management and clear communication mechanism needs to be in place. In this case Project Manager needs to be commanding and have control over all the stakeholder to ensure that all commitments from different stakeholders are honored on time. All communications to be strictly followed and any deviation to be recorded and rebaseline accordingly upon the approval of the respective stakeholder)s).
 
3. Difficult Customer (Scope changes, Demand fixed timeline & Unorganized Project Teams)
 
When both Customer and Project Team are not as expected, then Project Manager’s role becomes even more critical to implement almost all the project management principles strictly in all phases of project execution so that he/she can project the closure of the project to the stakeholders. So in this case for sure Project Manager needs to be trained in Project Management thoroughly to reduce the risk to the project.

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Transforming Customer Satisfaction into Customer Delight

Customer Satisfaction comes with top quality and on-time delivery as captured/defined in the Scope. Customer Delight is something which has to be earned with right customer engagement skills or knowledge to further their interest and here are some of the key areas we may need to focus to reach the level of Customer Delight. 1. Understand customer’s expectation – not many understand the context of understanding expectation. It’s really difficult to know for sure what exactly is their expectation. It’s not the Business Requirement Document that lays down the expectation of the client. It’s the requirement of the project. To know better their expectation, one must engage closely and get to know how exactly the project would be put to use to maximize returns or increase ROI. Our task is to increase the turnaround time to accelerate the time to market, but once that’s done what happens? Many vendors stop the buck once the UAT is through, instead look beyond the obvious and seek to serve to further client’ interest. 2. Know the Business Model (Revenue Model): One should know the customer’s business model to serve them better. We should know their customer base, their mission/vision on the business and pertaining details to better understand the scope on their perspective. Many times projects fail because we go with what is there in the paper (Scope definition) rather we should understand what it means to the customer and their value that they want to arrive out of the project. 3. Customer’s Market Space: It’s very important to know their customer base where they plan to use the delivery of the project. And if there is anything we should be aware based on the region (legal or regulatory compliances of the respective regions), then learn first-hand and don’t expect customer to inform us, rather as vendors it should be our responsibility to take care of legal compliances. 4. Know your customer’s requirements: One to be successful has to understand what customer wants and what their pain points with their customers or end-users are and how best to fix it at the earliest. It’s walking that additional mile to accommodate ad-hoc changes which will earn the trust and value of the client. A small act goes a long way, and if you are mindful to address the pain points, the client’s perspective about your potential will be exceedingly positive as a ‘reliant and dependent’ partner. 5. Always offer more. Satisfied customer is more precious than a new customer. Repeat orders are the ones that helps to sustain business. While new prospects or customers move the needle with regard to revenue, it’s the repeat orders that provides consistency and constant inflow. The mushrooming promotion platforms notwithstanding, it’s still the word of the mouth that the powerful source of advertisement and a customer vouching for your credibility will in fact be passed on to another. So always do more than what is required. These are some of our thoughts we wished to share and in subsequent post we will deliberate more about exceeding expectation. Do drop in a line as a comment.

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Do you always complete your projects within the deadline?

Most likely the answer is No except few exceptional cases. What are the factors that causes the delay? It could be a sum factor of many. 

 
 1. Scope Change/Change in the requirement
 
Changes are inevitable and need to be accepted and accommodated in the schedule. However not all the changes are triggered by the customer and some cases changes are triggered by Developers/Testers. That means requirements are not understood fully by development team during development or testing phase which becomes the reason for the delay in schedule. Hence understanding of the scope is so critical for the success of the delivery without any delay. All the assumptions to be clarified with allowed timeline and if any delay in the assumption, clarifications also may trigger the change in the scope thereby the schedule.
 
 2. Productivity of the Delivery Team (Any internal resource issue/attrition etc)
 
 Another common anomaly is the reason assumed in most cases as compared to the actual reason could be something else with the existing team. Conversely in case the project gets started with the new team this case could be possible however again that should be factored in the planning.
 
 3. Technical Dependency (with other components/delivery) 
 
An additional area of concern behind the reason for the delay in schedule is dependency with other dependent components. However early identification of the dependent components with right stakeholder management, we should be able to handle the situation better
 
4. Delay in customer Readiness for UAT/Validation (Or feedback to be received from customer)  
There are times customers are not ready to do the UAT on time as planned or they become the cause for the final delay for production live. In nutshell with proper planning and project management we can overcome the issues faced in terms of schedule delay. So do we deliver the project on time? we wish to hear your comments.

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Explore RTI: Insights, updates, and resources in one blog

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” – and equality is evident at birth alone. With growth, we grow with the notion that justice is not the same as equality. One should not confuse entitlement with rights. Your CEO is entitled to park the car in the reserved slot while in your position you can’t park. Simple. Should you want to park, the only way is to become the CEO! “The promise of equality is not the same as true equality” as quoted by Sheryl Sandburg. All men are born equal and let’s draw a line there please for thenceforth you have to prove your worth. Wait a minute! Does the law state ‘no man is above law and no man is below’? Ah! That’s justice and its blind to the person – be it commoner or millionaire. Alright, so where are we heading? Tow links arrested my attention Encryption policy poorly worded by officer: Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad France tells Google to remove search results globally, or ... There are much talk of e-governance and mobile governance and yet the nation witnessed unprecedented internet shut down to counter the crisis that came out of nowhere and though not a knee-jerk reach but counter action as so to control domestic disturbance. It was warranted. But shutting IT won’t paralyze small industries, affect the common man and business community that are heavily dependent on internet? If it can happen in a neighbouring state, what’s the assurance that the recurrence won’t be in the state occupied. We have identified space and technology and with that we also are combating cyber wars. The digital age has transformed in many dimensions that were far beyond imagination years when we studies in black board classroom as compared to the modern day smart board. for sure, and that too unimaginable a decade before. Why can the same technology put in use to pull out defence mechanism instead of pulling down the shutters. Where is the right to information and can the privacy of information insulated from infringement? We are not talking about friendly fire but hostile attacks. What exactly is NASA snooping about? http://time.com/2945037/nsa-surveillance-193-countries/ Big Brother attitude? And is that legal. Many countries have cried foul and the European union isn't amused in the breach of trust by the most powerful nation of the world? “Four countries that had signed a no-spying agreement with the U.S. — Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — were declared off-limits by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the Washington Post reports, but the court approved a list of 193 countries where the NSA could legally conduct surveillance.” – time magazine extract. Back in our land, a press release that was later retracted imposed that data to be kept alive for a certain duration by the user and the provider, and as a reprieve the user was unsaddled but held the platform accountable – incredulously in this digital age?! [refer the link above] France cautions a social network not to publish but expunge /erase details at the request of their citizen not only in their country alone but worldwide. The surprised and shocked social media company took up the case against the worldwide ban in the international court and the verdict so far for them is vexing. Now imagine if every citizen stands up in the arms with similar demand wonder what would be the fate of the ‘major power’ in social media. This article was deeply influenced by https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/india-heading-nsa-way-rishabh-mehta and our fear about the freedom expression and clampdown of critical infrastructures with catastrophic consequences highlighted. Our callousness for inaction till the situation becomes endemic or pandemic is a known problem. Hope this will be an eye-opener. iCert Global' business is heavily reliant on the internet as we are a Globally Trusted Education provider connecting the nook and corner of the globe. So a day of internet shut down will affect out bottom-line and persistent recurrence can adversely impact our livelihood. Your highly respected opinions please….


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Common pain points faced by project managers in their work

#Task Tracking/Up to date Project Plan:

 
When the Project Manager plays individual contributor role, then it’s really a challenge to collate the status update of different teams involved. When the teams are distributed, this challenge becomes even more complex. For a Project Manager as individual contributor to be successful, the person needs to be more organized, very positive and highly influential. Normally matrix kind of organization tend to employ this kind of structure whereby team(s) or team members may need to report to more than one Manager. Actually, this organization structure is still universally accepted and followed in many organizations. Reason attributed is the need for strong Project Management in those areas where they don’t want to dilute Project Management by combining Team Management with Project Management. That’s the main reason why such organizations follow such structure.
 
 Solution: As stated above, with strong Project Management principles we should be able to overcome the shortcomings. Also we would require well organized people endowed with effective communication and influencing skills. 
 
 #Multiple Stakeholders on Decision Making: 
 
Another area where Project Managers struggle or face lot of issues are - when there are more than one decision makers involved for a particular undertaking. It becomes more complex when the priorities are not in sync. That may lead into conflicts thereby adversely impacting the project in many aspects – Cost, Schedule, Effort & Scope.
 
 Solution: As its related to people, all we could do is bring all the stakeholders in the same page and collect consolidated feedback to figure out a single outcome. It requires good Stakeholder Management skills.
 
#Scope change during Project Execution:
 
The most common problem encountered in almost all the project is with regard to the scope - either as change or creep. This has been curbed to some extent through Agile . However scope change which derives the architectural change is still challenging even in the Agile era.
 
 Solution: Scope Change or creep is a known known, and largely expected despite the best of efforts to rein in and hence it will be prudent and professional to secure the buy-in of the stakeholders by explaining and recording the changes/creep. Usually a log is maintained and sign-off for concurrence will stamp the inclusion as part of the requirement. In general any solution provided for any given problem should be scalable in this dynamic environment. As Project Manager, its incumbent to ensure the project is scalable in all aspects.

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Why is PMP certification still popular and in demand today?

PMP Certification is very much relevant to all those who are into Project Management irrespective of the fields specialized. Contrary to popular belief that PMP is related to IT/Software Project Managers, it is very much relevant indeed to people who are managing the projects in the fields of Civil, Production or any other domain or industry. That is one of the reasons why people from any field who want to run/execute the project in organized way, want to be training and certifying in PMI-PMP

 
What in PMP attracts the People?
 
Following the PMI standards help to have the better predictability. This is one of the reasons why many organizations encourage their project management professionals to go through the PMP Training and certification. Risk Management is applicable for all projects irrespective of field or domain. Risk management is one of the key areas which connect all people from different walks into Common Project Management Methodology. Communication Management & Stakeholder Management aren't applicable for Project Managers alone but or non-project managers as well . People who know the project management principles defined by PMI are employed across different domains. To learn more, click http://goo.gl/GeVrFC

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PMI Preparatory Course: Essential Insights and Takeaways

PMI Preparatory Course equips the project manager aspirants/professionals not only for PMP exam but also helps them acquire very good insight on Project Management principles. Professionals who have not gone through the learning process are at a distinct disadvantage as compared to those who have undergone PMP preparatory course. In my personal experience, I was a Project Manager even before I enrolled for the preparatory course. However the experience which I got through this learning and exam process was tremendous which I would like to share it for the benefit of the wannabe professionals. How Planning is critical in the area of Project Management? This training helped me to realize that the success of the project delivery/product delivery depends on how good/accurate is the planning. When you are able to plan 80% or more of your defined tasks, it means you are clear as much about scope. Good planning can be done only when your scope is clear Clear Scope à Well Defined Plan à Success of the Project Periodical review of the plan also is critical to ensure that success of the plan and the project. Unplanned tasks should be minimal as much as possible. Plan helps us to track 100% of the project and all its dependencies as well. Sharing the plan to all the stakeholders make it possible to communicate about the progress/status of the project up to date. In nutshell plan helps to have better predictability / visibility of the project at any given point of time. Communication is key success for the Project Delivery. Plan without communication is of no use, hence sharing the plan to the right people at the right time brings lot of value to the project. All early warnings are communicated to all the stakeholders and if required there can be changes on scope/cost/schedule. Good Communication brings open culture to the work environment thereby project execution is transparent across the stakeholders. Good Plan and effective communication are the two important factors for the success of the project delivery with respect to Project Manager. There are other factors like Quality/Cost which are dependent on delivery teams under the watchful eyes of Project Managers. Project Managers – Plan, Communication (& Risk Management); Delivery Teams – Quality, Schedule, Effort. Bottom line, Project Manager is responsible. The key question that an agnostic Project Manager might pose will be ‘why the PMI enroll for preparatory course when I can manage the Project?’ Agnostic PMs aren't conversant with all the facets of the Project Management and dependency on the crew, especially architect, to Developers to testers is quite high. Besides, the PMI preparatory Course prepares the candidate to crack the PMP at the first attempt thereby imparting the science behind the Management – from studying all the 10 knowledge areas to equip and prepare with the knowledge required to handle projects independently by studying requirement to initiate necessary action. From a firsthand experience, I didn't focus much on stakeholder or procurement management given the emphasis on Scope, Time, Cost, Quality and Risk. It was during the PMP Preparatory course that I learnt that there existed other key modules like Integration, Human Resources and Professional and Social Responsibility, which took me by surprise and elevated my learning to a new level and coupled with the prep or mock exams, I was well prepared and all set to go. I cracked my PMP exam at the very first attempt. Hope this blog helps those who are aspiring or appearing. We also conduct ‘refreshing course’ for PMP certification. For further details, please visit http://goo.gl/gjkV2N


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Who Are Your Stakeholders?Understand and Manage Effectively

Ah! That’s an interesting poser and a twisted one too. I was engrossed in a status update with a developer, and looking at the data on the table the achievements trailed way behind the projection. Puzzled, I probed “how will you manage to close the gap, even it means biting hard the weekend? My friend, it is still 24-hour day!” 

 
Staring hard at the table, he avoided my glare. “Realize what are the stakes?” He nodded, unable to frame a convincing response, he just employed body language. “Who are your stakeholders?” “You sir” “I am your Manager. Who are the stakeholders? What about the client” “Sir, as far I am concerned it is to you to whom I report.” Agreed. “But don’t you join me in the conference call with the client, and address the issues that lie in your scope of work?” This is the misconception about the basic premise about stakeholders as if they are the one seated way above. “Don’t you think you are one the stakeholders?” 
 
Raised eyebrows gave away his surprise, and I gently swivelled my chair to face him. Enough of data. We knew what exactly the progress is or rather how much of ground to cover. “Isn’t the stake high with regard to tasks assigned to you and the deliverables specified in the project plan?” 
 
“yes sir.”  
 
“What about your team mates, our management? Stakeholder doesn't focus the spotlight on the Client alone. You are as significant a stakeholder as an investor or the client. The people who directly or indirectly contribute and/or receive project deliverables. Right from Project Sponsors, Customers, the teams involved right from planning, scoping till end of the project closure.” Dispatching him to finish the pending work, I settle on my desk to share my thoughts about stakeholder management for the developer’s benefit and extended my audience by including you as well. Knowing your stakeholders is one of the key aspects of Risk Identification. If you don’t know all your stakeholders, that implicitly states an inherent risk already in your project. For every aspects of the project, identify the key stakeholder(s).
 
What is Stakeholder Management? 
Communicate the right things at the right time which will make the stakeholders in line with progress made in the Project. Last minute surprises are the least expected and any delay that’s visible should be informed well ahead. The worst would be an irate customer who might become bellicose but there won’t be any dent to your integrity. Good news can be deferred but bad news should never be delayed. Clear communication about respective stakeholder(s) in terms of expectation – what they expect and what’s expected of them - will provide clarity on their stake. Fair to set the right expectation – don’t go overboard or unrealistic. Its far better to buy time than fall behind to beseech for ‘few more days’. By managing the stakeholders throughout the project life cycle, ensure that risks are managed well. Stakeholder Management is one of the Mitigation for few of the risks. Specially, Risk transfer is one way through which risk can be mitigated, by effective stakeholder Management
 
Why do we have to manage Stakeholder?
Why do we manage the Project? We manage the project so that project is well organized for people to understand the plan, execution and tracked in all aspects (Scope, Cost, Schedule & Quality). Stakeholders are no different.
 
How do you do Manage Stakeholder?
Normally 90% of the stakeholder Management can be done with proper communication. By Proper Communication, we lay open the door and become transparent to earn the trust. So long there is nothing to hide, then nothing to fear about backlash. More often considerate clients offer counselling and even settle for trade-off in the good faith the goods will be delivered with ‘some delay’. Another important aspect of Stakeholder Management is to handle/address key stakeholder expectations formally in the projects. What do we mean Key Stakeholder? People who have authority to change the Project Scope, Cost or Schedule or who can influence in any of these three are considered as Key Stakeholders and they need to be consulted for every change in Scope, Schedule or Cost.
 
Engage your Stakeholder?  
The success of Stakeholder Management lies in the capacity to engage them throughout the project life cycle. If we fail to engage, then they may get disconnected from the project, which might turn to be a risk at a later point in time. Communication is important but not sufficient for successful Stakeholder Management. Engaging the stakeholders is considered as the key. 
 
How do you engage your Stakeholder?
Include key stakeholders in all decision making Get periodical feedback or review Incorporate the actions items into the project plan with the required changes recorded and necessary approvals from the concerned stakeholders. Get wish list/and future expectations and add it in backlog Anticipate expectation and get concurrence for due incorporation For more information, you can enroll for our Project Management certification training programs conducted at our site or your site or on-line class. View http://goo.gl/4s0KuY for more details.

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Is the Trend Shifting Towards Agile in Project Management?

It’s an interesting pointer that can be deliberated but never decided with a Boolean yes/no response. Waterfall is the conventional methodology and given Agile’s merits it’s too attractive to make an immediate shift but one should reason with the ramification by balancing the pros and cons as agile may not be an ideal fitment for every project. Accepted Agile has made great strides but has it replaced waterfall altogether is subjective if we are mindful of the consequences. We learn by experience and the takeaway in the form of teaching is to beware and be cautious of concerns. Usually technical heads mull over the decision by studying requirements again and again to arrive at a conclusion. They are both project management methodologies and the applicability rest on many factors. Just because waterfall has been around for long doesn't make it indispensable and agile emerging much later is the most happening either. That’s why approach adopted should be strictly on merits. It’s a no-brainer the discussion about this subject would entail into PMP® or PRINCE2 certification. Waterfall methodology is most easily identified with PMP® certification program, while PRINCE2 follows Agile. Both these approaches are very different and hence the deliberation before deciding on picking the best suiting the needs. Waterfall is a typical plan – build – test –deliver stages, where the final version is envisioned in the planning phase rendering the requirement study and scope as very critical and any change addressed through change requirement and the customer gets to have a feel at the UAT stage only, when all is done and set to go. Agile is very modular, implemented through scrum, wherein the client acts as one of the stakeholders and can know first-hand the output of a phase technically referred as ‘sprint’ and every requirement is detailed as a story card with scrum-master manning the post. The individual accountability is very high. The sprint demo can be shown to client for feedback and changes incorporated and hence the process is iterative. This flexibility is found wanting in waterfall methodology. Lets study the popular or most searched words using Google Trends, and though a ballpark and not a scientific proposition, it does offer a a bird’s view.perspective as to where the world is heading towards. The PMP® certification seems to have picked up and peaked and gradually slides down with the forecast trending upwards, while Agile at one stage seems to have spiked over PMP® and continued to ascent, and the forecast too is favorable. The certification aspect witnessed PMP® on the rise and peaking only to slip down and forecast is forward, while Agile is steady with not much of growth nor stunted and the forecast is trending upwards. The charts are based on ‘keyword’ search and need not necessarily endorse any claim not be evident of any outcome. Like stressed earlier they present a picture of the trends and such PMP® is still quite popular, and Agile is holding on and growing. So what do you think is the trend? Do let us know…


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Technical Managers Excel in Leadership and Management Roles

This is very dicey. What about technology-agnostic managers? Don’t they become good Managers? How much of a value-add is thrown-in with the ‘technical’ tag. End of the day its Management - be it technical or non-technical. Some of you might agree or disagree – which is your entitlement. From a holistic view, Management is totally different ball game compared to pure technical role played in IT industry. Management role is very dynamic wherein one should know where to reach and how to achieve the same. For anyone to be a successful Manager at senior level, build a team having right composition of skill; more than that, the next-level line managers will be instrumental in executing the decision. Hence much depends on Manager. Of course, the Manager needs to have big picture and good clarity on the vision to give the right direction to the next- level , however that’s not enough for the success.. Manager should have right people to execute the same vision and position at the right place. But how does one identify ‘right’. Call it acumen or something gained from experience or inner calling or instincts – or sum of all. Subjective as ‘right’ might be, it does prove critical for the success of the Manager in any organization.

 
Know Self/Team:
Any Manager should assess and evaluate his/her strength and team’s strength as well. The clarity should be crystal clear for the Manager / team to achieve the mission/vision of the team.
 
Know the gap (Self/Team):
And it is imperative to know what's the gap within the current team setup is technically, functionally & behaviourally. Most of us will think why do we need to worry about missing behaviour aspect? When a Manager is introvert, he/she may hesitate to connect with people and the team may not get the visibility it should get. In that case Manager should identify that as a gap to the team and close either by self or hiring some enterprising people in the team.
 
Fill the Gap:
Self or Hire? - Gap can be filled in multiple ways depending on the scope and width of the gap. If the gap is on technical/functional aspect, team can undergo the required training if there is enough time for learning curve. When the need to address gap is critical or urgent, it’s better to hire people with right skills. Managers always should try to work on people’s strength and enhance/sharpen to bring the best more out from his/her team. That will help the team to be engaged fully. Managers don’t manage; they lead. When Manager decides to fill the gap by hiring new resources, the ability to assess about the new hire to deliver is a one of the key clincher. If not, nothing wrong in seeking the opinion of peers’ help to connect with the right fitment. It’s very important that we choose the right people for any opening as most of the cases it’s the fitment that’s diagnosed as the pain point – and that too late in the project. Screening and selecting suitable candidates who are sound technically can cut out most of the spillage and increase the turnaround time. Technically sound professionals have an appreciable head-start as compared to the less informed as the learning curve isn't that steeper and with a minimal time spent in training the crew can be inducted in the team and start contributing. So back to the poser – why ‘technically sound Managers’? Well it helps a great deal if the other person speaks your language as it does engage and keeps the team on the same page. Hence, it’s not good to have but need to have soft skills for the making of a Manager. Won’t agnostic managers scale? Yes, they can – with time and effort, and it costs companies bandwidth and training for the transition to hire such kind of managers known for leadership traits and management skills, but start-up can’t afford the luxury of grooming as expectation will be for ‘the professional with practice’. On top of technical expertise, certifications carry that edge to make you look distinct even from a distance. Learn about our certification programs http://goo.gl/7iDPnJ We place our perspective in this platform to know more about yours. Look forward to your comments.

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Effective Risk Management Strategies for Business Success

Risk Management is an art in the area of Project Management and Project Manager is to be intuitive enough to identify the risks right from project inception, elaboration, construction till transition phases of project life cycle. Dependencies & Assumptions has direct impact on the risks of the projects. As priority and criticality varies from phase to phase, the skills of Risk Management too varies accordingly, hence its critical to illustrate the risk management during various phases of project life cycle 

 
 1. Risks Management during Inception Phase
 
Project Manager who has great insight only can identify the risks during the inception phase of the project. However its a good practice that all unknowns are to be considered as one of the known risks. Consider the below scenario during the inception (during Scope Definition Phase)
 
Unknown - Unknown (Scope not known; Out of Scope not known) à Critical 
Unknown - Known (Scope not defined; Out of Scope defined) à High Risk
Known -Unknown (Scope defined; Out of Scope Unknown) à High Risk
 
So considering the above, not only one SCOPE but we need clarity on Out of Scope as well. Similar exercise needs to be done on Non-functional Requirements (NFRs) of the projects when we define the scope of the project.
 
 Definition for Success criteria:
 
Another good practice is to list out all the driver points for the success of the project. List down the criteria that ensure project as successful. Similarly define the same for failure which needs to be reviewed periodically to ensure that project is steered in the right direction and steady path. 
 
Roles & Responsibilities in success criteria
 
Define the RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) Matrix for the project organization for each of the milestones and important deliverables. These are key drivers for the success of the project 
 
2. Risks Management during Elaboration Phase
 
During the elaboration phase, projects get more structured and all the risk identified during inception phase should be reviewed thoroughly and redefined. Based on the clarity created during this phase, the impact of the risks stated in inception phases may reduce. Ideally during elaboration phase, there should not be any unknowns in the scope definition which is most critical to the success during the elaboration phase.
 
 Few things to be noted during elaboration phases
 
 a. Scope definition à There should not be any unknown here any more with respect to Scope or Out  of Scope
 b. Re-define the acceptance criteria à Review and re-define the RACI Matrix if required
 c. Plan (Milestones, Schedule & Readiness on Construction phases) 
 
 This the key deliverable of this phase in which we need to identify all the risks around the resources (People, hardware/software readiness, Knowledge readiness etc) Any assumptions & Dependencies on the plan to the listed by all the respective stakeholders
 
3. Risks Management during Construction Phase
 
When we are clear about the above two phases, we have already reduced the Risks/Impacts in the construction phases. However there are few areas which we need to continuously track 
 
Resource related risks (Unplanned leaves & Environment related ) which could lead to 
 o Schedule variance
 o Quality related issues
 Scope Creep
 o Effort Variance 
 Quality KPIs (More issues reported by QA may lead to the below listed attributes)
 o Effort Variance
 o Schedule Variance 
 
4. Risks Management during Transition Phase
 
At the end of the construction phase we may have less room for Risks as by then most of the acceptance criteria would have been met. However its worthwhile to consider ,
 
 Customer feedback
 Project Closure (Lessons learnt, Retrospection on Good & Bad experiences) 
 
 Risk Mitigation
 
In all above phase, communication plays key role as in some of the cases by having good frequent exchanges dispenses the risks across the stakeholders and indirectly ownership of the risk gets transferred or distributed. It’s always a good practice to have the Risk register and log the Risks identified in every phase and respective initiated with owner’s details. This will transform as lessons learnt for futuristic projects. Risk Management is one of the 10 knowledge areas of PMP® Training. For more details, do click http://goo.gl/MPBy1r

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Risk Mitigation: Strategies for Success and Protection.

Risk Mitigation is to pre-empt and be prepared to respond to unexpected or anticipated issues that might spring up in course of development. Risk mitigation is not about developing the solution for anticipated issues all the time and at times, it also depends on how we would respond to an issue to reduce the impact of the same. Another perspective is to identify as to who needs to respond and how to respond in mitigating the issue. Who should respond? The person who will be owning the Risk. This is what we classify as transfer of Risk. There are times we will not be able to respond to all the issue and we may need to direct to the right person. Alternatively, identifying the dependencies is also another way of mitigating risks Identifying Dependencies è Risk Transfer è Risk Mitigation How to respond? There are 2 types of risks we may come across 1. Issues which we need to address with solution 2. Issues for which we may not have solution with us So how do we respond the above 2 scenarios. In the first case, we have 2 options Identify the solution è Reduce the impact (Risk still exists with less impact) Identify the solution è Remove the impact (Risk is nullified) In the second case Accept the Risks è Plan for the impact ð Adapt the impact in the scope/plan (Plan for the Risk impact) Avoid the Risk è Change the scope to exclude the risk ð Change the scope in such a way the risk is excluded Transfer the Risk è Identify the right owner of the issue ð Assign the responsibility/ownership to the right person When to respond? In general, risks and its impacts ought to be reviewed/assessed periodically with the respective mitigation plan which may necessitate changes which have to be factored and plan updated accordingly. Depending on the duration, impact also may vary. Example, during the planning phase, we might have identified the Dependency of external platform as a Risk. If that exists even during Design phase, impact will be more as right after development we may need the access to the external platform to do the validation. Learn more about Risk Mitigation by enrolling in our PMP® Training. For more details, do click http://goo.gl/MPBy1r


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Managing People as Valuable Asset for Organizational Success

‘When dealing with people remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic but creatures of emotions – Dale Carnegie'

 
What is People Management? Why do we need to manage People?
Are people’s emotions, attitude or behaviour expected to be managed? Though directly not, we are expected to handle/manage them such that it doesn’t impact our project goals and objectives; influence the people in such a way team is collaborative and working as team in all situations; to nurture the positive team spirit and harness it for high yield. As we read in 7 Habits of Highly effective People by Stephen R Covey, ‘focus on what is in our control more than what is not in our control’. Assuming my current team comprises of the people as stated below categories using which we can analyze the possible ways in dealing with such ‘types’. One is not fixed to any particular type – No, there is no stereotype (which should be stricken as an exception) but circumstances make one fall in one of the type enumerated. 1. Leads -#1: Good Subject Knowledge (Functional & Technical) and focuses on Management related stuff 2. Leads- #2: Having good clarity on big picture and good technical knowledge but not aggressive 3. Technical Members-#3: Good Subject Knowledge (Functional & Technical) and focuses only on assigned work 4. Technical Members-#4: Average Knowledge (Functional & Technical) – passive participation in delivery (They don’t care/worry much about final delivery and they do their work on their own pace irrespective of customer commitment) 5. Technical Members-#5: Self-motivated, aggressive people (Highly ambitious) 6. Leads- #6: Work based on what manager says (Manager pleasing leads)
 
What type of skills should be applied with the above type of people in a team?
 #1 Direction & Clear Objectives & Goals To increase the productivity of the team, we should study the KRAs and encourage the people to work on their strengths Need to define clear KPIs to regain their focus on their core strengths #2 100% Utilization Mostly this type is non-engaged or non-motivated people. We need to understand their goals in life and their interests and help to them to align it with organization needs. #3 Presentation of the Big Picture In most cases due to their lack of visibility this pool of people restrict themselves into what is been assigned to them only and mostly they may be introverts. Therefore we should help them to get better visibility so that we can get the best out of them. #4 Clear SLAs and Smaller Milestones with Guidance We need to guide all along with this type of people for them to achieve their smaller milestones. We need to give them smaller duration milestones to be in the track else they might stray or slip from the path (Project) easily #5 Challenging work; Raising the Bar The ones with energy bursting their seams should be funneled and channeled through challenges by lifting the bar and make the revision of bar progressively upwards. Stretch till they can be stretched. There is a break point and that’s when stretched beyond the endurance. #6 Enablers of decision and empowerment to function independently Once enabled and empowered identified employees should be able to engage with minimal intervention and to a large extent function independently – thereby there is a sense of ownership accounting for any accomplishment or allowance. The Prized asset: Note that the most performing employee is an asset while the under-performer is a liability. Given the context and limitation, its left to you to manage the situation masterfully.

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PMP Certification: Do You Have It? Get the Details Here!ay!

There are currently 658,523 active PMP certified individuals. In the year 2010, there were roughly about 360000 plus. So in 5 years the number almost has doubled. Surely the demand in the market too has surged with projects on the rise and technology taking off to unknown horizons. Mobile is the device now – clearly wasn’t so 5 years back. Tabs just touched the table [iPad was released in 2010] and became a novelty. A PMP certification was certainly niche a decade ago. Experience was given more weightage and with that the accrued skills and services. When the need for quality managers proved to be vital and critical, recognition of some sorts that underpins one’s prowess professionally became the most sought out factor in filtering the fine from the grainer like sifting stones from wheat. Positions high up in the ladder are few and far in between and hence in the rat-race to reach to the top, there is a scurry amongst qualified to find a seat in the front. And by virtue of? Apparently, meeting the requirement for the Job – vide education, and experience [as applicable]. In the context of Project Manager, many aspirants couldn’t just sneak through or gate-crash but cut teeth in the grinding many project before positing a claim for the position. A justification for the coronation ought to be proved by data points. And it was conventional wisdom that weighs experience prima facie in plucking the ripe fruit in filling a slot, and never the low hanging ones. As the number of PMPs soared in numbers, the de facto certification in Project Management seems, experience proved vital a component to be COMPLEMENTED. To be fair, PMP is no walk in the park. To appear for a PMP exam, it mandates both education and experience as prerequisite on top of which 35 Professional Development Units (PDU) is imposed. The PDUs cover the 10 knowledge areas especially scope, cost, time and other core management of risk, human resources, communication, stakeholders. It’s a complete nine-yard drill packed with ‘all you need to know about project management’ with scintillating depth. Thus passing the exam proves the possession of collective wisdom. Thus PMP exam equates education, experience and expertise. More so, the Project Managers with hands-on experience gain to understand the science behind the learning making them more ‘informed and learned’. Well, if the odds are so heavy and certification makes you the elite amongst the eligible, does the rise in certified professionals raises your eyebrows? Admirably the numbers lends credibility to the claim. With more certification as supply, the demand too is growing steady as forecasts reveal. The perk associated with the certification is the key differentiator amongst the crowd to make your profile stand out. Besides, HR uses sophisticated software in filtering to weed out potential candidates without certification based on key words, namely PMP. So non-PMP holders are denied an opportunity to be short-listed and decided at face value as ‘knowledge deficit’ (contentious one right?). And it’s been proved more than once the PMP holders are ‘pick of the lot’ as PMI raises the bar in clearing the certification which by now is the benchmark. The question posed to the professionals is: Do you have IT? We would love to listen to your comments…..


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Top 10 Best Proven Ways to Pass the PMP Exam Successfully

This is a very common question heard in the corridors tread too often by the Information Technology professionals, to be the most significant, while other verticals and domains are following suit. And the common answer heard or offered would be: Enrol for Project Management Professional (PMP) with a reputed education provider to earn 35 Contact Hours which is mandatory as prerequisite for taking up the PMP exam. The 4-day program will enable you to become proficient with the Principles of Project Management, mainly the 47 project management processes and 10 knowledge areas – this will be the curriculum or syllabus. The trainer, at best, can take you through the topics by apportioning time required to spend on modules as careful analysis has defined the hours to be dedicated to a particular module and they greatly differ from one to another. The basic training must be supplemented through self-study by diving deep into the 10 knowledge areas as detailed in ‘PMBOK Guide- A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge’ as key reference and the course materials provided by the education provider. It’s to be noted that PMBOK will be offered by the PMI (Project Management Institute). as part of your registration exam fees as a soft copy. How the 4-day training can be taken is matter of choice and convenience, be it classroom or virtual classroom or e-Learning. End of the day, much depends about your competency and capability in cracking the PMP certification examination. So far the answer is academic. Now from a practical perspective, your performance in the final exam boils down to the preparation. The better prepared you are, best are chances of making it big at the first attempt. Every institution’s bet is to equip their participants to pass PMP, and this is the differentiator for iCertGlobal to be one of the most sought after destination in preparing for professional certification. We offer, in addition to the well-planned and well-structured schedule classroom or LVC training, other notables that prove to be the key ingredients to our immense success and popularity: Exemplary course materials prepared by Industry experts who are PMP certified with hands-on experience in project management and training. Hence they bring tremendous inputs in terms of experience and expertise in carving out the course related resources like Books, Quiz, Practice Questionnaire, Case Studies, and real-time scenario analysis. Exam Simulator with more than 6000 questions. The questions are created in the same complexity as it would be in the final PMP exam. The pattern and population of questions drawn for various modules will be of the same density as expected in the PMP exam. Refreshing sessions are for those, on request, to brush up the lessons already learnt to brace for the final race. Participants are encouraged to stay in touch and maintain contact through the 24x7 support to enhance improved communication. Create as many opportunities at every turn to learn in as many forms to sharpen the skills in gaining the edge. A repository of resources is available for online access anytime, more as a supplementary link. Moreover, we follow-up with every participant to sense their progress understand and offer services wherever struggle is detected or discovered. Of course, the growing testimonies speak for itself!!


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The new PMP Exam will be available after 11 January 2016

There seems to be some misconception or misleading news in the market about the changes announced by PMI with regard to PMP and PMI-ACP. First, the date as published by some REPs is not 1 November 2015. Its 11 January 2016. Second, the changes are particularly in Exam Outline. The Domain still follows the Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and controlling, Closing and the changes injected are the inclusion of tasks in these domains.

 
 Here’s an overview of the newly added content:
 
 Domain Changes Initiating the Project 3 tasks added – task 2, task 7, task 8 Planning the Project 1 task added – task 13 Executing the Project 2 tasks added – task 6, task 7 Monitoring and controlling the project 2 tasks added – task 6, task 7 Closing the project No new tasks added The current exam (aligned to the existing exam content outline) will remain active until 11 January 2016. After 11 January 2016, only the new version of the PMP exam will be administered. So the aspirants prepared to take the exam can go ahead but stand advised of 11 January 2016 activation. All other prerequisites remain the same with the only exception in the Tasks added in the Domains.
 
 Some might wonder why this change?
 
 Study reveals that PMI® updates the PMP Examination Content Outline every 5 years or so in order to reflect the latest changes in the project management world. The 2005 version was upgraded to 2010, and this change follows more on the heels of the changing business needs and adapting to the project management demands. Every 3-5 years, PMI carries out role delineation studies (RDS) for each PMI Certifications to ensure relevancy to the current environments. If you wonder what is RDS? The Role Delineation Study (RDS) examines the role of project managers to determine key competency areas (including domains, tasks, knowledge, skills, etc.) “The RDS captures perspectives of project management practitioners from all industries, work settings, and regions. It serves as the foundation for the PMP exam and ensures its validity and relevance.” [courtesy: www.pmi.org]
 
 The obvious question next would be ‘Why was this New Content Included’?
 
The acceptance and applicability is always vetted for validity and relevance and hence the new content in PMP Exam will § Map the business strategy with its benefits § Highlight the takeaway of the lessons learnt at a granular level § Describes clearly the accountability as captured in project charter § Improve stakeholder relationships Finally, What’s expected in the RDS Update? § RDS Update: Results in new/updated PMP exam content outline Shifts the weighting of the PMP Exam Introduces 8 new topics to the PMP Exam
 
Well, you might want to know What’s Not Changed in the PMP Exam?
 
The PMP Exam eligibility requirements remain the same · 4,500 – 7,500 hours of project management working experience; and · 35 hours of formal project management education (i.e. 35 contact hours) Overall structure of the PMP Exam · 200 questions (175 questions to be scored) in 4 hours · All questions are multiple-choice type questions with 1 correct answer · Many of the questions are “scenario based questions” You are strongly advised to read the FAQs prepared in this context by PMI : https://www.pmi.org/certification/exam-changes/faqs.aspx

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PMP Live Virtual Classes from $699 – Enroll with iCertGlobal

iCertGlobal Offers, PMP Live Instructor Led Virtual Class Course start from $699,

 
 Try Now! Key Features
 
 • 35 PDUs certificate
 • 4 Days Instructor Led Virtual Class
 • 100% Moneyback Assurance
 • 90 days access to our online exam simulator (worth $249.99)
 • Prep Study Guide to the PMBOK, 5th Edition
 • Exam Simulator – (2000+ PMP® Questions) - 90 days free access (worth $100)
 • Assistance in PMP® Exam Application Process For more detail visit: http://goo.gl/dcTKO1

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PMP vs PRINCE2: Key Differences and Important Considerations

Join Our Upcoming Webinar!

 
 Topic : “PMP® OR PRINCE2® - Points to Ponder” This webinar talks about the similarities and differences between the two most recognized Project Management certification – PMP® & PRINCE2® Date : - 16th June-2015 Time: 4PM-5PM AEST Location: Australia For more detail & registration visit: http://www.icertglobal.com/

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May 2015 PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner Training Schedule

PRINCE2 Certification Training Course Workshop with 100% MoneyBack Assurance by iCert Global in India | PRINCE2 Certification Training Course Workshop with 100% MoneyBack Assurance by iCert Global in Australia | PRINCE2 Certification Training Course Workshop with 100% Money Back Assurance by iCert Global in United Kingdom(UK) | PRINCE2 Foundation and Practitioner Certification Training Workshop | PRINCE2 Foundation Classroom Training Workshop Courses with 100% Money Back Assurance | PRINCE2 Practitioner Certification Training Courses


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"iCert Global: 4-Day PMP Training Schedule – May 2015"!!

PMP Certification Training Course Workshop with 100% MoneyBack Assurance by iCert Global | PMP Certification Training Workshop | PMP Classroom Training Workshop Courses with 100% Money Back Assurance | PMP Boot Camp Workshop Training | PMP Certification Training Course in India | PMP Certification Training Course in United Kingdom (UK) | PMP Certification Training Course in Canada | PMP Certification Training Course in United States (US)


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Letting go of ego leads to personal growth and freedom

These days HR personnel are having a field day handling grievance redressal, conflict management, anger management, talent retention, attrition control, morale and welfare of the workforce like never before. HR in the heydays used to be about hiring [No Firing, which was considered as a last resort when all avenues and alternatives have been exhausted because the cost of hire is always high; besides a new hire is an asset, be it a green horn or groomed one with so much investment in terms of intellectual property through training and knowledge transfer. It would be a colossal loss to let go of someone equipped with the expertise at the expense of company as exit results in their entire endeavor going down the drain. So HR, contrary to the misconception of being trigger-happy to fire anyone in the range, possess the acumen to weed out the best from the worst and hence posted at the gate.] Today it’s a different scenario with its own sets of demand that justifies almost anything. My former CEO would chide if employees are referred as ‘Resources’. “Can we please address them as staff or colleagues or team? I don’t ever want them to be addressed as Resources.” It wasn’t a counsel but command. He will sermonize ‘Mind is at premium. Not machines. Remember it’s the brain that churns the logic to create algorithms and formulae to make those chips and programs. Learn to assign priority and the nomenclature while naming. Never should I hear my men and women of workforce as Resources.’ A mild dressing down but will live in memory as a cardinal rule. People management is as difficult, if not, worse than Project Management. Set aside the hardware and software, its humans at work without whom what good will it serve to have these ‘Resources’. Wondered why do the HR personnel need to spend a significant time in Managing Human affairs as their main responsibility, apart from appraisal, hike, promotion and other related engagements? Because each and every one of us carry our baggage of ego. “Why should I?” is perhaps an explosive poser that doesn’t dress your ego, instead it brings it to center stage demanding attention and clutches on to the cog of the wheel controlling its spin. And of course, dealing with some ‘prime-Donna’ employees known for their tour de force with bloated ego wanting instant gratification in the form of appreciation, accolades or simply ‘you are the best’ compliment is always a sore wound that’s often scratched. And there are bruised egos biding the time for retribution to settle scores. As humans, we are all self-righteous and sanctimonious. What we do appears to be right; else we won’t be doing it at all, right? Besides, some of us are the biggest bigot, unacceptably intolerant to others views. “I am always right”, too busy expressing our views opinions and hardly ever listening. Forget others; I studied my own behavioral aspects to understand what makes me so egoistic. I can be extremely humble to excruciatingly haughty and all it takes to set me off would be a word, look, gesture or ignorance. It’s the pride or vanity that has to vanish. Anyone to claim immunity to ego is hollow and hoodwinking. ‘You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts.’ And that false notion is your unworthy self-importance. When pride is pricked, it poisons our mind purging rationale out of our behavior and that’s when I become vindictive. Anyone in agreement is friend and disagreement decidedly foe. Recently I took a stroll with my HR and a colleague and on the way had a difference of opinion over a subject, which soon snowballed and escalated into a heated exchange. When tempers soared, the HR intervened by directing the colleague to ‘go to office’, and stayed put with me for a while without uttering a word. Though two were involved, HR absolved the other person of any misdemeanor, while I was pulled up with a scalding statement ‘I expected better from you. Apparently your ego got the better of you’. A casual chat can inadvertently ignite into a crisis and set the self on fire. Ego is dangerous and destructive. One must be humble in victory and gracious in defeat, but then we tend to take things too personally that even a joke turns out to be a jibe. Professionals are adept in getting rid of ego by containing emotion and restraining response. There is a choice to react to any disagreement – if only we can be judicious. Dealing with human emotion is complex, caustic and can prove catastrophic. One wrong move or a misstep, the blame will be squarely on the ‘incompetent’ handling of the HR professional, and once the storm has blown over and dust settles, charges will be dropped and HR cleared of any wrong doings. What about the unfair accusation and unwarranted hardship endured for no reason or rhyme. Oh! please, let’s not talk about 'who said life is fair'. Try being at the receiving end and you would know what I am trying to say. Now the most important aspect – won’t the HR personnel suffer from the same ego issues after all they aren’t Aliens. Human Resources management is usually touchy. It’s complicated and complex and extremely sensitive. From compliments to cursing, the HR would have heard it all. But isn’t the HR human as well to emote, react, respond or even allowed to be rude? NO. That aint HR then. Do they really smile or just wear one? Very business-like in demeanor and diplomatic in response, it’s very hard to figure out their face. I am very blunt in my response – unedited and unadulterated and paid for the consequence but admittedly it’s a liberty on part of my portfolio which a HR is deprived. They are advised and expected to contain emotion, refrain from reacting like being boxed and closed from emoting. The glorified lot of the HR know exactly when to speak what, how to conduct in the given circumstances demonstrate dazzling presence of mind in curating the content before uttering. Some of the HR professionals have taken me by sheer surprise as I marveled at their composure to stay absolutely still in the wake of a storm. They aren’t easily ruffled and can’t be roughed up. Something that makes them stand apart and sifted from sea of faces. The glorified ones. Now I have begun to understand the HR actually manage to keep the company’s [read employees] ego in check and balance, always with an emphasis ‘if anything, it’s not the employee but the EGO that has to go!!


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4-Day PMP Certification Workshop | 100% Money-Back Guarantee

PMP Certification Training Course Boot-Camp with 100% Money Back Assurance in US-iCertGlobal | PMP Training Course Workshop | PMP Classroom Training Workshop Course with 100% Money Back Assurance | PMP Boot Camp Workshop Training in US | Get trained on the latest PMBOK 5th edition by our industry-renowned trainers, who are veterans in their own right with years of working experience in the industry & training PMP aspirants. We are a Global Registered professional certification organization in the areas of Project Management [PMI®, PRINCE2, MSP], Service management [ITIL Foundation, Intermediate, MALC and Expert Track], Quality Management [Six Sigma Green Belt & Lean Six Sigma Black Belt], Agile & Scrum [CSM, PMI-ACP, CSPO], Citrix, Cisco and Emerging Technologies.

 
 Benefits of being PMP Certified
 
 • Be able to pass the PMP® Exam and become a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) • Apply Project Management techniques useful in the real world • Share a common lexicon of Project Management terms and principles • Gain International Recognition • Establish Credibility Note: In case you are unable to attend classroom training, attend our Live Virtual Class (LVC) Session, as per your convenience. Register Now! in upcoming workshop training to avail early bird offers. E-mail: - info@icertglobal.com Phone: +1 (713)-287-1252 For Live Chat:- http://goo.gl/wD0U0b For more detail visit our site:- http://www.icertglobal.com/

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Join 4-day PMP training with 100% money-back guarantee!

PMPCertification Training Course with 100% Money Back Assurance in India at iCertGlobal | PMPTraining | PMP Classroom Course with 100% Money Back Assurance | PMP Boot CampWorkshop Training, India | Get trained on the latest PMBOK 5th edition by our industry-renowned trainers, who are veterans in their own right with years of working experience in the industry & training PMP aspirants. We are a Global Registered professional certification organization in the areas of Project Management [PMI®, PRINCE2, MSP], Service management [ITIL Foundation, Intermediate, MALC and Expert Track], Quality Management [Six Sigma Green Belt & Lean Six Sigma Black Belt], Agile & Scrum [CSM, PMI-ACP, CSPO], Citrix, Cisco and Emerging Technologies. 

 
At the end of this course, you will:
 
 • Be able to pass the PMP® Exam and become a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) • Gain the skills and knowledge of project management based on the PMBOK® Guide and real-life project management practices • Apply project management techniques useful in the real world • Share a common lexicon of project management terms and principles • Contribute to Better Job • Open Doors to New Clients • Gain International Recognition • Establish Credibility Note: In case you are unable to attend classroom training, attend our Live Virtual Class (LVC) Session, as per your convenience. Register Now in upcoming workshop training to avail early bird offers! E-mail: - info@icertglobal.com Phone: +91 (80) 65370333 For Live Chat:- http://goo.gl/wD0U0b For more detail visit our site:- http://www.icertglobal.com/

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When Are We Truly Professional? Key Insights and Tips!!

Sounds good? It’s just the sound. Wish we all, as professionals, can conduct like one. My friend with that swagger would brag ‘the moment I enter the office, I remove my personal suit and don the professional blazer’ like a jersey by a footballer ready to play ball. I bought that line for he was very convincing given his long hours, confidence, competence, career path strewn with glowing accolades from clients and colleagues. Besides, he was my buddy. Well, I for one, in the corporate context was the turncoat. I was like Tommy Lee Jones in the movie ‘Fugitive’ – even in the call of duty he will stress “Yes, it’s personal ‘. To me, as well, “everything was personal. There is nothing professional even in the ‘line of work’” an aphorism my friend abhorred, thrashing me time and again as ‘conduct unbecoming’. I couldn’t care any less as I wore the way and carried myself as it suited – call me professional or petty, I dusted it off my shoulders. The definition of Professional/professionalism, especially the academic ones are galore if you glance Google. So my interest is more from ‘what exactly we know to be a professional?’ I sure don’t wear two suits, besides the claim to split personalities like scissoring a piece of cloth is unacceptable – even clinically. When you have a sick spouse at home who needs your attention and a deep crisis in the project which you are leading – you stay at home nursing or report to work firefighting? It’s a moral call, and truly professional and personal. Many of us, from my own experience, will select someone at home to park in your place and rush to office because there is no one to replace. It boils down to the most significant aspect of ‘dispensability’. In terms of priority, both are equally important, so while you HAVE TO BE PRESENT at work, the SPOUSE CAN’T BE SIDELINED and hence the phone is abuzz with feeds about progress from home. Multitasking? Now this is not a specific scenario for a particular individual? Check the pulse in the professional arena and you will hear scream and shouts of “I second”. Like a log of wood lit on fire at both ends and left to deal with the unforeseen, wondering which to fend first, is that a moral dilemma or a professional predicament? Won’t you agree, any which ways, it becomes very personal? We are humans made up of flesh and bones, not robots programmed to ‘respond’ to a request. And emotions always run high. If you are devoid, either you are an exceptional person or exceedingly good at camouflaging. Bottom line – as my good friend quipped “what do you mean by being Professional?”, very valid as we are so used to using that word without knowing its definition because everyone employs it – be it vernacular or scholarly speech. I tried with the amateur turned pro line because in sports a ‘pro’ is one who plays for pay while amateur pursues as pastime, besides the skill level is a far cry from a seasoned player. A clear distinction but then we aren’t seated in a stadium but sharing space in an office separated by cubicles. So what makes one a professional in the corporate circle? Professionalism, as most perceive as well-groomed, neatly-attired, impeccable manners, which indeed are important and inclusive. Is it limited with these attributes? Setting aside the heavy-duty business jargons the quintessential aspect is being truthful and transparent when your ‘yes’ is a ‘YES’ and ‘No’ is ‘NO’; when you have the courage and conviction to call a spade a spade. The litmus test will be the integrity and excellence, and we are a mixed bag. It’s not a thin line but a fine one that tugs your conscience in addressing the call of your child when you are stuck deep in a deadlock in the project working hard to iron out the impasse. Be critical; don’t criticize How often we ridicule a suggestion as silly or stupid? My brother after graduating from IIT was hired by an amazing fortune 500 company and whatever he shared was enlightening that we should emulate. During their brainstorming session, which usually is a small circle of people of the middle and senior management, everyone has to propose an idea failing which treat the folks assembled for Pizza. Scurrying to avoid a burnt hole in the pocket, everyone would pitch something or other – forget it making sense or not, but say something and usually the least of all is voted as the best. Well, that’s the moment of epiphany in Brainstorming. Rather than stifle and suppress by silence for the fear of mockery from the many, the management eggs you to “give it a go as you never know”. Perfect. How will you know unless you have tried? As a green horn, at the start of my career, I did have the audacity to ask and even [ashamed to admit] be cynical about the comments. My reporting manager wouldn’t even flinch, instead will be focused on my eyes reading my thoughts. While appreciating my candor, he would caution “listen, it’s not me but this white board you are riling. It’s never me but my idea. Let’s be clear about that.” Point taken, but you step out of the room deriding the person with disparaging remarks “the guy is stupid”. Juvenile thought? I am not contesting. ‘How can you separate the dance from the dancer’ logic? Pretty dumb in hindsight and that’s why I was so naïve and nonchalant. While you can be critical, don’t ever criticize for you just don’t discredit but damage the faculty and impair from functioning forever. The criticism, far from constructive, is destructive damaging beyond repair, shattering the confidence of the battered individual who will be very reluctant or hesitant even to spell out should the need arise. The mouth should not be muzzled just because few didn’t agree or accept to appreciate the merit. Better be belittled as dumb or dimwit so long the word is heard loud and clear. Call it nice or names. Unfortunately, not everyone sport that an attitude and wear on their sleeves. Be vocal; not vicious Another attribute that puts an individual to a great sense of discomfort would be the viciousness when voice amplifies as vociferous. We victimize by making it a vendetta when difference of opinions should be aired without offending the sense and sentiment. Words can wound and enslave; sting and scald; Vitriolic and vengeful. Seasoned professional have their own way in making it sound so ‘personal’ and still communicate the message professionally. An incident is worth narrating: We worked in agile methodology where the day begins with a ‘stand-up meeting’ and latecomers are strongly discouraged without resorting to reprimand. It was another team at work and the team lead was charismatic and quite a contender in leadership. With arms folded, he greeted the team members as they stepped, and once the watch clicked ‘time’, the latecomers were greeted with a wider grin “check the clock, and count the heads. We will pass on our flavor of ice-cream” and true to the words, the team was treated to ice-cream. Within a week, the team was clocking ‘on-time’ arrival. Brilliant! “They are mature enough to own up their act, and pay for it as well. Don’t think they need to be told. They know” was his response to me when queried why no disciplinary action was initiated. “We did. There is discipline. Studied silence has its own share of success”. It doesn’t get better than that – you win a battle without shooting a bullet or shedding a drop of blood and yet there is a battle. Baffling! When professional, be professional. The toughest of all is ‘to be professional’. I wish to recall my father’s advice “detached attachment. Learn to express your love without mollycoddling. The care will become a curse. Safeguard your sanity.” A man of very few words, he always spoke to us in Silence – that stern glare said it all. But we do have to reconcile to the fact that spending 10 plus hours in a common space with co-workers makes office as THE HOME and colleagues more as family. I did my math and the actual waking hours at home were so less my five fingers proved too many. So you make sure office is as good as home, if not better start treating like one. Not lethargic but responsible. ‘Distance lends enchantment to the view’, so ‘close’ doesn’t have a personal connotation, rather its resembles the sync in ideology, the same wave of frequency, common grounds, our communion in word and deed, and remember there is always this invisible wall impregnable erected for our good lest we fail and fall on moral values. We need to strike the right balance and govern by a code of conduct – not by a rule book as our guideline but the very conscience. In conclusion, I still stand by my ‘personal’ stance and strive as much to conduct professionally. We are not mercenaries on a mission, but mortals with our own strength and shortcoming. The workplace should be treated fairly with the admission and accommodation of ‘personal’ needs that extends beyond our immediate family. When professional, may we be professional - It’s not desire, but directive. ~Alice


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First Day at the Office: New Journey Begins with Excitement

First day at office is always a day to remember and memories are still fresh in me about the day I reported to work on day one in my previous engagements. Reaching home, sounding anxious, my wife would ask me “how was the day in new office, iCert? Exciting?”. It was a casual remark “hey, it resembles more like college, most of the crew at an average age of 24 with both the Management Executives in their twenties and single. I stood out – more like a faculty.

Second day was “colorful”.

Ten days later I would rename it as ‘carnival’.

Not all days are Sundays. True. When the colleague seated behind would slam her forehead “gawd, I just called this guy thrice. Incredible, but he was so polite to a fault excusing as always ‘it’s alright madam. I understand’”. I would empathize her predicament “it happens when you key-in the excel sheet that a number can be misread and redialed – again and again.” Halting my bike at 8pm in my portico, sometimes my wife still at office and son seated in tuition class next door, in the stillness of silence, I often introspect about the unfolding of the day, and that one was grilling and grueling. Try calling number after number, and the reception from the other end can range from nice to nasty. I heard one caller being so rude and that too to a woman. Uncouth, and uncivilized. Instantly I asked her to redial and give me the phone, which she politely declined stating ‘we have heard it before and will hear again. Life is like that…..’ that resigned look said it all. Doing the same task makes it mundane and the monotony can drive you to madness. It’s the lighter moments on the floor which is a welcome relief else we will go crazy…..nuts…..loony…

When the HR ushered me to the conference room, it was the curiosity that got better in me wondering the fuss about the commotion, and there up in the front of the conference table stood two employees – a gentleman and lady – both a bit jaded and jittery, whilst most of those assembled eyed the cake and the coke bottle. HR broke the ice “congratulation for completing 1 year of active service in iCert Global”. I was very new then and their names didn’t register but their faces I would never forget. And the audacity of that guy who chose to question the Director “sir, it marvels me as how you manage to muster such effort”, and the response was repaid in the same currency “motivated from guys like you.” Completing one year in IT industry is no big deal, especially ‘freshers’ and there would be one too many cakes to cut in that case, but putting up one year here makes you a ‘veteran’. And it’s so appropriate for us to assemble and applaud.


Life is full of events and hence called ‘eventful’? One incident in the morning is worth mentioning. You will have to bear my anecdotes as I rant as a raconteur but can’t expect the same in everyone. Two colleagues were in front of my desk and I was busy studying some information when their pitch made me look up. A fair, tall guy questioning one his team member “I have targets to achieve and might miss the boat“ to which the team member protested vehemently “sir, even the sun and star take break every day and you deny us of the same. Please be considerate”. Wait a minute!. wasn’t he the same guy who cut the cake and another name I learnt to respect. What a presence of mind to quote the sun and stars to drive home the message of ‘we aren’t machines but mortals. So have a heart!’. Awesome!

In any company, balancing professional and personal lives is gonna be a pain point. Something very hard to negotiate like maneuvering in the crowded streets of Bangalore during peak hours. As professionals we are known to be solid like rocks, but also admit that at times we too are fragile like a flower and from bold bottled down to brittle. A colleague sitting next to me complained to the system administrator about her system ‘ is not working’, and he was busy in some other chore that seemed more important. Half an hour later, the patience severely tested, she complains more audibly “it’s been 30 minutes since I escalated to your attention’ and the sys admin erupts “what do you think I am doing? Huh? There are other people also. You aren’t the only one with issue. Wait for your turn.” It was a royal snub. Exchanges like these are routine in the professional road. Some choose to unload, some prefer to lock it in themselves. But I was more keen about the aftermath of the altercation. How the sys admin would handle the situation as the snubbed ‘lady’ is akin to a wounded tigress who was baying for blood. Sulking in her seat and muttering something that was incoherent and inaudible, she was staring at the blank monitor when the sys admin appeared from nowhere with a genuine apology and won my heart. Man! That’s THE way to handle. ”sorry, I flew off the handle. Thing sort of got out of hands and I wronged you for no fault. I would fix it in a minute” and they were buddies back again. This, people, is the defining moment. The character to acknowledge one’ own mistake and apologize and make due amends. Hats off to you mate!!


But that said, all is not hunky dory. In my career path, courtesy is never to be compromised and one should always praise in public and punish in private. That’s the maxim of my theory of management. At times of aggravation, a guy I adore , remarks “mate, life is like a chess board. We cannot get into a white square without crossing the black”. Pearls of wisdom from all the corners of this place that enlighten me and continue to do so. The HR, in a casual tone complimented, my cuff and collar shirt – something I didn’t know and my wife was taken aback ‘oh come on, for goodness sake, we have been shopping at the same showroom for the past 5 years and you don’t this term?’ She was both right and wrong. We shopped – that’s true, but it was for her 90% and 10% for my son. I have enough of my own through gifts [I hate these goodies as gifts. Only my brother knows my true gift which I treasure , true to Abraham Lincoln’ quote “my best friend will present me a book that I have never read”]. So these guys become my teacher and I will remain an avid student all my life, trying to know as many words possible.

The purpose in penning this long prose is to tap the potential in every team member. There can be number of eminent ‘thinkers’ whose mind still harbor those words and I say ‘let it sail and Bon voyage’. You are an author in your right and might. During the secret Santa ‘talent parade’, many took me by surprise and frightening shock. The ensemble had amazing artist who could dance, sing and act – all impromptu. Not a line or move was rehearsed and yet it was breathtaking. A female co-worker’s gracious moves and rhythmic steps was mind blowing that my wife remarked ‘is she a professional?’ and I corrected ‘classical’, and another colleague's dance left me in a daze that I questioned later “you participated in your college culturals, right?” Every employee was sporting enough to participate and perform with fun and fanfare, and I would have never known about their prowess – rather potential. One lady sang so melodiously that it was music to my ears, and I hail her as the ‘nightingale of iCert’. Any time our spirits sink due to stress. We do request to sing a song which she readily obliges.

The most incredible and impressive aspect in this employment is the opportunities provided for the “Differently-abled’ people. I shook hands with that new face and question about his native and he replied “I have hearing problem and speech too” and for a moment I stood there transfixed. I warmly shook his hands welcoming with a “pleasure meeting you’ and never miss to greet whenever and wherever I meet him. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or professional benevolence, iCert Global proved that you don’t have to be enlisted in the fortune 500 or rake in millions as turnover. In a small way, we still can contribute to the society through people who are ‘specially-abled’ qualify to be recruited. To me this wasn’t just munificence or CSR, but very noble and responsible. An individual career path is carved and can carry oneself with pride as being ‘specially and significantly’ abled. You don’t have to big shot in business – just a big heart will do. Awesome!!!

Long way to go iCert!! In a gentle way, you can shake the world!! Making the Mahatma proud!

image courtesy: goo.gl/NciC8f


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