Key Project Management Observations

“If I create a customized text field using a drop-down (or look-up table), how can I get that information to travel from view to view? If I am in the Gantt view, and I add the field, I would hope that when I go to the resource view, I should be able to add that same text field (with the same data in it).”

When you create a custom field (Tools->Customize->Fields)  in a task-based view, such as the Gantt Chart view, it will be available (Insert->Column) in other task-based views (and easier it find if you rename the field while you’re creating it.) 

However, it will not be available in resource-based views, such as Resource Usage.  That’s because you’re now looking at resource (or assignment) characteristics, not task characteristics.  (Task:Text1 is not the same field as Resource:Text1).  You could create another similar custom field for resources, or you could take a look at a different view, perhaps Task Usage, which has similar information, but is task-orientated.

Many companies outside of finance and insurance are encouraging employees to sit for certification exams—and some are flat-out requiring the effort.

Companies say the certifications are proof that their current or prospective employees meet an industry-wide standard. And, some companies say a growing number of their clients insist on dealing only with employees who have earned industry designations.

The Project Management Institute says it has seen a 30% jump in registration for its handful of certifications. The most popular is the Project Management Professional certification for experienced managers, while the fastest-growing is the Certified Associate in Project Management, which prepares nonmanagers to be part of a project-management team, according to the nonprofit professional association.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal.

As part of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) on-going effort to continually increase awareness and support the project management profession, the Institute is collaborating with Research Triangle Institute (RTI) on the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. The O*NET program provides information regarding more than 900 occupations nationwide. The USDOL’s O*NET data is available free of charge and used by millions of people who are exploring the world of work including students, educators, workforce development staff, veterans, those who’ve been laid off, as well as many others.

PMI is asking for the assistance of all of IT project manager members’ help in identifying the role of an “Information Technology Project Manager” — a new and emerging USDOL O*NET standard occupational classification scheduled to debut in the near future. Those who meet the criteria below and are selected by RTI will receive US$40.00 for their time and effort.  Read more… (PDF file).

Article from May 14th 2010 Lawyer’s Weekly, by Michale Rappaport:

As a formal discipline, project management was pioneered by U.S. construction and manufacturing companies in the 1950s, and quickly spread to other sectors. Yet the legal sector, with a few notable exceptions such as document review services, resisted the gospel of project management—until the global recession hit in 2008.

In the post-recession-ravaged legal landscape—which drove corporate clients to slash legal budgets and large law firms to lay off staff, associates and even partners—a few trailblazing large law firms have suddenly embraced project management with zeal.

Read more…