Project Management Articles

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Friday, 17th October 2008 @ 1:05 AM

Now, arguing against the role played by Six Sigma professionals would certainly tantamount to undermining the importance of their skills sets and knowledge, but you should never forget that there are other factors as well that play an equally important role in determining the success of Six Sigma implementations. One such crucial role is played by advanced software systems, which have now become an inseparable part of each and every Six Sigma deployment. However, they fail to share the l... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Thursday, 16th October 2008 @ 5:38 PM

In recent times, one of the most notable offshoots has been none other than Lean Six Sigma - it is already being touted as the next big thing in the world of quality improvement concepts, methodologies and systems. It would not be wrong to say that Lean Six Sigma Training is an advanced version of older variations of Six Sigma Training, because wherever possible it not only helps in reducing the defect rate but also helps in improving overall efficiency business processes by identifying ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Alice Khosravy @ Monday, 6th October 2008 @ 7:35 AM

Many outsourcing companies have created beneficial outsourcing relationships with vendors. Unfortunately, there are the occasional projects that fail to meet deadlines or criteria set forth by the outsourcers. When a project does fail, there are usually numerous reasons and not just one underlying cause. Lack of outsourcing strategy The outsourcing company must take the time to formulate a strategy for handling outsourced projects. Working with vendors in other countries can create ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Alice Khosravy @ Sunday, 5th October 2008 @ 9:52 PM

Effective communication is key to the success of an IT project. Communication barriers can cause serious problems for outsourcers and should be addressed at the beginning of the outsourcing relationship. Communication encompasses more than just language. Outsourcing companies must discover ways to manage the different time zones, distance and multiple locations. Too many outsourcers fail to place a high priority on communication. Cultural differences are often blamed when communicat... more...

Business » Project Management | By Alice Khosravy @ Sunday, 5th October 2008 @ 9:52 PM

Data security is one of the main concerns of IT managers who are outsourcing to a global sourcing provider for the first time. Intellectual property is one of the most valuable assets that a company will possess and therefore extra steps should be taken to protect it. The risk of data theft can be greatly reduced if precautionary steps are taken before sending IT projects to a vendor. An outsourcing company should consider many different factors when choosing a global IT partner. Amon... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Tuesday, 30th September 2008 @ 2:05 AM

A project that is a \'just-do-it\' type of project will not reap any benefits or show any returns on investment. A system to develop a project pipeline is in line with the efforts for continuous improvement. A six-step process to keep the project pipeline full will enable the Master Black Belts and the Champions to find the right projects and select the appropriate one necessary at the given moment. The steps in the process are as given below. 1. Understanding t... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Tuesday, 30th September 2008 @ 12:42 AM

Ancillary call center processes have been perfect opportunities to implement Lean Six Sigma. However, some additional effort is needed on the main process of the call center - the call handling process. With some software systems it is possible to bring about Lean culture and the elimination of waste. Waste in Call Center Scenario The agents in call centers will have to be considered as the processes, as they are ones who deal with customer calls. There will typically be a ... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Tuesday, 30th September 2008 @ 12:31 AM

Six Sigma training has to be goal-based to improve performance. Training should help the organization deal with problems such as the elimination of strategies that do not produce the expected results, improvement initiatives with no long-term gains and metrics that are meaningless. Six Sigma Training methods In this age of high-tech methods, various options are available for effective training. Popular ones are classroom training and Six Sigma online training. A combinatio... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Tuesday, 30th September 2008 @ 12:16 AM

Value provision is the starting point which leads towards providing the product according to the customer\'s requirements. The value definition is based on the customer needs and not the non-value added activities. The customer pays for a product that matches their requirements - they won\'t and pay for waste. Value Value includes the qualities as seen by the customer, who wants to buy the right product and at the right price. Each step, from designing and manufa... more...

Business » Project Management | By Tony Jacowski @ Tuesday, 30th September 2008 @ 12:05 AM

There are times when Six Sigma proves an excellent methodology for the elimination of defects. Sometimes defects are understood from VOC or VOS. These may be relevant from the point of view of the business, but there may be some defects that may not be noticed. For example, if there are delays within a process, then by speeding up the process, the defect may be eliminated. However, this may be at the cost of quality if it is not given consideration. Here is where Lean can be useful by u... more...