KPMG has just released a new article about “Cutting costs on IT projects” and is talking about the fact that the business shouldnt just look into saving money by reducing the head counts in their IT projects but also investigating the quantity of projects.

If any business seriously wants to look at trimming costs from its IT budget, its project portfolio is what it should be looking at, not considering whether a reduction in headcount would do the trick.

and further

I think that many businesses could quickly realize that there are potentially a lot of savings to be made in this area — and that’s because it’s an area which has been previously managed in a less than rigorous fashion. At any point in time, businesses can have a large number of projects ‘in play’, all at various stages of development. The question to ask is just how many of these projects really could be classed as business critical?

And these are the times where the business NEEDS to think about that as there is not enough money to everything you have on your plate. Look at the benefits that are realized by that project, have them defined SMART and measure them post the implementation. Create a culture where projects are not just ticked if they sound good but also bring be the benefits that are expected from them. If some of you have tried hard to implement Enterprise Wide Prioritization of projects, now is the time.

Read the full article here.

You should be worried. Why? Get the coherences here, by the 2nd price winner of the SlideShare contest “Credit Crises”, Konstantyn Spasokukotskiy.

And to put in his words: “Good Luck”.

via Slideshare.net

I am a paragliding freak, but just close the ground. Namibia and Rainbow Beach is were my home is (in paragliding land), but what you see below is the perfection in paragliding and glider handling. Enjoy.

Streamlined 08 from Team Silver on Vimeo.

So know its time to order it as part of the Christmas rush and with a discount if you order online via PMI. So buy yourself a Christmas present. But rush, promotion ends by end of this year.

via eMail.

Just two days ago the call for nominations went out:

Do you know someone with the leadership skills, volunteer experience and passion for project management to become a leader of PMI? We encourage you to nominate individuals that you feel are ready to take on the challenge of serving on the PMI Board of Directors.

A fantastic opportunity to work on the Board of a global Project Management Organisation. The outline of the details can be looked up here. The nomination period is open until 2 February 2009.

How ever the detail about the requirements and qualifications spans over more than two pages. And, as of my knowledge, you get a lot of honour but no dime. So what is in for you? You get exposed to leaders in project management, no doubt, you will learn a lot and your network will increase and of course, some PDU’s. On the other side you will have to spend a lot of private time to make yourself successful in your role.

via eMail.

via basicthinking.de

2 fantastic days with Margot and Chris in their retreat, Stradbroke Island. We enjoyed the beach, the surf, the sunsets, the sky, the accompany, the gorge, the coffee, the BBQ, the view, the unsuccessful auction, the puncture, the way how to fix it, the wind, the sun, the ferry which felt like holiday already and last but not least the food and drinks. Thx for that great experience.

Any time again.

Photo by Michael Dawes

The time has come and its the first time after 2 years in Brisbane that we are heading off to Stradbroke Island (Straddie). Invited by Friends to their apartment we are looking forward to a great weekend.

C U Monday

Providing ideas and thoughts around specific areas like Unemployment, Cash Flow, Keeping a Job and Marketing, you might find some tips that will help you to stay ahead of the game.

However, after more than 20 years running SMEs (small to medium enterprises) I definitely feel the doom and gloom in the press is greatly exaggerated. To a very great extent, it’s when the going gets tough, the tough get going! Not to build empires, but to position themselves for the inevitable upswing.

Read the full post here.

Check out the Congress website for further details and or the program. The Congress will be held in Kuala Lumpur which is just 7 hours and around 1.000 AUD away from Brisbane and Australia (If you live in Darwin you might save a couple of hours. But do not know whether there is a direct flight to KL).

The Congress is followed by the PMI Seminars World. 8 great 2 day seminars will be held on Thursday and Friday the 12th and 13th of February, which is a great opportunity to obtain PDUs and to increase your skills.

Make sure you register as the early bird registration will close by the 23rd of Jan 2009.

By the way, I will also be there and facilitating a double session on Risk Management. The Title is “How to Identify, Measure and Manage Risk Throughout the Life Cycle of the Project”. Ok, the title is a little bit general. How ever, I will be taking about the following items at least

• Effective Health Checks to proactive mitigate project risk
• Effective Processes to manage Risk throughout your project
• How to facilitate a Risk Assessment in the early stages of a project
• How to present risk profiles to specific stakeholders and audiences

If you have some more ideas, please let me know.