Why Employees Hate to Track Their Time -
And What You Can Do About It
By Curt Finch
My company sells employee time tracking software that automates client billing, project accounting and payroll. We have implemented these systems for customers repeatedly where the employees previously were unaccustomed to accounting for their time. Occasionally this has generated some intense emotions. Some people really don't want to track their time even when their managers are very firm.
Why is this? Why do people find tracking time so unpleasant, or even maddening?
And how about you? Do you like entering data into forms? Why or why not? Is tracking time any worse than filling out other forms?
My experience has shown that it often is for several reasons
About the Author:
Curt Finch
Curt Finch is the CEO of Journyx (http://pr.journyx.com), a provider of free Web-based software located in Austin, Texas, USA that automates billing, payroll & project management by tracking time, expenses and mileage. Journyx has thousands of customers worldwide including American Airlines, Bayer, BlueCross BlueShield, AC Nielsen and others. Journyx is the first and only company to establish Per Person/Per Project Profitability (P5), a proprietary process that enables customers to gather and analyze information to discover profit opportunities. Finch is a software industry veteran. In 1997, Curt created the world's first Internet-based timesheet application and the foundation for the current Journyx product offering. Curt has managed development teams creating enterprise-level software solutions since 1985, with a focus on distributed workforce management. In 1992, Finch led the team porting Tivoli's product line to the AIX operating system, which led to the company's acquisition by IBM. As a member of the executive team, Curt helped launch The Kernel Group (TKG), a venture-backed firm that grew to 50 employees and $7.5 million in sales during his tenure. Curt has a B.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech University in the USA. Curt Finch can be reached at .
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What it Takes to be a Better Project Manager –
Going Beyond Project Management!
By Suresh Malladi
People and their expectations create the larger environment in which projects are executed. Communication can make or break projects. Project Managers have enormous responsibility in building solid communication models that aid as an instrument for clear, concise and timely information to cater to the goals, the expectations, the tasks, the reviews & feedback and the required mentoring during the project cycle to foster success and transparency in the project. If so, communication can be a strategic tool not only for project and external communication but also for internal communication and improvement.
Project management and project communication are becoming more complex as multi-location project execution is coming into the picture. The challenge multiplies if it involves working with vendors. Having vendors globally can make it even more complex. A robust communication model should be in place to handle communication for in-house projects or geographically dispersed in-house projects or vendor executed projects. The goal of the communication model should be.
About the Author:
Suresh Malladi, PMP
Suresh Malladi is a certified PMP® and works as a Client Services Manager with a major software firm headquartered in Philadelphia. In this role, Suresh manages software projects and has managed the pre-sales and post-sales process for many clients on the East Coast in the USA by providing technical consulting, project execution methodologies, and coordinating the project execution with teams across the globe. Suresh has extensive experience in software development and testing, having led several software projects to successful completion for Fortune 1000 clients and Independent Software Companies. He has worked globally in many domains like financial services, banking, insurance, manufacturing, etc., during his professional stint. Suresh has a master’s degree in IT from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from India. Suresh can be contacted via
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The First Quarter’s Over!
Do You Know Where Your Goals Are?
By Michelle LaBrosse
“This paper distributed through Cheetah’s Know How Network
Remember that strategic plan you wrote in December or January? Or even your New Year’s Resolutions? Did you write them down and file them somewhere or are they hidden in one of those infamous piles we all have?
If you filed them and there’s some dust on them, not to worry. We’re going to give you five keys to rejuvenating your goals at any step of the way. Remember, successful people don’t always get it right the first time. They keep trying. As renowned coach Vince Lombardi said: “It's not whether you get knocked down; it's whether you get back up.” Project Management is a life skill that shows you how to get back up and stay on the road to success.
About the Author:
Michelle LaBrosse
Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, is the founder of Cheetah Learning, and author of Cheetah Negotiation and Cheetah Project Management. The Project Management Institute (PMI®) recently selected Michelle as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Project Management in the World, and only one of two women selected from the training and education industry. She was featured in the October 2006 issue of PM Network Magazine, and also graduated from the Harvard Business School’s Owner President Managers (OPM) program in March 2006. She created the origins of the Cheetah Project Management methodology as an Air Force Officer in the mid 80’s. In 1995, she prototyped the concept of accelerating learning using “virtual classrooms,” to accelerate the way people learned and applied core business skills. As a corporate research scientist in systems engineering and adult learning for a large multinational corporation, she later created and tested a one-day approach to teaching Project Management. This approach would later evolve to become Cheetah Project Management, a fast and effective way of launching projects. Today, she is the leader of the course development team at Cheetah and sets the strategic direction for the company. Using the Cheetah Project Management techniques, LaBrosse has grown the company from three employees in 2000 to more than 100 in 2006. Cheetah is now the global leader in Project Manager Professional Development. Her articles have appeared in publications such as: European CEO Magazine, Plant Engineering Magazine, Industrial Engineer Magazine, Control Engineering Magazine, Journal of the American Association for Medical Transcription JAAMT, NSSEA Essentials Magazine, ASTN Network Magazine, Radio Sales Today, Sprinkler Quarterly & Technology Magazine, The Federal Credit Union Magazine Online, Business Quarterly Online American Society of Landscape Architects, ACRP Wire Association of Clinical Research Professionals, American Council of Engineering Companies Association and more. With a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, and an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, LaBrosse has done extensive postgraduate work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Advanced Educational Studies and with the University of Washington Industrial Engineering Program in accelerating adult learning with respect to meeting core business objectives. She lives in Nevada with her family and likes to rejuvenate in Alaska where you’ll often find her kayaking, golfing or hiking.
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Project Management – Addressing the Human Bottleneck
By Donald A. Pillittere
Who’s Tim? Well Tim is the adult version of Herbie, the slow moving Boy Scout made famous in Eliyahu Goldratt’s book The Goal that provides guidance for overcoming system constraints. In other words, Tim is the human constraint or bottleneck that puts the program behind schedule. We’ve all had experiences with a human constraint like Tim. These are the masters of incompetence that seem to live just under the corporate radar when everyone on the team knows that their presence is hurting any chances of achieving some critical time-to-market objective.
However, Tim cannot be underestimated for he possesses great powers of prestidigitation and illusion that any magician would admire Tim is always busy constantly reminding all within ear shot of the many tasks he is juggling at once. He manages to work on tasks that best suit his interest whether or not they will enhance the project. Tim is a friendly sort and often plays cards or enjoys a rigorous game of volleyball with his peers. He fits in perfectly with any and all non-work related activities. Tim is also the one that brings in those fresh hot cinnamon buns on Friday mornings.
About the Author:
Donald A. Pillittere
Donald Pillittere is currently a Project Manager with Axxcelera Broadband Wireless, a leading provider of solutions and services for the global broadband wireless market, where he manages operational activities related to the manufacture and deployment of a portfolio of WiMax compliant broadband wireless products. Consulting with engineers around the world, he also manages supplier relationships and reviews manufacturing materials and processes to ensure compliance with European RoHS/WEEE directives. Mr. Pillittere has consulted on a wide range of projects including the launch of a new CD-authoring product and the redesign of a factory site. As Worldwide Product Manager for the Eastman Kodak Company’s Professional Division until 2004, Mr. Pillittere managed the development and introduction of numerous award-winning products that exceeded sales projections and profitability goals. With Kodak, he also held positions in the Health Sciences Division and with Kodak Health Imaging Systems, Inc. Mr. Pillittere has taught graduate courses in Operations Management, Manufacturing Strategy & Tactics, Managing Manufacturing Resources, and Supply Chain Management as an Adjunct Professor in the College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) since 1999. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo in Electrical Engineering; and an MBA from RIT in the USA. He can be contacted at .
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The Blending of Traditional and Agile Project Management
By Kathleen B. Haas, PMP
Traditional project management involves very disciplined and deliberate planning and control methods. With this approach, distinct project life cycle phases are easily recognizable. Tasks are completed one after another in an orderly sequence, requiring a significant part of the project to be planned up front. For example, in a construction project, the team needs to determine requirements, design and plan for the entire building, and not just incremental components, in order to understand the full scope of the effort.
Traditional project management assumes that events affecting the project are predictable and that tools and activities are well understood. In addition, with traditional project management, once a phase is complete, it is assumed that it will not be revisited. The strengths of this approach are that it lays out the steps for development and stresses the importance of requirements. The limitations are that projects rarely follow the sequential flow, and clients usually find it difficult to completely state all requirements early in the project. This model is often viewed as a waterfall.
About the Author:
Kathleen B. Haas, PMP
Kathleen Hass, PMP, is the Project Management and Business Analysis Practice Leader for Management Concepts, Inc. and has more than 25 years of experience in project management, including project office creation and management, business process re-engineering, organizational development, software development, technology deployment, project management training, mentoring and team building. For more than a quarter of a century, Management Concepts, Inc. has provided quality training and performance improvement solutions for the mind at work. For further information, please call or visit the company website at www.managementconcepts.com.
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