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Browsing All Posts filed under »Six Sigma«
Marketing has a New Lean Diet
In today’s economic climate, it’s not uncommon for organizations to drastically cut their marketing budgets in an effort to improve their bottom line. And yet, during this fiscal downturn, the need is even more prevalent to reach consumers, improve branding and broaden market shares. Marketing staff must find ways to identify opportunities in both new […]
2010 in review
January 2, 2011 by tapuniversity
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health: The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow. Crunchy numbers A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats. About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was […]
Risk Management Approaches
December 2, 2010 by Dave Kohrell
Weaving throughout the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK), ISACA content & CobiT, Lean Six Sigma best practice and the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) / PRINCE 2 is the concept of proactively managing risk. Risk is based on a probability of an event occuring (positive and negative) and the impact should that even […]
Risk Priority Number (RPN)
September 30, 2010 by Dave Kohrell
Risk management weaves through multiple disciplines. Addressing potential future events, both good and bad, is the focus of risk management. There are two primary factors: 1) the probability of that event occurring and 2) the impact of that event occurring. Take those two together (multiply) and a Risk Priority Number can be calculated. For example […]
Management “Nexus” – the intersection of multiple disciplines
September 14, 2010 by Dave Kohrell
Nexus – 1. a means of connection; tie; link. 2. a connected series or group. 3. the core or center, as of a matter or situation. In geek’dom – a moderately successful 1994 Star Trek movie that saw one 700 year old guy named Soran (wonder if they’d been reading Tolkien) not only take on […]
RFP’s – Vendor Selection – Scoring
August 8, 2010 by Dave Kohrell
In a Request For Proposal selection process or project a flexibility, well defined rubric is critical. That rubric is more commonly known as score sheets, scales and weights. The best practice is to define that rubric prior to issuing the RFP – the selection committee needs to know 1) what they are selected and 2) […]
Request For Quotation (RFQ)
July 27, 2010 by tapuniversity
A Request For Quotation is a seller selection process where the buyer knows what they need and specifies quantity, terms, even target price. It is a companion, complimentary seller/vendor selection tool to the Request For Proposal. You might use a RFQ at your work place and not even realize it. For example purchasing 100 copies […]
Request For Proposal
July 24, 2010 by Dave Kohrell
A Request For Proposal (RFP) is a common way to select for a vendor based solution or product. They are used when what is needed can be identified and described, but a detailed step by step method may not be known. RFP’s may result in a fixed bid or cost plus performance contract awarded to […]
Higher Value Placed on Certifications
May 12, 2010 by tapuniversity
Good news for project managers who have earned their PMP®! It’s also an incentive for project managers who are considering becoming certified. The Wall Street Journal recently published an article indicating that increasing value is being placed upon having earned a certification such as the PMP. The article quotes the Project Management Institute (PMI) as […]
Professional Services Project
May 5, 2010 by tapuniversity
Projects can be classified in different ways, and one common distinction is a Professional Services Project. These projects do not have traditional, physical products as their primary deliverable. Rather, the deliverable is intellectual in nature such as a scientific article, process documentation, or software. The PMBOK® (4th Ed.) defines a project as “a temporary endeavor […]
NIH Syndrome
May 3, 2010 by tapuniversity
The Not Invented Here (NIH) Syndrome is observed across many realms—not just project management. NIH Syndrome manifests itself as an avoidance to use certain products or ideas because of their origin (with this origin being something other than one’s own). Now if an individual or organization is truly the best at something, than it makes […]
Fordism
April 13, 2010 by tapuniversity
The term Fordism comes from the name Henry Ford who was the founder of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford was able to mass produce the Model-T efficiently enough that common people across America could afford their own automobile. He accomplished this productivity through means that include standardization, assembly lines, and decomposing complex tasks into […]
Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
April 5, 2010 by tapuniversity
The Mean Time Between Failure is the average time between system failures. It’s an index of reliability, usually expressed in hours, so it pertains to the quality of a product. The larger the number of hours, the more reliable the system. When used to predict (rather than describe) reliability, this relatively simple concept can involve […]
PESTLE Analysis
April 2, 2010 by tapuniversity
A PESTLE Analysis is an examination of an organization’s external environment. PESTLE is an acronym for: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental. There are many variations of this analysis such as PEST, STEP, ETPS, PESTLEE, SLEPT, STEEPLE, and PEST-G. Here are just some of the questions that could be asked relating to these factors: […]
The Perfect Project Manager
December 30, 2009 by tapuniversity
Do perfectionists make good Project Managers? Surely there are perfectionists out there who are good project managers and there are perfectionists out there who are bad project managers. But does the trait of perfectionism naturally mesh well with the demands of managing projects? I am a perfectionist, and I’ve been told in the workplace that […]
Motivating Your Project Team Members
December 29, 2009 by tapuniversity
How does a Project Manager motivate their team to do their best, and therefore increase the likelihood of project success? The most important thing to remember is that because team members are individuals they each have a unique set of motivators. I have talked to salespeople who were rewarded by being given a vacation day […]
The Cost of Multi-Tasking
December 22, 2009 by tapuniversity
If your goal is to maximize productivity, then multi-tasking could actually be a culprit. Although some simple tasks may be performed simultaneously, such as carrying on an idle conversation while washing dishes after dinner, without noticeably detrimental effects, the complex multi-tasking and frequent task-switching that we subject our minds to may actually decrease efficiency overall. […]
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October 5, 2012 by Ryan Sauer
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