These days, modern businesses are cutting their ties with the traditional paper-based systems and are moving towards paperless technologies. As document management is an important part of any business, various solutions are tested and tried to improve the process. In today’s post, I will provide you a sneak peak of what the future holds for document management for businesses.

More Emphasis on Cloud

Cloud computing has been around for quite some time. But it never found the necessary momentum to emerge as a leading technology. However, the modern document management systems (DMS) are quickly changing the scenario.

As these tools are completely based on the cloud, more and more businesses are using cloud technologies on a daily basis. Compared to the old systems, cloud-based document management offers a lot more convenience and efficiency.

As you can access your documents from any place, it has become a lot easier to manage your business. Cloud technologies also ensure better security for your confidential business documents.

Mobile-friendly Work Process

These days, smartphones and tablets have become an indispensable part of our daily life. Therefore, it can be safely assumed that the future of document management will involve a more mobile-friendly work process.

While smartphones become more powerful, you can expect to do more from your handheld devices. In the future, it might be possible to control the total business workflow right from your mobile. Most DMS tools already allow you to access your data from mobile devices.You can also perform a few management tasks from mobile. But the mobile user experience will definitely get a lot better in the coming days.

Dedicated Client Portals

Clients are the main driving force of any business which means that customer satisfaction plays a major role in determining your business’ success. In order to attract modern customers, you need to engage them by using smart business technologies.

DMS tools could play a crucial role here as you can use these tools to share the project documentation through client portals. It is very easy to set client portals by using the company intranet. This will allow the customers to be active in the business process of their favorite brands.

They can ask questions, provide feedback and express their opinion about various projects, products or services.With all these benefits, having dedicated client portals will be a must for the future document management systems.

Smarter Collaboration

Most business can benefit from a smarter, more effective collaboration process. While email has been the preferred collaboration tool for traditional businesses, it is not a very reliable method. It contains higher risk of file name, format or structure conflicts.

But the smarter collaboration features offered by modern DMS tools can bring radical changes in these situations. These tools allow all of your team members to work and share the file simultaneously. As the file will be auto synced with the latest changes, there is no chance of any conflict. And the future DMS tools are expected to make the collaboration process better, faster and more effective.

More Affordable

The future document management systems are expected to deliver all kinds of features to manage your business documents in a smart and efficient way. As a result, you will never have to purchase other software and/or tools for this purpose. As these solutions become more popular, they will become a lot more affordable for small to medium-sized businesses.

The advancement in cloud computing and other relevant technologies will allow the DMS solution providers to offer more attractive prices for their products.

Bottom Line

While going through this list of the future prospects for document management for businesses, one thing is absolutely clear that DMS tools are the future for modern businesses. With proper utilization, they have the potential to make any business successful.

So, are you ready to embrace the future DMS tools for your business? Let me know in the comments.

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You just boarded the flight, stowed your carry-on luggage, and were settling in for the 3-hour flight back home. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard”, said the pilot over the speakers. “We’re glad you chose our airline and we invite you to sit back and relax and enjoy the flight. We’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that this is a brand new plane and this is the first time she’ll be up with passengers on board. The bad news is that the plane is not quite finished yet. As a matter of fact, if you look to the right of the aircraft you’ll see there are a couple of mechanics putting some finishing touches on the wings. Don’t worry though, we have enough wing surface area to get started and they’ll finish up what they need to do while we’re in flight.”

“What?!!??!!” you think to yourself. “This is LUDICROUS!! There is no possible way I’m going to be on a plane that is taking off without everything done yet!!” You promptly push the cabin assistance button and ask to be transferred to a seasoned aircraft.

Joining a company in its infancy

Did you know that you may have already been on a plane that is taking off without everything finished yet? This is what happens. You may have joined a company in its infancy. There may be only a handful of employees when you started with the company. Or, you may have joined a bit later when the beginning of departments were formed.

The company is sitting on the runway and poised to take off. There is tons of business coming in. Commitments have been made by salespeople of what the company can deliver. Customers are lining up and placing their orders left and right. In aviation terminology, the company has passed V1. Once the pilot passes V1 speed they must commit to the take-off even in the case of engine failure. Dramatic measures can be taken up to the point of V1 to stop the plane, but once it reaches V1 the take-off can no longer be aborted.

The company you have joined just passed V1. Everything may not be 100% perfect, but this bird is taking off. There’s still a lot of work to be done, but enough work has been done up to this point that the company is airworthy.

One notable area that is left to be finished is the project management planning processes and procedures necessary to complete projects on time and within budget. This is of particular concern to you because you’ve joined the company as their first project manager! You have been assigned to the ‘wing’ of this aircraft to implement their in-flight planning software processes.

Congratulations?! It will be a fun and exciting ride if nothing else. But, how do you implement in-flight planning software in a company? The following outlines some of the challenges, a plan for getting it done, and some indicators to look for so that you know it’s complete.

The Challenges of Implementing In-Progress Software

There are a number of challenges to working on projects while you are building out the process at the same time. For example:

• It Takes Time to Get it Right: Every company is unique in how they get things done. Sure, there’s an overarching process across most companies that begins with the start of a project and then culminates in closure activities. But, there are a lot of steps in between that will be custom or unique to your new company. The last thing you want to do (unless everyone is directly reporting to you) is say “this is how things are going to be done around here from now on” without truly understanding what needs to be done. It takes time to arrive at that understanding. Putting the in-flight planning software together requires meetings, planning sessions, and time to vet out what works and what doesn’t.
• It Takes People to Get it Right:  Another aspect of implementing your in-flight planning software while you are working on projects at the same time is that it takes people to get it right. You can run the risk of spending the time all by yourself and forego the meetings and planning sessions, but your results will be less than airworthy and have trouble getting off the ground. You’ll have to include key resources and subject matter experts from various departments in order to make sure the in-flight planning software is accurate.
• It Takes a Shift in Culture to Get it Right: The pilots will already be in the cockpit when you joined the company. These could be the founders or the entrepreneurs that built the plane, got it on the runway, and have been pushing the throttle forward. They know it’s not perfect, but they want to get this thing off the ground regardless of how bumpy the ride. The passengers (aka employees) are interested in a bit of a smoother trip. You have to be mindful to mesh these two different cultures while you are working on the in-flight planning software implementation.

Understanding the challenges of working on the process while in flight is one thing. Understanding how to get it done is an entirely different matter. Below are the steps you can take to implement in-progress software.

 How to Implement In-Progress Software

The following is a tried and proven way of working on projects while building out the process at the same time.

• Identify the Largest Pain Point:  What is the one main area that everybody complains about the most? It could range from them never knowing that projects have been approved until the last minute to project estimates being exponentially and profoundly wrong. Zero in on this one area and commit to solving this problem first.
• Start with the Easiest Success in the Largest Pain Point: Once you have identified what is giving everyone the most grief, meet with everyone and determine what can be done to make it better. You will be amazed at how simple the answer is going to be. For example, it might be just as simple as having a representative from the development team sit in on the weekly sales meeting. This will give them a heads-up into what is coming their way. Or, a basic spreadsheet could be implemented to ensure that all tasks and activities on a project have been accounted for. This could greatly increase the accuracy of the estimates.
• Expand to the Next Area of Success: Once you have achieved success in this first area, you could then ask everyone if it’s better to identify the next largest pain point and fix something there, or is it better to stay in this one area until everything is fixed. It’s the concept of do you want to go a mile wide or an inch deep.
• Don’t Interfere with the Cockpit Until You Have Landed: Finally, while you are going through these steps you don’t want to interfere with the cockpit until these things have been fully implemented. There’s no reason to poke a stick in their eye and say the way they were doing things was stupid or didn’t make sense. They know that or they wouldn’t have brought you on board. Just fix the problem, obtain objective results, and then let them know how smoothly things are going.

How do you know when you’re successful? When the pilots ask you to join them in the cockpit because they need your services and the flight is smooth! These are great signs that you’ve been able to get your job done and include everyone in the process. So, sit back, enjoy the ride. You’ll be landing shortly.

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Becoming an Effective Manager
By Howard Shore
Many successful people get promoted into management and quickly find the pressure to be higher than anything they felt in the past. As an individual contributor, it is much easier to control the outcomes of your work. It may not seem like that at times, but you have a lot […]

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Being a project manager on your first project is a major challenge. In the following article, we will give you 10 tips to successfully manage your first project.

1) Write a General Overview

To start, you need to create an overview that will guide you throughout the project. Define the purpose of the project. Be clear and include only the most important and realistic plans that you will execute.  The overview can serve as a guide if you face problems.

2) Define Your Goals and Expectations

Define the goal of your project and make sure everybody understands it. After you have set your goal, come up with expectations to successfully complete the goal.

Inform your team about your goals and expectations for the project. For each member, consider putting on paper general guidelines and strategies to follow. This could include their tasks and the expectations for completing them.

3) Ensure Good Communication

For your team to work as a unit, it is fundamental that there is good communication between everyone: yourself, the team, and between team members. Good communication between team members prevents potential problems during the project.

4) Get to Know Your Team

The members of your team are the force which drives the whole project forward. You will want them to effectively and efficiently complete their tasks. Therefore, take some time to get to know the members of your team. This allows you to know their strengths and weaknesses so that you can properly delegate tasks.

5) Be Supportive

So that the project can run smoothly, ensure good collaboration between team members throughout the project. You should not merely act as a project planner and controller, but also a mentor. Establish your authority as the project leader, but ensure that it is based on positive aspects of leadership – to provide help and advice for your team members.

6) Assess Risks

Every project has its unique set of risks which could arise at some point. Assessing potential risks in a timely fashion is essential for the success of your project. Take time to investigate the weak points of your project and warn your team members about them. A good way to manage risks it to use a risk breakdown structure.

7) Motivate the Team

Everybody needs proper motivation in order to successfully carry out a job. Don’t mention tasks and deadlines too often as this can impact work performance. Instead, motivate team members by praising their work (if deserved) and provide helpful advice when someone is having problems.

8) Be Flexible

Sometimes the plan you’ve outlined simply does not carry out the way you would have liked. If this happens, maintain a positive attitude and work out a solution with your team members. If some parts of the initial plan do not work, you can adopt an alternative solution. A flexible and open attitude will help you effectively handle obstacles.

9) Always Have a Plan B

A back up plan in case the initial one does not work is necessary to successfully finish a project. A skilled manager does not allow himself to be taken by surprise and always plans ahead. Accept the possibility that the plan you adopted at the start of the project might not work. So, make sure you have the right solution in case there is a need for it.

10) Closing the Project

Assuming you have clearly set the goal of your project. The work on the project and the process involved are there to enable a successful completion. Confirm project delivery, testing and make necessary preparation for its release, all according to the agreement with the customer.

Conclusion

Preparing for a project is a long sometimes exhaustive process. We understand that the first project is very important for any aspiring project manager. Successfully completing your very first project will improve your chances for future work.

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The new catch word in the world of project managers is “agile”. But how exactly can agile project management be explained? It’s an attitude for managers who want to use approach with making quick alterations in an ever-changing environment. Agile Project management is all about a flexible process, embracing changes as they arise late in the development lifecycle, agile projects constantly change and evolve such as the practice itself.

The difference between the agile pm and the traditional management is mainly in the self-directed approach. The team members have the ability to bring decisions and work on their own as long as they are respect the agreed rule framework. They follow open communication techniques and tools which enable the employees to express their views and feedback openly and quickly. Using project viewer enables them to open the project from their cellphones, laptops and iPads and work from a “virtual office”.

Likewise, customer testing and user feedback are constantly implemented and they learn from the mistakes, implement feedback and evolve deliverables. This is used to avoid one final result.

The agile teams reduce complexity by implementing short-term deliveries by using a delivery cycle that ranges from one to four weeks generally known as “sprints”. Because of that the team can change direction at any time in the process to make sure that their product will meet changing needs.

Agile Project Management includes methods such as scrum, extreme programming (XP) and DSDM.

Scrum is known for its simplicity and flexibility as well as addressing to the many management issues that have plagued the IT development teams for decades. It represents a way of managing tasks within a team-based development setting. Scrum highlights feedback, team independence, and building tested product increments within short repetitions. Scrum has five meetings: Daily Scrum, Sprint Planning, the Sprint Review Meeting and Sprint Retrospective Meeting.

1. The product owner represents important stakeholders and customers, and is in charge of arranging the project and business aspects of the project.
2. The scrum master attends as the team’s instructor or coach, by helping the members work together. This person solves problems, supervises communication so that team members and stakeholders can communicate the progress that has been made.
3. The team is the group of professionals that collaboratively decide which person should work on which task, the technical practices that are necessary to achieved goals etc.

XP (Extreme Programming) is a more far-reaching agile practice, concentrating on the software engineering procedure and emphasizing the analysis, development and test phases with fresh methods that make a considerable modification to the quality of the end product.

DSDM (Dynamic systems development method) is one of the agile methods, that emphases that a project must have distinct strategic goals and focus on timely delivery of real benefits to the business.

In an agile model, throughout the development lifecycle, it is usual to reexamine each part of development once every two weeks. When a team stops and re-evaluates the project track once every two weeks that gives time to navigate the project in another direction.

The outcome of this “check out-and-fit” method to review development significantly reduces development budgets as well as time to market. Instead of marketing a part of software that hasn’t even been written yet, agile allows teams to constantly reevaluate their announcement to enhance its value during development stages, empowering them to increase competitive advantage.

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We spoke to project managers who lead large teams accomplishing a diverse range of projects ranging from software, to finance to utilities, to understand how they manage meetings.

Here’s how they do it.

1. Establish ground rules

At the outset of your project, establish a set of meeting rules and expectations – don’t assume everyone is on the same page.

“It’s pretty important to set these up in advance” says Max Durazo, Director Construction & Engineering at AT&T Wireless. “I routinely lead meetings with 20 or more people. If attendees aren’t clear on the basics, meetings are far less productive.”

Depending on your leadership style and type of meeting, you should cover off:

• The use of phones/laptops and multi-tasking in meetings (is it OK?)
• Showing up or dialing in on time, and the implications for not doing so
• Adopting a silence denotes agreement policy
• Respect for everyone’s privacy and confidentiality
• Level and type of preparation participants are expected to do
• Expectations around participation and distractions during the meeting
• Separating the person from the issue

Adopting a common set of rules ensures that everyone on your team understands how work gets done in project meetings and sets your tone as a leader.

2. Understand the purpose of your meeting

Complex, lengthy projects are composed of a myriad of meeting types: Weekly Status Updates, Proposed Scope Changes, Risk Assessments, Budget Status, Staffing Review and more.

Each has its own purpose and expected outcome. Make sure, as the meeting leader, that you can articulate why you’re having the meeting and what you expect to achieve. As you build out your meeting agenda, you should be able to mentally align each topic, discussion and task with your stated purpose.

“Everyone you invite to your meeting should align to its purpose. If they don’t, they shouldn’t be there – return that hour to the company.” says Amit Raman, Program Manager at Paypal.

For ad-hoc or one off meetings, explicitly stating the purpose and expected outcome at the beginning gets everyone on the same page and aligned in their thinking. For recurring meetings, it’s useful to revisit the meeting’s purpose every other meeting to ensure everyone remembers why this meeting occurs.

3. Create a cadence around communication

For recurring project meetings, get participants used to a pattern of communication around them.

If your team meets weekly, send out an agenda for comments/updates at least a couple of days in advance. Use a collaboration tool like Google Docs or Trackmeet to permit shared Agenda editing and commenting.

Address issues that may be contentious or require additional explanation in advance of group discussion at your meeting. Use in-person or telephone conversations vs. email for these situations to fully explain the issue and gather input.

“People only like surprises on Christmas and birthdays. Over-communication with your stakeholders is never a bad thing” Amit adds.

Follow up after a meeting should be done within hours in order to maintain project and meeting momentum. Distribute notes, decisions, action items and if the technology permits, an audio or video recording of your meeting.

4. Set expectations around follow-up

In his project meetings, Amit uses a “contract” to set expectations around post meeting follow-up.

“I’ll ensure no one walks out of our meeting room until we write down who’s doing what, when. To do otherwise means we’ll meet again to talk about the same things. Nobody wants that” he says.

By explicitly capturing these tasks, you’re making it clear to your project team that you will be tracking them and indicates that you deem them important. What gets measured gets done.

5. Know when to listen and when to speak

In a group setting, you have an invaluable collection of wisdom and perspective from which to draw. Resist the urge to always be talking. Let a discussion wander if it needs to.

“Leaders who talk too much in meetings are doing their teams a disservice. Your team has first-hand knowledge of what’s happening on the ground, in the trenches – put away your ego and listen” councils Ron Olson, a project manager with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E).

A leader’s job here is to frame the discussion and articulate a vision to let the collective wisdom of her team come to the best conclusion. A fine line exists between being overbearing and guiding – observe this tendency and watch your team outperform!

Also, set the expectation that “silence denotes agreement”, so that when you do make a decision or state an assumption, the group assumes it to be true if no one offers additional input. This puts the burden of debate on your team and doesn’t have you searching for feedback.

The post How Project Managers at AT&T Wireless, Paypal and PG&E Run Productive Meetings appeared first on Project-Management.com.

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Be Careful Which Projects You Agree to Manage
By James Young
I am bewildered when I encounter organizations wherein projects are created or bids won and then assigned to a Project Manager who has no prior knowledge of the project. Why would a Project Manager accept the responsibility for a project that he/she did not participate in […]

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Mindful Project Management
By Diana Eskander
What is mindfulness?
Well, one thing we know for sure is that it’s a pretty hot topic these days.
A simple definition of mindfulness is being present and aware of what’s happening internally and externally in our surrounding environments, right now, in this very moment.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “the practice of […]

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The Importance of a Project Management Office (PMO) and Who Needs One
By Diana Eskander
Project management office (PMO) is a buzzword that’s been gaining a lot of popularity and attention. It’s a word that many organizations are gravitating towards and with good reason. However, the question of who needs a PMO and when it is most […]

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5 Reasons Why Agile Project Management Is Important
By Frank Mud
With organizations aiming to build work environments that promote flexibility and client satisfaction, there’s a host of brand new management techniques which are being applied to various projects across different industries. One strong trend in management is agile project management, which is based on values such […]

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