Visualizing Table Joins

I used to teach a data modeling class in our undergraduate Computer Information Systems program.  In this class we developed data models for relational databases and prepared SQL code to interact with our databases.  One of the topics we covered in this class was the different ways to join tables in a SQL query.  The join command is a valuable command and can produce vastly different results if the join is not properly applied.  As a result, it is important to have good understanding of the outcome for each type of join.

Earlier this week one of my former students sent me a link to a great webpage that uses Venn diagrams to illustrate the different forms of table joins.  While textbooks sometimes include some diagrams to make this illustration the books are often incomplete.

Here is a link to the website.  This site not only includes the Venn diagrams but also associates the diagram with the corresponding SQL needed to apply the join and realize the visualized result.

Elements of a Successful Project

I started reading a new project management book by Rechenthin titled Project Intelligence.  In the first chapter of the book the author established several concepts of projects and project management.  One of these concepts is what the the author refers to as The Elements of a Successful Project.  These ten elements may not be a complete listing of important project characteristics but all ten appear to have an influence on the outcome of a project.  I thought this was a valuable list so I thought I would share them with you.

Here is my paraphrased summary of the ten elements a project should have in order to expect a successful outcome:

1. Defined Objectives: The team must be able to understand and clearly communicate the project scope to all stakeholders
2. Work Breakdowns Structure (WBS): A project's scope is broken down into the individual work packages needed to produce the deliverables and each work package has assigned responsibilities
3. Defined Risks: Risks associated with each work package of the WBS is identified and understood
4. Project Plan: Project planning takes place and is scaled to fit the size and complexity of the project
5. Committed and Co-located Team: The team is located together and are committed to the project success or the team may be distributed but communication channels exist that sufficiently support effective collaboration
6. Team Building: An intentional team building process is applied to create a motivated and effective team
7. Communications:  Communications are developed, organized, and planned across all stakeholders
8. Representation: Recipients of the project deliverables have input on the project objectives
9. Applying Past Experience: The team learns from past project experiences and applies these learnings
10. Training: Targeted training opportunities are employed to build the team's experience and knowledge

Reference

Rechenthin, D. (2013). Project intelligence. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.

Expanding the Reach of Analytics - HR Analytics

There is no doubt that analytics is expanding its reach in the organization.  With hot topics of business intelligence and big data along with the growing demand for data scientists there is certainly a lot going on in this field.

Last week during our school meeting representatives from the college's careers services group shared with us the different ways they can help our students prepare for the job market.  During this conversation one of our faculty asked about hiring trends they noticed.  The career services staff mentioned a growing need for students with knowledge and skills in both human resources and computer information systems.  Due to the heavy reliance on information systems to manage and develop human resources this combined knowledge does make sense.  However, this combination will become even more important in the near future.

After the meeting I did a little research and found many application of information systems in the field of human resources.  In addition to simply applying information systems to HR business there is also a growing trend to apply data analytics to HR.  This trend can be seen by Overby's recent article in CIO Magazine on talent analytics and Waber's book on people analytics.

Considering that human resources are commonly one of the most expensive and valuable resource in the organization, it makes perfect sense to apply data analytics to predict future behaviors and to maximize the value employees can bring to the organization.

Keys to KM Success - Strategy & Integration

In a recent article, Rao (2013) listed and described 15 tips to increase the success of knowledge management initiatives.  After reading these suggestions it is clear that knowledge management efforts cannot exist as a stand alone initiative and require both strategy and integration.

As organizations apply knowledge management (KM) practices there must be a considerable amount of strategy involved in selecting the knowledge that will be collected and disseminated.  The KM practices should target knowledge that is valued by the organization.  In addition to focusing the practices on high-value knowledge, organizations should also integrate KM practices into existing work patterns.  Knowledge associated with key processes and activities should be targeted and the knowledge must be made available to employees as they need it in a form that is easiest to find and apply.

The author also provided recommendations about growing the organization's KM practices.  Organizations should not feel the need to term these initiatives as knowledge management if the term is not meaningful to the employees or welcomed (bad experiences in previous efforts).  Rather, organizations should use application-specific names to provide more meaning and acceptance.  Additionally, and I really like this one, communicating successful KM practices in the organization should not just focus on the more innovative applications but should also showcase more basic practices in order to show how departments can begin to develop KM practices.

All of these recommendations require the organization to develop strategies to identify key knowledge areas, design methods to best optimize the organization's intellectual capital, integrate the knowledge capture and dissemination processes into existing workflows, and communicate successful KM efforts.  A strategic KM plan is needed and the KM processes must be integrated.

Reference

Rao, M. (2013, July/August). 15 tips ensure KM's success. KMWorld, 22(7), 1, 20.

Planning for Project Communications

In my most recent to posts I introduced the importance of communications in global projects and the impact effective communication has on project success.  Today, I'm going to push this point even further by relating this important project management skill to our standard for project management processes; the Project Management Institute's (PMI) Project Management Body of Knowledge.

This year PMI released the fifth edition to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).  This latest edition includes a new knowledge area referred to as Project Stakeholder Management.  This new knowledge area supplements the existing knowledge area of Project Communications Management.  In this new edition, two of ten knowledge areas (20%) are closely related to stakeholder communications.  Clearly, project communications is increasingly important to PMI and the project management profession.

According to the PMBOK, as we plan our projects, we integrate the Project Stakeholder Management knowledge area with the Project Communications Management area.  By including both of these knowledge areas we are able to identify and study our project stakeholders, determine the stakeholders' interests and needs in the project, identify the stakeholder communication needs and preferences, prepare and deliver project communications to the stakeholders, and ensure the stakeholders are engaged and satisfied with the project processes and deliverables.

One of the central roles of a project manager is to facilitate communications across all project stakeholders.  As demonstrated in the most recent PMI Pulse of the Profession research, project communications is a key success factor.  Therefore, we must establish and execute a plan to ensure our project stakeholders are engaged and our communications with these groups are clear, consistent, and meaningful to support stakeholder engagement.  This communications plan is so much tied to the project success that we have to consider the communications planning as the same level of importance as our work breakdown structures and task scheduling.

Communications and Project Management

Yesterday I posted a summary of a Project Management Institute (PMI) blog post describing important considerations for managers of global projects.  These considerations addressed global project scope, schedule, and budget issues.  However, these considerations did not include a critically important factor; communications.

Project management is more than guiding the project and managing the project variables (scope, budget, and schedule).  In fact, PMI (as cited by Frehsee,2013) reported that 50% of projects unable to meet business goals fail as a result of ineffective communications.  Communications is so important that organizations with effective communications are able to deliver 80% or more successful projects (on time, within budget, and achieving business goals).

Fortunately, many project managers consider themselves communicators.  An informal PMI (2013) poll of self-identified project management styles revealed that 35% of the management styles identified were "communicative".  This was by far the most commonly reported management style.  So this means that project managers proclaim they are capable of communications.  Unfortunately, as Frehsee indicated, this self-proclaimed attribute is not always exhibited.

In future posts I will look at some of the ways project managers can be more effective communicators.

References
Frehsee, N. (2103). Loud and clear. PM Network, 27(7), 16-17.
Project Management Institute (2013).  Word play. PM Network, 27(8), 7.

Basic Tips for Global Project Managers

A few weeks ago Kevin Korterud submitted a post to the Project Management Institute's Voices on Project Management blog.  In this post he outlined a few basic challenges for global project managers.  These challenges included location-specific project requirements, additional communications and transportation costs, and scheduling issues such as location-specific holidays, government regulatory lags, and weather delays.

Korterud's tips for global requirements, costs, and scheduling are rather basic but perfectly aligned to our project variables (scope, budget, and schedule).  Project managers leading a global project must still adhere to proven methodologies and processes but these processes must be amended to consider the effects the individual locations have on the project's budget, schedule, and scope.