Since the summer of 2008 our economy is in a dynamic change due to a well known financial crisis, and as any crisis there are victims and the old model of consulting services is one of them.
A new model of consulting services is emerging since last quarter (Q4 2009), leaving behind the previous methods and looking for a survival in the new economic reality. Thereby, new tools and roles have more weight in the success of any technology project and that's exactly what I want to share with you here.
Changes in technology require new Project Management capabilities, for this reason we have to focus on two key roles that need to be considered in any project plan for 2010 and beyond. One of them is the Business Process Expert (BPX), and the second is the Project Lead / Manager.
Based on Stanford University articles these new project leaders need to have some characteristics that allow them to provide innovation via differentiation.
In this post, I want to share with you two new tools that I'm currently using and that I think will help you to make this differentiation, and if used well will help you to achieve successful projects:
The first one is provided by SAP, currently in Beta phase with codename 12Sprints. This excellent tool will allow you to work with your team in a very collaborative scenario that provides to all the team members real-time information and an effective decision-making environment. In other words you have at your hand the power of a real Virtual War Room.
You can find further information in the following blogs:
Beta: (codename) 12sprints - what is it, and how can you register?
http://timoelliott.com/blog/2010/02/some-examples-of-how-to-use-12sprintscom-the-new-sap-businessobj...
The Second Tool, bring you into the Agile environment, using SCRUM as the default methodology for project management together with Lean Management. Here we're talking about a free on-line tool that allows you to work with focus, speed and execution control.
The Pivotaltracker tool (from Pivotal Labs) will help you to base your project management software on proven agile methods.
So, give both of these tools a try and use them in your projects. For sure both of them will help you to drive your projects successfully in a new consulting model.
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Note: screenshots taken from: http://timoelliot.com/ and http://www.pivotaltracker.com/
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