Project Management Scratchpad

Project Management Means Planning

Posted by Laura Bamberg, Global Sales

Do you ever drive through town and notice how many strip malls dot the area? On any given highway, within ten minutes you can probably calculate at least five, on average. So, I wonder: was proper planning involved when these spaces were conceived and built?

Vacancies in office spaces are just one more filtered effect of the current U.S. – and global – economy. Had the city governments that approve zoning been more thoughtful about planning, these excessive offices would not have been built to begin with. Add to that the residential development sites sitting empty and the ones that actually are inhabited – was smart planning involved? And how many towns and cities can say they have the infrastructure to support them all?

While owning your own business is a freedom we are privileged to have, planning should be an integral part of starting your own company. Did some of these business owners thoughtfully plan the locations of their businesses? If they had, could they have decided on a different location?

That brings me to project management, the purpose of which is to get a project completed as successfully as possible despite the project's inherent risks. This involves intense planning.

We’ve learned our lesson, I believe. From our business planning to that of our personal lives, you can be sure that we will take the extra time to ensure we aren’t being superfluous with our spending or our time.

Project managers have to be careful which tools they use as part of planning. We spend hours looking for shortcuts to make our jobs easier while trying to avoid compromising on the quality of our work.  Exploiting busy project managers by claiming – and failing - to reduce time constraints in their day is the norm for some, but not for Steelray Software.

We don’t tie up your work day with complicated software. If you can push a button you can download Steelray Project Viewer and the rest of our software products. And if you can wait about 60 seconds, you - not your IT department — can install your license key and be up and running.

Steelray Software offers the number-one selling Microsoft Project Viewer – just ask our competitors. And, yes, it is quite cost-effective on top of being brilliantly simple. So when you are faced with what seems like a daunting project, and debating which software to use, remember to visit www.steelray.com.

These days, you have to keep track of decisions and actions made by yourself and your staff. Provide everyone who needs it with easy-to-understand project management software.  And if you have questions about why our software is a better buy than any other, call to speak to one of our representatives. They are the best in the business and are waiting for you to call.

The Economy

(Posted by Laura Bamberg, Global Sales)

Everyone is worried about the economy. Everyone watches anxiously, on a daily basis, to see what the market does, what the news anchors say – living in an almost constant state of fear. They drive in to work every day and worry their job won’t be there. Others are too afraid to “jinx” it - I bet a lot of people don’t even really talk about it. Even if their companies are doing pretty well, that terror that tomorrow might be different haunts them.

This is why I’m grateful for my job. Steelray Software has employed strategic, planned growth since it invented the Microsoft Project viewer, which results in less fear and worry for its employees. That translates into stability and trust for our customers. Rather than expecting a dismal future in 2009 and beyond, we’re excited about what we have planned.

Yes, I feel myself, at times, being drawn into the tension around me. I too read newspapers and listen to the television that warns me of impending disaster. Friends and family are talking about it too. “How’s your job going?” really means, “Do you think you’ll get laid off?”

I tell them not to worry. I tell myself, when the fear hits, not to worry. And most of the time, I don’t.  I don’t employ a stubbornly optimistic outlook. I do employ a realistic optimistic outlook. Yes, times are hard and according to all the experts, they’re only going to get harder.

It’s the second day of the new year and already another economic slowdown is on everyone’s mind. While I don’t see that as a never-will-happen event, I do see it as merely possible. Tighten the belts, rely on my childhood of frugality but fun nevertheless, and use hope and faith that over time, everything will slowly get better. I believe it will.