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Issue 3 - June 2005
| ProjectNews - June Issue |
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| PROJECT NEWS: The Official eNewsletter of Project World & The World Congress for Business Analysts Welcome to IIR's third monthly issue of PROJECT NEWS. If you are receiving this newsletter, but have not yet subscribed to our complimentary newsletter, please click on the following link to subscribe: www.iirusa.com/optin If you have any colleagues or friends you think would be interested, please feel free to forward this email along! PROJECT NEWS PROJECT OF THE MONTH - Q & A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ June's Project of the Month: Microsoft's Windows 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q: What makes Microsoft's Windows 2000 such an important project? A: Windows 2000 was the largest software development project ever undertaken, at that time. If you would print out the code for Windows 2000, it would result in a stack of paper that would reach past the Statue of Liberty's chin! Q: How many people worked on the development of Windows 2000? A: The core group consisted of 2,500 people. The total number of people that contributed to the development is approximately 4,200 people. Q: Did the entire team meet? If so how often? A: The core group met on a daily basis, sometimes more frequently, in the "War Room". It was a way to keep everybody up to date and informed about the status of the project and to tackle important issues and challenges that arose. Every Friday the entire team came together in the company cafeteria, where the weekly report was delivered. Q: What challenges were faced during the project? A: There were many challenges the team had to overcome before getting the product onto the shelf. These challenges include: 1. CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT - Moshe T. Dunie led the core engineering team and had been building Windows for 12 years but he left on an unscheduled sabbatical in the middle of the project. Brian Valentine took over the role and successfully completed the project. 2. PSYCHOLOGICAL CHALLENGES - group project manager, Iain McDonald said in an interview with PressPass, "Sometimes , when you're in the middle of a project, you feel as though you'll never finish. Unfortunately, towards the end of the project we would slip a few days or a week behind schedule ... it sometimes feels like the project will never end" 3. TURNOVER CHALLENGES - the biggest challenge was making sure that the people who joined the project at the start stayed on until the end. Q: How was the project leader successful at overcoming challenges? A: Brian Valentine became the "lead motivator", he helped his team overcome challenges and stress through extensive use of organizational skills and by having a good sense of humor. He made a motto out of the phrase, "Decisions in 10 minutes or less, or the next one is free". The project manager set up short milestones for the staff. This would make the employees feel proud that they were meeting goals and kept them driven and able to see that there was an end in sight. Q: When was Windows 2000 released? A: Windows was released into stores in February of 2000. Q: What was the cost of the total project? A: Microsoft said it spent $1 billion developing Windows 2000 FUN FACTS - Brian Valentine dressed up in cheerleader outfits and jumped around in little short skirts and pom-poms on Fridays. He gave the weekly report in a leprechaun costume on St. Patrick's Day. - Workers exchanged about 90,000 Windows 2000 project-related email messages a day QUOTES Brian Valentine, the Sr. Vice President of the Windows Division, said ... "I was scared to death coming over to this job because I wasn't sure I was going to succeed" "There were literally thousands of great people working on this project, and they're the ones that got it done" Microsoft will be presenting at the co-located events ProjectWorld & The World Congress for Business Analysts. For more information about this conference, please read on to ProjectNews Featured Events ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT IS THE BEST / MOST SUCCESSFUL PROJECT? Send your nomination to aioannou@iirusa.com and look for the Top 5 Projects in a future edition of Project News! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ PROJECT NEWS RECOMMENDED READ OF THE MONTH ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Description of Neal Whitten's No-Nonsense Advice for Successful Projects, by Neal Whitten, PMP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Successful projects don't just happen—they are made to happen. This book goes beyond the basics of project management and reveals leading-edge best practices that make all the difference between leading consistently successful projects and playing the victim with troubled projects. There is no better way to learn a profession—a craft—than by having a mentor by your side. But most project managers and leaders don't have that advantage—and that's why Neal Whitten, with over 30 years of experience, wrote this book. Topics fall within the general categories of leadership, soft skills, and all phases of a project from initiation to closeout. With over 35 small chapters, sample topics include: duties of the effective project manager, project sponsor, and resource manager; dealing with difficult people; running your project like your own business; understanding the value of a mentor; behaviors to master when dealing with your leaders; avoiding being "too soft;" recognizing and dealing with professional immaturity; fostering interpersonal communications; dealing with criticism; the need to fail; avoiding making long-term project commitments; planning and using contingency buffers; managing to priorities; escalating as an effective business tool; promoting the advancement of project management beyond your projects; and much more. If you are interested in purchasing the book, Click Here
PROJECT NEWS FEATURED EVENTS
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