What's on your IT wishlist for 2010?
Have you considered what you would like your IT systems to deliver in 2010:
· Would it help to decrease the time spent preparing month-end financials?
· Would it be useful to have an overview of all your
current projects & resources?
· Do you need hardware with new functionality?
· Do you want to plan your IT strategy for the year?
Contact Wishlist today to find out how we can assist you in improving your business processes in the year ahead.
Merger with Simplicité
from the desk of Neville Levinthal
In December Wishlist merged with Simplicité, blending two great skill sets in one company, in
order to create a better service offering for our customers.
Simplicité has more than 15 years of software development experience to bring to the table.
This experience includes skills in web services, .NET applications and SharePoint development. Their process engineering, financial and ERP consulting experience adds to a knowledge base
that Wishlist has developed over the last 5 years.
Wishlist fulfils the role of enabler between business and technology. With this recent merger Wishlist has an improved service offering and we step into 2010 confident that it will be an even better year than the last.
The 5 Golden Rules of Project Management
from Method 123
Rule 1: Time Management is Critical
To deliver your project on time, you need to manage time carefully.
To do this, make sure every task is listed in a Project Plan and that they are scheduled to occur precisely
when they need to.
Every week, update your plan with the time spent completing tasks and identify whether each task is ahead
or behind schedule. Track the % complete of each task and if it's behind schedule, then get it back on track
by assigning more resource or reducing the scope of the task. Don't let tasks slip. Be vigilant.
Rule 2: Track Costs and Manage Finances
Every element of your project incurs a cost. You need to identify all of the planned costs upfront and get them approved by your manager.
Then record every expense as it occurs - including people, equipment and materials. Check that your actual expenditure does not exceed your planned expenditure. And if it does, then you need to cut back. If you're running over budget, tell your Project Sponsor early.
Rule 3: Ensure Quality Targets are Set
You need to specify upfront exactly what it is that the project will deliver (i.e. the "deliverables"). Then set targets for the quality of these deliverables. Get your quality targets agreed by your customer.
Then every week, review the quality of each deliverable produced by the project. If it's not up to standard, fix it immediately. Never wait until the end of the project before fixing up quality issues.
Rule 4: Control Scope at the Micro Level
Your scope is defined as "the set of deliverables that need to be produced by the project". So make sure that you know what your scope is, try not to let anyone change it.
Check every week that your team is working on "just" the set of deliverables agreed, and nothing more. Check that every deliverable being produced exactly matches the specification you've defined for it. Note: An increase in the scope of your project will make it harder to deliver.
Rule 5: Resolve Issues Early
If issues arise during the project, then resolve them early. Pounce on every issue before it delays your project. Record it formally and then track it until it's resolved. Unresolved issues lead to delays which lead to project failure. Stay safe – resolve issues early.
The ROI for Microsoft Dynamics NAV
from Nucleus Research Inc
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is a business management application that enables mid-sized organizations to streamline operations, increase productivity, improve visibility, and reduce costs.
Deployed properly, Dynamics NAV can deliver a payback in fewer than 18 months.
Read more
Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2010
from Gartner Symposium/ITxpo October 2009
Gartner defines a strategic technology as one with the potential for significant impact on the enterprise
in the next three years. Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT
or the business, the need for a major dollar investment, or the risk of being late to adopt.
The top 10 strategic technologies for 2010 include:
Cloud Computing
Advanced Analytics
Client Computing
IT for Green
Reshape the Data Centre
Security
Flash Memory,
Virtualization for Availability,
Mobile Applications
Social Computing
Read more
Events & Webinars
Project Management Webinar
PSNext Webinar: Want a real Project and Portfolio Mgmt tool?
Microsoft In-person Events
8 Feb: Microsoft Exchange Bootcamp
16 Feb: Microsoft SharePoint Bootcamp
You Tube - An overview of Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Social Networking Safety
Know what you've posted about yourself.
A common way that hackers break into financial or other accounts is by clicking the "Forgot your password?" link
on the account login page. To break into your account, they search for the answers to your security questions,
such as your birthday, home town, high school class, father's middle name, on your social networking site.
If a social site allows, make up your own password questions, and don't draw them from material anyone could find
with a quick search.
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