Project Schedule Resource

What is planning? According to BusinessDictionary, planning is a basic management function involving formulation of one or more detailed plans to achieve optimum balance of needs or demands with the available resources (n.d.). The planning process (1) identifies the goals or objectives to be achieved (2) formulates strategies to achieve them, (3) arranges or creates the means required, and (4) implements, directs and monitors all steps in their proper sequence (businessdictionary.com).

In this week’s assignment, we were to conduct a web search and find two resources that are useful in creating our project schedule and estimating the duration of each task or project activity. In my search, I found two that I would like to share in this post:

The first resource I found helpful is https://www.tomsplanner.com

Tom’s Planner is an online Gantt chart software that allows anyone to create, collaborate and share Gantt charts online with drag and drop simplicity (tomsplanner.com). It is a web-based tool and seem very easy to use and it allows more than one person to edit, download the file and update everyone in your team on the progress of your assigned task. But first, you may be wondering, what is a Gantt chart? and why would you need one in creating a project schedule? To answer your question, a Gantt chart is a visual view of tasks scheduled over time (projectmanager.com). Using this chart makes it easy to keep track on what is going on with the project and if you are staying on task, within your budget and within your scheduled timeline. Below is a visual from ProjectManager of what a Gantt chart looks like when used by your project management team

Tom'sPlanner, a web-based software, is available for free, but you can also choose to subscribe and pay on an annual basis if you want to use it for more than one project and to access more features of the software. I find this tool is going to be very useful in planning any project I have at work, especially when working with a group of people with scheduled tasks to complete.

The second resource I found is a blog written by Ashley Coolman on May 9, 2017. https://www.wrike.com/blog/project-manager-calendar/

The author of the blog lists three different ways you can create your project schedule. She also provided a comparison on what the pros and cons are for each of the project schedule planning tools namely Excel, Google Calendar and Gantt charts. This blog explains each of the three tools, identifies what they are useful for and what makes one tool better than the other. I think this is helpful for project managers in deciding what tool they want to use to make their project schedule. Before I discovered the use of Gantt charts through this blog, I’ve been using Excel spreadsheets and Google Calendars and never even thought of any other software because I was comfortable with what I knew and what I was used to. I will definitely give Gantt charts a try because I like the idea that I can collaborate with my team using one online spreadsheet. I hope that you will find this blog useful as well and can help you decide which project schedule tool suits you best.

References:

Business Dictionary (n.d.). Definition: Planning. Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/planning.html

Tom’sPlanner (n.d.). Tom’s Planner: Online Gantt Chart-Project planning software. Retrieved from https://www.tomsplanner.com

ProjectManager (n.d.). The Ultimate guide to Gantt charts. Retrieved from https://www.projectmanager.com/gantt-chart

Coolman, A. (2017). 3 Ways to Create your Project manager calendar. Retrieved from https://www.wrike.com/blog/project-manager-calendar/

Communicating with Stakeholders

Communication occurs when signals carry information-bearing messages between a source (sender) and a destination (or receiver) (Krauss, 2002). Communication is part of our daily interactions with people that we work with, our friends and our family. The purpose of communication is to get your message across to others clearly and unambiguously (mindtools.com). A message can be communicated in many ways and in this week’s assignment, we were given the task to interpret the same message delivered in three different ways: via email, voicemail and face-to-face.

My interpretation of the same exact message for each mode of communication is shown in this table:

Message sent via email	Message sent via voicemail	Message discussed face-to-face
Receiver would be upset to read the sender’s harsh message	sender's tone was considerate and understanding of receiver's schedule	My interpretation did not change from voicemail to face-to-face but it was better to see the sender's sincerity and understanding in person
Sender ‘s tone sounded irritated that there was no update on the missing report	sender nicely explains why she is asking about the missing reports	As the receiver, I would feel the need to apologize for not providing the status update on the missing report
Sender was inconsiderate of receiver’s busy schedule and only cared about how the missing report affects her	Receiver will feel the need to follow up on the task right away	As the receiver, I will follow up on this request right away

My interpretation of the same message was completely different from reading the email than from hearing a voicemail and having a face-to-face interaction. It just shows how much the tone of voice and body language can soften a “rough” message. Misunderstandings occur, not because of the message delivered, but because of how it is delivered. One thing I am reminded of in this week’s activity; always consider how you communicate with your stakeholders because you don’t want any confusion, wasted effort and missed opportunities (mindtools.com).

Here is a link to an article that summarizes what you need to know in choosing your method of communication with stakeholders in project management.

https://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/communication-in-2015-text-voice-video-or-in-person.html

I highlighted a few of what the article mentioned in this list:

·      Although text (or email) forces you to be concise, it carries no tone, so any tone of voice or body language is instantly lost

·      Text can be misinterpreted; it can be impersonal, and some messages require compassion and sympathy in their delivery

·      Voice calls are more personal; it carries tone much better than text messages or emails. It allows humor and sympathy without having to pay attention to your body language

·      In-person meetings allows everyone’s tone of voice, body language, facial expressions and personal charisma to work with during the conversation, helping everyone better understand each other’s perspectives.

No matter what your preference is in communicating with your team, your clients and other stakeholders in your project, understand that when you successfully communicate your message, you convey your thoughts and ideas effectively. But when you don’t, the thoughts and ideas you are trying to impart do not necessarily reflect your true meaning, causing a communication breakdown and creating roadblocks that stand in the way of your goals- both personally and professionally (mindtools.com).

References:

Krauss, R.M. (2002). The psychology of verbal communication. Retrieved from http://www.columbia.edu/~rmk7/HC/HC_Readings/IESBS.pdf

Mindtools Content Team (n.d.). Understanding communication skills. Retrieved from https://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm

DeMers, J. (2015). Communication in 2015: Text, Voice, Video or In-Person? Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/jayson-demers/communication-in-2015-text-voice-video-or-in-person.html