Expert insights. Personalized for you.
What’s coming up next in your life personally or professionally? An anniversary party? A graduation? A wedding? A webinar? A large conference or product launch? MORE
Following on from our last blog – the World of Telecommuting – where we spoke on some of the ways to make your office at home enjoyable. However, with Covid19 forcing the majority of us to work from home (myself included), this blog is to show that by using MindGenius, working from home can be more flexible, more cost-effective and more collaborative than ever before. Remote Working. In reaction to Covid19, many of you reading this have now begun to work from home. MORE
Are you a longtime Waterfall business analyst or project team member an environment moving to an Agile methodology for managing projects and performing software development activities on those projects? Then this article may be a decent intro for you. Think of it as sort of a Waterfall ==> Agile 101 involving and discussing just a few of the key high-level differences between these two differing project delivery and software development methodologies. MORE
There are many strategies to think about when looking to start a project. The budget, the timescale and the resources, just to name a few. However, all of these options must require prior planning. It is in the planning of projects that MindGenius steps in and takes control. Who we are. MORE
Don't Leave Project Success to Chance. A project kick-off meeting should be given the same focus as the project as a whole. Think of it as setting the scene for the tone of the whole project. Anything less than full focus for this meeting will put the project at risk from the outset. Following some key steps will ensure you are fully prepared for the project kick off meeting. MORE
Managing any project, regardless of whether it’s your first or fortieth time, can be a very difficult and matriculate process if not done correctly. The main cause of failure can be down to a number of things, however all of these potential problems can be solved by one thing; organization. MORE
Monday morning project chaos. That’s what likely awaits you as a project manager. It is a way of life for us. Think starting the day wondering who has emailed issues to you since you last checked your messages. Think arriving at your desk with voice mails from two of your project customers already waiting for you. Headaches, right? Frustrations? Commonplace occurrences? Want to get a better start next week and every week? MORE
Conducting an Efficient Management Review for ISO 27001 and ISO 22301. For anyone who has ever managed to try and gather an overloaded management team or Board of Directors together to facilitate a management review meeting for any regulatory compliance standard realises what a nightmare challenge this is to co-ordinate. MORE
Describe your fourth year at University? Late night’s in the library, gathering seemingly endless amounts of data, and then making sure all 15,000 words or so are perfectly put together. All this, while trying to figure out your life after University. Just me? Didn’t think so. Having only graduated in the summer of 2019, I am coming from an area of recent, personal experience. The final year of university is, while challenging, one of the most fulfilling years of my life so far. MORE
10 Common Project Management Pitfalls. There is always a sense of optimism at the start of a project that surely everything will go smoothly this time. Of course, even the most novice project manager is less than surprised when things don’t always go quite according to plan. So what project pitfalls could we anticipate and what plans should we develop to address these pitfalls and improve the chances of preventing them from derailing things entirely. MORE
Marketing - It's Really Just Great Storytelling. When deciding on a career in marketing, what did you envision? Mad Men style advertising agencies and big creative campaigns perhaps? Is that the reality or are you like the many marketers just trying to find creative ways to tell your amazing product story and be heard above the noise? Content marketing plays a huge role in any marketer’s life and everyone will approach it differently, here is an outline of how I approach this area of marketing. MORE
Taking a line from one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite groups… BUSH… I’m thinking about how this line relates to many of our project management experiences. Often, as project managers, the projects we run can seem like we are walking through a series of fires with our teams, our customers and our stakeholders and reacting to many out of frustration looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. But does it really have to be that way? MORE
Think “Monday morning chaos.” Think starting the day wondering who has emailed issues to you since you last checked your messages. Think arriving at your desk with voice mails from two of your project customers already waiting for you. Headaches, right? Frustrations? Commonplace occurrences? And in the face of working from home challenges, this all rings especially true because you’ll have added distractions of the home, personal calls, kids, pets and other noises (wife?). MORE
Is your PM infrastructure doing all it needs to do to promote maximum project success in the organization and for your project customers? Are your project managers growing, expanding their careers, gaining needed training and certifications and mentoring colleagues the way a successful project management office (PMO) should be operating? The focus isn’t about today’s success or needs… It’s about tomorrows needs and growth. MORE
Cybersecurity is an interesting topic – no doubt about it. But it becomes a scary topic if your organization falls victim to a vicious cyber attack that leaves your company’s, your clients’, or your projects’ sensitive data affected or vulnerable. How you are prepared to react and respond may make the difference between no affect, a small affect, or one so costly and high profile it may bring down the company or cost millions to respond to and take corrective action against. MORE
Banishing the Blues. As February gets underway, many of us have already given up on our previously well-thought out, “achievable” goals for this year. In fact, research would suggest that 80% of us give up on our New Year’s resolutions by February. However, it’s not too late to get back on track and there are many ways to increase your motivation and productivity, both in the workplace and at home. MORE
I’ve been a part of many PMO’s – I’ve even helped with or led the building process for a couple of them. I’m opinionated, in general, so after seeing several PMOs fail badly and a couple actually thrive, I have my own ideas about what I consider to be the key ingredients to solid project management offices, or PMOs. MORE
It appears that COVID-19 isn’t going away anytime soon. Most of us have reached that point where we at least know someone who has contracted it or has even become severely affected or died from it. MORE
It’s fair to say that this year hasn’t been great for a large majority of us over the world. As many of us have begun adjusting to the new way of working, and getting used to a world with constant restrictions in place. MORE
In today’s world, Social Media is the most crucial, and cost-effective, marketing tool there is. Regardless of whether you’re a multinational organization or a local café, you should be using social media to advertise, communicate and interact with both existing and potential customers. This blog will provide hints and tips to help get the most out of your social media marketing and expand your customer base. Interact, Interact, Interact. MORE
There’s no question that the way we did things last year cannot be the status quo way we do things this year. Or maybe even next year. Who knows how long this will go on and what long lasting effects the COVID-19 pandemic will have on our behaviors and business practices for the long term. MORE
In light of the Dyslexia Show being held in Birmingham’s NEC on the 20 th March, this week’s blog shall be dedicated to those suffering from dyslexia, and showing how the use of mind maps can simplify and improve your organizational skills, whether you are dyslexic or not. As many of you reading this will know, Mind mapping can be a fantastic tool for those looking to plan and organize areas of your life. However, those who have dyslexia can particularly suffer with this. MORE
Mind mapping is something that you may have heard of and used before throughout your education and work-life In fact, when many of us think of brainstorming sessions, we tend to see a group of people huddled around a desk, throwing ideas back and forth while someone jots these down on a whiteboard – more often than not, in the style of a mind map. MORE
Starting university is one of the most enjoyable feelings in the world. Regardless of whether you’re going straight from high school, from college or any other route, the start of your journey through university is a very exciting time for all. MORE
I have used Mind Mapping techniques for the best part of 30 years. Without doubt it has helped me enormously throughout my career. I have also seen many colleagues blossom as they take the technique on board and yet seen first-hand , those who find it’s not for them. . MORE
The 10 Project Management Terms You Should Know. To achieve success within the field of project management, communication is essential, but this means ensuring everybody involved in the project is singing from the same hymn sheet. As with most other disciplines, project management has its own jargon, and this is often taught through project and programme management courses. MORE
I have long been a proponent of remote work, remote project management and the virtual project team concept. It has worked very successfully for me as a PM and consultant, and for many of the organizations I have worked for and consulted for. I know that working from home or wherever the office isn’t, is not necessarily for everyone. Remote project management, while often a sensible and cost-effective approach to managing many standard projects, is definitely not without its challenges. MORE
A few years back I conducted a survey of my readers – mainly project managers and PMO directors and CIOs, etc… and I asked them some questions about their organization’s project management infrastructure. One question – and the troubling responses to it – focused on whether or not the respondents felt that their project management office (PMO) was effective. 42% said yes, 58% said no. That is a solid majority. MORE
Do Start-Ups Need Project Management? Ashley Marron – 10 May 2019. Start-ups are definitely an exciting somewhat trailblazing type of organisation to be involved in or with. But they are definitely not for everyone and not those with a nervous disposition. It may just be me, but I like working with and running start-ups and get particularly invigorated being involved in the first steps of a product launch or a new business venture. MORE
In Part 1 of this two part series on Virtual Team Management Strategies, we covered the first two of my personal list of five key strategies. Since it is so common today – especially in the IT world – to have project team members dispersed all over the world and your customer may be thousands of miles away, these are critical strategies to consider. In this Part 2, let’s discuss my next three strategies…. #3 3 – Manage the project deliverables, not project activities. MORE
While no one can guarantee success on any given project, following tried and true steps plus solid project experience can help you get as close to possible for guaranteed success. There are just too many risks, too many variables to guarantee success…differences from project to project and organization to organization. MORE
When your career reaches its finale and the days of full time golfing are imminent, will you be able to pass the slipper test? By this I mean, when you’re sitting in your arm chair, cup of coffee and a chocolate digestive in hand and wearing the slippers that the children bought you for Christmas many moons ago – will you be able to reflect and feel content that you have no regrets over an if, buts and maybe moment? MORE
MindGenius Online: Quick Start Guide. MindGenius Online has thousands of possible uses within an organization to help individuals and teams to plan more thoroughly, stay on track and get the right things done on time. Here’s a quick start guide for the key features. MORE
MindGenius
JANUARY 21, 2021
Mind mapping is something that you may have heard of and used before throughout your education and work-life In fact, when many of us think of brainstorming sessions, we tend to see a group of people huddled around a desk, throwing ideas back and forth while someone jots these down on a whiteboard – more often than not, in the style of a mind map.
MindGenius
JANUARY 21, 2021
I have used Mind Mapping techniques for the best part of 30 years. Without doubt it has helped me enormously throughout my career. I have also seen many colleagues blossom as they take the technique on board and yet seen first-hand , those who find it’s not for them. .
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MindGenius
DECEMBER 2, 2020
It’s fair to say that this year hasn’t been great for a large majority of us over the world. As many of us have begun adjusting to the new way of working, and getting used to a world with constant restrictions in place.
MindGenius
AUGUST 27, 2020
Starting university is one of the most enjoyable feelings in the world. Regardless of whether you’re going straight from high school, from college or any other route, the start of your journey through university is a very exciting time for all.
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Does your analytics solution work with your current tech stack and DevOps practices? If not, any update to the analytics could increase deployment complexity and become difficult to maintain. Learn the 5 elements of a DevOps-friendly embedded analytics solution.
MindGenius
NOVEMBER 23, 2020
Now that many of us are working at home for the foreseeable future, it is vital to remain productive & positive in a new working environment.
MindGenius
APRIL 27, 2020
In Part 1 of this two part series on Virtual Team Management Strategies, we covered the first two of my personal list of five key strategies. Since it is so common today – especially in the IT world – to have project team members dispersed all over the world and your customer may be thousands of miles away, these are critical strategies to consider. In this Part 2, let’s discuss my next three strategies…. #3 3 – Manage the project deliverables, not project activities.
MindGenius
MARCH 18, 2020
In light of the Dyslexia Show being held in Birmingham’s NEC on the 20 th March, this week’s blog shall be dedicated to those suffering from dyslexia, and showing how the use of mind maps can simplify and improve your organizational skills, whether you are dyslexic or not. As many of you reading this will know, Mind mapping can be a fantastic tool for those looking to plan and organize areas of your life. However, those who have dyslexia can particularly suffer with this.
MindGenius
JULY 21, 2020
It appears that COVID-19 isn’t going away anytime soon. Most of us have reached that point where we at least know someone who has contracted it or has even become severely affected or died from it.
MindGenius
APRIL 27, 2020
I have long been a proponent of remote work, remote project management and the virtual project team concept. It has worked very successfully for me as a PM and consultant, and for many of the organizations I have worked for and consulted for. I know that working from home or wherever the office isn’t, is not necessarily for everyone. Remote project management, while often a sensible and cost-effective approach to managing many standard projects, is definitely not without its challenges.
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Embedding dashboards and reports aren’t enough. Futureproof your application by offering instant, actionable insights that will give you and your customers a competitive advantage.
MindGenius
MARCH 11, 2020
In today’s world, Social Media is the most crucial, and cost-effective, marketing tool there is. Regardless of whether you’re a multinational organization or a local café, you should be using social media to advertise, communicate and interact with both existing and potential customers. This blog will provide hints and tips to help get the most out of your social media marketing and expand your customer base. Interact, Interact, Interact.
MindGenius
SEPTEMBER 4, 2020
Managing any project, regardless of whether it’s your first or fortieth time, can be a very difficult and matriculate process if not done correctly. The main cause of failure can be down to a number of things, however all of these potential problems can be solved by one thing; organization.
MindGenius
AUGUST 11, 2020
What’s coming up next in your life personally or professionally? An anniversary party? A graduation? A wedding? A webinar? A large conference or product launch?
MindGenius
JUNE 20, 2019
10 Common Project Management Pitfalls. There is always a sense of optimism at the start of a project that surely everything will go smoothly this time. Of course, even the most novice project manager is less than surprised when things don’t always go quite according to plan. So what project pitfalls could we anticipate and what plans should we develop to address these pitfalls and improve the chances of preventing them from derailing things entirely.
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No one designs bad dashboards and reports on purpose. So why do so many applications have terrible analytics experiences? Download this ebook for secrets to creating dashboards and reports your users will love.
MindGenius
JUNE 22, 2020
A few years back I conducted a survey of my readers – mainly project managers and PMO directors and CIOs, etc… and I asked them some questions about their organization’s project management infrastructure. One question – and the troubling responses to it – focused on whether or not the respondents felt that their project management office (PMO) was effective. 42% said yes, 58% said no. That is a solid majority.
MindGenius
JUNE 16, 2020
Cybersecurity is an interesting topic – no doubt about it. But it becomes a scary topic if your organization falls victim to a vicious cyber attack that leaves your company’s, your clients’, or your projects’ sensitive data affected or vulnerable. How you are prepared to react and respond may make the difference between no affect, a small affect, or one so costly and high profile it may bring down the company or cost millions to respond to and take corrective action against.
MindGenius
MAY 27, 2019
Don't Leave Project Success to Chance. A project kick-off meeting should be given the same focus as the project as a whole. Think of it as setting the scene for the tone of the whole project. Anything less than full focus for this meeting will put the project at risk from the outset. Following some key steps will ensure you are fully prepared for the project kick off meeting.
MindGenius
JULY 7, 2020
While no one can guarantee success on any given project, following tried and true steps plus solid project experience can help you get as close to possible for guaranteed success. There are just too many risks, too many variables to guarantee success…differences from project to project and organization to organization.
Advertisement
If you are looking to modernize your application to improve competitiveness, then one of the quickest wins you can have is to embed sophisticated analytics that will wow your existing and prospective customers.
MindGenius
FEBRUARY 5, 2020
Banishing the Blues. As February gets underway, many of us have already given up on our previously well-thought out, “achievable” goals for this year. In fact, research would suggest that 80% of us give up on our New Year’s resolutions by February. However, it’s not too late to get back on track and there are many ways to increase your motivation and productivity, both in the workplace and at home.
MindGenius
JANUARY 22, 2020
Describe your fourth year at University? Late night’s in the library, gathering seemingly endless amounts of data, and then making sure all 15,000 words or so are perfectly put together. All this, while trying to figure out your life after University. Just me? Didn’t think so. Having only graduated in the summer of 2019, I am coming from an area of recent, personal experience. The final year of university is, while challenging, one of the most fulfilling years of my life so far.
MindGenius
MARCH 27, 2019
MindGenius Online: Quick Start Guide. MindGenius Online has thousands of possible uses within an organization to help individuals and teams to plan more thoroughly, stay on track and get the right things done on time. Here’s a quick start guide for the key features.
MindGenius
JUNE 23, 2020
Are you a longtime Waterfall business analyst or project team member an environment moving to an Agile methodology for managing projects and performing software development activities on those projects? Then this article may be a decent intro for you. Think of it as sort of a Waterfall ==> Agile 101 involving and discussing just a few of the key high-level differences between these two differing project delivery and software development methodologies.
Advertisement
Selecting the right solution for your embedded analytics is crucial to the success of your application. But with so many solutions and vendors, how do you make this critical selection? Learn about the different approaches to analytics and the pros and cons for each.
MindGenius
JULY 13, 2020
There’s no question that the way we did things last year cannot be the status quo way we do things this year. Or maybe even next year. Who knows how long this will go on and what long lasting effects the COVID-19 pandemic will have on our behaviors and business practices for the long term.
MindGenius
MARCH 27, 2020
Think “Monday morning chaos.” Think starting the day wondering who has emailed issues to you since you last checked your messages. Think arriving at your desk with voice mails from two of your project customers already waiting for you. Headaches, right? Frustrations? Commonplace occurrences? And in the face of working from home challenges, this all rings especially true because you’ll have added distractions of the home, personal calls, kids, pets and other noises (wife?).
MindGenius
JUNE 21, 2019
The 10 Project Management Terms You Should Know. To achieve success within the field of project management, communication is essential, but this means ensuring everybody involved in the project is singing from the same hymn sheet. As with most other disciplines, project management has its own jargon, and this is often taught through project and programme management courses.
MindGenius
FEBRUARY 19, 2020
When your career reaches its finale and the days of full time golfing are imminent, will you be able to pass the slipper test? By this I mean, when you’re sitting in your arm chair, cup of coffee and a chocolate digestive in hand and wearing the slippers that the children bought you for Christmas many moons ago – will you be able to reflect and feel content that you have no regrets over an if, buts and maybe moment?
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How can project planning that stretches over months or years remain relevant and account for new ad-hoc activities that arrive every day?
MindGenius
APRIL 9, 2020
Is your PM infrastructure doing all it needs to do to promote maximum project success in the organization and for your project customers? Are your project managers growing, expanding their careers, gaining needed training and certifications and mentoring colleagues the way a successful project management office (PMO) should be operating? The focus isn’t about today’s success or needs… It’s about tomorrows needs and growth.
MindGenius
MAY 10, 2019
Do Start-Ups Need Project Management? Ashley Marron – 10 May 2019. Start-ups are definitely an exciting somewhat trailblazing type of organisation to be involved in or with. But they are definitely not for everyone and not those with a nervous disposition. It may just be me, but I like working with and running start-ups and get particularly invigorated being involved in the first steps of a product launch or a new business venture.
MindGenius
MAY 4, 2020
Monday morning project chaos. That’s what likely awaits you as a project manager. It is a way of life for us. Think starting the day wondering who has emailed issues to you since you last checked your messages. Think arriving at your desk with voice mails from two of your project customers already waiting for you. Headaches, right? Frustrations? Commonplace occurrences? Want to get a better start next week and every week?
MindGenius
JUNE 20, 2019
Marketing - It's Really Just Great Storytelling. When deciding on a career in marketing, what did you envision? Mad Men style advertising agencies and big creative campaigns perhaps? Is that the reality or are you like the many marketers just trying to find creative ways to tell your amazing product story and be heard above the noise? Content marketing plays a huge role in any marketer’s life and everyone will approach it differently, here is an outline of how I approach this area of marketing.
Speaker: Chris Von Simson & Nat Venkataraman
Can your users get the data and analytics they need without leaving your application? Watch this webinar with Chris von Simson of Dresner Advisory Services as he shares why user enablement has emerged as the theme in today’s embedded analytics landscape.
MindGenius
JUNE 20, 2019
Conducting an Efficient Management Review for ISO 27001 and ISO 22301. For anyone who has ever managed to try and gather an overloaded management team or Board of Directors together to facilitate a management review meeting for any regulatory compliance standard realises what a nightmare challenge this is to co-ordinate.
MindGenius
MARCH 25, 2020
Following on from our last blog – the World of Telecommuting – where we spoke on some of the ways to make your office at home enjoyable. However, with Covid19 forcing the majority of us to work from home (myself included), this blog is to show that by using MindGenius, working from home can be more flexible, more cost-effective and more collaborative than ever before. Remote Working. In reaction to Covid19, many of you reading this have now begun to work from home.
MindGenius
MAY 21, 2020
I’ve been a part of many PMO’s – I’ve even helped with or led the building process for a couple of them. I’m opinionated, in general, so after seeing several PMOs fail badly and a couple actually thrive, I have my own ideas about what I consider to be the key ingredients to solid project management offices, or PMOs.
MindGenius
APRIL 9, 2020
Taking a line from one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite groups… BUSH… I’m thinking about how this line relates to many of our project management experiences. Often, as project managers, the projects we run can seem like we are walking through a series of fires with our teams, our customers and our stakeholders and reacting to many out of frustration looking for a light at the end of the tunnel. But does it really have to be that way?
Advertisement
This eBook describes the process of managing the project budget and its associated costs.
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