Admittedly, lessons learned (often dubbed the project's "post- mortem analysis") is a task that comes after project launch and certainly isn't given as much attention. Most project managers fail to do it at all and get along just fine doing so. So why the focus on it now?

Documenting lessons learned is an integral part of the life cycle management of a project and is especially helpful to project managers who want to get better at their job over time. Just think of the repetitive nature of their role: project managers end up performing the same sort of tasks in each project, whether it be building a team, communicating with and managing stakeholders, or hiring third-party vendors. With all of these tasks, understanding how they succeeded and where they failed will maximize their performance over time and ultimately improve the efficiency with which they manage our assignments.

In my current role as a technical project manager, I've led 30+ engagements, some big and some small, and have worked with many of the same stakeholder groups in each one. It is very useful for me to receive feedback from clients and stakeholders after each project has ended, specifically on topics like the following:

What was the single most frustrating part of our project?
Was communication on project progress informative and timely?
Did we have the right people assigned to the right roles?
Do you think we could have completed this project well without one or more of our vendors?

Building this repository of feedback helps me focus on areas for improvement and contributes to a winning relationship with my clients. And trust me--having that relationship and staying in tune to the needs of my stakeholders makes what could be very difficult project tasks that much easier! But why else should a lessons learned process be instituted? There is already a vast body of knowledge available to managers online and in books authored by seasoned PMPs that you can rely on to navigate through the pitfalls and tests of a project.

Using the lessons learned process to build your own personal resource with a history of what worked and what didn't in your projects builds on the already helpful resources.

Don't hesitate to share these gems with PMs in your own organizations to improve their skills. This process also proves even more useful because you actually experienced the victories and challenges yourself. Experience is the best teacher; take advantage of yours and the experiences of others.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathlika_Thomas

A few years ago, IKEA released a VERY hilarious commercial to promote its simple and clean furniture line to organize a home or office space. In short, the commercial opened with an attractive couple, in a rather unattractive and untidy room, sharing a single spaghetti dinner. They savored and slurped each noodle as suggestively as a bowl of pasta can possibly be eaten. The female -- with eyes closed, head to plate, mesmerizing her partner with her technique -- was so engrossed in her sensual display that she accidentally mistook as another noodle her boyfriend's filthy shoelaces which, of course, were tied to his even filthier sneakers. (If this is too gross for you, that may help to explain why it was banned in the US.) The commercial faded out and ended with a silent, but poignant reminder: "Tidy Up".

Just like with an untidy room, a spaghetti integration (or star integration) may take months, even years, to get to the point of being disorderly. Traditionally, each department in an organization may use independent systems to meet their own needs so that they are autonomous and easier to manage internally. Then, as new requirements arise, as an organization grows, and as inter-departmental communication becomes more important, point-to-point interfaces develop to tie each autonomous system together - hence, a badly-planned "spaghetti" of systems arises.

So, what's wrong with that, you say? Here are my top 3 cons:

1. Just as a cluttered room is a sign of a cluttered mind, a disorganized system is a sign of a disjointed IT management team. Taking the most expedient, quick-and-dirty, route to integration is a sign of little collective system management efforts. This lack of foresight leads to complications and problems in the long run... see #2.

2. Making changes to a single application or database in a star integration can be costly. Sure, it's easier to make quick changes in a single system, giving the organization the appearance of agility. But, when those changes lead to a collection of functionality that is characteristically not reusable and buggy, the cost of maintaining that new functionality will rise exponentially as your system grows.

3. Business Intelligence suffers as company data that lives in multiple places in a spaghetti integration is more difficult to consolidate into a single and useful data-mart. This makes it harder to paint a clear picture, whether it be analytical or operational, of the organization as a whole, and to keep from being reactionary and inflexible in the long run. But spaghetti integration isn't all bad. New application features can be implemented quickly, and because system component structure is not as rigid, there is an advantage of flexibility in deployment.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathlika_Thomas

Despite the enormous interest to the concept of "cloud computing", there are no accepted standards and methods of maintenance of the guaranteed quality of service. The phenomenon of calculations in cloud computing causes a great interest all over the world: the new concept allows giving services on demand thus decreasing the expenses. Besides, such approach allows to lower complexity of information systems, and also to increase their scalability and availability. The new model gives to suppliers of managed services wide and fascinating possibilities.

Since network ARPANET has formed a basis for the popular Internet, a set of network concepts was developed for corporate customers and individual users. According to the concept of cloud service, network and computing resources should be given to each person on demand, like electricity for example. In this sense some analysts began to speak about network transformation into the fourth municipal service in addition to water, electricity and telecommunication.

Such companies as Google and Amazon, already offer today services (Google App Engine and Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud 2 and Elastic Block Store). Behind these services there are data processing centers, providing the creation of the necessary infrastructure and supporting key technologies and sharing of resources (multi-tenancy) which make the system of cloud computing more effective and economic both for operators and for users.

Cloud service draws the attention of experts because it may become a new revolutionary technology which will reverse business models of the communication industry. The research done by Gartner Company in 2008, has shown that the technology of cloud computing will be useful for both large and mid-size communication companies. The economy will lead to depreciation of services of cloud computing at the expense of simplicity of scaling.

Companies that solve the big computing problems can receive results much faster and more economically if they involve wide resources of suppliers of cloud computing. That fact that cloud computing means work on demand is favorable to companies as it allows to quickly reacting to varying conditions and market possibilities. With its help large data-processing centers can cut down the expenses on electricity, current operations, the software and hardware systems.

Cloud service is based on the Cisco technologies and provides high level of safety, protection of the personal data, productivity and availability. Computing resources, storage and network systems will be available on demand. What conclusions can be made? The concept of cloud computing becomes more and more popular as it allows to lower cumulative cost of possession. It has a high scalability, gives the customer certain competitive advantages, reduces complexity of network services and gives a fast and simple access to services.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Cheow

Certainly, we have progressed immensely in the world of technology and specifically in the world of computers. Not so long ago, computers were gigantic mainframe pieces that were only affordable to the rich, to large corporations, or to governments. We then watched as the computer shrank in size and then personal computers were originated. As we have watched the explosion of the internet and various internet-related companies and technologies, we have progresses to the point where we can actually simplify some computing needs. What do I mean? I am referring to the world of cloud computing.

In a traditional home computer or private business computing environment, whatever technology you needed, you simply had to purchase. So did everyone else who was in the "same boat." Many companies made a whole lot of money based upon this premise--one couldn't "share" technology amongst themselves, everyone needed to pay for their own version of what they desired. Suddenly, in the last few years, we are moving away from that model as production costs for technology are decreasing and we actually are moving toward a simpler concept of computing needs--pay for what you use, not for the ability to have it if you need to use it.

Of course, like any new concept or idea--each entity must investigate this notion for themselves. Cloud computing works similarly to electricity or water rates--you pay for the amount that you use and you are not bound contractually for any length of time and you are not responsible for footing the bill for individual technology that someone else isn't funding or opting to fund. The technology is housed in a third-party provider--thus, you can access the business applications you need and require but only at the usage that is specifically what you need and require. This can save a lot of monies in capital investments and fixed costs.

Of course, if you are in an industry where capital and fixed costs are not that great, then this strategy could actually cost one monies. Therefore, it is important to do a cost-benefit analysis on the merits of this system before readily jumping into it. However, for the majority of businesses and individuals, this can be quite a "godsend." One doesn't have to outlay a whole lot of monies to get started and again--you simply pay for what you use. Technology has developed a great deal, ironically to the point where it is now starting to employ simpler concepts. What works for your needs?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Cheow

Data center management isn't something to joke around about nowadays. After the plethora of disasters we've seen in the last few years, being able to safely manage our data has become of the utmost importance.

When a storm or electric failure hits, you need to be able to recall the files necessary to sustain your business. This can take weeks if not properly stored, and then you still might lose a bit of your data.

Lately, more and more companies have looked into better methods of data center management. Some of these methods are as simple as creating a hard copy. Others actually store your information online just in case something happens and you need to get a hold of it.

In a few ways, the online backup idea is a bit better than your standard old hard copy. With a hard copy of your data, it can be broken or misplaced, which isn't acceptable during an emergency. Despite how large the internet is, it is not capable of losing your data as you would in real life.

Online data center management is also somewhat helpful to the environment, as opposed to hard copies. It doesn't take up nearly as much space, especially with the increased memory a computer can hold. With the expansion of the memory a computer is able to store, it has also become easier to manage data and still keep up with the business's needs.

However, not having enough power capacity also hinders the management of data due to the inability to support all the data needed. It is best to simply store what you absolutely need the most and wait until a later date or to not store the rest of the data. If you choose just the essentials for keeping your business, you should be just fine.

The data also must be regulated to make sure that every time important data is acquired that it is uploaded and stored as soon as possible so that it is not lost during the next disaster. Trivial issues aside, data center management is extremely fundamental to the growth of current and up and coming companies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Edmondson