Bird View Projects- A Peek

Simple, clean and intuitive- this piece of online software makes it easy to work on projects!

To work with Bird View, you won’t need additional hours of training or blank stares to figure it out. It’s right there for you.

Create projects, add people and empower them with user access rights by a simple grouping of:
•No access- cant access any new project
•Participant-  can see task and post comment on them
•Contributor- can see project task, edit assigned, and create new ones. Also can post messages.
•Manager- can create new projects, see all task including private, create and edit everything

Come with standard features creating projects, tasks, sub- tasks and assigning resources. Billing has 3 options provided:
•Specific rate
•Fixed cost

Need additional fields to cover your projects and business flow, simply "add" it to get:
•Text
•Numeric
•Memo
•Date
•Yes/no
•List

You can also provide “allowed values” for each of these customized fields. What fun!
With each task, include alerts.

The Dashboard is not cluttered at all and like most software’s shows your assigned tasks . Of course you can re-brand it with your own logo and organization name.

I started using it for my personal projects and will use it. If you have used basecamp before, it has a similar feel to it. A collaborative tool for projects where the members are all in hose , virtual or located at different places.

Thumbs up Bird View!

(Pic courtesy: Birdview)

Burger and PM Tools

I have been craving burgers for a month now and finding a good joint in Kolkata (India) isn’t easy. So, I finally gave up and made one at home this Sunday.


It tasted awesome, almost like Chicago.


And I read.


I have a list of book all piled up that needs reading. I finished off Seth Godin's Linchpin  and next is Good to Great.


I have been doing plenty of things- working on the e-book that I keep on mentioning about and finally will be available this month. It’s my give away to all my readers, no tweets, comments or answers required and no lottery involved. The book’s awesome by the way- I’d pay for such insight and personal stories from these Project managers fro all over the world. This one is Free!


I have been dabbling around with Google Apps and the very new Google +  this weekend. Liking the Google + so far. Google Apps has a bunch of project management software out there which have to be tried out very soon. 


By the way, I have eben looking into a couple of these PM software’s this month:


•This one looks promising Microproject and let’s see if I can try it out. See their review here. Pricing details can be found here. 
•Another’s called Planning Force  and it’s a free downloadable software. For details, read up here 
•Water FlowOn , see pricing here   
•BirdView Projects , more on their plans here 


Detailed reviews will be coming up later. They all look awesome so far and focus on the easy use and promise great results.


So, to tell the tale- I am creating projects! You never know the benefits until you get one. So, one project in one software! 


(Image Courtesy: Google images)

3

This July is special.

3 years ago I started this blog. Here is my first post from 2008:

I am an aspiring project manager.

When I was a kid, I wanted to become a teacher, novelist, professor, copywriter but I never dreamt of becoming a project manager. I had never heard about Project Management. How, I wish I did!

One thing lead to another and I stumbled upon this arena just by chance. I had completed my post graduation in Mass Communication and joined a small IT company in Chicago as a management trainee. While on one hand I got involved with marketing for the company, on the other providing a helping hand to the project side got me curious.

I never looked back again, few presentation and documentation later I switched to the IT department. Currently I work as a business analyst and part of the project management team and have had the opportunity to have some great mentors who trusted and inspired me.

So, why the blog? I have been reading blogs about project management for a while now; it was fascinating to see people sharing their knowledge. I have learnt so much from these blogs, that I am in debt to all these authors (If you see the blog list to your right, you will know what I mean).

However, most of the blogs don't advise you on how you can become a PM. Most of the bloggers are hugely successful Project Managers in their respective fields and sometimes talk about issues that might sound alien to most of us.

This blog, is my commitment to become a PM- to talk about my mistakes, my learning process and blog my journey with dollops of honest writings, scouting for some advises for me and everyone else who would like to be a PM.

The day I wrote this, I didn’t think I would continue it for the next three years. I am glad I did.

I met you in my journey. Thank you for making it so special.

There will be giveaways, so watch this space.

Steve Jobs and his brilliant Presentation Skills

Linchpin- the book

It’s a book you will read at one go and you should- an eye opener in every sense of the word.

How does it help new Project Managers?

It tells you how to avoid the “lizard brain” (your inner resistance) that takes over when in doubt, anxiety and stress. It’s the negative emotions that stops you from being the “Linchpin”.

Linchpin’s have 7 abilities:

·Delivering unique creativity

·Inspiring staff

·Possessing a unique talent

·Managing  situation of great complexity

·Providing an interface among members of the organization

·Leading customers

·Providing deep domain knowledge.

Linchpin’s lead without being told or even holding a fancy title. Sound’s familiar? A quality must for aspiring PM’s.

He gives plenty of examples- like that of Richard Branson who encountered a situation where his flight was cancelled. So instead of waiting forever he went to the airports charter desk and chartered a flight. He then borrowed a blackboard and wrote $39 for seats. He went back to the gate, sold enough tickets to cover the price and reached his destination.

He gives example of the “lizard brain” and how a simple eye contact can get someone attacked. He talks about the Rotterdam zoo where Gorilla visitors have to wear glasses like those in 3D movies.  And what the Gorilla sees painted on the outside the glasses- eyes looking sidewise. This has saved many attacks by the gorilla. Avoiding direct eye contacts doesn’t trigger the “lizard brain”.

A great book- informative and inspiring and a complete  guide to understand why we choose the easy route of being a worker and not an “artist”.

(Pic courtesy: Google images)

PMI WB Chapter

The new PMI chapter of West Bengal (India) launched this February. 

The memberships are growing as is the effort to organize new events. This Saturday (June 25) they are hosting in the heart of the Kolkata IT sector a Seminar on Agile and chance to network among professionals over tea.

A free event for PMI west Bengal member, it will cost 300 (INR) for non-members.

The discussion will be based on Leveraging Agile Practices to Improve the PMO’s Effectiveness and Using the Measurement and Analysis Techniques.

You can find them in Linkedin as well. 

Cloning Not Allowed

The way you think is always different from the way the person sitting next to you in the coffee shop. And that is precious!

Your individuality is what you bring to the table.

So, should you maintain it? Yes!

•Don’t clone yourself like the rest.

•Be present- of what you represent.

•Don’t make the world flat- initiate and lead when required. Become the Linchpin (Read Seth Godin’s book if you haven’t)

•Be comfortable in who are and the difference. Someone working with a global background will automatically work better in a multicultural work environment. It’s an advantage, don’t hide it- flaunt it.

•Trying to fit in always might not be for the best- let your individuality show. It brings the zing factor to your life!

(Pic: Google Images)