Wednesday, 30 December 2020

GUIDE TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT FOR ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

 


A Comprehensive Guide to Change Management 

 

Many managing seniors today are assertively trying to transform their companies to improve performance by changing activities and abilities throughout the organization. Unfortunately, professional managers lack in understanding the pathway to bring the desired change needed to transform the organization. 

 

However, today, creating and executing such changes in performance lie in many professional managers' hands. If the manager cannot bring about an effective change, then the chances of developing a productive, substantial, and manageable project of change get reduced.

 

For achieving such a level of change, the proper conversation is necessary, which means having a shared framework of structured activities and processes, a pathway for laying out the framework in proper sequence, and a set of guiding principles about the "natural laws" that govern organizational transformations. All three—framework, pathway, and guiding principles—are necessary for a successful conversation. Change management comes to play, which helps the manager bring about the organization's required improvement. 

 

What is Change management?

 

Change management manages a series of structured actions and processes by which an organization transitions from its current situation into a new desired situation. The principal aims to reach a new situation in the most effective way. 

 

The art of Change Management is knowing exactly where you want to end up. For instance, if the company wants to resize from a thousand employers to eight hundred employers, it can then use the Change Management process to get the company's desired future state, which will cause the company to have eight hundred cheerful people. We must see change Management as a process by which you manage everything that needs to be done to get from the current situation to the desired situation at a specific time (maybe within some years). 

 

Change Management helps the organization understand the risks and maintain or work to minimize the risks in an IT environment. Hence, Change Management is a service that we are seeing come up more and more among the managing clients, typically endeavoring on a new project means some level of change. Change Management can act as a consultant to communicate with the employees and provide them with direction and guidance on their new function. It ensures that the company has the discipline and minimizes waste during project execution by maximizing resources on the things that need to be achieved. It goes ahead and ensures that the team members are in alignment. 

 

Change Management Methodology

 

Change Management Methodology consists :

  • A sense of urgency is essential among executives, so they can accept the change and work in a manner that is required to bring change. 

 

  • The reason behind the change must be explained in a clear and understanding of why Individuals should understand the need for change and be able to act upon it.

 

  • Increasing the company's ability for desired change. Companies should be flexible enough in order to undergo such a change. Without flexibility, the companies may undergo revolution within the organization created by the change, therefore, uprooting the entire workforce.

 

  • Communication is essential and vital. Information concerning the change must be well communicated from managers evoking change to those who are affected by it in a reliable and timely manner.

 

  • The leaders should engage themselves in the change process and embrace it, then they can easily manage the team members' reaction to the change. By having potent and upskill leadership, the process of change will be executed more smoothly.

 

  • By implementing project management strategies with the change, an organization will have a greater chance at success and meeting company objectives, hence, helping in better improvement of the organization

 

  • Enhancing the performance of the employers and reinforcing their behaviors that are required to bring about a desired change in the company. By doing this, the process of changing the project becomes resistant. 

 

Once these factors in change management methodology are acknowledged, they can execute change management.

 

How Change Management Works

 

There are going to be unanticipated events that occur during the execution of any project, and these unanticipated events are the principal cause of the change. In order to handle undesired events and maintain stability, the process of execution has to deviate from what was planned initially.

The significant change in a project needs to be documented and communicated to the entire project team to maintain alignment. 

These objectives are achieved by using a Change Management process. 

 

Identify the change–The first step is to perform an analysis that will help in identifying the type of change and the reason behind the change. After analyzing, they also keep change in mind, which will help in comparing the current state of the organization to its future state. These can include assessments of people, cost, the behavior of the team, information, and other areas that would affect the change project.

 

Implementation–Once the analysis is complete, the project manager will implement the action plan, resistance plan, potential strategies, and escalation processes.  

 

Generating awareness for change–Better communication with the team becomes essential to earn employee support and understanding. This will help in generating awareness of the need for change. With better communication, employees will understand what the change is, why it needs to be done, and will create a sense of urgency.

 

Providing the skill-set – In order to actually execute a change project, employers must have the right skill-set and tools. For example, cases like digital adoption projects involve onboarding, training, and education. 

 

Optimizing the Project–Managers have to keep monitoring the change process of the project. The data got, and feedback can help the managers to make adjustments in order to bring desired outcomes or even make a few essential changes if needed.  Continue Reading..


Monday, 28 December 2020

PMBOK GUIDE AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION UPDATES 2021

 



PMBOK GUIDE AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATION UPDATES 2021

PMBOK Guide For Project Management 2021

 

PMBOK® – In the words of Project Management Institute (PMI ) - “ Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge is PMI's flagship publication. The PMBOK book is a fundamental resource for effective project management practices in any industry.

In simple terms, PMBOK is the project management guide that consists of process steps, terminologies, best practices and guidelines which are widely accepted and implemented by the project management industry from all over the world.

We work with project environments where projects have deadlines or completing the tasks within a specified time is a priority without compromising on the quality. For a really long time, we have known the importance of best project management practices and implementing them to meet those deadlines is crucial. The best practices from the guide include the implementation of various tools and effective usage of resources.

 

All of the concepts discussed in PMBOK 6th edition help project professionals achieve or complete the projects at a specified time.

 

Irrespective of scale or complexity of the project — may it be constructing a bridge, designing a product or any other project for that matter — all projects share similarities and common steps mentioned in the project management body of knowledge can be applied to achieve end results.

 

All these steps, best practices, tools, and techniques come combined in the Project Management Body of Knowledge book.

 

It solely depends on the project manager how he/she uses the best practices or standards suggested in the PMBOK Guide to create different methodologies and strategies in order to make a project successful.

PMBOK – project management body of knowledge never specifically suggests or exactly mentions how to run a project. The PMBOK book only offers an effective framework and tools. It is the project manager who has to make decisions and run the project in accordance with the best practices and framework.  

 

Now, let’s talk about when the Guide originated and how every edition  has evolved over the years,

 

PMBOK Guide History

 

  • The first PMBOK Guide was released in 1996 with 9 knowledge areas and 37 processes.
  • Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide 2nd edition was released in 2000 with 39 processes.
  • Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide 3rd edition was released in 2004 with 44 processes.
  • Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide 4th edition was released in 2008 with 42 processes.
  • Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide 5th edition was released in 2012 with 47 processes.
  • Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide 6th edition was released in 2017 with 49 processes.
  • Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide 7th edition will be effective from 20th June 2020.

 

DISCLAIMER –  The terms PMP, PMBOK, PMI, CAPM, and PgMP,  are registered marks of the PMI - Project Management Institute, Inc.

 

Historically we can see there was a new edition released every 4 years

Each edition was released to overcome challenges the previous edition couldn’t focus on. The latest PMBOK 6th edition provides better standards and best practices for the project management industry. Every update was made to combat new challenges faced by project managers and project professionals in the ever-changing project environment.

 

 

2021 Major Updates in Project Management Body of Knowledge Guide:

 

There was no major update until the 5th edition. With the launch of the 6th edition, there was the inclusion of agile concepts. In the new announcement for PMP Exam Change – PMI mentioned that the exam will be changing and one of the major changes is the inclusion of agile-related questions in the syllabus.

The latest update of 2020 is that the PMP exam is changing from 2nd January 2021. Participants aiming to get the PMP certification with the current version of PMP exam can take the exam until 31st december 2020. From 2nd January 2021, a new version of the PMP exam will be followed. 

 

The most recent version is PMBOK® 6th edition, so let’s have a look at major changes that happened in it.

 

Major changes in PMBOK 6th edition compared to the 5th edition

 

  • Focus on Effective Leadership

 

Although there was a mention about effective leadership in the 5th edition, in the 6th edition it is being combined as one section and this shows how PMI is stressing the importance of leadership. 

 

The newly added section about leadership talks more about project management leadership and PMI’s expectations from the project leader. The 6th edition also talks about skills and competencies project professionals should possess. It was a good move by PMI to add a section on effective leadership as the PMP exam focuses more on the leadership, this can be seen throughout the years.

 

  • Terminology Changes in 6th Edition

 

Change in terminology to maintain consistency was a big step in PMBOK® 5th. This change was done to match the PMI Lexicon of terms and exam content outline and match it with the same terminology. This step will be benefiting students and project managers as the terms they consider in one area will replicate everywhere.

 

The Project Management Body of Knowledge 6th edition aims to continue the terminology consistency and here were the changes made,

 

  • Change of human resource management to resource management. This clearly indicates that we do not manage people or teams but nuts, bolts, and everything.
  • Time Management will now be schedule management. This could really make sense as we don’t manage time but we plan, manage and control schedule.

 

Knowledge Area Changes in the Project Management Body of Knowledge 6th Edition Guide:

 

  • Trends & Emerging practices
  • Tailoring Considerations
  • Key Concepts
  • Considerations for Agile/ Adaptive Environments

 

One of the major changes in 6th edition compared to 5th edition was the inclusion of agile concepts. PMI has made efforts to align all the traditional concepts with agile and ensured that in all the knowledge areas, agile concepts have been implemented.

It would be the first time ever Project Management Body of Knowledge book includes and explains about agile practices. This important change in the project management body of knowledge guide was made taking into consideration the implementation of agile concepts that will broaden the scope of project delivery approaches.

 

All these updates from the project management body of knowledge guide provide clarity on how these practices can be applied to any project in the best way possible.

 

These changes also affect PMP Certification applicants. Those preparing for the PMP exam must consider the new changes in the syllabus and follow PMBOK 6th edition guide. With tools and techniques discussed in the 6th edition guide, not only is a candidate's knowledge enhanced but also they learn how to implement best practices even in complex situations.

 

Learn in-depth about the content and topics covered in the PMBOK® Guide before taking up the PMP certification. It is suggested to take up a PMP certification training if you need help with an explanation of the book.  You can consider taking up our expert-led PMP training as our courseware is closely aligned with the new PMBOK 6th edition. Our trainers are highly experienced and offer in-person and live online sessions as well. You can see the demo of our PMP training in the below video. 

Expert-led PMP Certification Training on Our YouTube Channel. For FREE training, hit SUBSCRIBE. 

 

Process Groups & Knowledge Areas in PMBOK Guide

 

Every Project has 5 process groups 

  • Initiating
  • Planning
  • Executing
  • Monitoring
  • Controlling

The role of these processes is to bundle all the processes that operated at a time or with the same input. These processes give us a background to successfully execute, run and manage projects. The 6th edition focuses on each of these in detail. 

 

Knowledge Areas

The PMBOK Guide covers 10 project management knowledge areas in the 6th Edition. Each Knowledge Area is made up of a different set of the process with tools, techniques and more. Below is the updated list of knowledge areas from the PMBOK 6th edition. 

  • Integration Management
  • Scope Management
  • Time Management
  • Cost Management
  • Quality Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Communications Management
  • Risk Management
  • Stakeholder management

 

Important note to PMP Aspirants

PMBOK® Guide cannot be replaced with any other study material. Most aspirants make mistake by not referring to the guide and fail to clear the exam in 1st attempt. From intensive research and years of expertise, it is safe to advise that a candidate preparing for the PMP certification exam must have a thorough understanding of the guide. In short, ensuring you are well-versed in the 6th guide is essential.

It’s mandatory that you have to go through and understand the concepts explained in the project management body of knowledge book as there would be many direct questions in the exam from it.

Project Management Body of Knowledge was and will always be the go-to option for project professionals who aspire to get certified and enhance their careers in the field of project management.

 

A quick tip: Make sure you thoroughly study the PMBOK 6th edition guide at least 2 times before you take the PMP exam. 

 

In-demand and high paying project management courses

PMP® Certification Training

PRINCE2® Foundation

PRINCE2® Practitioner

PRINCE2® Foundation Practitioner

CAPM® Certified Associate Project Management

PgMP® Exam Prep training

 

The PMI - Project Management Institute religiously updates the PMBOK guide to help project management professionals with industry best practices and techniques. It provides a project framework to carry out projects successfully and get desired outcomes. The guide can give you knowledge that can be applied to projects from any industry.

 

If you are a project professional and you are aware of the importance of the PMBOK guide, it is advised to continuously stay updated about the upcoming changes in project management. For more resources on project management keep following Sprintzeal Blog and sign up for the newsletter for regular updates about project management.

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Thursday, 24 December 2020

PROJECT INITIATION PHASE - IMPORTANCE AND ROLES INVOLVED

 


PROJECT INITIATION PHASE - IMPORTANCE AND ROLES INVOLVED


About Project Initiation Phase in Project Management

 

One of the vital steps in delivering a high-end project effectively is the ‘project initiation’. The project initiation and approval is the initial phase where a project is acknowledged through a Business case, prioritized according to the requirements and aligned with the business goals. It is then followed by governance and planning which set the project flow in motion.

The project initiation step involves defining scope, goals and product details. To get started with the project, one needs to set up a strong project team and gain approval from the authorities. This phase includes six major steps which are as follows,

 

  1. Developing a business case
  2. Undertaking a feasibility study
  3. Creating a project charter
  4. Hiring a project team
  5. Setting up the workplace
  6. Performing a phase review

 

Role of Project Charter 

 

In step 3, a project charter is used to get the approval of a sponsor. It is a document that signifies the authorization and support from sponsors which is essential for the initiation of a project. Alongside this, approval and authorization from the customer/client and project management office are required in order to initiate the project and lead it to further steps.

 

The role of the project management office is to govern the project at each level and approve the team for the usage of the resources required. Apart from this, it does the strategic planning for the project keeping the goals of the organization in mind. It also brings together the best practices and ensures they are applied while handling the current project. In fact, the PMO even takes the responsibility to make sure the project is progressing at a steady rate without any halt and delivers at the promised due date. Another major function of the project management office is to maintain proper and clear communication between various teams and project managers irrespective of the projects that are being handled. It promotes unity and an open mindset at the workplace which is essential for the success of any business.

 

Importance of Project Initiation 

 

The project initiation phase holds great value since it involves hiring a project team and setting solid goals. Without an efficient project team and clear goals, it gets difficult to perform the required duties throughout the project cycle. One of the major parts of the initiation process is project charter. It involves an overview of the project and the kind of approach that is to be taken throughout the project. It acts as a sign of authorization providing approval to the project manager and the team to access the resources being provided for the successful completion of the project. Here is a list of information that needs to be included in the project charter,

 

  • Purpose
  • Objectives and success criteria
  • Budget
  • Stakeholders list
  • Constraints and assumptions
  • Project manager details

 

Not performing the above-mentioned steps effectively can even lead to the failure of the project which is not desired by any of the individuals involved in the project. 

If you want to handle a project and lead a project team effectively, taking up the PMP Certification Training and getting certified by PMI - Project Management Institute is the best option. It is a globally recognized certification that expands career opportunities for professionals working in the project management field. 

 Continue Reading


Tuesday, 22 December 2020

AWS LAMBDA - AN ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS

 


AWS Lambda Guide for Beginners

 

Are you looking to learn and use AWS Lambda? This is your go-to guide for getting started.

Introduced in November 2014, AWS Lambda is a serverless cloud computing service offered by Amazon Web Services to simplify the process of building applications. The aim was to automatically run codes in response to events.

Getting started with this is easy.

There are no complex languages involved in it, no tools that you need to learn, and no frameworks that you must spend hours trying to understand.

The advantage of it is that it is user-friendly as it allows you to use any third-party library to perform the tasks required to get started. Plus, it is cost-effective.

With the help of AWS Lambda, you can avoid spending tons of time and effort managing servers.

You can run a backend code in response to events. After you are done with the upload, the lambda service handles all the activities like capacity, scaling, and administration of the infrastructure required to run the code.

 

What is AWS Lambda Function?

 

An essential part of learning about this service is to understand the lambda function.

With the lambda function, all you need to do is upload the code that you have written in the form of a zip file. You can even choose to design the code in the AWS management console and make the upload to the Lambda.

There are also pre-built function samples of Lambda function available for common use cases like image conversion and file compression. Besides this, you can also access other AWS support services to perform tasks.

For better understanding, below is the Anatomy of a Lambda function.

After the upload of the lambda function, the next step is to choose the event source that you wish to monitor. You can use Amazon Event Sources like S3 bucket and DynamoDB. This allows the lambda function to automate responses. The rest is handled by the software as it begins to use that lambda function and generate a response when an event occurs.

With AWS lambda, any event can trigger the lambda function and instantly generate a response. You can instantly create a lambda function, run it and get logs and metrics.

 

Lambda Instance and Lambda Package

 

As the name suggests, the data captured by the server lasts only for a specific instance. When the tasks are completed, the data gets automatically discarded. However, these instances are not automatic.

One has to update the set of tasks manually in the form of a lambda package and give AWS an instruction to run it in response to an event. The code you write is used to create a lambda function. This lambda function is packed (commonly known as lambda package) and uploaded to the AWS S3 bucket. This is to send an instruction to AWS that you want this specific package to be used when an event occurs.

It is essential to remember that backup of executions and runs are not available. AWS Lambda isn’t for long-run processes. Ironically, this stateless nature of Lambda contributes to the easy building of serverless applications.

 

Quick takeaway – The maximum size of a Lambda package is 50 MB and 250 MB in a compressed and uncompressed format respectively.

 

What kind of responses can AWS Lambda generate?

 

Response to image uploads

Response to clicks on a website

Response to custom HTTP requests

Response to in-app activity

Response to sensor outputs

A Lambda instance starts and responds just within milliseconds of an event.

 

Technical Specifications of Lambda

 

Are you planning to build a serverless application using AWS Lambda? Here are the technical specifications to take into consideration.

Each lambda function is executed in a container aka sandbox. These containers can be reused and the size of every container is 64-bit.

Execution duration – 900 seconds to 15 minutes

Lambda package size – Compressed file – 50 MB

Lambda package size - Uncompressed file – 250 MB

Memory – 128 MB – 3008 MB (64 MB increments)

Ephemeral disk space – 512 MB

Supported languages – Java 8, Java 10, Node.js, Ruby, Python, c#, PowerShell Core 6.0

 

Top Paying Cloud Computing Certifications:

AWS Solution Architect

AWS Developer Associate

AWS SysOps

 

AWS Lambda Pricing

 

AWS Lambda is cost-effective. You’re charged only for the time your code runs which is measured in increments of one hundred milliseconds. The billing is done based on the time the function starts execution until the termination. 

 

If you have an AWS account, you are eligible to use the AWS lambda executions and make the most of the AWS free tier. It lasts 12 months and offers new and existing users over 1 million requests. Besides this, it includes 400,000 GB seconds of function run time and memory per month. 

 

With the addition of custom run support feature, AWS lambda gained more popularity among developers as it could then be run in the programming language of their choice. You can track performance as this offers real-time metrics and logs to Amazon cloud watch. All you need to do is just write the code and upload it. With the ease of use and wide range of benefits it offers, it has made building applications and managing them easy. To find AWS lambda tutorials and documentation on how to get started building serverless applications, visit Amazon Web Services Lambda Continue Reading


GUIDE TO BANNER ADVERTISING FOR GOOGLE AD SENSE AND OTHER AD NETWORKS

 


Banner Advertising Guide for Beginners

 

For a long time, Advertisement marketing has been a top choice for most marketers and when done correctly, it can reap great benefits. To help you choose optimized ad banners that perform well and bring great sales, we have listed out some of the easy go-to tips you can use.

 

Wider Ads Over Taller Ones

As funny as it sounds, this trick is one of the most effective ways to choose an ad banner size. The wider ads tend to perform better compared to the taller ones. This is because the wider ads are easy to read and don’t require much concentration from the readers. Whereas, in narrower ads, there is a possibility of skipping lines re-reading a line struggling to keep up with the meaning.

 

Offer:  Get certified as a Digital Marketing Expert with our 4-day course in your city.

Get more details

 

Pick Banners that Compliments your Web Pages

 

No matter how well you follow the specifications and tips while choosing the ad, it’ll all be for nothing if it doesn’t compliment your page well. Avoid picking the banners that give a distorted look or those which are too flashy and in contrast with the page theme. Alongside this, it is important to consider the product that you’re advertising. It’ll make the reader feel more inclined and connected with the ad they’re being shown.

 

About Size and Position of the Ad

 

Finding the right size and position for displaying your ad can have a significant effect on your sales. You’ll be offered a variety of layouts, sizes, and positions to pick from but knowing which has the potential to stand out from the rest is important. Here are some of the best-optimized sizes for banner ads,

 

Large rectangle (336x280)

 

With the dimensions of 336 pixels wide and 280 pixels tall, the Large rectangle is one of the most popular ad units on Ad Sense. This can either be used alone or as a multi-ad slot in conjunction with the 330x250.

 

Here is a sample preview of the banner ad,

 

 

Medium rectangle (300x250)

 

With the dimensions of 300 pixels wide and 250 pixels tall, the Medium rectangle is another ad size that is being used by almost every ad network. This is believed to bring higher CPM than other sizes as it is widely used.

While the large rectangle, 336x280, is rarely seen outside the Adsense, this one is found on almost every ad network and is proven to be the best choice.

Here is a sample of it,

 

 

 

728x90 Leaderboard

 

With dimensions 728 pixels wide and 90 pixels tall, this one is preferred to be placed on the top of the page so that it grabs the reader’s attention as soon as the page loads. These tend to be the most expensive ads as they perform really well and bring a good amount of sales.

 

 

300x600 half page

 

The 300x600 has various names like the half page, monster unit, and film strip. With the dimensions of 300 pixels wide and 600 pixels tall, these bring great CPM and perform quite well. But, since these are not accepted by every ad network available out there, they are most commonly used in multi slots with banners of ad sizes.

 

Here is a sample,

 

 

320x50 Mobile Banner

Listed as the top-performing mobile banner by Google Ad-sense, this one has dimensions of 320 pixels wide and 50 pixels tall. It is used in posting advertisements on smartphones and is sure to get you a good amount of impressions and clicks. Below is a sample image of it,

 

 

Context of the Display Ad

 

After deciding on the sizes and dimensions of your ads, the next thing to focus on is the context of your ad. Make sure your content is well-optimized, easy to read, easy to understand and has the ability to grab the attention because right content can bring a major lift to the ad campaign.

 

Call to Action for Banner Ad

 

Grabbing your audience’s attention is one thing and driving them to actually take a real-time action is another. There’s no successful marketing/advertising campaign without a strong CTA ( call to action ). Here we have listed some of the most common yet effective CTA’s of all time,

  • Try it now
  • Add to cart
  • Online chatbots
  • Offer is ending soon
  • Subscriptions
  • Read more

 

With proper usage of the information listed above and thorough research, the advertising campaign can be a huge hit. It will drive a great amount of traffic to your pages and sell the products or services you are offering. It’s imperative to understand the changing trends of advertisement marketing and strive to keep up with it for better benefits. For career-making courses from Sprintzeal, take a look at the wide range of courses and certifications we offer. 

 

If digital marketing interests you, there are easy and quick ways to enter this field. The best way is to get certified by taking up a Digital Marketing certification course. One of the most trusted institutes individuals around the world.   Continue Reading