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PERSONAL TIME MANAGEMENT

Posted on October 27, 2020 by admin
And we want to talk to you about personal time management. This subject is a
little bit of a detour from our more specific project management program. But we
believe that time management is an issue that affects everyone,

We don’t want to say that they need to be really good at something and that
there is no quick fix. Instead, we should say that we are going to offer them an
easy way to improve their time management and show them simple things that they
implement right away and get great results.

The best methods for upping productivity are based on two key objectives: The
first objective is to capture all the things that need to be done – now, later,
someday, big, little, or in between – into a logical and trusted system that’s
outside of your head and off your mind. The second objective is to discipline
yourself to make front-end decisions about all the inputs that you let into your
life, so that you’ll always have a plan for next actions that can be implemented
at any moment.

Most people these days will tell you that they have too much to do and not
enough time to get it done. We’ve enhanced our quality of life in so many ways,
yet, ironically, we nearly kill ourselves with stress by taking on more work
than we have the resources to deal with.

That’s why time management is so important, because it’s really a kind of stress
management.

Have you ever wondered why you can’t seem to shut down your brain at night when
you’re trying to fall asleep? Why are so many thoughts running through your mind
all the time?

Let me explain how stress is created. it’s not just the big problems that create
stress. All of the little unresolved tasks that we have to deal with sit at the
back of our heads, subconsciously creating tension. If you put your mind’s
attention on something that needs to be done, and then don’t complete it because
it’s low on the priority list, your mind will have already created an open
process that keeps running in the back of your mind, and is going to keep
bothering you to complete the task. Worse of all, it takes up your energy and
prevents you from having a clear focus on your more important tasks.

It’s kind of like your Windows Task Manager. When you open Task Manager, you see
that there are a lot of processes running in the background – processes that you
didn’t even know existed. Many of them don’t do anything for days, but there
they are consuming your computer memory and causing it to run slowly. But if you
shut down the processes that you don’t use, then it frees up the memory and your
computer will run faster.

All these open processes create stress. So how do we handle with all these
processes and how do we minimize stress?

The key is to clear the open processes from our mind by having something else
managing them.

Now we come to the question of how you process this information. First of all,
you need to determine what the item is and what you’re going to do about it. For
example, maybe you have letters from the bank or the government. Or maybe you
received an email from a supervisor about a new company policy.

Ask yourself: Is this item actionable, yes or no? If no action is needed, then
you have three options. One, it’s trash – so throw it away. Two, no action is
necessary now, but you might need to do something later on, so you incubate this
item. Three, the item is potentially useful information that you might need
later on, so you can classify it as a reference item.

If it is actionable, then something has to be done. So, ask yourself: What
project or outcome have I committed to? And also, what’s the next action
required? If it’s about a project, then capture that outcome on a project list.
That will remind you that you have an open process. Determining the next action
is a critical step for anything you’ve collected. The next action is the next
physical activity that has to be done in order to move the current situation to
completion.

Once you’ve decided on the next action, you have three options. Option One: Do
it. If that action will take under two minutes, you should do it then and there.
Option Two: Delegate it. If you aren’t the right person to do the job, assign it
to the appropriate person or entity. Option Three: Defer it. If the action is
going to take more than two minutes, and you are in fact the right person to do
it, then you can track it for later on a Next Actions list.

To keep organized, do one of the following to your “no action” items: Throw them
out, mark them for later reassessment, or file them away so that they can be
located and referred to at another time if needed.

To manage the actionable items, you’re going to need a storage place to put the
tasks, a calendar, a list of reminders of next actions, and a list of reminders
of things that you’re waiting for. You’ll also need a list of projects. Projects
are things that need to be completed by following a set of tasks. Hiring a new
employee, decorating a room, and building a new version of software are all
types of projects.

As soon as you attach a “should” or “need to” to an item, it becomes incomplete.
Decisions that you still need to make about whether or not you’re going to do
something are already incomplete.

In order to manage this inventory of open processes, you have to capture it in
containers that will hold them until you have time to decide what they are and
what you’re going to do about them. Then you need to empty these containers
regularly to ensure that they remain good tools for collecting.

The fact that you haven’t put an item in your basket doesn’t mean you don’t have
it. You need to be sure that everything you need is collected somewhere other
than your head.

Now there are many kinds of collection tools, and they can be physical or
digital. For example, a basket, writing paper, a Word document, an email, or
issue tracking software are all different types of collection tools.

There are three main factors that make this collection actually work. One, every
open process has to be in your collection system and out of your head. Two, you
must have as few collection buckets as possible. And three, you have to empty
them regularly. These collection tools should be part of your lifestyle. Keep
them nearby so that wherever you are, you can always collect a potentially
valuable thought.

And emptying them regularly really is very important. Otherwise, there’s no
point. You don’t necessarily have to complete the item in your basket or in that
Word document, but you do have to take it out of the container, decide what
needs to be done with it, and if it’s still unfinished, then organize it into
your system. Not emptying your containers is like having garbage cans that never
get dumped. You would just have to keep buying more and more cans to hold all
your trash.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Personal Time Management


HOW TO TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR PROJECTS

Posted on September 1, 2020 by admin

Hi, I’m Allison
And I’m Bob
What we are about to show you will radically change your thinking about how you
invest your time, and what’s really important when it comes to making money and
running your projects.







We’ve all been there. Not enough time, no solid schedule, poorly defined goals
and objectives, no formal plan, out of control scope creep, miscommunication
between people that are involved in the project, etc.
As a result, projects are delayed, time is wasted, clients are angry, your
company’s reputation is damaged and you lose customers, people are frustrated
and stressed out, team members have to work extra hours to catch up, morale goes
down, and employees lose confidence in the company.
If you’ve invested time and money in trick after trick — such as using different
project tools, begging and threatening, shouting, motivating team members,
holding group discussions, adding more people to the team, and working more
hours — but nothing has worked, I would ask you to consider this program.
You’ve been investing in tools and services because you want a better income. A
better life for your family. Freedom and independence. But tools alone are
useless without solid foundations. You need strategies for using tools.
You’ve been focusing on tools and solving problems instead of focusing on
creating strength and power that can be leveraged.
Think about it like this: let’s say you have the fastest car in the world in
your garage. But you don’t know how to drive. The car will be useless to you
because you don’t know how to move it.
But if you are an excellent driver, even a slow car will be able to get you from
one place to another.
We are going to show you how to take charge of your projects and run them in a
simple way that will enable you to complete them on time, starting today.
This can boost income now and bring you the high-caliber clients that you want
to attract. It can make your company more efficient and competitive.
And, the good thing about it is that you don’t need any special background,
education, or skills to use this.
If you don’t take aggressive action once you’ve seen the path, we can’t help
you.
Success is for people who take action. Mediocre people follow the herd and wait
passively for things to maybe change in the future. You are not like that.
We are going to show you how to drive your projects and you’ll be able to use
this knowledge with any tool that you currently have.
We at Elementool have been helping companies with their projects for over 12
years, and we’ve gained a tremendous amount of insight into what it takes to
manage projects efficiently and effectively. In this program, we’re going to
pass on a set of extraordinary yet simple-to-use skills that can give you the
edge that you need to succeed. And what you’ll discover is that once you’ve
mastered these skills, you’re going to have way less stress on your mind and way
more free time to spend the way you want.
But first, let me tell you how everything started.
Elementool was founded 12 years ago by Yaron Sinai.
Before starting Elementool, he worked for a software company as a project
manager, met people who were also project managers, and realized there was no
good and easy solution for running projects.
Yaron learned programming at home and worked in the evenings and on weekends for
6 months straight to build the website. At the beginning it was a very simple
issue tracking and help desk solution.
The website was offered for free to people who wanted to use it to run projects.
It was the first web-based software of its kind in the world.
A few months later, Yaron realized that Elementool required his complete
attention, so he quit his job to run the website full-time. But it wasn’t as
easy as he thought it would be. He had to move back with his parents because he
couldn’t pay the rent. No job, no car, and living with his parents was tough. He
couldn’t get any dates with women. That made things even worse.
He tried to raise funds from investors. And, wanting to look professional he
rented a laptop from a nearby computer store every time he went to a meeting
with investors, because he didn’t have enough money to buy a laptop computer.
Each time he stepped out of a meeting, all he cared about was the fact that he
had just wasted $40 on the laptop, instead of getting something to eat. After a
few meetings like that, Yaron realized that he was wasting his time and money,
so he decided he would grow it on his own.
And grow it did. Soon Yaron hired a group of programmers who developed
additional products and added more features to make the system more
sophisticated. People were happy with the new web-based solution and the company
continued to grow.
Over the 12 years since Elementool was founded, we have worked with thousands of
companies, some of them the largest companies in the world, and helped them run
their projects.
During that time, we’ve realized that a lot of good managers are struggling
themselves and not understanding the right way to run projects. And I bet you
can relate to what I’m talking about.
But… it’s not your fault.
There are many books about project management, but, let’s face it, who has time
to read 400 pages books when there is barely any time to finish the things you
need to do today? And even when the project manager is knowledgeable about how
to manage projects, usually the team of developers, testers, managers, and
clients have no knowledge in project management methodologies and that creates
miscommunication between the different project stakeholders, leading to
frustration and project failure.
Let me give you and example: Tracking the time that team members spend on tasks
is very important. It enables the project managers and the team to see how the
project is progressing, if there are any delays that need to be addressed, or
any changes that need to be made in order to keep the project on track.
The project manager knows that, but the team, who might be a group of excellent
programmers who have no knowledge in project management and are not aware of the
importance of time tracking, might feel like big brother is watching them when
team members are asked to report the time they work on assignments. As a result
of not knowing the true reason behind this request, they object and refuse to
report their time. This type of miscommunication between the project manager and
the team leads to arguments, frustration, and project delays.
This is why it is so important for everyone on the team, including developers,
testers, managers, and even clients, to be familiar with all the stages that are
involved in the project development cycle.
So we’ve done the work for you.
In the past 18 months we’ve conducted extensive research. Read dozens of books,
run surveys, and received a lot of feedback from our clients about their
problems in the way they run their projects. That helped us to gain an
understanding of the challenges that companies face and enabled us to come up
with a solution that will help companies have control over their project
management process. We want to share our knowledge and expertise in the project
management field with you to help you improve your life.
We’ll be covering a lot of ground during the program, guiding you through some
very important concepts. But one of the best things about Elementool’s Project
Management Formula program is that you will start noticing results right away.
As you begin adopting the practices we show you, you’ll immediately see
improvements in your work and life.
So, what are you getting from us?
We are offering a 6-week program. Each week you will get a set of short video
clips about a specific topic. All it requires is 30 minutes a week of your time
to watch these videos. The six major sections that we will be covering in this
program are Requirements, Estimating, Scheduling and Planning, Time Management,
The Learning Process, and The Project Management Formula.
The first section, Requirements Management, breaks down the requirements phase
for you. This is a crucial part of project management that gets ignored far too
often, so we are going to start you off on the right foot by explaining the whys
and hows of good requirements management.
That will be followed by The Learning Process, which we think you will find
truly eye-opening. In that module, we reveal some little-known truths about how
our minds take in information and process change. Some people think that, to do
their job well, they only have to know the technical aspects of how to perform
their tasks. But we believe that to get to the next level professionally – to
find greater success – you need to be able to think beyond the obvious. It’s
important to understand how the mind works so that you can create positive
changes with your team members and within yourself.
The third section, Estimating, is where you learn how to create and provide the
best possible estimates for your clients and for your team. We will show you
different methods for doing this that you will want to put into action right
away. Best of all, they are easy to understand and easy to implement.
Our fourth section, which focuses on Time Management, offers a wealth of
information and tips on how you can ensure that your valuable time is used to
its best advantage. In that section, we have a terrific game that’s really going
to open your eyes about some unexpected realities of managing time.
After you play that game, I promise you’ll never look at multi-tasking the same
way again.
In the fifth section, Scheduling and Planning, you’re going to find out
practical, easily applicable ways to schedule your projects and keep them on
track as you go along. You will also discover in this section that good project
management involves managing expectations.
Finally, in the last section, we’re going to show you the Project Management
Formula. This is an easy 5 step system for running projects that we’re really
excited about, and that you will be able to start using straight away.
Step 1 – Define project objectives and collect requirements
Step 2 – Define the priority of the requirements and features
Step 3 – Planning iterations
Step 4 – Running iterations
Step 5 – Present the product to the client
It’s an awesome program, isn’t it? If you can get your current process to be 5%
more effective, how much would it be worth to you? How about 10%, 20%, or 35%
more effective?
Take a piece of paper and write down a number.
If you are guaranteed to be able to become 30% more efficient and be able
complete projects on time, what would that be worth to you?
Write down a number.
Now think about it this way:
On average, a person in the industry receives an annual salary of $100,000. Now
let’s say that you can become 30% more efficient as a result of using this
program. This is an annual cost saving of $30,000 each year!
Don’t worry, we are not going to charge you $30,000 per person for this program.
We won’t charge you $3,000 and not even $300.
The cost of this program is only $197 per person. Yes, that’s right. Only $197.
We give you this discount because we believe that the program will make a big
positive change for you and we would like you to buy it without being worried
about budget issues.
Let’s say you’ll use only one little tip you learned in our Project Management
Formula program that will make you 1% more efficient. This is a cost savings of
$1000 on the first year alone. This little change already covers the cost of the
program 5 times.
And it gets even better. At the end of the program we’ll collect video
testimonials from clients who bought it. If you send us a video testimonial of
how you used the Project Management Formula program and how it helped you to
improve the way you run projects, and we decide to use your testimonial in our
marketing, we will give you your money back.
Yes, that’s right, you will get Elementool’s Project Management Program for
free!
At this time we are offering the Project Management Formula program only to
Elementool’s clients. This means that you need to have an active paying
Elementool account to be able to buy the program. We want to show our
appreciation to our loyal clients by giving them access to the Formula before
everyone else does, to give them a competitive advantage.
This is a time sensitive offer only to our clients and will end soon. Then the
price will go up significantly and the Formula will be offered to the public. So
I suggest that you hurry to sign up today by clicking on the Sign Up button
below.
Not only that, we are offering you a Full-satisfaction guarantee. If you are not
fully satisfied with this program within the first 4 weeks, you can contact us
and get your money back. No questions asked.
So, click on the Sign Up button below now.
There is nothing for you to lose! Buy the program. If it doesn’t work for you,
just cancel it and we will give you your money back.
There is one thing we need to clarify: Nothing in these videos should be taken
as a promise for potential income. We can guarantee that you’ll be happy with
the product and if you are not, you can cancel it and get your money back within
28 days of purchase.
We cannot guarantee that you’ll have any kind of results like other people had.
Your results are unique to you. This program is designed for educational
purposes only.
Mark Twain said: “Twenty years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the
things you didn’t do, than by the one you did do. Throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from safe harbor. Explore. Discover.”
Here you can explore and discover with safety. You have my guarantee.
So just click on the Sign Up button below now and start the first step to a
better life.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Elementool, Project Management, Project
management formula, project manager, Project schedule | Comments Off on How to
Take Charge of Your Projects


HOW TO ELIMINATE STRESS

Posted on September 1, 2020 by admin







Hi, it’s Alison again. People often ask me if I know a good way to eliminate
stress in life. Think about how much more fun you would have if you could
relieve the stress that you have in your everyday life. You’d be less worried
and you’d be much happier and healthier. Well, I do know of a way to eliminate
stress, and I’m going to share it with you. It’s actually very simple. Before I
share this awesome stress elimination technique with you, I’d like to talk about
a related subject. If you want to succeed in something that you do, you need to
have two things. The knowledge of how to achieve your goal and the tools that
enable you to achieve it.

You need to have both and you can’t achieve your goals with only one of these
factors. Let me give you an example. Let’s say you want to drive somewhere. You
need to have two things, the knowledge of how to drive or driver’s license and a
tool for driving, which is a car. You can’t drive somewhere if you only have one
of them. You can’t drive somewhere if you only know how to drive a car, but you
don’t have a car, and you can’t drive somewhere if you have a car, but you don’t
know how to drive. You’ll be able to move the car but you’ll probably hit
something quickly and have an accident.

It’s so obvious that we hardly ever stop to think about it. Same goes with
Project Management. You need to have the knowledge of how to run projects, and
you need the set of tools that will enable you to actually run the projects.
That will take me to the stress elimination technique in a minute. If you have
the tools to run projects, but you don’t have the knowledge of how to do it,
you’ll start having accidents pretty quickly in the form of project delays,
scope, creep, et cetera. This is why we, at Elementool offer you both the
knowledge and the tools.
The knowledge comes in the form of our Project Management Formula Program, which
is a five-step system for running projects successfully from beginning to end.
The tools are the Elementool Project Management Software. Together, they give
you a complete solution that will allow you to achieve your goals. Now, back to
the stress elimination technique.

First, I’m going to give you the knowledge of how stress is created and how you
can prevent it. After that, I’m going to give you the tools that will enable you
to eliminate and prevent it. I’m going to start with a short clip from our
Project Management Formula Program that explains how stress is created and how
you can eliminate it. Here it is.
Most people these days will tell you that they have too much to do, and not
enough time to get it done. We’ve enhanced our quality of life in so many ways,
yet ironically, we nearly kill ourselves with stress by taking on more work than
we have the resources to deal with.

That’s why time management is so important because it’s really kind of stress
management. Have you ever wondered why you can’t seem to shut down your brain at
night when you’re trying to fall asleep? Why are there so many thoughts running
through your mind all the time? That’s stress. Now, let me explain how stress is
created. It’s not just the big problems that create stress, all of the little
unresolved tasks that we have to deal with sit at the back of our heads,
subconsciously creating tension. As soon as you attach a should, or a need to,
to a task, it becomes incomplete. Decisions that you still need to make about
whether or not you’re going to do something are already incomplete.

If you put your mind’s attention on something that needs to be done, and then
don’t complete it because it’s low on the priority list, your mind will have
already created an open process that keeps running in the back of your mind.
It’s going to keep bothering you till you complete that task. Worst of all, it
takes up your energy and prevents you from having a clear focus on the more
important tasks.

It’s kind of like your Windows Task Manager. When you open Task Manager, you see
that there are a lot of processes running in the background. Processes that you
didn’t even know existed. Many of them don’t do anything for days but there they
are, consuming your computer memory and causing it to run slowly. If you shut
down the processes that you don’t use, then it frees up the memory of your
computer, and it will run faster.

All these open-end processes create stress. How do we handle all these processes
and how do we minimize stress? The key is to clear the open process from our
mind by having something else managing them.

Usually, the reason something is on your mind is because you want the situation
to be different than what it currently is. The problem is, you haven’t yet
worked out exactly what the intended outcome is. You haven’t decided what the
next physical step is, and you haven’t put reminders of the outcome and the
action required into a system you trust.

Until you do all that, your brain will refuse to put the matter to rest. You can
try to fool the people around you by acting like everything’s okay but you can’t
fool your own mind. Only it knows whether or not you’ve come to the conclusions
you need. Until you clarify your thoughts, make the decisions, and store the
data in a system you can trust, your brain will keep nagging you about the next
step and adding to your stress.

To manage the actionable items, you’re going to need a storage place to put the
tasks, a calendar, a list of reminders of next actions, and a list of reminders
of things that you’re waiting for. You will also need a list of projects.
Projects or things that need to be completed by following a set of tasks. Hiring
a new employee, decorating a room, and building a new version of software or all
types of projects.

In order to manage this inventory of open processes, you have to capture it in
containers that will hold them until you have time to decide what they are and
what you’re going to do about them. Then you need to empty these containers
regularly to ensure that they remain good tools for collecting.

The fact that you haven’t put an item in your basket doesn’t mean you don’t have
it. You need to be sure that everything you need is collected somewhere other
than your head.

Now, there are many kinds of collection tools and they can be physical or
digital. For example, a basket, writing paper, a Word document, an email, or
Issue Tracking software, are all different types of collection tools. It’s
important that the tools have a good reminder system that you can trust. Once
you set up a reminder, you move the responsibility of this task to the reminder
system. This enables you to close the process in your mind and reduce the
stress.

Okay. Now that we have the knowledge about stress causes and how to prevent it,
let me introduce the tools that will help you to eliminate it. Let’s say you
have a task that you need to complete and you want to take it off your mind and
put it in a system so you won’t stress about it. First, you log into your
Elementool Issue Tracking account. Then, you create a new issue and type in the
description of the task and how it should be solved. When you’re done with this
step, create a reminder that will remind you to complete the task. Elementool
will manage the remembering part for you. When the due date comes, if the task
is not completed by then, Elementool will send you a reminder regarding this
task.

This way, your mind will remain stress-free. Cool and simple, isn’t it? This is
a small example of what we offer you and how much it can improve your life. The
Project Management Formula offers a six-week program. Each week, you’ll get a
set of short video clips about a specific topic. All it requires is 30 minutes a
week of your time to watch these videos. The six major sections that we cover in
this program are Requirements, which explains how to collect and write
requirements and define project objectives. The Learning Process, this section
describes how we learn and create habits. It will show you a simple system that
will improve your learning speed and help you to create positive habits.

Estimating, this is where you learn how to create and provide the best possible
estimates for your clients and for your team. Time Management, here you’ll find
a wealth of information and tips on how you can ensure that your valuable time
is used to its best advantage so you can achieve more in less time. Scheduling
and Planning, you’re going to find out practical, easy ways to schedule your
projects and keep them on track as you go along. The Project Management Formula,
this is an easy five-step system for running projects from start to end that
you’ll be able to start using straight away.

On the tool side, we offer you the Elementool’s Project Management System, which
includes Issue Tracking for managing your project tasks and the team’s daily
workflow. Help Desk, for running customer support and making your clients happy.
File Sharing, for sharing files online and saving time. Test Cases, for making
sure everything is tested and no bugs are slipping through the cracks.
Requirements Management for making sure the project is developed according to
what your clients want. Scheduling, for managing the project plan and schedule,
and making sure tasks are completed on time. Conference, for running online
meetings and approving communication. Amazing, isn’t it?

I think this entire deal is a game-changer. This is what I would like to offer
you. You’ll sign up for Elementool’s Project Management System, which includes
the seven tools that I mentioned just now for one year with unlimited users for
only $2,519. As a bonus of signing up, I’m going to give you free access to the
Project Management Formula Training Program for 50 people on your team. Usually,
the price of the Project Management Formula is $497 per person, times 50, this
is a bonus of $24,850. I want to give you this bonus because I want you to be
successful.

We at Elementool love our clients, and we want to help you and share our
knowledge with you. Now, I bet you said to yourself, “This is too good to be
true. There must be a catch.” Well, you’re right, there is a catch. This offer
is only valid for 24 hours. It’ll expire soon, so you better act fast. Click on
the Sign-up button below now.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Elementool, issue tracking, Project Management,
project manager, Time Management | Comments Off on How to Eliminate Stress


REQUIREMENTS ELICITATION: DRILLING DEEPER FOR IMPORTANT DETAILS

Posted on July 28, 2020 by admin

Your first responsibility in good requirements management is requirements
elicitation and in this section I’m going to give you the information you need
to elicit great requirements from your first interaction with the client and on
through the life of the project itself.

To be clear on our definition before moving forward, “requirements elicitation”
is defined as the method for determining the needs of the customers and users in
the project, and the project success objectives.

This is a very important process, as one might imagine, and it requires a
collaborative effort between the development team and the client. The Project
Management Formula helps to facilitate requirements elicitation, making it a
straightforward process that allows you to easily organize and prioritize
important information.

One thing to keep in mind about requirements elicitation is that, contrary to
what most companies assume, it isn’t necessarily just a matter of asking the
customer what they want. You have to dig deeper than that, read between the
lines, pay attention to details, really, really listen and learn to use your own
expertise to understand what they truly need.

The process is sort of like when you take your broken-down car to a mechanic. He
doesn’t start out by asking if you want him to replace this part or tighten that
screw. All he really has to know is that you need the car to run – he’ll figure
out the rest.

You need to remember that the client came to you because you are the expert in
your field. So they expect you to come up with a solution to the business
situation that they are facing.

The same process can be applied across a variety of industries and with clients
small, medium, large or even extra-large. Good requirements elicitation should
be transferable, scalable and, ultimately, repeatable. So, when you’re meeting
with a client, don’t just ask an open-ended, detail-blocking question like,
“What do you want?” This invites the client to solve the problem for himself
which, after all, is not why he came to you.

Instead, drill down deeper and ask “What do you need to do?” That way, your
client will tell you what they ultimately need to accomplish, and you can help
them find the best way to make that happen. Remember, the project is about
finding solutions to specific needs, not trying a scattershot approach to
solving all needs.

Also, don’t assume that every client knows exactly what they want. Drilling down
to create a more accurate project description helps both parties determine the
true need as well as a realistic solution. Skipping this vital step can
shortchange you both.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Requirements Elicitation: Drilling
Deeper for Important Details


PRODUCT REQUIREMENTS

Posted on January 9, 2020 by admin

Every project begins with requirements.

Although this step is very important, it is often neglected by companies because
people see it as a “waste of time.” Both the developers and clients want to get
right to writing the software code because then they feel that the project is
progressing, but the result of poor requirements is having to make changes to
the system later in the project and sometimes even starting the project all
over. And this is a waste or precious time, money and resources.

Not defining the project’s requirements and business objectives is considered to
be the number one reasons why projects fail.

Clearly, we must learn the requirements before starting the project. In other
words, what does the client/customer require? That is the original question upon
which the rest of the project hinges. If you don’t know what the customer really
wants, then you’ll be managing the wrong project or, just as bad, managing the
right project in the wrong manner.


        Many companies trust the client to know what he wants. Unfortunately,
clients generally only know what they “think” they want and rarely work through
to the end result. One of the most important aspects of project management is
getting to the requirements first so that the rest of the project goes smoothly.

       Careful planning, questioning and soliciting are critical to the
requirements process, and that is the groundwork we’ll be laying in this first,
critical section.

Projects aren’t just comprised of a beginning, a middle and an end but dozens,
even hundreds, of working parts. The more “parts” you’re forced to work with,
the more challenging the project can be. But if you can nail the requirements
before even getting started on the project itself, the challenges you’ll face
later will be both less problematic and less frequent.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Project Management, Project management formula,
project manager, Requirements Management, Software Development, software
requirements | Comments Off on Product Requirements


THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS: WORKING TOGETHER VERSUS WORKING ALONE

Posted on October 15, 2019 by admin

But you don’t have to do it alone anymore. In a period of 18 months myself and
the rest of the team at Elementool, Inc. have conducted extensive research, read
dozens of books, run surveys, and received a lot of feedback from our clients
about their problems in the way they run their projects.

That helped us to gain an understanding of the challenges that companies face
and enabled us to come up with a solution that will help companies have control
over their project management process. We want to share our knowledge and
expertise in the project management field with you to help you improve your
life.

We’ll be covering a lot of ground in this book, guiding you through some very
important concepts. But one of the best things about Elementool’s Project
Management Formula is that you will start noticing results right away. As you
begin adopting the practices I show you, you’ll immediately see improvements in
your work and life. That’s because the tools are simple, step-by-step and easy
to follow:

Six Sections for Success!

What, exactly, will The Project Management Formula give you? What I am offering
you in this book are six sections for success, the last of which – the Formula
you’ve been hearing so much about – will provide you with the final five steps,
or solutions, that will kick your project management into overdrive!

The six major sections that we will be covering in this book are:

 1. Requirements
 2. The Learning Process
 3. Estimating
 4. Time Management
 5. Scheduling and Planning
 6. The Project Management Formula

The first section, Requirements, breaks down the requirements phase for you.
This is a crucial part of project management that gets ignored far too often, so
I am going to start you off on the right foot by explaining the “why’s” and
“how’s” of good requirements management.

That will be followed by our second section, The Learning Process, which I think
you will find truly eye-opening. In that lesson, I reveal some little-known
truths about how our minds take in information and process change.

Some people think that, to do their job well, they only have to know the
technical aspects of how to perform their tasks. But at Elementool we believe
that to get to the next level professionally – to find greater success – you
need to be able to think beyond the obvious. It’s important to understand how
the mind works so that you can create positive changes with your team members
and within yourself.

The third section we’ll cover together, Estimating, is where you learn how to
create and provide the best possible estimates for your clients and for your
team. I will show you different methods for doing this that you will want to put
into action right away. Best of all, they are easy to understand and easy to
implement.

The book’s fourth section, which focuses on the extremely crucial skill of Time
Management, offers a wealth of information and tips on how you can ensure that
your valuable time is used to its best advantage.

In the fifth section, Scheduling and Planning, you’re going to find out
practical, easily applicable ways to schedule your projects and keep them on
track as you go along. You will also discover in this section that good project
management involves managing expectations.

Finally, in the last and most pivotal section of the book, I’m going to teach
you The Project Management Formula. This is an easy 5-step system for running
projects that we here at Elementool are really excited about, and that you will
be able to start using straight away. The five steps of “the Formula” are:

 * Step 1: Define project objectives and collect requirements
 * Step 2: Define the priority of the requirements and features
 * Step 3: Planning iterations
 * Step 4: Running iterations
 * Step 5: Present the product to the client

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged defect tracking, issue tracking, Project
Management, Project management formula, Project schedule, scheduling, Software
Development, software testing, Time Management, Time Tracking | Comments Off on
The Power of Partnerships: Working Together Versus Working Alone


PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS LEARNED, NOT GIVEN

Posted on September 18, 2019 by admin

Nobody is just automatically born a great project manager, nor does becoming one
happen overnight. Instead, like anything else of value in work or in life, being
a great project manager is a skill – or, to be precise, a series of skills –
that you have to master over time before those skills become habitual. But many
people never quite acquire these skills, because after all change takes time and
very few of us have time to spare these days. I understand all this, which is
why I’ve done the work for you by assembling the six basic strategies and five
simple steps you’ll need to, as the subtitle of this book suggests, “complete
projects on time.”

The knowledge is out there; it’s simply a matter of distilling it all down and
putting it to use. The challenge isn’t just how, but when? Case in point: there
are many books about project management, but who has time to read 400-page books
when there is barely any time to finish the things you need to do right now,
today?

And even when the project manager is knowledgeable about how to manage projects,
usually the team of developers, testers, managers and clients have no knowledge
in project management methodologies and that creates miscommunication between
the different project stakeholders, leading to frustration and project failure.

Let me give you an example: Tracking the time that team members spend on tasks
is very important. It enables the project managers and the team to see how the
project is progressing, if there are any delays that need to be addressed, or
any changes that need to be made in order to keep the project on track.

The project manager knows that, but the team, who might be a group of excellent
programmers who have no knowledge in project management and are not aware of the
importance of time tracking, might feel like “big brother” is watching them when
team members are asked to report the time they work on assignments.

As a result of not knowing the true reason behind this request, they often
object and even refuse to report their time. While it’s human nature to see
requests like this as “interference,” this type of basic miscommunication
between the project manager and the team leads to arguments, frustration and
project delays. In short, project mismanagement.

This is why it is so important for everyone on the team, including developers,
testers, managers, and even clients themselves, to be familiar with all the
stages that are involved in the project development cycle. And who’s responsible
for making them familiar with those stages? That’s right, you; the project
manager.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Project Management, Project management formula,
project manager, Time Management, Time Tracking | Comments Off on Project
Management is Learned, Not Given


DON’T JUST MANAGE YOUR TIME; MASTER IT!

Posted on September 4, 2019 by admin

When it comes to project management, regardless of your position in the company,
the size of company or even what industry you’ve been in, time is a mission
critical factor that often makes completing projects a challenge.

We’ve all been there: not enough time, no solid schedule, poorly defined goals
and objectives, no formal plan, out of control scope creep, miscommunication
between people that are involved in the project, etc.

As a result, projects are delayed, time is wasted, clients are angry, your
company’s reputation is damaged and you lose customers, people are frustrated
and stressed out, team members have to work extra hours to catch up, morale goes
down, and employees lose confidence in the company.

If you’ve invested time and money in trick after trick – such as using different
project tools, begging and threatening, shouting, motivating team members,
holding group discussions, adding more people to the team, and working more
hours – but nothing has worked, I would ask you to give this book, and The
Project Management Formula it contains, a chance.

Here’s why: You’ve been investing in a host of project management tools and
services because you want a better income, a better life for your family, more
freedom and independence. But tools alone are useless without solid foundations.

You need strategies for using tools. You’ve been focusing on tools and solving
problems instead of focusing on creating strength and power that can be
leveraged to avoid problems in the first place. That’s a mindset I hope to
change with the Formula I’ll be showing you in this book.

It might help you to think about it this way: let’s say you have the fastest car
in the world in your garage. But you don’t know how to drive. The car will be
useless to you because you don’t know how to move it, let alone master all the
strength, vitality and speed that’s being wasted under the hood. But if you are
an excellent driver, even a slow car will be able to get you from one place to
another.

In this book I am going to show you how to take charge of your projects and run
them in a simple, step-by-step way that will enable you to complete them on
time, starting today. This can boost income now and bring you the high-caliber
clients that you want to attract. It can also make your company more efficient
and competitive and begin refining and spotlighting your brand starting on this
very page.

The best part is you don’t need any special background, education, or skills to
use this Formula. That said, you do need one special super power to put it into
use: action. And not just any action, but aggressive action. Process without
action will never produce change. Process without action is simply doing the
same things you did yesterday – and the day before – and expecting change.

 Albert Einstein said: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over
and over again and expecting different results.” Something is missing from that
equation; something vital. That something vital is aggressive action.

If you don’t take aggressive action once you’ve seen the path I’ve laid out for
you in this book, then I can’t help you. Real Success is for people who take
action. Mediocre people follow the herd and wait passively for things to “maybe”
change in the future.

You are not like that. How do I know? Because you’re here, with me, reading
these words and hoping, ready, for change. I am going to show you how to drive
your projects and you’ll be able to use this knowledge with any tool that you
currently have.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged defect tracking, issue tracking, Project
Management, Time Management, Time Tracking | Comments Off on Don’t Just Manage
Your Time; Master It!


INSTANT MESSAGING

Posted on June 3, 2016 by admin

Instant messaging has become common in our daily routine. So we have decided to
offer it as part of Elementool to help you improve your communication with your
team members. Especially if they are located someplace else.



To start a new conversation using the Instant Messenger, please follow these
steps:

• Click on the ‘number of users’ online link at the top of the page to display
who is currently logged in to the account.
• Click on the name of the user to start an Instant Message session.
• The Messenger window will be displayed on your screen.
• Type your message and click on the keyboard Enter button to send it.

When someone starts a new conversation with you, you will see a red flag next to
the ‘number of users’ link.
Follow these steps to join an instant message session:

• Click on the ‘number of users’ online link at the top of the page.
• The person who sent you the message will be marked on the user list.
• Click on the user’s name to open the messenger window.
• Type your reply in the text box and click on the keyboard Enter button to send
it.

As you can see, Instant Messaging is easy and can make the communication with
your team faster and more efficient.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged agile development, bug tracking, defect
tracking, Elementool, IM, Instant Messaging, issue tracking, Product management,
Project Management, Software Development, software testing, Web Development |
Leave a comment


HOW TO EDIT YOUR CUSTOMER LIST

Posted on May 7, 2015 by admin

In this clip I’d like to introduce a new feature in our Help Desk software
called ‘Customer List’.
As you are probably guessing, the Customer List enables you to define your
customer contact details in your Help Desk account.







This way you can store and display on the Help Desk ticket form the customer
name, email address, phone number and other contact details. So you can easily
contact the client about the specific Help Desk ticket if needed.



The first step is setting up the client list.
To setup the client list, please follow these steps:
1. Login as an administrator.
2. Click on Control Panel.
3. Click on Edit Customer List.
4. Use the Add New section to add a new customer to the list.
5. You can also edit existing customers by clicking on the Edit button on the
right.

The next step is to choose the customer name on your Help Desk ticket form.
On the ticket form, the customer name field displays a dropdown list of the
customers. When choosing a name from the list, the customer details are
automatically updated.

Very simple.

We plan to add additional options to the customer list feature in the upcoming
weeks. Stayed tool.

If you already have an Issue Tracking account, you can add Help Desk to your
account for only $29.99/month by going to “Control Panel”, clicking on “Edit
Accounts”, then clicking on “Manage Account List”, changing the Help Desk
package to Premium and clicking on the Update button.
If you still don’t have an Elementool account, click on the ‘Sign Up Now’ button
below to open a free trial account.




Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged customer support, Elementool, help desk | Leave
a comment
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