Speed Dating for Project Management Software

Speed Dating for Project
Management Software
Margot Hanson, California Maritime Academy
Andrew Tweet,William Jessup University
Kevin Pischke, William Jessup University
Annis Lee Adams, Golden Gate University

Internet Librarian 2013
Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Project Management Principles &
Best Practices
● A project is work that has a defined
beginning, end, and goals.
● Project management is a set of tools to help
allocate and track resources so that a
project can be completed successfully, on
time, and on budget.
● Project management is in contrast to
operations management which has defined
goals, but does not have a defined term.

Defining the Project
1) Define the project scope in a written charter
a) Define success with goals & stakeholders (punchlist,
phases, metrics)
b) Define timeline in relative or calendar terms
c) Define resources (budget, personnel, equipment)
d) Define what happens to the resources and
deliverables when the project is over

2) If any one of these parameters changes,
then the others must adjust to compensate.
3) Defining the scope will help prevent
misunderstandings between stakeholders
and scope creep.

Allocating the Resources
A. Three types of resources, many techniques
a. Time (storyboards, weekly meetings, cascade chart)
b. Personnel (kickoff/closing meetings, debriefs,
monitoring reports, task allocation, flow charts)
c. Money (budget, release points, or other
accountability measures)

Project management phases
1. Planning
a. Project scope defined and written up as charter

2. Build-up
a. Allocation of needed resources, training, team
building, etc

3. Implementation
a. Carrying out the plan
b. Modifying scope and resources as needed

4. Closeout
a. Handing over deliverables, making the site live,
debriefing and reporting to stakeholders

Recommended reading on project
management
HBR's 10 must reads on collaboration. (2013).
Boston, Mass: Harvard Business Review
Press.
HBR's guide to project management. (2013).
Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.
Managing projects: Expert solutions to everyday
challenges. (2006). Boston, Mass: Harvard
Business School Press.
PMP (Project Management Professional) study guides
(via ebrary and Ebsco).

Project Management Software
Adoption Survey
● Survey ran from Aug 23 - Sept 13, 2013
● Distributed on CALIX, CALIBACA, ERIL,
BayNet, New-Lib, Web4LIB, CODE4LIB, ILI,
SCELC, CCCU
● 205 Respondents

Respondents’ Library Type

Academic

Public

Special

Staffing Levels at Respondents’ Libraries

1-9 FTE

10-24 FTE

25-49 FTE

50-99 FTE

100+

Has your library used software that is designed
specifically for project management?

re
a

9%
6

ve
ha

ot
n

No

ed
us

ftw
so

Yes

Don’t Know

Dominant Themes
● Librarians (survey respondents) see a need
for project management, but not sure
where to go
● Missing base knowledge on project
management
● Not sure which program will work best with
their library workflow (or won’t get adopted)

Case Study
Don’t assume that someone is responsible-assign it directly to someone and make sure they
know they’re responsible

“No one should ever have a
question about where a project
stands” --Kevin Pischke

Let’s take it slow
● Our Evergreen consultant introduced us to Trello
during our ILS upgrade for testing and bug tracking
● In house we only used it to store good ideas for
displays or events

Time to get serious (DTR)
● We started to use it as a PM tool when we
had 7 different technology projects to
implement at the same time. (EBSCO Discovery
Service, Camino, Libguides, EBSCO Academic Ebooks, Streaming video
database + 5 other databases, EBL patron driven loans/acquisitions,
GetItNow)

● Developed workflow on projects &
operations boards
● Developed board admins for oversight and
assigning DRI’s to tasks

Case Study

Don’t be afraid to play the field -- you
probably won’t marry the first one that
comes along. So, jump in and don’t wait
for “the perfect one!” --Margot & Lee

Lots of fish in the sea
● We developed a project management software
evaluation matrix
● Tested various software to see if they fit our needs

Time to get serious (DTR)
● BaseCamp - Website redesign project
● Trello, Asana, Podio: - e-resource troubleshooting;
presentation coordination

What project management software has
your library used?

ses
pon

Res
p4
To

MS Project

Basecamp

Jira

Trello

How well did the software work for your
library’s project(s)?

MS Project

Basecamp

Jira

Trello

We’d set you up on a blind date with
Microsoft Project if...
●
●
●
●

Already in use with your organization
PMP on staff
You need a high level, complex tool
Required to manage time, money, and
personnel

It’s Not Me, It’s You
●
●
●
●

Steep learning curve
Too feature rich
Difficult to share progress and updates
“all noise no light”

Basecamp if...
● You’re looking for something to manage
your task-intensive, short-term projects (IT
projects, event planning)
● You need a low barrier for adoption
● You have a little money to spend
● You want to keep everyone in the loop,
share files, and track timelines

● “Basecamp timelines are not tied to
resource allocations.”
● “Basecamp is a messy interface. Doesn't
facilitate visually the organization of
multiple projects very well.”

Jira if...
● You want to track issues/bugs
● You have an IT/tech/digitization/web design
project
● You want to set up multiple workflows
● You want a very flexible/customizable
program
● You have a little money to spend

JIRA has a high learning curve for changes, i.e.
it is very flexible, but therefore has many
configuration options

Trello if...
● You have a team of 5 or fewer individuals
● You primarily need task management not
time or budget management
● You need an easy, shared tool in the cloud
● You have $0 budget, and don’t need frills
● You need easy file attachments, checklists,
assignment of DRI’s, mobile app

● It doesn’t scale up for big projects
● You have to make it fit into your workflow
or get a 3rd party app to integrate it into
email and calendar
● You don’t have to assign DRI’s or due dates
so things can slip through the cracks if you
don’t monitor your boards

Take-aways
● Principles, practices, tools can be
implemented at any level
● Pick the right tool for the job (lightweight,
low-cost tools don’t need library director
approval!)
● Software alone won’t solve your project
management problems

Speed Dating for Project Management Software

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