I use Microsoft Project Standard 2007 for a very simple reason. I started using it (2nd program I ever purchased) when it was furnished with two- five and a quarter floppies. I have upgraded through the years and am currently using the 2003 version. It is a great package, and I have been very well pleased. However, it is $500.00 and many organizations will not use the full functionality of it. There are numerous packages both on-line and off-line that are very competent, and I recommend you evaluate each based on your individual needs.

An Affiliate resource of mine, Systems2win has a very unique set of Project Management tools that are templates for Microsoft Excel. They are part of his Kaizen Bundle offering, and if you understand Kaizen you understand why they are bundled there.

Below is a minimum outline for Project Management in a Marketing Process:

Calendar: Yes, we still could use a graphical list. Some people just have to see it that way to understand it.

Gantt Chart Project Plan: A graphic way for a Project Leader to manage tasks assigned to team members. This is an important tool to and the way I view project 90% of the time.

Project Cost Estimate Worksheet: To estimate project costs.

To Do List: A simple way for a Team Leader to manage tasks assigned to team members. Meeting Agenda & Minutes template: To prepare for and get the most from team meetings

Priorities Consensus Worksheet: To evaluate & prioritize strategic initiatives

Decision Matrix (with Impact Effort PICK Matrix): Provides a visually graphic depiction of the trade-offs between the impact that an alternative will probably have toward resolving the problem, and the effort required. I love Matrices.

Issues Worksheet: To organize and resolve issues faced by a project or team and to identify and approve potential software customizations

Organization Chart: To define both formal and informal work group structures

Ground Rules for Working Together: Covenants for mutual respect and productive work habits

Change Management Worksheet: To prepare a Communications Plan and other approaches to help people embrace change

Team Members, Roles & Responsibilities: A concise way to summarize who is responsible for what.

Team Support Roles: Clear responsibilities for the Teams that support various project teams

Project Team Facilities Worksheet: To identify facilities needed, and track status of providing them.

The descriptions of these items were furnished by Systems2win. Their Project Management templates included each one of these and more in a Microsoft Word or Excel Template.

Small Project Management: As you become familiar with Lean and the Lean Marketing concept, you will learn about A3 reporting. An A3 Report is a single-page storyboard that is used to systematically identify problems and stimulate creative problem-solving. It is also used for proposals and guidelines for the work that needs to be done. It could also serve as a small project management form if so constructed. However most of the time it will consist of several of the items above embedded into one sheet.

There is so much to learn in project management that I have chosen to create numerous resources in lieu of blogging about the basics. Our journey will now start in Project Management for “Leaner” Marketing and there will be a fair amount of blogging around that subject.

Related Posts:

The Death of the Marketing Calendar – Part1

Replacing the Marketing Calendar with Project Management

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A single blog post cannot describe the intricacies of Project Management and the framework in developing a structure to make it successful. These AFFILIATE links are just the best of the processes and information I have used in developing a solid Project Management background.

I have for years followed the Ten Step Project Management philosophy for Project Management. It is carefully thought out and is a proven method of Project management.

Out of all the books that I have read on the subject and used, the one I would recommend starting with is Lean Project Management: Eight Principles For Success by Larry Leach(Amazon Link).

A quick Summary of Larry’s First Principle:

It’s the system! You must design and implement an effective project delivery system appropriate to your projects, organization, and environment.

The project system consists of people, process, and the product, and the relationships between them.

Some of the basics of project management are essential to all projects, but few are necessary for every project.

The project leader must sort out what matters most for the project at hand.

Any project worth doing is worth doing fast.

Critical Chain Project Management gives you the tools to do projects, in half the time, all the time.

The Lean Project Management approach will include:

More successful projects (satisfied customers and project team, full-scope, on-time, under-budget).
Faster project completion.
Simple project status.
Reduced unnecessary project paperwork.
Clear signals on when to take action on the project.
Reduced pressure on project team members.
Reduction of the waste that causes project delays: multi-tasking, queuing, Student Syndrome, Parkinson’s law.

Learn more and download a free chapter if you go to the E-book section in the TenStep Store for templates, eBooks and many other project management products., under the title Lean Project Management: Eight Principles for Success.

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An excerpt from the TenStep Project Management Ebook on Options for Obtaining a Methodology:

To successfully implement a project management methodology, first convince yourself that there is value if the process is applied and utilized correctly. In fact, all projects use a methodology of processes, procedures and templates. If you don’t think you have one, it really means that you have a poor and informal one.
If you need a good project management methodology, there are two major sources.

Build one yourself. You can build a custom methodology that perfectly reflects the philosophy and best practices of your organization. Many companies continue to do this today.

Buy one. If you build a methodology, you might be surprised to learn that it ultimately looks similar to most other project management methodologies that people use. No matter how you structure it, you still need to plan, build a workplan, manage scope and risks, communicate, etc. Therefore, many companies choose to buy or license a pre-existing methodology. These pre-built methodologies usually have everything your organization needs to be successful.

Of course, if you buy a methodology, you still may need to customize it to meet the specific needs of your organization. This gives you the benefits of option 1, while also taking less effort and cost, which is the major benefit of option 2.

TenStep, Inc.©

The TenStep website is one of the most content driven websites on Project Management. It is great place to learn the basic, intermediate and advanced structure and terminology of the business.

Learn more about the Ten Step Management Process at the TenStep Store for templates, eBooks and many other project management products.

P.S. I am an affiliate of this product.

Related Post: The Death of the Marketing Calendar – Part1

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Deskpad to take notes.
Video on how to create one.
Google calendar for my site.
Uhm – a give-away for branding purposes.

It is like wearing a watch anymore. I have the time on my phone and a calendar that I do not use. What is the purpose of a marketing calendar? The only thing that I know it can do is make a visual list. However, let’s step it up notch and find out what you should be doing.

If you watched my calendar video you see that I construct somewhat of a Value Stream Map initially out of all the events a customer has scheduled. I like to organize it bu utilizing a computer projected on the screen or with paper taped to a whiteboard. But before the Value Stream is created, I create an Influencer diagram.

An Influencer diagram is much like a mind map, with a central theme, and components surrounding it. When used in marketing, I will start with maybe a certain campaign, strategy or event and surround it with the different marketing aspects. You should group each by the strongest relations that they have to each item. Now step back from it for a moment and consider the influence each item had on another. Lightly pencil in an influence let’s say that a direct mail piece or press release had on an event. Place an arrow on the end showing the direction of influence. If the influence was reciprocal, place an arrow on each. If the influence was greatly unbalanced in one direction, two arrows are typically used with one being a much heavier weight. For better visualization, you can draw circles around different groupings. That can be quite interesting because you can rate somewhat of a Venn diagram in the process.

Influencer diagrams can be rather revealing. The first thing they do is typically cause great debate. During the debate, it will become much clearer where the influences are the strongest and also the kinds of influence that are created. There can also be influences that happened outside of the groupings. As you explore the diagram, lines may be added and even removed. This exercise creates thinking about how your marketing structure actually operates in contrast to the typical flow diagrams. You may even add a few notes about the line to substantiate your decisions of the influencers.

In today’s marketing, I do not believe that one single event or action really works anymore. My philosophy of marketing states that is the strength of the connection between each of these events or actions that will determine the degree of success that you will have. This simple diagram highlights the gaps in that type of thinking. Also, look for the existence of tails, components out of limb, which have no leading or leaving them. These components are certainly ones that need to be debated and the question asked why they are there? Another use would be for a new event. See how existing influencers can play a part in developing the structure for this new venture. It also can be quite useful in planning for resource and budgeting.

I encourage you to try this type of diagram. This is one of the most useful and simplest tools that I have utilized and the one that has created the most activity and discussions. If you would like more information on this subject, a great resource is Thinking Visually: Business Applications of 14 Core Diagrams.

Related Post: What is your Present State

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It works great except…many times it seems that I am explaining the process along the line. I end up teaching what a Value Stream Map or even a Marketing Calendar is and the purpose, we are doing it. Sure, I know that should all be done before hand but do we? Do we take the time? Many lean practitioners work hard to help an organization to improve their Lean skills. This is a slow, difficult and often frustrating part of the process. Computer-supported Value Stream Mapping may help Lean practitioners be more effective in this respect. Creating a simple mapping process for them to input into the software and through the use of the help section, both written and video supported, would not hinder the mapping but facilitate the actual process in the Value Stream Mapping Process. Explanation of the key concepts and how they are used would make the best use of everyone’s time.

When setting initial assignments, don’t require that a map be drawn but have a procedure to check off that the different nomenclature was understood. This will give most individuals solid footing for the meeting. You may want to do a webinar on VSM to facilitate the mapping process. Use the tutorials embedded in the software as a basis of discussion. This way there will be a reference point for everyone afterwards.

A better way, for those with both the technical agility and a suitably equipped classroom, is to do “live” mapping and update the actual process constructed on the wall every 15 minutes or so. Having a reference point can be very handy when you are taking down a stray path. This would also enable a wider audience as actual attendance would not be required. Especially in supply chain applications, you could have numerous suppliers and/or downstream and upstream customers participating from a distant. Another feature is that you may choose to schedule times when different participants would be available. Mapping in real time, can be difficult and beyond the scope of many organizations. However, if it is possible, it gives you instant documentation for the entire organization and a basis for a process that I would refer to as a true Value Stream Management process.

It should already be apparent that handling mapping can be a very different experience than is had when using the traditional method of post-it-notes. Value Steam Mapping represents information more densely and makes more information immediately available to the mind. It supports a wider range of interaction, which is ultimately what we are after. That said, these are the early days in computer supported mapping. For now, there needs to be a balance. However, it is changing. I predict that since it is not a technology issue but a policy constraint that it soon will be common place. If not, you may be the like an accountant dealing with a system of ledgers and manual entries and Turbo-Tax has largely replaced that group.

P.S. I market Value Stream Mapping Software on my Site.

Related Blog: Why would you use Value Stream Mapping?

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However, this week the procedure took a strange turn. I completed the process but I happen to know one of the client’s customer very well. So, after constructing this hour glass with the new client, I was able to sit down with his customer and my friend and map the process from the customers’ point of view. Voice of Customer seems to an over-used word in our industry but this was one of my best experiences. We actually pulled the clients file from the customers file cabinet, reviewed the folders on his computer including e-mails and bookmarks. I then laid out all the marketing material that had accumulated, highlighted and even taking note of the bent corners in the catalog. This was all followed by an interview.

Of course, my sample size of 1 is not a good indicator. The key to this process was the awaking to the client and myself on what the customer valued and what his procedure was in making the decision. His process was simply different. We talk about going to Gemba and walking the walk from the customers’ point of view, but do we? How much non-effective marketing could you save by doing this? How much effective marketing could you implement?

P.S. Use a larger sample size.

Related Posts:

Is your Value Stream Mapping backwards?

Mirror Marketing E-Book

Another word for Marketing – How about Voice of the Customer?

Technorati : Duct Tpae Marketing, Marketing Calendar, Marketing Hourglass, Value stream Mapping

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1. Get all of the material you have and a list of all your listings and advertising you are running.

When I do this step, I am usually handed a tri-fold brochure, tons of product material, post cards, 4-color advertisements and a profile or two of the owner that was in the look business publication. I hold my breath and in the back of my mind, I think – They call this marketing! Why do I say that? More and more the concept of marketing is becoming about the connection with the customer. The material I receive is typically all outbound marketing material. Very little of it is in any way trying to create communication with their customer base. And very little of it if any of it directly relates to the customers buying process. 

So, what do you do? My first step is to list their events on a calendar and post it to the wall. Look at my video on "How to make Marketing Calendar." It is a light hearted version of the process. After all the events are listed. I take the Marketing Funnel that we popularized in the Duct Tape Marketing Process. The Marketing funnel is depicted below. I take each of the pieces of literature and place it in one of the categories of Know, Like,Trust, etc. I directly relate each piece of the material see if it supports one of the steps in the funnel. If it does not support a step than what purpose does it actually serve? What typically happens is that most of the material ends up in the top of the funnel with very little of it being used in the bottom two-thirds.

So, what are we waiting for? Where does all you marketing material go?

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• A shift from traditional to alternative media
• A growth spurt for interactive marketing
• More off-line support for online campaigns
  Based on an article by Kim T. Gordon for Entrepreneur.com, expect these trends in 2008:

But don’t jump to quick. Make sure before you ever click on a mouse or upgrade your web presence that you have a solid marketing plan in place and a marketing calendar. Without either you will make costly mistakes. Remember when you do change content you want it change from a static website to a dynamic style. If that is the case, who will be updating it next month?

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A simple idea on how to have a good one is to look at the people that use them to be successful. No, I am not talking Franklin Covey, I am talking someone that is using them for marketing and living by them, PUBLICATIONS. Go look at some media kits you have and evaluate what you like about them.

Here is why, they are simple and easy to read and they answer these questions:
1. Theme for each month = what
2. Material due dates = when
3. Mail dates = when
4. Types of material = how
5. Publication being used = where
6. Recipient = who

Oh yeah, it sounds like that Rudyard Kipling thing: “I keep six honest men. They taught me all I knew. Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.” I urge you to use these six men.

My Calendar is being updated continuously and is on my web page, take a look.

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The quickest and most effective way is to build a plan on where you are at. On what is working. It is one of the most important processes that you can do. Then you can define your objectives, develop strategies to achieve them, than institute action plans to carry out your strategies. If your objectives are not being met your strategies and actions may need to be changed. But without a baseline and a plan to work from, the process and achievements are only arbitrary.

As an example, most businesses have no sales process whatsoever. An effective sales process spans from lead generation to include marketing through sales closure. Pick one area at a time and make a commitment to improve that. You might have a long list, but you have to start somewhere and before too long you’ll have dramatically improved.

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing simply states that you must live by a marketing calendar. The idea is to keep doing something related to marketing, according to plan, day in and month out. When you plan your marketing activities using a calendar, your focus tends to be on the immediate goal leaving the long term goals become part of the process. Tracking and accountability is built into the calendar so that you can see the progress or where you may become off-track.

How does your calendar look?

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