Failure is Not an Option:"Leave it to
high-tech defense contractor L-3 Communications to spice up
training." Synergy’s program management
work with L-3 Communications has been recognized by the editors
of Human Resource Executive Magazine as a "Best HR Idea for
2009.” Called "Failure Is Not an Option," this program
accelerates the professional development of L-3's program
managers all over the US.
Improving the ROI of the Project Portfolio:This
worldwide semiconductor manufacturer invests heavily to stay
competitive, annually funding a large portfolio of technology
improvement projects. Unfortunately, this portfolio did not
deliver full return on investment. Many of the projects missed
schedule or budget, did not deliver what was originally
intended, or caused last minute surprises to the senior
management team.
Project Management Tools Help Get the Job Done:
With Synergy's help,
Siltronic
is introducing a new project management system into their
technology development. Dwain Oster, Director of
Process Technology, explains why and how in this interview.
Improving the Development Process:
The design team for the next
generation product was experiencing high levels of bugs on first
article prototypes. Reducing the number of design escapes was
imperative in order to meet R&D budget constraints and strict
time to market requirements.
Taking Development to the Next
Level:
The senior VP of product development knew that satisfied
customers and increased market share would be the payoff if he
invested wisely to increase development capacity and
predictability. But where should he focus to get the most bang
for his investment buck?
Executive Visibility and Decision Making:
Executives were surprised frequently on many of these
critical projects, hearing about issues only after a project had
deteriorated badly and customers were complaining loudly. The
executives needed good ongoing visibility into the status,
issues, and risks of current projects.
New Product Development System:
Developing standard products that have a consistent
architecture and are easily reusable and customizable is very
different from custom development. Recognizing this, the company
asked Synergy to assess its capabilities and help it design a
product development system that would succeed in its unique
culture and niche market.
Articles and White Papers
Synergy's articles are published by a
variety of publications, including the Project Management
Institute and Project Management World Today. Contact us if you would like to
link to or publish Synergy articles.
Title
Original Publication
48
Manage Expectations by Using Formal
Communications
May 2012
47
Build Informal Relationships to Manage Expectations
Dec 2011
46
A Program is Not a Project on Steroids
Aug 2011
45
Carry Projects Through to the Finish Line
June 2011
44
Building a Flexibility Toolbox
(Part 4 of Flexible Projects with Preston Smith)
Mar 2011
43
Creating a Flexible Environment
(Part 3 of Flexible Projects with Preston Smith)
Feb 2011
42
Enabling a Flexible Team
(Part 2 of Flexible Projects with Preston Smith)
Jan 2011
41
What Should a Project Management Office (PMO)
Be?
Dec 2010
40
Flexible Project Management: Extending Agile Techniques
beyond Software Projects (Proceedings of the 2010 PMI
Global Congress)
Oct 2010
39
Agile Isn't Just for Software (Part 1 of Flexible
Projects)
Sep 2010
38
Learn from Projects or Perish
Mar 2010
37
Backpacker's Guide to Lightweight Project Management
Jan 2010
36
How to Get Things Done
Nov
2009
35
Adapting Project Management to a Low Maturity Organization
(Proceedings of the 2009 PMI Global Congress)
Oct
2009
34
Four Steps to Conquer Lousy Project Meetings
Sep
2009
33
Decisions When Starting Development of a New Product
June
2009
32
Six Steps to Better Delegation
May
2009
31
PPM: The Art of Saying "No" (Part 5: Portfolio
Monitoring and Governance)
Jan 2010
30
PPM: The Art of Saying "No" (Part 4: Keeping Your Portfolio
Balanced)
Aug
2009
29
PPM: The Art of Saying "No" (Part 3: Maximizing the
Portfolio)
Aug
2009
28
PPM: The Art of Saying "No" (Part 2: Strategic Alignment)
Jun
2009
27
PPM: The Art of Saying "No" (Part 1: Overview)
Apr
2009
26
Quality as Delighter
Mar 2009
25
Pre-Mortems: Hype or Innovation?
Jan 2009
24
Get Your Team on the Bus
Jan 2009
23
This Project Needs a Leader - Now!
Nov
2008
22
Project Portfolio Management: How to Do
the Right Projects at the Right Time
(Proceedings of the 2008 PMI Global Congress)
Oct 2008
21
Ten Tips to Make Change Work for You
Sep
2008
20
Well Run Projects Are Not Enough
May 2008
19
Driving Projects to Successful Completion
Mar 2008
18
Think Like an Investor: Building a Business
Case
Jan 2007
17
Advanced Risk Management
Nov 2007
16
Stuff Happens: Dealing With Risks
Sep 2007
15
Are Plans Useless?
May 2007
14
What Makes Projects Succeed?
Mar 2007
13
How to Sabotage a Project Schedule
Jan 2007
12
Recovering Troubled Projects
Nov 2006
11
Stakeholder Commitment
Sep 2006
10
The Impossible Dream
May 2006
9
Project Portfolio Management - The Art of Saying "No"
Mar 2006
8
Estimating
Jan 2006
7
Glance Management
Nov 2005
6
Project Retrospectives
Sep 2005
5
Project Governance Considerations
2004
4
Navigating the Fuzzy Front End of Product Development
2004
3
Design Review Best Practices Research
2003
2
Valuing IT Projects
2003
1
Framework and Approaches to Navigate the
Fuzzy Front End
Sep 2003
Synergy is pleased to showcase the following
papers from students and guests.
G9
How Do Clinical Pathways and Project
Management Approaches Align?
Amy Malloy
G8
Value Of
Project Management in Health Care Research
Rosemary Makar,
MD
G7
Enabling Effective Communication in
Projects
Starla McCauley
G6
Distributed Teams
Michele Durham
G5
Offshore Software Development Projects
Renee Chambers
G4
Learning Lessons from Projects
Jeff Caniparoli
G3
Leading Indicators in Technology Development Project
Management
Philip Scuderi
G2
Risk Management
Dian Kurniawan
G1
When is Microsoft Project®
Appropriate?
Brian Pasero
Downloadable
Brochure
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Project Management
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(c)
2006-2011 Synergy Professional Services,
LLC, Portland, Oregon
