Tuesday, July 31, 2001

To-day I received an article from WJ about building a happy family.I think it will take a life time to do that; and I believe it is easier to build a bridge. The knowledge and the discipline of project management could be applied to build a happy family. Don't you think so?

Sunday, July 29, 2001

BEING WIRED AND GETTING WIRESLESS...
Every time I happen to think about the use of ICT in project management in Malaysia, I am getting more worried. The technology is available and affordable; but alas my fellow project managers are still doing it in the old ways. The resistance to change is so big that only few dared to venture. How could we be world class project managers if we ourselves are not able to undergo the transformation??
May be what we need is a revolution in project management thinking and practice! Now, I must be looking for a leader to lead us...

Friday, July 27, 2001

WEB ENABLED PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
A conference will be held in London on 18th and 19th September,2001.

Contact: Tahir Raja Tel:+44(0)20 7647 2250 or email to: tahirr@marcusevansuk.com
Conference Fees: GBP 1934.17

Tuesday, July 24, 2001

NEW TECHNOLOGY:
To-day I read an article in Project(Magazine of the APM). It tells the story of a London -based company using a webcam to monitor the progress of GBP 36m retail development in St. Andrew's Square. That reminds me of my friend complaining to me that he had to travel 8 hrs from Kuantan to check the progress of work at a site in Cameron Highlands. I suggested to him to use a webcamera and a digital camera so that someone there can upload the picture file for him to view from his office in Kuantan. Sad to say, he keeps on complaining ...Old habits die hard. We have the technology, but not many are using it:-(

Sunday, July 22, 2001

PROJECT CAR:
Last week, Iread in the papers about a car that smashed itself against a coconut tree in Tumpat ,Kelantan. This is similar to what I observed some twenty years ago when I was working in JKR Pasir Mas ,Kelantan.It is called a project car by the locals. When I asked why, they told me that these cars are used to smuggle rice from Thai border to Pasir Mas! The smugglers are really dare-devils "project managers"! To them, smuggling is a project in its own right. Just imagine the efforts taken to plan,execute,monitor and control the smuggling activities. May be we all can learn something from them;-)

Tuesday, July 17, 2001

NEGOTIATION:
Yesterday, I concluded one contract negotiation with my client. Thank God for the cordial compromise by both parties. It was over within one hour after two counter offers by either party. However, we put a lot of sleepless nights getting the documents ready to convince our client in the past one month. Arguement did take place when one party did not understand the other views and concerns. Longer time was taken in agreeing to the rates of the BQ when one was ignorant of the construction methods and equipment. The knowledge and experience of negotiators of the issues at hand is paramount in solving disagreements. Goodwill and relationship must be maintained through the process.
Welcome to the musings of XPROJECT!
It contains snap shots at projects in Malaysia. I will try to write as often as I can about various aspects of projects and project management from my little window.

Note: First posting on http://www.blogger.com