Reasons why a Project can fail:

Below are some of the reasons why projects frequently fail.
Lack of communication. Communication is both the most important responsibility of the project manager and the biggest reason for project failures. It’s the most critical piece of the project management puzzle and it’s something that many of us struggle to do well. As a project manager, you must be ready to be the focal point of communication for your project and carry that task out well.
Poor project planning. If not enough time is spent up front in planning the project and getting a good schedule and the proper documents in place as well as mapping out the resource usage and the budget, then the project can get into trouble quickly. Plan well up front and you set a positive and productive course for your project for the rest of its life cycle. And remember, it will never be cheaper and you’ll never have more time to do the right project planning later on in the project. Do it up front or your project may be doomed before it is even started.
Poor requirements. This is definitely linked to project planning. Whether your project team is helping the customer with all of the requirements definition or if the customer has come to you with detailed requirements, they still need to be reviewed in great detail because missed requirements or poorly documented requirements end up costing the project budget infinitely more dollars down the road in re-work than it requires to just verify and drill down to more detailed requirements up front on the project. Do it right the first time and you’ll greatly lessen the risk of having a project that gets halted when funds run out or the customer is just too frustrated to move on.
Weak leadership. Weak project leadership – meaning a project manager who can’t run a project well – is another major contributor to project failures. The project manager must be a great communicator, a strong leader, an organized project professional, and have the dedication and stubbornness to make good decisions and stick to them. If too many of these characteristics are lacking, the project may flounder or completely fail.
Lessons Learned
And finally, one thing we can do on any project – whether it’s a success or a failure or falls somewhere in between – is to conduct a lessons learned session with the project team and the customer when the project has completed. It’s hard to face the problems when a project goes horribly wrong – especially if you, as the project manager, were somewhat to blame. But the best way to ensure we don’t repeat the same failures is to make sure that we learn from them. So conducting a lessons learned session is definitely the right way to go. And yes, even conduct them on successful projects because there is always something we could have done better.

Create Sections:

You can create sections that you can collapse and expand.

1. Type the text that will be the section title and the text that will be in the section, and then format it.


2. Select the text, and click Create > Section.



Now it's a collapsed section!



3. To change the section title, formatting, and set whether the section is expanded or collapsed by default, right-click the section, select Section Properties, and use the tabs in the Section Properties dialog box.

2010 Largest Retail Companies of North America:

North America is the home of most of the world’s largest retailers, since the U.S. dominates the global retailing industry. Not only is the retail industry responsible for two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), U.S. retail companies have also established a presence on every continent.
Not only does the retail industry dominate other industries in the U.S., the retail companies that are based in the U.S. also dominate on the global retailing stage. Nearly one-third of the 250 largest retail organizations in the world are based in the United States. This is according to the 2010 Global Powers of Retailing report, which is published each year by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and STORES Magazine.
Based on revenue figures, five of the top ten retail companies in the world are U.S. retail companies. Thirty of the world's largest retailers are from the U.S., and 82 of the retailers on the entire Global Powers list of 250 retailers call the U.S. their home.
The U.S. companies ranked on this world’s largest list vary somewhat from the annual Fortune 500 list, which is generally focused on publicly traded U.S. retail companies. Included in this global ranking are privately-held companies, as well as government retail operations.
The number in the left column is the global ranking number assigned to the company, based on its sales figures, compared to other top retail organizations worldwide.
Retail Companies Based in the U.S. Ranked Among the 250 Largest Retailers In the World:

http://retailindustry.about.com/od/famousretailers/a/northamerica2010largestretail.htm

Add a picture to an Excel Comment:

1. Right-click the cell which contains the comment.
2. Choose Show/Hide Comments, and clear any text from the comment.
3. Click on the border of the comment, to select it.
4. Choose Format|Comment
5. On the Colors and Lines tab, click the drop-down arrow for Color.
6. Click Fill Effects
7. On the picture tab, click Select Picture
8. Locate and select the picture
9. To keep the picture in proportion, add a check mark to Lock Picture Aspect Ratio
10. Click Insert, click OK, click OK

Types of Process:

Organizations use different types of processes to conduct work. Following are the three important types of process.
• Management processes. These provide direction and governance for an enterprise. They are generally conducted by senior leaders to set organizational goals, develop and deploy strategy to attain goals, establish and manage organization designs and manage performance goals. Management processes also shape and manage the business and support processes used by the enterprise.
• Business processes. These are the processes that reflect the unique competencies of the enterprise and are mission-critical. They tend to lie on, or close to, the core value-creating activities of the enterprise and are the processes that are seen and experienced by external customers.
Value-creating business processes begin and end with the external customer, tend to be large in scope, and commonly span multiple organizational components. While organizations may have hundreds of work processes, they usually have very few business processes (typically five to seven). Since this group of processes represents the core competencies of the organization, this is where performance improvement work should be focused.
• Support processes. Support processes exist to sustain the enterprise. Since the support needs of business organizations are similar, these processes tend to be fairly standard and are frequent candidates for outsourcing. The customers of support processes are internal customers – within the organization.
While these three categories play significantly different roles, they must be aligned and integrated to enable effective performance of the total system. Effective and sustained performance improvement must consider the management and support processes as well as the core business processes.

Desktop Virtualization:

Desktop virtualization (sometimes called client virtualization), is a concept that separates a personal computer desktop environment from a physical machine using a client–server model of computing. The model stores the resulting "virtualized" desktop on a remote central server, instead of on the local storage of a remote client; thus, when users work from their remote desktop client, all of the programs, applications, processes, and data used are kept and run centrally. This scenario allows users to access their desktops on any capable device, such as a traditional personal computer, notebook computer, smartphone, or thin client.
Virtual desktop infrastructure, sometimes referred to as virtual desktop interface (VDI) is the server computing model enabling desktop virtualization, encompassing the hardware and software systems required to support the virtualized environment.
Advantages & Disadvantages:
The shared resources model inherent in desktop virtualization offers advantages over the traditional model, in which every computer operates as a completely self-contained unit with its own operating system, peripherals, and application programs. Overall hardware expenses may diminish as users can share resources allocated to them on an as-needed basis. Virtualization potentially improves the data integrity of user information because all data can be maintained and backed-up in the data center. Other potential advantages include:
• simpler provisioning of new desktops
• reduced downtime in the event of server or client hardware-failures
• lower cost of deploying new applications
• desktop image-management capabilities
• longer refresh cycle for client desktop infrastructure
• secure remote access to an enterprise desktop environment
Limitations of desktop virtualization include:
• potential security risks if the network is not properly managed
• some loss of user autonomy and privacy
• challenges in setting up and maintaining drivers for printers and other peripherals
• difficulty in running certain complex applications (such as multimedia)
• increased downtime in the event of network failures
• complexity and high costs of VDI deployment and management

Project Scheduling Tips:

Once you’ve done your estimates and understand what tasks are required, you need to prepare your project schedule.
A plan can only show the ultimate feasibility of achieving its objectives when the activities are put together in a schedule that defines when each activity will be carried out.
Step 1: Define activity sequence
This is the part where you work out the optimal sequence for all your tasks. You should know the dependencies, so slotting them together is easy.
Step 2: Assess resource availability
Once you put people into the equation and start juggling resource planning it isn’t so easy. Work out who you have available to spend time on your project, including their skills and abilities so you can best match them to the tasks.

Step 3: Assign resources
In this step you assign names to tasks. This will show you who is working all hours and who barely has anything to do at all during the schedule. It is recommended allocating resources to those tasks with zero slack first – these are the tasks that are on the critical path and it’s best to make sure they can be done first. Otherwise you’ll run the risk of not having people for those tasks and shifting the end date.

Step 4: Level resource usage
This is the point where you work out how many hours someone is realistically available to work on a task and you smooth out the resource forecasting. You can reassign tasks, or change the duration or start dates to make them fit with the people you have available and the amount of hours they can work on your project.
Step 5: Agree control points
It’s not just about your deliverables. Put in some activities around managing stage boundaries and allow time for approvals.
Step 6: Define milestones
Put some milestones in that schedule. It is advisable having enough milestones at major intervals “to gauge whether or not the plan is proceeding as expected.”
Step 7: Calculate totals
Work out your total resource requirements, and the cost of that resource. This inputs into the project budget, and you can use risk and change budgets accordingly to help with any unseen requirements later.
Step 8: Present the schedule
Now you have all the data, you need to present it in a way that can be easily understood. It is advisable to be presented in a graphical form, for example a Gantt chart or a critical path diagram. It even suggests you can do it on a spreadsheet with tasks down the page and the time period across the top.

Basic Computer Virus Types:

Direct Effect viruses – Those are the standard type viruses that when executed, they replicate themselves in the current directory files and most probably the files under the PATH directory (being main windows files etc..). They could cause partial damage or no damage at all, but they still replicate continuously.
Memory Resident Viruses – Those viruses reside in memory and the problem is that they can interfere to many programs and operations taking place in order to corrupt and render files and programs unusable.
Viruses that delete or overwrite critical file information – Probably the worst kind you could encounter, these viruses most often overwrite a file’s important bytes with random sequenced bytes and make them totally unusable and cannot be recovered. At such viruses, many files tend to be destroyed once and for all and format is most times the only solution.
Macro Viruses – The most well known macro virus is of course the Melissa virus. Macros are in fact a known programming standard, meaning a series of instructions or commands used to execute operations that most often need time programming or need to run on special occasions. The most known way for a macro virus is through Microsoft Word. Microsoft has an embedded macro language and it’s possible that once a doc file gets opened, a virus gets launched. That is the reason why you should double check an email attachment sent as a doc or other macro type (and as an exe too of course).
Boot and FAT Viruses – These viruses affect the boot sector of a disk or floppy and can make it need a full format before it works again. A destroyed part of the boot sector means that the medium can no longer boot. The same applies with the FAT file system at which viruses launch direct attacks and make it unusable in parts.

Finding unread documents:

The idea of "read" vs. "unread" messages in email is generally well understood. Fortunately, Lotus Notes extends the concept of showing if you have read a document or not to any Notes application. For example, when you are reading a Discussion Database, or a Document Library, it is easy to tell which documents you have looked at and which you have not. Also, if you have read a document and later that document is updated, it will once again appear unread to you, so you know to go back and look at it again.

Today's tip is about easily navigating to unread documents within views of a database.

For people that like to use the keyboard, you have two options:
- F4 or TAB will move you to the next (down in the view) unread document.
- SHIFT+F4 or SHIFT+TAB will take you to the previous (up in the view) unread document.

If you prefer to use your mouse, Lotus Notes has Next and Previous Unread toolbar icons.
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Combine text from multiple cells:

To combine text from multiple cells into one cell, use the & (ampersand) operator.
1. Select the cell in which you want the combined data
2. Type an = (equal sign) to start the formula
3. Click on the first cell
4. Type the & operator (shift + 7)
5. Click on the second cell
6. Press Enter to complete the formula

Wand Scan Ordering:

Wand is a hand-held bar code reader used for ordering, price checking, etc. The use of an electronic device (wand) to read shelf tickets, record quantities needed and thus prepare an order electronically is called Wand Scan Ordering.

Do your bit for the Environment:

Every individual can make a difference and save electricity simply by modifying a few practices in his or her daily routine.

• Switching off lights and fans when not in use is a simple way to conserve electricity and save energy in the process.
• It is a common practice for us to use the remote control to switch off the TV. But this actually keeps the TV on in a stand-by mode where it can consume 6 watts per hour. Even if you turn the TV off and not switch off at the plug point, the TV still consumes 0 .5 to 1 watt power.
• We should make it a point to switch off cell phone chargers and electrical mosquito repellents from the mains after use, so that they do not consume power. The cell phone charger utilizes 3 watts per hour, when it remains plugged. So once the battery is charged, we should take the charger off the plug point. Mosquito repellents can consume 5 watts per hour.
• Use ceiling fans instead of air conditioners as far as possible. You will also save a lot on electricity bills. Replacing the metal blades of a fan with fiber blades can save twenty percent energy overall.
• If air conditioning is something that you have to go for, it is better to go for split air-conditioning rather than centralized air-conditioning. Split air-conditioning will only cool specific areas where cooling is needed. Besides this, cleaning the filter of air conditioners leads to quick cooling while at the same time, ensuring efficient use of electricity.
• It is better to install two 23 watt Compact Fluorescent Lights at opposite sides of the room rather than installing a single 40 watt tube-light. The benefit is you can opt for only one of the CFLs if you do not need bright light all the time.
• If you are a family of four people, you can go for a refrigerator of 80 liters capacity rather than a 165-liter one. A refrigerator consumes 1.3 to 4 units daily depending on its size, make and model
• You can also tap in to nature and make the sun work for you. Ensure that your home is well ventilated and let both air and sunlight in as often as you can – yet another simple way to save electricity, and thereby save energy as well.
• Avoid using dryers for your clothes and dry them in the sun instead.
• You can do still more to save electricity in the way you run your kitchen. Save energy by making use of pressure cookers, as well as ovens and stoves that run on gas rather than electricity.
• You may need the convenience of your geyser but you can save energy even there, by ensuring that everyone in the family has their baths within a short period of time. That way, you can also conserve electricity since you will not need to keep it on for too long.
All of this goes to show that simple lifestyle changes can go a long way to save energy.
Better still; the benefits of such measures will be plainly visible in the quality of the atmosphere around us and the ultimate impact on nature as a whole.

Search for certain text in all the Slides:

To find out all the slides those have a certain word on them.
1. Open your presentation in powerpoint
2. Click the "View" menu
3. Select "Slide Sorter"
4. PowerPoint will then display a miniature view of all your slides in your presentation. You may like to choose a smaller viewing size to display all your slides. This is done by clicking the "edit" menu, select "zoom" or by clicking the "zoom" button Then enter a really small number, like 25
5. Click the "Edit" menu
6. Select "Find"
7. In the new window that pops up, enter the word you would like to find. e.g.. "presentation"
8. Then click "Find All", use the "match case" and "find whole words only" as appropriate
9. PowerPoint will then highlight, with a black border, around all the slides that have the word "presentation" on them. So you can see at a glance how many slides have that word on them. You can also search for multiple words e.g.. "sample presentations".

Seven ways to fail while managing your Projects:

Here are seven ways to fail when managing your projects….
#1 – Fail to address issues immediately
Two members of your project team can’t stand each other and cooperation is vital to the success of the project. As project manager, you must address the issue head on. Either find a way that they can work together professionally, if not amicably, or modify roles and assignments. Whatever you do, don’t let the issue linger. It will only come back to haunt you further along.
#2 – Reschedule too often
As the project develops, you can certainly change due dates, assignments, and schedules. Recognize though, that there is a cost every time you make a change, and if you ask your troops to keep up with too many changes you are inviting mistakes, missed deadlines, confusion, and possibly hidden resentment.
#3 – Be content with reaching milestones on time, but ignore quality
Too often, project managers in the heat of battle, are focused on completing the project on time and within budget, and aren’t sufficiently focused on the quality of work done.
A series of milestones that you reach with less than desired quality work adds up to a project that misses the mark. And customer satisfaction – a key success factor – will take a huge hit in the process.
#4 – Too much focus on project administration and not enough on project management
In this high tech era with all manner of sophisticated project management software, it is too easy to fall in love with project administration—making sure that equipment arrives, money is allocated, and assignments are doled out to the neglect of project management, taking in the big picture of what the team is up against, where they are heading, and what they are trying to accomplish.
#5 – Micromanage rather than manage
This is reflected in the project manager who plays his cards close to his chest, and retains most of the tasks himself, or at least the ones he deems to be crucial, rather than delegating. The fact that you have staff implies that there are many tasks and responsibilities that you should not be handling. On the other hand, if you should decide to handle it all, be prepared to stay every night until 10:30, give up your weekends, and generally be in need of a life.
Micromanaging isn’t pretty. The most able managers know when to share responsibilities with others and to keep focused on the big picture.
#6 – Adapt new tools too readily
If you are managing a project for the first time and counting on a tool that you have not used before, you are incurring a double risk. Here’s how it works. Managing a project for the first time is a single risk. Using a project tool for the first time is a single risk. Both levels of risk are acceptable. You can be a first-time project manager using tools that you are familiar with, or you can be a veteran project manager using tools for the first time.
However, it is unacceptable to be a first-time project manager using project tools for the first time.
#7 – Monitor project progress intermittently
Just as a ship that is off course one degree at the start of a voyage ends up missing the destination by a thousand miles, so too a slight deviation in course in the early rounds of your project can result in having to do double or triple time to get back on track. Hence, monitoring progress is a project-long responsibility. It is important at the outset for the reasons just mentioned, and it is important in mid and late stages to avoid last-minute surprises.

Returning the Name of the Sheet:

=CELL("Filename",A1) returns the complete file path and sheet name

=MID(CELL("filename",A1),FIND("]",CELL("filename",A1))+1,255) will strip away everything but the sheet name.
Note: The file must be saved or the formula will not work.

Average Total Inspection (ATI):

The average number of units inspected per lot, including all units in rejected lots (applicable when the procedure calls for 100% inspection of rejected lots).