4squareviews

1.  Introduction

Once the activities have been identified in process 6.2 Define Activities, it is necessary to find out what resources will be needed to perform them.  That is where this process 6.4 Estimate Activity Resources comes in.

It is not only the amount of resources, but the schedule of when they are available that are both needed to find out how long a particular activity will take.

2.  Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs

Here is a brief recap from the 5^th Edition PMBOK® Guide of the inputs, tools & techniques, and outputs necessary for this process.  A lot of the inputs comes from the process 6.2 Define Activities, but some come from processes from other knowledge area management processes, such as Cost, Procurement, Human Resources, and even Risk Management.

For the tools & techniques, the ubiquitous “Expert Judgment” is used when it comes to estimating resources.  For rough estimates based on previous projects or industry-wide information there are tools, but the most accurate technique is that of Bottom-Up Estimating.  It is the most accurate, but also takes the most amount of time to do.

Once the outputs of the Activity Resource Requirements and Resource Breakdown Structure are complete, these then become inputs in the next process, that of 6.5 Estimate Activity Durations, which is the subject of the next post.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

On April 9, 2012 I embarked on a quest to produce an article or “blog post” every day for an entire year.    I have done so for the past year, and now have 29,000+ viewers of my blog from over 120 countries to my credit.    What did I envision for the blog at the start?   What has changed in my vision since then?   And what do I foresee doing on my blog in the future?

1.  My blog at the start

I had an idea of my blog being a public journal.   I have kept a private journal for almost as long as I was in college, and it has served as my dream journal, planning journal, and in general my attempt to mine words for inspiration and then to record the inspiration when it comes.

But these are private thoughts; what did I want to transmit in a public space like a blog?   It was partially a utilitarian purpose because I was taking a class about project management and I wanted my blog to contain notes about the topics we were studying so that the study group I was organizing would have access to them when they couldn’t make our weekly study sessions.

However, I also had the idea that I would try blogging not just about foreign languages, but eventually IN foreign languages as well.   This has never satisfactorily worked out because I find that I could not have a separate blog page, one for each language I was studying, as I had envisioned.   If I put random pages in different languages interspersed among all the pages in English, I thought that might be confusing for my readers.   So I eventually dropped that idea–but am willing to entertain it again in the future if an opportunity presents itself.

I also wanted to discuss topics I was interested in, particular those having to do with global issues that I felt were important.   Toastmasters is an organization I have come to really be heavily involved in and it was often a subject of some blog posts.    A book review or movie review were things I would do once and awhile, as well as summaries of lectures I was listening to on various topics.    There are webinars that I listen to and summarize as well.

2.  My blog at present

I am doing a survey of the 5th Edition PMBOK Guide as part of a project to update the Project Management Institute of Orange County’s PMP/CAPM certification prep class workshops, and that occupies most of the current posts.   On the weekend, I take a break and blog about other topics.   Last week, however, I took the longest break I’ve ever done regarding project management topics because I was traveling across 2,000 miles from Los Angeles to Chicago, but will resume tomorrow now that my internet service has been established in my new place of residence.

But I foresee a continuation of the project management posts until I finish going through the 5th Edition of the PMBOK Guide.   This blog is my way of really getting to understand the material so that I can help the new students taking our classes to pass the new version of the PMP or CAPM exam.

3.  My blog in the future

However, when the 5th Edition is done, I would like to complete my survey of the quality control-related material in the Six Sigma curriculum that I started on in November and December of last year.   I want to study the global risk report when it comes out of the World Economic Forum held in Davos earlier this year.

I will certainly continue to write about Toastmasters, various global issues, and various other personal interests of mine.  But I really think I need to discipline myself to read more books and do more book reviews.   That would help not only me but those who are interested in the book to understand it more thoroughly.

I think doing this would also improve my writing ability as well as my ability to illustrate my words with images and pictures that add to the understanding and not detract from it.

But I do need to sit down and add tags and categories so that it is easier to find and cross-reference my blog posts.  I owe it to those who make it a point to read my blog and for those future readers who will be brought to it by those very same tags.

To paraphrase Robert Heinlein, “The Blog is a Harsh Mistress.”   Having the will to sit and compose an entire blog post every single day is a tremendous discipline that I have sought after and have succeeded in accomplishing.   But creating a discipline is just the first step in having the discipline to create.   That’s what I want to succeed in doing in the future…

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

As the backdrop to my recent travels by car from Los Angeles to Chicago, I listened to the lectures series by Joseph Campbell on Occidental Mythology entitled Western Quest. These lectures focus on the troubadours and writers in the crucial century from 1150-1250 who created the medieval romances that centered on tales of King Arthur’s Court.

The titles of the five lectures are as follows:

1. Origins of Occidental Mythology
This gives the historical background to the Arthurian romances.

2. The Mythology of Love
Joseph Campbell relates the central figure of Eleanor of Aquitaine and how the force of love or Amor was seen as force to counterbalance the oppression of the church or Roma (which is Amor spelled backwards).

3. The Arthurian Tradition
This lecture describes how the English literary tradition centered on Arthur, but the French tradition focused not on Arthur but on the various Knights of the Round Table like Lancelot, Gawain, and Parcival.

4. The Grail Legend
This introduces the secular version of the Grail legend where the Grail is like the Philosophers Stone, as opposed to the ecclesiastical line of the legend where it was the vessel used by Jesus during the Last Supper (which is the version of the Grail legend most are familiar with).

5. The Forest Adventurous
This discusses the main theme of the Grail legend, which is the renewal of the “wasteland” through an act of individual compassion which sometimes requires one to perform it in spite of social conventions.

In all of these lectures, Joseph Campbell emphasizes the unique position that these legends hold in world mythology in their positive depiction of the role of the individual vis-a-vis society. It was the perfect series of lectures to listen to as I set off on a new adventure of my own, and I recommend them to anybody who wants to know more about the spiritual roots of the values that would eventually flower in the Enlightenment.

Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

There is a Chinese saying that “a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.” I was reminded of that saying recently due to a move I have just completed from Los Angeles to Chicago in order to assist my father who is dealing with some health challenges.

However, the saying in my case should be the reverse, “a journey of a single step starts with 2,000 miles.” Any big move brings a combination of hope and trepidation, but this move comes with the added concern over my father’s health and the general state of the economy.

But with all the changes that a move across the country will bring, I will to keep some continuity in my life by joining a local Toastmasters club, continuing my blogging, maintaining my volunteer projects with the Project Management Institute, and networking.

There was one definite positive about the move, which was that it meant I would see more of my immediate family and my extended family. But knowing I will be a great help to my father gets rid of any qualms I may feel about moving.

After my father’s health condition improves, we’ll see whether fortune steers me back to California or whether I remain here. In the meanwhile, I’ll just settle in start the next chapter of my life here in Chicago.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

I am visiting my cousins in St. Louis and this evening they are going to hold their biweekly Game Night where they invite family and friends over to play board games.

They invited me to join them and I told them I would love to. The Game Night is a tradition that I remember in my childhood. I lived in Germany for a year after college and the board game or Brettspiel tradition was strong there, with adults commonly giving them as presents to other adults and not just to children.

I kept the tradition of the board game alive in my immediate family, and was a great fan of board games made in Europe (particularly Germany). At holiday time when I visited my cousins, I would always bring some new and interesting game I had discovered.

However, I found as I lived abroad in Japan after graduate school, and then in New York and Los Angeles, that fewer and fewer people were interested in playing board games as video games had practically completely displaced them. My collection of board games ended up languishing in my mini-storage unit.

So it was delightful not only to see my cousins, but to realize that they have kept this tradition alive. What do I find so fascinating about board games?

1. They are fun! Our family likes games that involve word play like Balderdash.

2. They are interactive, and like card games are great at breaking the ice and allowing even the normally introverted to come out of their shell.

3. They are inclusive because they
allow everybody to interact and join in, even those who are only spectating and not even playing the game.

4. The European games in particular are beautiful because the board and components are simple but elegant in design.

5. Board games are leisurely in that they can take an hour or more and so provide a chance for “quality time” with friends or family.

For these reasons, I am happy to revisit the quaint tradition of Game Night with my cousins. It is a reminder of happy times from childhood, and a chance to stop the world, stop time, and enjoy the present having fun together with my extended family.

If you’re interested in starting a Game Night tradition of your own, go to the Funagain Games website and choose from one of their recommendations. You’ll receive a box filled with potential good times in return!

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Now that I’ve got a little breathing room during my travels, as I approach my last stop before my final destination of Chicago, I have had a chance to crack open a book I have wanted to read for some time.

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty, by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, is about economic inequality and its origins. The preface references the events of Tahrir Square in Egypt on February 11, 2011 as Hosni Mubarak was thrown out of power.

Why was Egypt mired in poverty, which was the ostensible cause of their discontent? The Egyptians themselves recognized that the underlying cause of their economic problems was a lack of political rights denied them by an ineffective and corrupt state whose power was monopolized by a narrow elite.

The three conventional explanations for Egypt’s poverty are as follows.

1. Geography
This is Jared Diamond’s position in Guns, Germs, and Steel, a form of geographical determinism.

2. Culture
This is the view that Egyptians lack cultural traits or are hampered by religious views that are inconsistent with the work ethic required for economic success. Although the authors do not say outright that this type of explanation is Orientalist in outlook, I have no such compunction against saying so.

3. Policy
Most economic and policy pundits think that the rulers of Egypt were just following bad advice. The unexpressed assumption in this view is that prosperity would follow if only the leaders would listen to them.