First Day

Well begun is half done...
You just completed a plush assignment or maybe its your first job....or maybe It is your new assignment on a new job whatever the case maybe, i am sure everyone in their career, has been there sometime.
Especially  if you are in the consulting world like me, you will see a lot of "First Days on a project or in a new organization"
My approach to this first day has changed a lot over time...here are some thoughts related to that....
Remember when we were beginning our life's journey as 3-4 year old, our parents held our hands and took us to a pre-school, Pre-K, Kindergarten, first grade etc....and then when we grow up, more experienced about schooling, we planned our first days to college, who do we meet there? What to wear?, How to walk, talk etc.

Then comes the professional world...here again initially we are in the blank and need some hand holding, then we turn deft and know how to tread and where...I will try to give some tips and observations on what i have seen and experienced...

Let's say, you just finished a Job assignment and have landed another meaty assignment after aceing an interview.

Here's how and what you should plan for,
1> Background
Nowadays every bit of information about a company is online, especially if it is a listed company. Try to gather as much about the company as you can. It is always good to know what business the company is in, who are the clients, overseas business, turnover, revenues and most importantly the competitors....This information gathering will help hone your thinking process towards understanding the company, the culture, the business, the steps taken at the C-Level etc.
Here again try to gather information about the company culture, the corporate goals and objectives etc.
This will help you even if you are not an employee of the company and are just going to work there as an external consultant.
Based on the above and your area of skillset for which you are hired, prepare a 2-3 minute elevator pitch about yourself. Not necesarily, say it out to every other person you meet on your first day (Unless you want to make it your last day too). Depending on the type of conversation or meeting you are having, be ready to use it in parts or whole as required.

2> Social Networking sites- LinkedIn etc
Social Networking can help you a lot here in terms of gaining useful perspectives from people who work at that organization, their view points about the organization, people performing different roles at the organization on how they view their peers, subordinates, C-Level executives and the business in general.

3> Know your work area and domain
You already are a master of your domain area because this is what is going to be your most useful weapon which will help you outshine your peers and help you in gaining trust within the organization. If there is a certain area of skill that you need to perform or something you know you are not too comfortable with, try working on it, polishing it, so you do it confidently when you need it.

4> Unlearn
This is very important. Every Organization has its own working Methodology and process and steps to execute a project. In IT, some may follow waterfall, Agile, RUP and some have flavors of their own. They have their own internal politics and work culture nuances that you may have been used to, and your brain may have been accustomed to think that it is right. But it may not be so.
So be ready to unlearn the old and accept the new, if need be. For this, make sure you watch, watch and watch, people around you...

5> Communicate, Communicate and Communicate
Last but not the least, when you in, be ready to communicate, talk to your peers, subordinates, bosses, customers, partners. Understand the roles that they perform and their viewpoints. This will help streamline your thought process and give you a 360 degree perspective on the business as a whole.
Once you are armed with the above, things should become fairly easy. Make sure you are pleasant and greet people you meet. Atleast give a smile, right from the person next to you in the elevator to the colleague who sits next to you.

When you meet someone have a good erect posture, confident smile and a few lines to say to the other person. Give the other person a line or 2 about yourself and inquire about him/her asking about his job background general local information etc. These generally act as good ice breakers.
If you are not comfortable, doing this...practice this a few times if front of the elevator...Remember your first day on the job is just as important as the job interviews...because this is when people (by way of human nature) will form an initial opinion about you, which if for any reason is a wrong one,it will be very difficult to reason and build a new one.
As they say, Plan before execution....sooner than you think, you will be sitting amongst the best in the crowd and be accepted for your skills and expertise and the genuine person that you are.
Please comment if you agree, if there is something you feel i missed here

Earned Value Analysis

What is Earned Value analysis?
Understanding EVA (Earned value Analysis) is very important for Project success. Earned Value Metrics provide a common set of parameters and benchmarks against which a project progress can be mapped. This is mostly used during the Control and execution phase of the project. The metrics help indicate whether the project is on track or not.

Earned Value Metrics is a set of indicators that help in tracking and measuring certain parameters against a certain baseline which would help us in defining or visualizing whether a project is successful or not.

Advantages:
Along with this, other advantages of using Earned Value Analysis in project management are,
- Accurate  reporting of project logistics to PMO and project sponsors
- Early warning to Project Managers so they can take corrective actions by performing risk analysis, if a project starts going over budget or behind schedule

The 2 key elements that guide or help to trend a project are,
- Project Cost
- Project schedule
In order to calculate earned value on any project large or small, first the Project Manager has to define the WBS (Work breakdown structure), define the smallest level of activity schedule and cost and this forms the Project baseline (or planned value) against the project actuals (or AV) can be compared to calculate the earned value variances and indices.

Terminology:
Certain acronyms that will help us in understanding EVM are
PV = Planned Value = The Budgeted amount allocated for a certain scheduled work activity until the current point in time =Also known as Budgeted cost of work scheduled (BCWS)
e.g. For a web based project (say), we need to create a screen
This requires (say) 1 resource for 40 hours (@ $100/Hr), so the PV for this task is $4000 (for 40 hours of work)

AC = Actual Cost = Total Cost for the work that was performed=Also known as Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP)
e.g: In the above example assume it took 1 res 10 hours to complete 30% of the work
AC=10*100=$1000

BAC = Budget at completion i.e. Originally budgeted amount for the project i.e baseline cost
e.g. In the above case assume baseline cost is $4000

So based on this, we can track the project performance as follows,
EV = Earned value = BAC*Percent of Project completed=This indicates How much of budget should have been spent for the amount of work done so far.
e.g. EV=4000*0.3=1200

Cost variance = CV = EV - AC = This helps to determine project performance wrt cost/budget
e.g. CV=1200 - 1000 = 200 (NOTE: Positive variance is better than negative)

Schedule variance = SV = EV - PV=This helps to determine the project performance wrt schedule
e.g. SV=1200-4000=-2800 (NOTE: Positive variance is better than negative)

Cost Peformance Index = CPI = EV/AC= This index helps to understand how $ spent performs wrt planned cost
e.g.CPI = 1200/1000=1.2  (NOTE: Index closer to 1 indicates we are closer to baseline)

Schedule performance Index = SPI = EV/PV = This index helps us understand whether we are ahead or behind schedule
e.g. SPI=1200/4000=0.3 (NOTE: Index closer to 1 indicates we are closer to baseline)

Estimate at completion = EAC = AC + (BAC - EV) = Indicates what should be the final cost at any point in the project
e.g. EAC = 1000 + (4000 - 1200) = 3800

Estimate to Complete = ETC = EAC - AC = Indicates how much will it cost you to complete the project based on the current status
e.g. = 3800 - 1000 = 2800

They key concept here is how to calculate the "Value" of the work that is completed. There are various schools of thought to support this
1> Some consider 50% value reached when 50% of work is completed
2> Some consider 30% value reached when 70% of work is completed and then remaining 70% of value is realised when rest 30% of work achieved
3> Some consider 0% value reached till all 100% of work is completed

These metrics provide lot of insight as to the project progress. This can be mapped and managed using simple excel sheets provided we have the baseline calculated. This metrics analysis system will also account for scope, schedule changes and resource change. Those can be fit into the timeline