The CHALLENGE: Managing project teams effectively.
The NEED: Develop and maintain optimal group and individual communications strategies.
The SOLUTION: Jaconda

One of the more difficult, yet important jobs of a manager, is building and managing project teams to achieve assigned objectives. A project team is more than just a group of identically thinking individuals. It is a group of individuals whose skills and capabilities supplement and complement each other in order to achieve a greater goal. To be successful, project team members must build an affinity for the team and each other so that resources and responsibilities can be optimally allocated and shared when necessary. Success therefore hinges on how well the project team can communicate, within itself, on team and individual levels, as well as outside the team when required.

The need for forming one or more project teams usually emerges while management is reviewing and selecting organizational objectives and allocating financial resources. Regardless of the industry, type, or structure, successful organizations of all sizes must first evaluate the merits of potential projects or innovations from technical, commercialization, and marketability viewpoints. The lead project manager often requires the input of individuals from multiple departments or corporate divisions. These divisions may be competing with each other for limited resources or alternative objectives. Rather than finding corporate synergy, the evaluator may be confronted with interdepartmental rivalries and individual ambitions that are at cross purposes, making his job more difficult.

Successful project managers know how to deal with these challenges. Irrespective of the challenges or different divisions involved, they build synergistic teams that stay on task, on budget, and on time. They instill the conviction within each team member, that the team’s objective is more important and provides greater value to the organization than non-essential goals and tasks.

Successful project managers know that the foundation of a successful project team is effective and consistent communications with group members. Given today’s fast paced, technology driven markets, successful project managers have adapted virtual communication tools for quick and cost effective results. Even when team members are in different departments, cities, or countries.

Jaconda is a “Software as a Service” tool that successful project managers utilize for complete and cost effective team communications. From establishing the project parameters to implementing development strategies, Jaconda provides the platform that managers and team members can collaborate and communicate to achieve common goals and objectives.

It's easy to start using Jaconda. There is a free plan and a 30-day trial on paid plans.

Article contributed by: Old Pike

How startupers select their pathways to optimum goals? How do they know they are on the critical paths? Usually they meander instead by doing several extraneous tasks, believing additional work will result in proportional profit.

But timely completions and customer satisfaction doesn’t necessarily guarantee profit and startuper happiness. Careful planning and control are a must for maximum yield. Complicated KPIs such as customer satisfaction and loyalty are unnecessary in the beginning stages of your startup. When you only have 2 or 3 team members, think about survival, which means how far your money will go before you run out.

You should begin to create your cashflow accounting and reporting for very short time periods. While you know your past cashflows, they should prevent unexpected future surprises. For example, a lack of capital for a new printer when you just bought a new table.

The report made for the future is called a budget. Usually a budget is made annually or quarterly in advance. Then, reviewed monthly or weekly for accuracy and trends due rapid changes in income and expenses.

The question is why to expend so much effort monitoring your budget? Five reasons are provided below:

1. Stay abreast of your finances, both now and the near future.
2. The process of planning causes you to recall your budget entries and, thereby, also to reduce the likelihood of unexpected expenses.
3. When planning you can allocate your expenses in consonance with paid receivables.
4. In the case of the unforeseen circumstance, such as loss of the customer, you can rapidly estimate the damage.
5. This report will significantly reduce the entrepreneur’s anxiety from uncertainty and increase confidence.

Article contributed by: Old Pike

Today I’d like to share some thoughts about financial management in startups.

Let’s assume that you’ve just launched your service and got your first customers. You worked hard, struggling to cope with your main work and your dream. Finally, one fabulous day you got your first income. Congratulations! What to do next? Work even harder, add new features etc., right?

Wrong! It’s time to think about your finances. What do software developers usually think about finance? They think that it’s all about pure math, and they cope well with math. I thought so too in the past. But later I discovered that it’s not true. Finance is not just about math, it’s about planning, control and management. Moreover, it’s not even an exact science.

Finance is the most important thing in business. Don’t listen to anyone who says that an idea or a team is more important. Only finance can transform a gang of hippies into a profitable business. This was prooved by Sir Richard Branson. You’ll make no headway until you get down to finance, and even investments won’t help you. Finance transforms your dream into reality. No financial management - no cash. Continue reading if you agree or skip now to continue dreaming.

Here is the quick checklist to understand the situation with finance in your company.

Income and expenses

• how much money do you have now?
• how much did you spend last month?
• how much did you get last month?

Budget estimates (3 months, 1 year)

• do you know what you going to earn next month?
• 2 months from now?
• the whole year?
• what and when do you plan to spend?

Profit and loss

• what was your profit last month?
• gross profit?
• net profit?

Balance

• what assets do you have?
• do you know how much you lent to others?
• do you know how much you owe?

Article contributed by: Old Pike