Articles written by Martyn Allez

Where Knowledge Rules

What is Helium

About me - Martyn Allez

Business change programme director with over 20 years of change management experience in IT and business transformation. Wealth of experience in international projects, offshoring, and IT product development. Considerable experience in financial services

+ more bio information

RSS Feed

Business > Project Management The basics of forecasting for project management: 1 of 3
If the estimation for a project is wrong then the project is in trouble from the outset. Costs, benefits, expectation levels will have been set, business decisions made and the project will not fulfil them. Underestimate and you will run out of budget and maybe destroy the benefits case. Over-estimate and the project may not... More..
Jobs & Careers > Job Listings & Agencies Are hiring agencies addressing the needs of clients?: 4 of 8
Alas, too many agencies adopt the scattergun approach to finding candidates and are staffed by lazy consultants who rely on a few simple key word searches to filter the database of potential candidates. Usually these are easy to spot, they know little about the role beyond what is written in the ad and will not have read you... More..
Business > Project Management How to avoid project failure: 3 of 6
Take 100 projects run by 100 different project managers and you will find at least 100 different ways to fail. The basics come up time and time again as some sort of endless loop from Project Management 101 - have a plan, communicate better, resource properly, etc..... Here's a thought - have a look at a few past projects an... More..
Business > Business Strategy Forces that aid and hinder strategic change: 2 of 4
Most organisations operate, by necessity, in a constant state of change (there is an article of mine elsewhere on Helium that notes the asymptotic nature of business change). The macro environment in which organisations operate (or the "competitive milieu" as it is termed by at least one writer) dictates that "change is the ... More..
Business > Project Management How to get the right sponsorship for your project: 1 of 1
It is common to analyse the people and process issues that present risks and issues from WITHIN the change project. It is also most important to realise that there is a key role that is often regarded as outside or, at best, on the periphery of the project and which has a huge impact on the success or failure of the change p... More..
Business > Project Management Why you need an independent and professional project management office (PMO): 2 of 3
Modern business must embrace change, but if change is to be managed successfully it must be controlled and coordinated. The Programme Management Office (PMO) is one of the key enablers in managing strategic change and securing effective business growth. Every organisation has its own definition of projects and programmes and... More..
Computers & Technology > Website Reviews Website reviews: LinkedIn.com: 5 of 7
I use Linked-In extensively, it is simple to use and seems to be gathering momentum as more people sign up. It is quick and easy to find former colleagues and relatively straightforward to request introductions to other folks. I like the question and answer facility and the jobs section looks comprehensive but I've not used ... More..
Autos > Car Reviews Good small cars for the U.K: 5 of 6
I have been down the "downsizing" route recently and tried just about all of the middleweights. For me there was a clear winner. The Honda Civic 2.2 ES diesel is not the cheapest but is easily the best in terms of space efficiency, being nice to drive, economy and high levels of equipment. On top of that the dealer offered g... More..
Business > Business Strategy Why businesses should never stop changing: 12 of 12
Every business change project must include a degree of change control. Every business change is complex and though we set out on a journey of change that goes from A to B, by the time we get to the end of the journey we have gone through C, D, E and F and maybe B was removed from the itinerary. Alternatively our definition o... More..
Business > Office Time efficient tips for managing your email: 12 of 12
I read a lot of material about e-mail, a lot of it pretends to tell you how to manage it. Most articles simply tell you how to contend with it and deal with it, and in most cases the tactics are about as effective as King Canute trying to hold back the tide. Reality #1, e-mail is a business tool and will not go away - so we ... More..