Project Management in 2013

7/28/2019 Project Management in 2013

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Project Management in 2013

.........................................................................................

This is a Special Report in the Form of E-book to Give best guidance to the Project

Managers. Content of this E-book is created to meet the needs of Project Managers in

2013.

NOTE:You are more than welcome to pass this report along to your friends and work

colleagues but cannot sell this E-book. You are not supposed to sell this E-book in any

case or anywhere.

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Managers.
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Table of Contents

#1 : Easing the Pain of Implement Project Management Standards#2 : 10 Hot Tips for Ensuring Project Success#3 : 5 Easy Steps to Plan Your Projects#4 : 10 Practical Strategies For Project Managers#5: Effective And Efficient Project Management Solution#6: Building Project Management Templates for Your Project#7: How to Use Your Project Plan Template to Eliminate Feeling Overwhelmed#8: Use a Project Plan Template to Get Projects Done Faster#9: Main Features of Project Charter Template#10: The Nine Project Management Knowledge Areas#11: 7 Habits of Brilliant and Highly Successful Project Managers: 1-Focus on

Solutions not Problem


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Easing the Pain of Implement Project Management Standards

Are you running projects haphazardly without any formal standards? Have you previously tried to

implement project standards, but have failed dismally? Then you are not alone, this happens to everyproject manager, but if you take the medication prescribed below, I am sure your pain will go away

very quickly.

Project standards are a set of rules and best practices in guiding you to undertake projects

successfully. There are two very popular standards, amongst others, which have been adopted all over

the world and depending on where you come from and the culture of your organization; it will decide

which one will be best for you. If you are an American based organization or have an American

culture, then PMI would be best suited to your needs. Prince2 again is more aligned to English-based

organizations and cultures.

However, once you have decided one which one to use, implementing the standard using a few of the

tips below, will surely take away most of the pains you may experience in this environment.

First start by reviewing your existing project terminology along with your selected standard as

guidance and then document and communicate the project terminology to everyone that is a

stakeholder in projects in your organization. Also, re-affirm this glossary of terms every time you

undertake any project management training, so as to ensure that these terms are understood and

adopted.

Next you have to implement your Project Life Cycle. This will be a series of steps to be undertaken to

implement any project from start to finish. Ensure that all new projects are using this life cycle, but do

not try to rework existing projects using the new life cycle, as this will just create extra confusion and

hardship.

Within every project standards there are guidelines and principles that are recommended to be

followed, but which are not prescribed as the alpha and omega. Review these and adopt and customize

to fit your organization, project and project team. Once you have done this, communicate this to all

stakeholders on your projects, to ensure everyone understands and is aware of the customized

standards and guidelines. Never adopt a standard in its entirety, unless you are 100% sure that it will


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be a perfect fit for your organization. Rather review the guidelines and make the necessary changes to

suite your organization and culture.

Now that you have successfully selected and implemented your project standards, you need to ensurethat it is followed by each and everyone, every time a project is done.

Reviewing your projects on an ongoing basis will help to ensure that the terminology, project life cycle

and guidelines and standards are followed consistently, so that your projects have the maximum

change of being successful every time.


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10 Hot Tips for Ensuring Project Success

It has been said that nearly 80% of all projects either fail completely or never get to completion. This is

a very big statement to make, but I have found that if you stick to the 10 tips given below, you will mostdefinitely always deliver a quality project, on time and within budget.

1. Project kick off.

When you start your project, the most important thing is to ensure that you obtain the requirements in

as much detail as possible. You will then be able to exactly understand what needs to be delivered, by

when and to whom. This business case document will form the basis of your project.

2. Timeframes.

As far as possible, keep timeframes as short and realistic as possible. Do not commit to long term

deliverables, but rather split these up into mini projects or separate phases of an overall encompassing

project.

3. Milestones.

Create milestones for every phase or piece of work in your project. Add delivery dates to these and

stick to them. If you are going to miss a deadline, communicate this to you client as early as possible.

4. Deliverables.

Deliverables should not be confused with milestones. Once every deliverable has been completed, it

must be formally handed over to the client, who should sign an Acceptance Form to confirm it has met

their expectations as per original requirements.

5. Clients.

Understand your client and involve them right through the entire project, from planning to

implementation. Communicate to them on a regular basis to ensure you get their buy-in in the project.


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6. Scope.

Document the scope of the project up front, including what is in and what is out and have this signed

off by the client. Any future scope changes must be re-evaluated and agreed by all stakeholders againstthe original scope. A formal change management process will go a long way to assist with this.

7. Quality.

Quality on any project should not be a negotiable factor and must always be of the highest possible.

Ensure that you implement a clear quality management process, ensuring constant review throughout

the project. This should include peer reviews so that team members review each other's deliverables.

8. Risks and Issues.

Risks and issues must be formally documented and discussed and reviewed at least every week. Ensure

that these are prioritized, responsible persons assigned to each and actions have due dates.

9. The Team.

It is very important to assemble the best team possible to deliver the project. Require the best you canafford. Your role would be to lead and motivate the team and ensure they work well together.

10. Communication.

Make sure that a formal communication plan is drawn up, which will communicate the correct

information to the correct audience at the correct intervals, from daily team meetings right up to the

executive level of dashboard reporting to senior management.

Applying these ten tips to every project you manage should put you on the right track to deliver

projects of high quality, on time and within budget, every time.


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5 Easy Steps to Plan Your Projects

To ensure that you have a crystal clear project plan for every project, you must always take the

following 5 steps to have a properly planned project. These steps are: Setting the project direction,identify all the tasks to be done, create the inter dependencies between relevant tasks, assign the

resources and finally managing the plan.

Setting the direction of the project upfront will make sure that every stakeholder in the project is on the

same page when the project starts. You need to include here the project's vision, goals and all tangible

deliverables. The high level timeframes and resourcing requirements must also be indicated. Document

all the "in scope" and "out of scope" deliverables. Where necessary you can indicate what will be "in

scope" in a phase 2, 3 or further down the line. Also identify and document the project benefits, costs

and any milestones and constraints. Only once all these have been documented and agreed with therelevant stakeholders, will you be in a position to understand the full extent of the project.

Once you have a clear understanding of the project's deliverables can you move to the next step, which

is to start the actual planning. You will have to identify the high level groups of tasks or phases of the

project that will make up the full project. Then each of these would need to be broken down in tasks

and even sub-tasks until you have what is referred to as the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). This

will initially be a series of activities following each other. Next assign duration or effort and start and

end dates to each of these. Remember to always add a bit of extra time for any future unknowns. Now,

also add your milestones.

The next step is to now determine all the inter dependencies between all the tasks and sub-tasks an to

add all of these. This will ensure that when one task is starting to slip, it will inform you of any slippage

or issues you may encounter with other tasks further into the project.

When all inter-dependencies have been added, the next step is to start adding all the required

resources to the project. This is not only the people that is required to do the work, but also resources

such as finances, equipment, materials and even the location or locations where the project will be

executed. As you add resources, continuously check your resource allocation, as you may over utilize

one and under utilize another resource. Over utilization could be a serious problem in your projects, as

this may have the effect that not all tasks will be completed on time, if a specific resource is assigned to

multiple tasks that require completion at the same time.


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Now that you have created the tasks, added the inter-dependencies and added resources, you are ready

for the final step which is to manage the plan. Firstly you can now create a baseline, which is used to

measure the actual progress against. Once you have created the baseline, never change it, as this will

then not be able to provide you with a clear measureable on the effectiveness in managing the project.Then you can start to record and track the actual time spent on every task against this baseline on a

daily basis. When scope change occurs, remember to record any new tasks, start and end dates.

This plan can now be used to continuously track and monitor the progress of the project and will also

provide you with enough information to regularly communicate the status of the project to all

stakeholders.

And there you have the five steps to easily plan projects. Using these five steps every time you plan and

manage the project, will most definitely ensure success on your projects.


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10 Practical Strategies For Project Managers

I've listed these in the order I think is most important. You should rate them for yourself.

Take some time to reflect on each. Add any you think I am missing, and throw out any you disagree

with. Only you know what works in your particular environment.

1. Access to Information

Accurate information about the state of the project must always be available to everyone who needs to

know. Use a web site, or shared network drive and keep it up to date. Communicate and socialize the

location of the information. Make it easy to access. Make the information available in several layers of

detail to satisfy the diverse information needs of different stakeholders. I guarantee this will reduce the

number and duration of meetings and ebb the constant flow of e-mail and phone calls. In turn, you will

be able to spend more time managing.

Keep no secrets about the state of the project, and don't surprise anyone. You can't bail a strugglingproject out yourself. A small risk or issue today will grow into a crisis if not dealt with quickly.

2. Change happens

Don't struggle against it, but manage it ferociously and with great courage. This is all on this subject

for now, as this subject is worthy of it's own article, which is forthcoming. Just recognize that change is

inevitable, and must be managed closely.

3. Have the facts straight and use data when reporting on the state of the project.

Intuition is a great quality, use it to know you need to review the facts, but it has no place in status

reporting. Report the facts with no emotion. Emotion leads to finger pointing and blame.

4. Focus on the scope, schedule, cost, and quality of deliverables.

Don't focus on people and tasks. Reporting "Bob didn't write the specification" closes the door on

understanding the problem and fixing it. And it kills your relationship with Bob for future

specifications. Instead, report "The specification needed to be completed today, and it isn't". Then work

with Bob to understand the problem and fix it.

5. Resist escalations (going over or around people).

While sometimes it is necessary to ruffle feathers, if you're constantly escalating, people will become

alienated and lose interest in what you have to offer. When you escalate, be sure you have your facts

straight, and that you are doing so as a last resort because your project is in jeopardy.

6. Strive not to use words like "No" or "Can't".


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Too many of these words too often will create a perception that you are inept or not a team player.

Eventually, people will start going around you to get things done. Instead of "No" or "Can't", clearly

describe options and well thought out implications for each.

7. Be the cheerleader and keep things positive.

Celebrate every success, no matter how small. Regardless of the size and scope of your project, you

want everyone to think it's the most important work in the world to be doing right now.

8. Keep the emotional bank full by praising those who do good work.

Eventually, you will need to make an emotional withdrawal from people, having them love you now

makes it easier for them to forgive you later.

9. Things will always take 30% longer and cost 30% more than your initial estimates.

Pad your estimates. If you're lucky and persuasive enough, you may get approval for what youoriginally estimated.

10. Become an expert user of the Microsoft Office Suite of products.

Proficiency in Project, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access will give you a decisive edge over other

project managers because your ability to execute quickly will increase dramatically.


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Effective And Efficient Project Management Solution

Project management refers to a properly planned and organized approach to complete any assignment

successfully. In order to better understand what project management solution does, we should clearlydefine the project first. It is a onetime unique endeavour, which is carefully planned to achieve a goal

successfully. It is a collaborative effort, within a team working, on the assignment with constraints.

The entire process of mapping involves creating a plan, which also includes determining and finalizing

the goals and objectives. It also goes on to identify the tasks to be performed to achieve the goals under

consideration.

The plan also helps to identify the resources needed and the budget and the timeline for the duration.

The most important part of the process is the implementation of the plan along with controlling

parameters. This ensures that the performance of the task is as per the expectations of the stakeholder.

The major phases under which an effective system preparation goes through are definition, feasibility,

planning, implementation, evaluation and support. A major challenge for the planners is to achieve all

the determined goals and objectives, while making sure that none of the constraints are violated.

The most typical constraints are related to time, cost and scope. These are the most important

parameters to be controlled throughout the life cycle of the assignment. Hence the various tools

become very crucial for good planning.

The tools basically cover various types of software which assist project managers in planning,

estimation, cost control, scheduling and budget control. They also let them monitor and control the

resource allocation, communication, quality parameters etc depending on the complexity of the

assignment.

Some of the important tasks performed by the software are now being discussed. One of the widely

used features of these applications is scheduling. This software lets a user schedule a series or

sequence of tasks. The schedule can vary in complexity depending on the software being used.


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These tools can map events that have dependencies on different events. It can be used to show

relationships between various events and functions. It can also assign resources to each task. The

duration of the tasks can also be defined during the mapping.

The tools can also be used as an information management system. They can generate reminders to be

sent to various team members and can also prepare progress reports for the task. It also helps in

generating and determining various statistics related to the assignment.

There can be different ways to use these tools. They can be installed on a system and then be used by

all the team members. It can be a web based application. The team management would be required to

access the web site which hosts the software and then feed all the required data on to the application.


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Building Project Management Templates for Your Project

Developing the right project management tools to manage project performance is the first step to

project structure and success. Unfortunately most companies do not start out with sophisticated andexpensive project management software but rather start with a collection of home grown templates

usually in MS Excel and Word format. Where do you start?

Look at what elements are required to manage your project. If you use the PMBOK based process

groups, you can select a few key tools to setup a basic structure for your project. By starting with the

development of several key tools, you can start a basic framework that is applicable to most projects.

By covering the five process groups you setup a structure that supports the project throughout its

whole lifecycle. At some point you may find that you may need to add to the list of required tools

depending on the type of projects, complexity and risk. This initial list according to process group willget you started.

Initiating

Project Charter. This document is used to authorize the start of your project. Contains basic initial

details such as Project Name, High Level Scope, Anticipated Budget Estimate, Sponsor, Project

Manager and Steering Committee.

Planning

Project Plan. A governance document that details a number of the PMBOK Knowledge areas such as

Scope Management, Cost Management, Communications, Risk Management, Time Management,

Quality Management, Human Resource Management, Integration Management, Procurement

Management.

Project Schedule. The detailed work breakdown that identifies tasks, resource requirements, task

duration and dependencies. Many people use a tool such as MS project to develop a Project Schedule

with Gantt Chart.

Risk Assessment. A measurement tool to identify the associated risks on the project.


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Executing & Monitoring

Actions/Issues Log. A quick start tool to identify project issues and actions not typically covered by the

project schedule. Typically includes item description, target completion, status, priority and associated

notes.

Risk Register. This lists the identified risks against the probability of occurrence of the risk event vs.

the associated impact if realized. A good register also includes a measurement mechanism to identify

the severity level and which ones the project will address, monitor or dismiss.

Closing

Close-Out Document. A capture of the lessons learned process that also includes project finalization

details, performance vs. expectations and archives of related materials.

Setting up these seven tools will give you a basic project tool kit to manage your projects. And even

using templates in Word, Excel and PowerPoint will initially provide you with a simple but useful

structure. I have found that in organizations just embarking on project management methodology,

stakeholders more readily adapt to using such familiar tools. As you grow your resources, try adding

additional templates that can be used to support your organization's typical project needs.


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How to Use Your Project Plan Template to Eliminate Feeling Overwhelmed

Often when working on their businesses or in their jobs, people have so many responsibilities and tasks

that pile up quickly. While this situation can be considered a sign of success, it can easily lead to asense of overwhelm, deterioration in the quality of work in the form of sloppy or shoddy performance,

and even a failure to complete all the tasks someone has committed to accomplishing.

In the face of this complexity, it can be hugely useful for people to turn to a project plan template to

help manage the intricacies of moving several fronts at once. However, many shy away from the use of

project plan templates because they may feel there is not enough time to plan, or project planning

templates are not a useful way to invest their limited amount of time. This consideration is actually

quite limiting and, on the contrary, not planning effectively is often a reason why employees, managers,

or business owners may experience being overwhelmed and overworked.

So how can a person use a project plan template effectively to combat those feelings of overwhelm and

not being in control? The process is quite simple and straightforward. The objective of a project plan

template is to capture, to the greatest extent possible, all the actions and steps that need to be taken

from the beginning of a project to its completion, in the order those moves need to be made.

Why is the scope of such a template naturally so large? By reviewing an all-inclusive tool in this way, a

person using this organization device can be confident knowing everything that needs to be tracked and

on paper (or on the computer) is in fact accounted for. Surprisingly enough, overwhelm tends to

disappear for many people at this point. Overwhelm disappears in this way because overwhelm is

primarily a function of a person not feeling that they are in control, or that they do not have a solid

grasp of what needs to happen in order to produce certain results. So, it is usually when those next

actions are laid out in a systematized way that the overwhelm disappears. It really is that simple!


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Use a Project Plan Template to Get Projects Done Faster

As a business owner, you know that everyday you've got what seems like a million and one things to do

and it always seems like you never have enough time. And if you've got several projects on the go, youmight wonder how you'll keep everything organized so that you meet your deadline and have more

happy (and repeat!) clients. And this is where a project plan template can come in very handy.

Consider for a moment that in order to run a successful business, whether it is an affiliate marketing

business, web development, writing, MLM or even an "offline" service business, you have to keep

things organized and scheduled.

If you don't not only will you not get things done that need it, you'll soon find yourself having a severe

lack of motivation to reach your goals. And this, more than anything, can cause you business to fail.

Once you lose focus, it can be incredibly hard to get back on track. Having a daily schedule helps. As

does having a project plan template.

Now, I can almost hear you saying how complicated that sounds. But really it is only as complex or

complicated as you want it to be. So, what's the best way to come up with a project plan template? Pick

your most complex current project, list everything in bullet point form such as specifications

(measurements, page or word counts, etc.) as well as time lines and milestones.

Then, with this done, take the outline and simply rewrite it so that it is in a "blank" state. It is always

easier to take things out of the outline depending on the project then to try and put them in, which is

why the first time you create your project plan template you should use the most complex project you

have as a sample.

Now, here again you might be thinking that the best way to go is to immediately jump into a new

project and you may see the extra step of using a project plan template as a waste of time. But,

consider the fact that with this type of template available, you can quickly and easily figure out the

major and minor requirements of the project in question and be able to effectively schedule milestones

for yourself, which is important especially if it is a big project. Once you've finished the tasks for that

day, set the project aside and do something else.


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Main Features of Project Charter Template

Project management has never been a very smooth process especially if you do not have the right tools.

The success or failure of every project lies with whether or not the right foundation and groundbreaking work was put in place during the planning stage. Skipping any planning process or having it

shortened would improve the chances of failure hence the need for the use of project charter template,

a tool that offers you a step by step guide of what you should include in your project plan.

Project charter template offers you a step by step guide on what you should have included in your

project charter. Among the available templates is the scope statement template that defines in detail the

full scope that the project at hand will cover. The management plan template outlines in several simple

steps what your management plan re to ensure that you achieve your desired result.

Cost is an important part of any project management and if any project is to succeed, costs should be

kept down. The cost management template enables you present your costs in a very clear manner that

your financiers will understand without struggle, unlike when you are to design your own cost

template. How the work to be done is broken down into units together with how such work done are

managed to meet the required quality is also listed down in the charter template hence making it easy

to be used.

Risk control is a prerequisite when it comes to projects management. Personnel management also

needs to be approached well hence the project charter template would offer you the best way forward

that will enable you manage your projects well.


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The Nine Project Management Knowledge Areas

The PMBOK describes nine knowledge areas or categories of the project management discipline.

Gaining expertise in any one of these knowledge areas can help you become a rock star in yourorganization. Understanding and applying all nine will make you irreplaceable. Throughout my next

series of articles, I will be discussing each area in detail and identify specific examples and techniques

to help you become that irreplaceable rock star.

To begin this new series, I want to reference Kathy Schwalbe, Ph.D, PMP, and professor at Augsburg

College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As an active member of the PMI and an expert in the industry, she

has written several textbooks and how-to guides on the subject. In her book "Information Technology

Project Management", she describes each of the nine knowledge areas and identifies some of the toolsand techniques used in each area. These knowledge areas include:

1. Integration Management - project selection methods and methodologies, stakeholder analyses,

charters, project management plans, project management software, change requests, change control

boards, review meetings, and lessons-learned reports.

2. Scope Management- scope statements, work breakdown structures, mind maps, statements of work,requirements analyses, scope management plans, scope verification techniques, and scope change

controls.

3. Time Management - Gantt charts, project network diagrams, critical-path analyses, crashing, fast

tracking, schedule performance measurements.

4. Cost Management - Net present value, return on investment, payback analyses, earned valuemanagement, project portfolio management, cost estimates, managing cost plans, and cost baselines.

5. Quality Management- Quality metrics, checklists, quality control charts, Pareto diagrams, fishbone

diagrams, maturity models, and statistical models.


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6. Human Resource Management - Motivation techniques, empathic listening, responsibility

assignment matrices, project organizational charts, resource histograms, and team building exercises.

7. Communications Management - Communications plans, kickoff meetings, conflict resolution,

communications media selection, status and progress reports, virtual communications, templates, and

project web sites.

8. Risk Management - Risk management plans, risk registers, probability/impact matrices, and risk

rankings.

9. Procurement Management - Make-or-buy analyses, contracts, request for proposals or quotes,

source selections, supplier evaluation matrices.


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7 Habits of Brilliant and Highly Successful Project Managers: 1-Focus on

Solutions not Problem

Project management is a tough role. You often find yourself being pulled between keeping users,

subordinates, team members and senior people happy. Given these demands, what do the best project

managers do that makes them stand out from the crowd?

1. Focus on solutions

Problem solving and breaking through constraints is an essential part of managing projects. Those that

excel as project managers have a mindset where they focus on finding solutions to problems. They keep

asking themselves how they can overcome whatever barriers arise.

2. Participative and decisive

All the best project managers understand the need to communicate and consult. They also know thatlots of talking and procrastination achieves nothing. Finding the right balance between consulting,

deciding and acting is what separates the best from the rest.

3. Focus on customer

In every project there are customers. They might be internal or external or a combination of both. The

best project managers keep customers at the forefront of their mind. They listen effectively, take onboard the feedback they are getting and look for ways of incorporating it whenever they can.


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4. Focus on win-win outcomes

In any project there will be many stakeholders, all of whom will see their issues as being the most

important. The challenge that the best project managers respond to is finding solutions that address theissues without compromising the overall project structure.

5. Lead from the front

Project managers need to lead by example. The example they set determines how the rest of the team

behave and respond to the challenges that arise. Those project managers who want to encourage

openness and honesty are open and honest themselves. Those that take risks and learn from theirmistakes empower others to do the same.

6. Adapt to what arises

You can set out the best plans in the world, think about the risks, put great tracking in place and even

then the unexpected will show up from time to time.

Adaptability is a key characteristic of the best project managers. View adaptability in projects a bit like

the flight path of an aircraft. It can be off course along the way but it needs to be right on target when

it comes to landing.

7. Get the best out of everyone

Those that excel as project managers realize they cannot do it all on their own. They recognize the

importance of the collective team effort in getting results. They find and utilize the strengths in

everyone and try to ensure that they allocate roles to those best placed to deliver. They learn to keepeveryone motivated and pushing the boundaries to get results.

Project management is a complex and demanding role. Starting to work on these 7 habits can take you

to the next level.


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Project Management in 2013