New project management articles published on the web during the week of August 19 – 25.  We read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

• Laura Burford suggests an alternative approach to gathering requirements: total immersion.
• Elizabeth Harrin reviews “Strategies for Project Sponsorship,” by Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead.
• Samad Aidane interviews Vicki James, Peter Taylor, and Ron Rosenhead on their new book.  Just 38 minutes, safe for work.
• Bas de Baar’s new book with Lori Kane, “A Travel Guide for Transitions,” is now available in printed form.
• Saira Karim explains the differences between a project manager and a project leader.
• Laura Zuber advocates a collaborative approach to producing estimates.
• Rich Maltzman notes that project success requires much more than successful project management.
• Glen Alleman shares links to a series of papers that address the notion of how to assess project success.
• Ian Webster notes the inherent risks in making assumptions and then never bothering to validate them.
• John Carroll quotes Lao Tzu in describing how a good project manager facilitates success.
• Soma Bhattacharya finds overlap between Lao Tzu and Edward Deming.
• Cheri Baker has some really good ideas to improve your daily productivity.
• Scott Berkun reminds us that the pursuit of perfection can make us run past the point of completion.
• Bruce Benson says that the key to improving performance is by making incremental improvements.
• Johanna Rothman shares an anecdote on comparing teams (and why it’s a bad idea).
• Dick Billows provides good and bad examples of project planning, as a series of trade-offs.
• Jiju Nair says the key to managing requirements is to establish a requirements lifecycle framework and adopt the right tools.
• Kerry Wills notes that every organization has someone who has been around for a long time and knows everything.  Hizzoner, da mare …

Enjoy!