New project management articles published on the web during the week of February 10 – 16. We read all of this stuff so you don’t have to! Thanks to Michel Dion at Project Aria for publishing my guest post on planning project human resources management. Recommended:
Trends
- Zavain Dar invokes Immanuel Kant, to argue that Big Data is helping us move from logical analysis to a search for synthetic truths.
- Lyndsey Gilpin summarizes ten key things to understand about 3D printing.
PM Best Practices
- Kevin Korterud wants us to manage the procurement department as both a team member and as a project stakeholder.
- Tony Adams revisits risk management, not as a list of things to avoid, but as a means to find opportunities we can exploit.
- David Hillson answers three key questions about risk management in complex projects, and how the strategies of flexibility and resilience can make the difference.
- John Goodpasture considers an innovative presentation by Glen Alleman as a three-body problem, and asks if there should be four, or even five?
- Martin Webster notes five early warning signs of ineffective leadership.
- Anya Faingersh identifies four drivers for schedule delays.
Project Governance
- Tim Cushing summarizes the appalling state of the TECS upgrade project run by the U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agencies.
- Chi-Pong Wong identifies the six critical success factors for PMO success.
- Todd Williams reviews “Strategies for Project Sponsorship,” by Vicki James, Ron Rosenhead, and Peter Taylor.
- Michel Dion notes that different types of projects have different definitions of success.
Agile Methods
- Mike Griffiths notes, “Agile processes are an enabler for intelligent action, but not a guarantee of it.”
- Johanna Rothman continues her series on the cost of delay, with the cost of indecision and the cost of technical debt.
- Wayne Grant shares three more techniques for keeping retrospectives from getting stale.
- Vijaya Kumar Bandaru explains Scrum through the metaphor of prescribing and adjusting your medication when sick.
Productivity
- Joel Bancroft-Connors and Hogarth return from an eight-month absence with a post on [wait for it] … procrastination!
- Lisa Evans makes the point that the office just might be the worst place to get things done.
- Alina Vrabie reminds us of the origin of the eight-hour workday, and offers a few alternatives that might let us be more productive.
- Michael Stanleigh lists twenty stress reducers for project managers.
- Travis Bradberry explains how successful people stay calm.
- Anita Bruzzese is on the warpath against bad Email practices.
Podcasts and Videos
- Elizabeth Harrin tells how to employ a customer satisfaction-centric project management improvement process. Just 18 minutes, safe for work.
- Cesar Abeid interviews David Sparks on how to tame the Email beast. Just 53 minutes, safe for work.
- Mark Phillipy interviews Samad Aidane on how to apply neuroscience to understand cultural differences. Just 54 minutes, safe for work.
Enjoy!
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the mention here. I am really appreciative of people like your good self who are prepared to share my post.
I think it’s an important topic and deserving of wider, Project Manager debate. Forums like yours have a really important role to play in facilitating these sort of discussions. Well done to you and thanks again. Tony
As usual, very interesting reading Dave, Thanks!