New project management articles published on the web during the week of October 6 – 12. We give you a high-level view so you can read what interests you. Recommended:

PM Best Practices

• Glen Alleman bemoans the abandonment of software engineering practices by so many who just want to sling code.
• Patrick Weaver reminds us of the proper definition of critical path.
• John Goodpasture starts with the flip of a coin, and proceeds give us the executive summary of statistical concepts for project managers.
• Kerry Wills would rather have a newbie with a good attitude than a jerk with a lot of expertise.
• Craig Brown shares an academic paper explaining how a “higher purpose” helped keep students motivated to perform tedious but necessary learning tasks.
• Alina Vrabie explores the neuroscience of routine tasks, muscle memory, and the effective sort of multi-tasking.
• Mary Shacklett identifies ten risks we might be overlooking in our IT projects.
• Kailash Awati has a few recommendations for enterprise architects.
• Bruce Harpham continues his series on strategic project management.
• Elizabeth Harrin reviews a business book in story form by Samir Penskar called “From Projects to Programs.”
• Dave Garrett interviews Mary Gorman on her creative techniques for eliciting requirements.
• Bruce McGraw lists his tips for creating and processing your Email.

Agile Methods

• Johanna Rothman shares a story of small internal releases leading to more frequent public releases, leading to happier customers.
• Mike Cohn contrasts definitions of quality by Philip Crosby and Joseph Juran, and triggers a comment-storm!
• Sondra Ashmore and Kristin Runyan share a chapter on user stories from their new textbook, “Introduction to Agile Methods.”
• Bart Gerardi continues his series on Agile anti-patterns, extending his look at the misuse of story points.
• Manoj Khanna reviews the most common Agile metrics , and their significance.
• Tobias Mayer channels Stella Adler in a group exercise exploring the XP principle of system metaphor.
• Robert Galen offers some thoughts on the diagnosis and treatment of burnout.

Professional Development

• Allen Ruddock deflates a number of myths around project management training.
• Angela Guess posts the details of three upcoming CMMI Institute Data Management Maturity courses.
• Susanne Madsen gives us the Venn diagram of management and leadership.
• Coert Visser shares some new research: students who are told that they will have to explain the material to someone remember it better.
• Linky van der Merwe covers the eligibility requirements for the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner exam.

Enjoy!