New PM Articles for the Week of February 2 – 8

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Just OverheadNew project management articles published on the web during the week of February 2 – 8. We give you a high-level view so you can read what interests you. Recommended:

Must read!

  • Erik Sofge canvasses AI researchers to see if there is any potential for malevolent super-intelligent machines. Isn’t this like asking Henry Ford if he’s worried about climate change?
  • Cynthia Zieman details the project management plan, which is not the same thing as the project plan.
  • Margaret Meloni argues for maintaining a high profile when working remotely. Just two minutes, safe for work.

PM Best Practices

  • Howard Baldwin ignores the hand-wringing failures sagas and seeks out stories from big-data projects that seem to have succeeded.
  • Michel Dion believes that the way to manage complexity is to have a flexible model that will guide monitoring your project’s health.
  • Stacey Barr suggests an approach to measuring results, rather than just activity.
  • Michael Wood proposes a structured approach to measuring the quality of the project management process.
  • Elizabeth Harrin reports from the Women in Technology Awards banquet in London.
  • John Goodpasture distinguishes between organizational change and organizational transformation.
  • Allen Ruddock notes that “best practices” for the PMO are only valuable if tailored to the needs of the organization.
  • Glen Alleman give a couple of examples of value at risk modeling.
  • Andy Jordan covers the basics of how a project manager should get to know the people on her project.
  • Ryan Ogilvie uses a football metaphor for service delivery.

Agile Methods

  • Johanna Rothman is so over the cone of uncertainty for software development estimation.
  • Ron Jeffries offers his thoughts on estimating software projects.
  • Amit Sarkar considers the importance of release planning in making Agile methods successful.

Soft Skills

  • Cesar Abeid interviews Matthew Turner on what he learned in writing his new book, “Successful Mistake.” Just over an hour, safe for work.
  • Seth Godin channels Maslow, constructing a Productivity Pyramid.
  • Cheri Baker tells us how to apply first aid for the psychological wounds suffered by teams, at the hands of abusive managers.
  • Coert Visser shares an anecdote about the challenge of helping a manager clearly communicate their expectations to the team.
  • Bertrand Duperrin says that Big Data, natural language process, and other advanced techniques might not change recruiting (and resume processing) as much as we think.
  • Scott Berkun extracts two key paragraphs about limited value of expert opinion, from an unclassified CIA study.
  • Mark Phillips expands on a criticism by George Orwell, of writers who use catch phrases and buzz words to express themselves – and do it poorly. PM’s take heed!
  • Nick Pisano explores the potential for a not invented here mindset to affect projects, organizations, and even entire societies.

Enjoy!