New 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!