New project management articles published on the web during the week of February 23 – March 1. We pan for the gold, every week! Recommended:
Must read!
- ProjectsAtWork summarizes the findings of a new research report on Agile project management software. Key finding: nearly half of the PMs are managing projects not related to software development.
- Skip Weisman thinks we might be having the “wrong” conversation with the “right” person.
- Dorie Clark says that Email may be ruining your life, primarily because we’re using it for things it was never intended to do.
PM Best Practices
- Kailash Awati reviews the shortcomings of traditional decision theory when managing in the absence of reliable information.
- Patti Gilchrist explains why Six Sigma complements innovation, rather than stifling it.
- John Goodpasture makes the case for project managers to develop business skills, especially literacy in financial accounting.
- Irfan Shariff describes the Quality Function Deployment Matrix.
- Harry Hall details the process of cranking out a compressed project schedule.
- Nick Pisano outlines his approach for the professional development of new project managers.
- Mike Gruia details an approach for building a strategic PMO that will establish “a sustainable competitive advantage.”
- Mark Phillipy interviews Cornelius Fichtner and Kevin Reilly on the wide range of PMI related certifications – it’s not just the PMP! Just over an hour, safe for work.
- Margaret Meloni explains how to get remote workers set up for success. Just over three minutes, safe for work.
Agile Methods
- Larry O’Brien summarizes five essential rules of software project management. Yes, there are excellent concepts that pre-date the Agile Manifesto.
- Mike Griffiths explains the ideas behind his proposed presentation at Agile 2015: Eat risks for breakfast, poop awesomeness all day! Risks = fiber? Who knew?
- Mike Cohn tries to explain the difference between a user story and a task, and triggers a comment storm!
- Renee, Craig, and Tony let us listen in on their banter and reviews of some of their tools. Just 57 minutes, safe for work.
Soft Skills
- Joel Bancroft-Connors and his invisible gorilla, Hogarth, explain why the fives “whats” are more effective than the five “whys.”
- Pawel Brodzinski delivers a bunch of sketches that illustrate Virginia Satir’s Change Model and Stuart Kauffman’s Fitness Landscape. Long post, but worth reading.
- Bruce Harpham looks at two basic models of motivation: Frederick Herzberg’s classic hygiene factors and motivators, and Dan Pink’s Drive model.
- Nada Aldahleh summarizes recent research on the effects of sleep deprivation and interrupted sleep.
- Liam Barrett champions the value of emotional intelligence to leaders.
- Michael Lopp describes the emotional J-curve of starting a new gig. He doesn’t call it that, but that’s what he’s describing. I do it 2 – 3 times a year, and he’s spot on.
Meeting Mastery
- Robert Kelly gets us back to the basics of organizing a meeting.
- Elizabeth Harrin shares a video that shows what a conference call would look like if everyone was in the room. Painful, but true to life.
- Kerry Wills offers a few reasons why meeting in person isn’t all that much of an improvement over the conference call.
- Éamonn McGuinness lists some best practices for making meetings effective, including the “energy test.”
Enjoy!