New project management articles published on the web during the week of March 9 – 15. We give you a high-level view so you can read what interests you. Recommended:

Must read!

• Suzanne Lucas interprets recent research by a developmental psychologist, which identified seven critical skills that are necessary for you to become a successful boss.
• Elizabeth Harrin summarizes the four primary styles used in giving feedback, as detailed in Anna Carroll’s book, “The Feedback Imperative.”
• Elizabeth Booker gives us a tutorial on procurement administrative lead time. Ever had a project start delayed because a lawyer was reviewing terms and conditions? Yup, that stuff.

PM Best Practices

• Stephen Brobst says the interesting thing about Big Data isn’t Bigness, but the way structure and demand continuously evolves.
• Glen Alleman observes that using a Fibonacci series for estimating adds no more certainty to the process than you’d get from using a geometric series.
• Paul Ritchie explains what is required for an R&D-centered organization to get the most value from their PMO.
• Ronald Bisaccia reviews the evidence: why women tend to be better at assessing and managing risks than men. Ummm … testosterone rots the brain?
• Nick Pisano reports on efforts to standardize representations of historical data from past projects, in support of management reporting and better estimates.
• David Cotgreave points out that some of the project manage predictions for 2015 have already materialized.
• Toby Elwin finds project management lessons in the work of Led Zeppelin. “There’s a sponsor who’s sure all that glitters is gold, and she’s thinks she’s bought a stairway to Heaven.”
• Ryan Ogilvie presents an example of how to apply problem management principles to IT service delivery.
• Cornelius Fichtner interviews Jonathan Herbert, who inspired him to create his podcast, on lessons learned in preparing for the PMP exam. Just 51 minutes, safe for work.

 Agile Methods

• Mike Cohn notes that we need to account for three types of time when planning a Sprint.
• John Goodpasture gives us a quick excerpt from the upcoming 2^nd edition of his classic, “Project Management the Agile Way.”
• William Nocolich says that indecision is responsible for much of the high failure rate of software development projects.
• Andrew Lin pulls together some rules of thumb, rubrics, and generalized principles that pertain to Agile and Scrum.
• Derek Huether takes a personality assessment, and his wife confirms the diagnosis. We’re not as unique as our fingerprints would lead us to believe …

 Soft Skills

• Bruce Harpham gives us a history lesson on George Washington – who knew he was a life-hacker?
• Kevin Coleman articulates the long-term effects of the loss of intellectual capital and experience, as the Boomers retire.
• Hendrie Weisinger recommends creating attainable goals and celebrating small wins – call them micro-successes.
• Mario Trentim looks at conducting a stakeholder analysis from the perspective of the stakeholder.
• Ron Rosenhead recounts a PM student’s tale of failing to identify a key stakeholder, and the $200 million fine that eventually resulted.

Enjoy!