New PM Articles for the Week of August 3 – 9

Posted on by

Irvine ApproachNew project management articles published on the web during the week of August 3 – 9. We give you a high-level view so you can read what interests you. Recommended:

Must read!

  • Suzanne Lucas, the Evil HR Lady, explains the alternatives businesses will face when implementing the Department of Labor’s new overtime rules.
  • Chris Wilder notes that information, intelligence, and the internet of things is driving fundamental changes to the supply chain.
  • Lynda Bourne builds on two earlier articles on stakeholder engagement, with a focus on tools and techniques.

PM Best Practices

  • Glen Alleman debunks a few pronouncements on the differences between Agile and Waterfall.
  • David Cotgreave on getting the right PM assigned to the project: “Outsourcing PMO is a very effective filter against the risk of poor cultural alignment!”
  • Cynthia Zieman notes that the key to standardizing contract management is flexibility.
  • Susanne Madsen defines the four components of building trust
  • John Goodpasture shares some insights on negotiating.
  • Soma Bhattacharya interviews Mark Woeppel, author of “Visual Project Management,” on his model for visual PM, called Viewpoint.
  • Harry Hall lists seven techniques that, taken together, will dramatically improve the quality and reliability of project cost and schedule estimates.
  • Kiron Bondale considers the alternatives to crashing a project schedule.
  • Allen Ruddock identifies common problems with meetings and the ways to prevent them.
  • Michael Wood explains how to become as business-savvy as your management and customers expect you to be.

Agile Methods

  • Johanna Rothman clarifies the differences between product manager and product owner, and why the team’s manager should not also be the product owner.
  • Mike Cohn gets to the flimsy basis for the claim that 64% of software features are rarely or never used.
  • Henny Portman reviews David Scott Bernstein’s new book, “Beyond Legacy Code.” Not just for coders – this sounds interesting for everyone associated with software projects.
  • Bart Gerardi describes the virtuous cycle of action that is Agile.
  • Brian de Haaff starts a list of things developers should stop saying. Especially #11.
  • Mike Griffiths gives us two-sentence overviews of how the DSDM, SAFe, DAD, and LeSS frameworks address strategic alignment.

Podcasts and Videos

  • Cesar Abeid interviews communications diva Jenn Swanson on applying communication skills to a new job (or project). Just 55 minutes, safe for work.
  • Elizabeth Harrin lists a few tips for making virtual meetings work. Less than four minutes, safe for work.
  • Dave Prior interviews Gil Broza at Agile 2015, on why so many organizations are disappointed with their Agile implementations. Just 15 minutes, safe for work.

Working with People

  • Seth Godin notes the prevalence of superstition at work, where stuff is just so complicated.
  • Peter Tarhanidis says that the key to training project managers is to move away from pedagogy, toward adult learning.
  • Bruce Harpham interviews Donald Asher on his new book, “Who Gets Promoted, Who Doesn’t, and Why.”

Enjoy!