New PM Articles for the Week of December 28 – January 3

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Happy New Year! New project management articles published on the web during the week of December 28 – January 3. You have an extra day this year, so make the most of it. Recommended:

Must read!

  • Michael Lopp does some soul-searching on retaining talent, and how leaders start people on the path out the door, usually without even noticing.
  • Bruce Harpham distinguishes between habit goals and outcome goals, and provides resources to develop and pursue both types.
  • Now that you understand habit goals, the staff at Fast Company summarize ten habits to adopt, in order to be better at your job.

Established Methods

  • Brad Rach compiled some best practices for “project health reports.” This has more immediacy than a “status report.”
  • Pat Weaver recaps the U.S. Government Accounting Office’s “Schedule Assessment Guide: Best Practices for Project Schedules.”
  • Elizabeth Harrin shares an infographic on project manager salaries in the U.S. for the past year.
  • Glen Alleman explains the Bayesian approach to estimating.
  • John Brasuell points out the pitfalls to avoid when implementing project management software.
  • Harry Hall relates an anecdote that demonstrates the consequences of risk management.
  • Todd Williams says that the organization’s goal should not be to be good at recovering a failed project, but preventing failure from happening.
  • Ruairi O’Donnellan copies us on the worst advice on tracking project status he’s ever heard.
  • John Goodpasture reminds us of the balance sheet view of employees: you’re either an asset or a liability.

Agile Methods

  • Reuben Salisbury tells how his team experimented with group presentations during Sprint planning.
  • Tom McFarlin reflects on a basic Agile tenet: “Ship fast and iterate.” There needs to be more to it than just a fast pace.
  • Garnet Masenda explains why current requirements matter more than future requirements, and past requirements may no longer matter at all.

Applied Leadership

  • Art Petty had a busy week of writing about leadership and management. He recaps five(!) articles, with links – start with the bottom of the list and work your way up.
  • Patti Gilchrist reflects on the most valuable career advice she’s received, passing it along with her observations and experience.
  • Cornelius Fichtner interviews Neal Whitten on “achieving the elusive work-life balance.” Just 26 minutes, safe for work.
  • Margaret Meloni addresses the necessary art of disciplining team members.

Retrospectives and the New Year

  • Henny Portman reviewed 31 books on a variety of topics we care about in 2015. In case you missed one, here’s his list, with links to the reviews.
  • Diane Stott lists the top ten articles from BA Times from 2015.
  • Elise Stevens shares a list of her favorite posts on other blogs from 2015.
  • Ryan Ogilvie resisted doing a “New Year’s Resolution”” list, but came up with a few things that seem well worth doing.

Enjoy!