Category Archives: PM Articles

Articles about different aspects of project management.

New PM Articles for the Week of April 16 – 22

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of April 16 – 22, 2012.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Shim Marom reviews the difference between accountability and responsibility.
  • Michael Krigsman considers the question: Who’s accountable for IT failure?
  • Joel Bancroft-Connors wants us to consider not just the probability of a failure, but the impact it will have.
  • Dhanu Kothari shares some sample criteria for troubled projects, and his roadmap for project recovery.
  • Don McAlister talks about when it is appropriate to re-baseline your project.
  • Jorge Valdes Garciatorres advocates getting mad.  When it’s justifiable, and professional.
  • Kenneth Hardin presents the thoughts of Mike Duensing, VP of Engineering at Mindjet, on ensuring your team understands risk, first-hand.
  • Todd Williams summarizes his thoughts on driving change, based on a white paper by Deanne Earle, “Principles for Intelligent Transition. “
  • Elizabeth Harrin interviews Microsoft’s Richard Gordon on the role of Sharepoint and the apparently slow rate of adoption of Project 2010.  Three minutes, safe for work.
  • Glen Alleman shares a fishbone diagram of some common sources of variance in project cost.
  • Steve Denning addresses ten perennial management-level objections to the adoption of Agile methods.  Including several pretty good ones.
  • Mike Griffiths looks at a Forbes article that argues Agile’s unlikely origins in software development may make it unlikely to be accepted in other management areas.
  • Matt Simpson explains the benefits of using Kanban in a software development project.
  • Meanwhile, Peter Saddington looks into reports that Kanban is failing Japanese industry.
  • Steve Ranger summarizes the findings of TechRepublic’s CIO Jury on the question of whether there is really a technical skills crisis.  Answer: no, but …
  • Jahna Berry reports on the “skills gap” between what employers are looking for and what they’re seeing in the applicant pool.
  • Paul Schoemaker reveals four secrets of great critical thinkers.
  • Josh Nankivel re-learns the old lesson: Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
  • Kiron D. Bondale shares why and how you should develop a good relationship with Functional Managers.

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the week of April 9 – 15

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of April 9 – 15, 2012.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Mike Griffiths talks about Harnessing the Team for Agile Risk Management.
  • Dmitri Ivanenko shares four elements that contribute or detract from productivity.
  • Glen D. Ford looks at organizing a project from the view of the Sponsor.
  • Ty Kiisel asks what time are you going home tonight?
  • Wayne Grant shares how varying the format of project retrospectives increases their effectiveness and shares some examples.
  • Derek Huether explains the value of measuring team emotion during retroactives.
  • Katia Sullivan looks at pursuing quality, rather than simply trying to measure it.
  • Bruce Benson explains why project managers should not set up metrics to measure improvement projects.
  • Todd Cameron has looked at various adoption patterns, and decided that it’s simpler to assign people to one of three broad groups.  And they’re not who you’d expect.
  • Yakov Fain points out what project managers can learn from the “security theatre” performed at every airport.
  • Patrick Richard reflects on the Welchism, “Under promise but over deliver.”
  • Calvin Sun shares ten project management lessons learned from the sinking of the Titanic.  The next time you need an example of clueless management, use number 6.
  • Glen Alleman says a plan is not enough; all projects must have a strategy for success.
  • Toni Bowers warns of the lure of self-promotion as a substitute for skills.
  • Vivian Giang reports on a study of recruiters, determining what they focus on during the six seconds (!) they spend on your resume.
  • Bruce McGraw lists the top ten signs you may not be a project manager.
  • Peter Saddington translates: what project managers say, and what they really mean.
  • Gary Hamilton, Gareth Byatt, and Jeff Hodgkinson join forces with Eric Lamond to consider the burning question: Were the Three Stooges good project managers?

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the Week of April 2 – 8

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of April 2 – 8, 2012.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Ben Snyder describes the profile of a good project manager.
  • Don McAlister explains how micro relationships matter for “Project Management in the Matrix Crossfire”.
  • Steve Romero on “The Success of Canceled Projects”.
  • Joel Bancroft-Connors on the power of “And” to facilitate teamwork and communication.
  • Elizabeth Harrin reviews “The Language of Leaders,” by Kevin Murray, which he based on interviews with 60 CEO’s and business leaders.
  • PMI has announced the recipients of their academic research grants for 2012.
  • Tony Schwartz, author of “Be Excellent at Anything,” comes out against multi-tasking and in favor of focus.
  • Scott Lowe has five questions portfolio managers should ask before approving a project.
  • Margo Visitacion and Jerry Manas team up for a webcast on Wednesday, April 11 on how to focus your PMO on the big picture.
  • Geoff Crane finally publishes his white paper on the history of project management – twelve culturally significant projects over a period of 4500 years, focused on risk management.
  • Lynda Bourne clarifies: what does a project sponsor really do?
  • Andy Jordan has some ideas on how to bring a stakeholder who was “forgotten” until the last minute into the project.
  • Glen Alleman found an interesting quote: “Stop motivating people – they hate it.”
  • Derek Huether reports on the recent PMI Agile Community of Practice retrospective.
  • Terry Bunio shares an example of an Agile project  charter, based on user stories.
  • Peter Saddington reports on Scrum Wing 3D, an open source Scrum project management tool.  Holding stand-ups virtually, using avatars?  Wow …
  • Johanna Rothman addresses questions related to infrastructure investment and technical debt.
  • Shim Marom reviews “Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What’s Right and What to Do About It,” by Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel.
  • Kerry Wills looks at the importance of decisions, and understanding the consequences of those decisions.

Enjoy!