Tag Archives: Customer Communications

Articles related to communications with management, stakeholders, and project teams

New PM Articles for the Week of June 10 – 16

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of June 10 – 16.  We read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Wayne Grant is fighting waste and tracking investment with snakes and ladders, in order to maximize productivity.  Not the board game, by the way.
  • Elizabeth Harrin has published a new edition of her book, “Shortcuts to Success: Project Management in the Real World.”
  • Jiju Nair outlines the key to making outsourcing work.
  • Samad Aidane shows us his project management tool kit and interviews Jennifer McNulty and Rafa Ballesteros on managing localization projects.
  • Doug Jackson lists the skills and abilities needed for a good requirements analyst.
  • Peter Saddington’s webinar, “How to Grow High Performance Teams through Mentorship” is now available; just 55 minutes, safe for work.
  • Vivek Wadha gives us some tips on how to give a great presentation.
  • Laura Burford describes the ways in which vendors and clients talk past each other.
  • Scott Berkun reminds us to make a list.
  • Shim Marom explains the difference between an estimate and a guess.
  • Patrick Richard also takes up the difference, including BEG’s, WAG’s, and EWAG’s.
  • Neill Killick publishes Chris Chapmen’s interview questions, on his view of #NoEstimates.
  • Glen Alleman writes his last post on #NoEstimates.  I’ll believe THAT when I don’t see the next one.
  • Don Kim reports on the pending failure of the British government’s Biggest Agile Project in the World.
  • Several veteran PMI bloggers identify what they feel are the critical skill sets for project managers.
  • Ron Rosenhead explores that common expression, “Sounds like a plan.”  But, is it?
  • Bertrand Duperrin identifies why mobile applications are so hard to do well.
  • Martin Webster shows us how to make a stakeholder map.
  • Chuck Morton concludes his series on the change management process.
  • Kerry Wills asks you to please not attach ginormous files to your meeting invitations, when a link will do.
  • Cheri Baker shares her work-life balance strategy: ten mini-vacations a year.

Remember: Beginning on July 31, 2013, the PMP exam will be based on the Fifth Edition of the PMBOK.  Schedule accordingly, and don’t wait until the last minute!

Enjoy!

New Project Management Articles for the Week of May 20 – 26

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of May 20 – 26.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Curt Finch looks at how we interact with our project accounting systems, and how we should interact with them.
  • Elizabeth Harrin continues to find project management (well, work management) insights from parenting Project Jack.
  • Michelle Stronach offers another explanation of the differences between frameworks, methodologies, and standards.
  • Conrado Morlan recounts going beyond culture shock to find a teachable moment.
  • Sarah Clare offers some thoughts on providing constructive criticism.
  • Kerry Wills expounds on the virtue (and benefits) of being genuine.
  • Cheri Baker says we need to face our fears.  Maybe even that irrational fear of vacuum cleaners.
  • Bertrand Duperrin summarizes the key takeaways from Jane McConnell’s Digital Workplace Trends report.  It’s not the corporate Intranet any more.
  • Walter Chen tells us about three interesting social interaction tools for teams of remote workers.
  • Wendii from Manager Tools quotes Herb Kelleher, Chairman Emeritus of Southwest Airlines, on keeping employees motivated.
  • Soma Bhattacharya lists five steps to be amazing at your job.
  • Derek Huether argues that the way to get teams to deliver predictably is to not try for 100% utilization.
  • Donna Reed shares a great video simulating a bad daily stand-up meeting, and a healthy one.  Ten minutes, safe for work.
  • Glen Alleman reports on the latest #NoEstimates public discourse on Twitter and related blogs.
  • Shim Marom has a great post about uncertainty, but the comments make it even better.
  • Mike Griffiths does a “state of the credential” review of the PMI-ACP, and finds it growing, with lots more room to grow.
  • Martin Webster critiques business process re-engineering, from the point of view of a self-service user.
  • Tristan Wember finds that what’s sometimes missing from change management is a sense of urgency.
  • Kailash Awati shares a family anecdote that speaks volumes about context and meaning, and the traumatized children of bad drivers.
  • Andrew Makar recently had the chance to test drive a new end-to-end project portfolio management tool called KeyedIn.
  • Brett Beaubouef explores the relationships between business processing management, business process re-engineering, and the enterprise resource system life cycle.
  • Joel Bancroft-Connors and Hogarth apply the Horstmann Corollary to Parkinson’s Law,”Work contracts to fit into the time we give it,” to EMail.
  • Marian Haus continues her series on project schedule planning.
  • Bruce Benson goes beyond the test report metrics and finds the real issue is: poor software quality and slow fixes.
  • Andy Jordan offers some insights for those who are transitioning out of their jobs, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

Remember: Beginning on July 31, 2013, the PMP exam will be based on the Fifth Edition of the PMBOK.  Schedule accordingly, and don’t wait until the last minute!

Enjoy!

New Project Management Articles from May 13 – 19

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of May 13 – 19.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Samad Aidane presents the coolest infographic of the week! “The Brain: A Project Manager’s Guide to Emotions.”
  • Elizabeth Harrin mines Eskerod and Jepson’s “Project Stakeholder Management” for insights on why stakeholders contribute.  Or, not.
  • Tristan Wember goes into detail on the three primary colors – red, amber, and green.  Well, they’re the primary colors on status reports.
  • Ian Webster analyzes a speech by George Osborne, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, and finds a status report!
  • Wayne Grant details three techniques for conducting retrospectives – The Cool Wall, Lean Coffee, and the Questions Retrospective.
  • Shim Marom asks some hard questions about what the Agile Manifesto actually means.
  • Glen Alleman is appalled at the notion, expressed in Neil Killock’s blog, that there are alternatives to estimates of cost and schedule.
  • Vincent McGevna uses a case study to show us how to use a decision tree to find the “best” alternative.  Truly excellent!
  • Kenneth Darter has some thoughts on keeping your project schedule on track.
  • Paul Bruno tells the story of the Battle of Saratoga, and points out some critical lessons learned for project managers.
  • Robert Bell took his daughter to the circus and somehow learned something about project management.  Hopefully, not from the clowns?
  • Kevin Korterud says that we need to add value to our earned value metrics.  Like focus, and communication.
  • Kimberly Gerber gives us some strategies for improving communication with our virtual teams.
  • Cheri Baker has decided to stop giving her most precious commodity away to anyone who asks.  Which means more time for herself.
  • Penelope Trunk: “One of the biggest changes in the workforce in the new millennium is that we have to be information synthesizers instead of information producers.”
  • Daniel Goleman offers some ideas on how to salvage a negotiation that seems to be going badly.
  • Barb at Vyrtunet has some interesting thoughts on portfolio management and the “strategy to action life cycle.”
  • Ron Rosenhead looks at succession planning, transitions, and managing changes in the project team.
  • Paul Culmsee is excited to announce that the Melbourne Sharepoint conference will be keynoted by an organizational psychologist.  It’s a collaboration tool, right?

Enjoy!