Tag Archives: Customer Communications

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

New PM Articles for the Week of April 14 – 20

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NewsNew project management articles published on the web during the week of April 14 – 20. We read all of this stuff so you don’t have to! Recommended:

Disaster and Recovery

  • Steven Levy finds project management lessons in the heartbreaking Korean ferry disaster.
  • John Goodpasture examines the way small teams deal with sudden disasters.
  • Nick Pisano points out that much of the criticism of the Obamacare website misses the real lessons.

PM Best Practices

  • Duncan Haughey tells us how to be effective coaches for our project teams.
  • Martin Webster argues that “winning” is great for sports, but lousy for teams at work. A cooperative style gets more done.
  • Andrew Filev presents some strategies for establishing good habits in your teams’s group behavior.
  • Alina Vrabie tells how to facilitate creativity within your team, using those soft skills we all like to talk about.
  • Luis Seaba Coelho shares some amazing data on the affect the “default” has on the decisions we make.
  • Philip Smith notes that many projects get off on the wrong foot, failing in requirements gathering and engaging senior executives.
  • Kerry Wills explains why it’s so important for your project team to establish the right pace.
  • Mike Clayton finds some great insights in the origins and evolution of the term “stakeholder.”

Agile Methods

  • Roman Pichler elegantly describes how we build a product that the users will actually want, using a Vision Board. Highly recommended!
  • Rich Karlgaard gives twelve reasons why your project team should be small enough to feed with two pizzas, and twelve tips for creating two-pizza teams.
  • Kevin Aguanno shares case studies of three Canadian banks that took different approaches to adopting Agile methods. Highly recommended!
  • Pawel Brodzinski says that if you want higher productivity metrics, just throw out the low numbers in your planning poker deck. I think that was humor …
  • Vijaya Kumar Bandaru has put together a great Scrum Master resource, for those who want to take servant leadership up a notch.

Governance

  • Glen Alleman finds himself explaining that yes, we can know the (approximate) value of what we’re building. Egad …
  • Kailash Awati tells a Holmes and Watson story of the PMO manager who was faced with a horrible truth – the dysfunctions of his organization.
  • Mike Donoghue proclaims the power of the user in guiding the evolution of technology.

Podcasts and Videos

  • Dave Prior interviews Kanban coach Frank Vega, who advocates for using workflow management for a variety of activities. Just 11 minutes, safe for work.
  • Cesar Abeid explains how to leverage the web to gain exposure and build your reputation. Just 50 minutes, safe for work.
  • Margaret Meloni tells us how project portfolio management fits into our working lives. Just 12 minutes, safe for work.

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the Week of March 3 – 9

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NewsboyNew project management articles published on the web during the week of March 3 – 9. We read all of this stuff so you don’t have to! Recommended:

Evolution

  • Cheri Baker explains why most of her consulting customers are social enterprises (and why that’s really cool).
  • Linky van der Merwe examines PMI’s recent survey on the global growth of project management to understand what it means to us practitioners.
  • Peter Taylor expands on a statement by J. LeRoy Ward regarding the ever-evolving practice of project management.
  • Susanne Madsen exhorts us to become project champions.

Risk Management

  • Steven Levy follows up on his series on risk management, with recommendations on how to apply the principles he described to a legal practice.
  • Andy Jordan continues his series on managing risks across the organization, through collaboration and common processes.

PM Best Practices

  • Glen Alleman takes the point of view of the people who pay for a software development project to explain why estimates are needed.
  • Henny Portman summarizes the Management of Value approach.
  • Elizabeth Harrin reviews Ann Pilkington’s new book, “Communicating Projects.”
  • Dave Wakeman tells why integrity, adaptability, and judgment are absolutely required by all project managers.
  • Martin Webster tells us how to create a shared vision across the project team.
  • Allen Ruddock explores a tough scenario on managing up.
  • Michael Nir exposes the basics of stakeholder management, as told in a children’s book.
  • Brett Beaubouef shares a technique for conducting an organizations fit/gap.
  • Jennifer Lonoff Schiff collects twelve suggestions from data management and disaster recovery experts on how to design for data survival.

Complexity

  • Shim Marom describes the Cynefin model for problem domains, and finds a domain where #NoEstimates actually seems appropriate.
  • John Goodpasture considers alternatives to complexity.
  • Kailash Awati tells the fable of an architect and the conscience he argues with, to tell why you can’t just gather your requirements at headquarters.
  • Matthew Squair explores the evolution of initial designs, from obvious to plainly unworkable.

Agile Methods

  • Kelsey van Haaster unpacks her thoughts about whether making an exception to the team’s Scrum timeline is Agile.
  • Soma Bhattacharya asks whether managers are a benefit or a hindrance to Agile, and explains why a Scrum Master should not be a decision maker.
  • Francesco Attanasio describes what he calls “Scrum Master 2.0.”
  • Adam Zuzanski explores different ways to present information as a burn-down chart.

Podcasts and Videos

  • Mark Phillipy hosts a Google Hangout to follow up on the second PM FlashBlog, Project Management Around the World. Just 54 minutes, safe for work.
  • Peter Saddington shares a recent TED talk by Rosalinde Torres on the three questions that great leaders contemplate in the 21st century. Just nine minutes, safe for work.

Enjoy!

PMI Publishes Navigating Complexity: A Practice Guide

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Navigating ComplexityLast week, PMI announced availability of a new publication on managing complexity in projects, programs, and project portfolios. Called “Navigating Complexity: A Practice Guide,” it is now available for download in PDF format at no cost, for a limited time. The print version will be available in mid-March.

The Guide organizes the causes of complexity into three categories, including human behavior, system behavior, and ambiguity. The need to align people, programs, and projects to manage complexity is addressed through organizational support structures, and useful practices in four areas: scope, communications, stakeholders, and risk. Principles are demonstrated via several scenarios, each with suggested actions. Key considerations in developing, implementing, and managing an action plan are included. An extensive literature review is included as an appendix, along with a glossary.

The PDF file is 113 pages, and includes an assessment questionnaire. The questionnaire is available as a separate download, along with a companion resource gap analysis and skills assessment. Additional resources, including white papers and case studies, are available on the same complexity program page as the downloadable files.