Tag Archives: PMBOK

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 PM Articles for the Week of April 29 – May 5

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of April 29 – May 5.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Avinoam Nowogrodski sees us entering a new era in project management – social, personalized, and empowering – reflecting the future of work.
  • Speaking of the future of work, Chess Media is conducting a survey on how social media, BYOB, and flexible work arrangements are being adopted, today.
  • Elizabeth Harrin summarizes Pernille Eskerod and Anna Lund Jepsen’s book, Project Stakeholder Management.
  • Andy Jordan notes that one of the most surprising failures of governance seems to happen in the project management office.
  • Jeff Furman poses an ethics case study, from real life.
  • Paul Culmsee demonstrates dialog mapping, using Compendium, and introduces the concept of powerful questions.  Fifteen minutes, safe for work.
  • Ted Hardy says that if your stakeholders won’t give you an answer, offer a really bad suggestion.  Like lunch at McDonald’s.
  • Donna Reed shares a recorded presentation by Vicky Haney, “Emotional Intelligence for Project Managers and Business Analysts.”  One hour, safe for work.
  • Roz Baker explains the difference between a project management framework and a software development life cycle model.  And potatoes and tomatoes.
  • Chuck Morton continues his series on project change management, with the observation that change cuts across all PMBOK knowledge areas.
  • Glen Alleman offers “hard” definitions and principles of risk management, his favorite risk management process diagram, and sources of failure.
  • Patrick Richard shares his comments on a post by Glen Alleman on cost and schedule estimating, with an observation about story points.
  • Samad Aidane warns that a project manager should never, EVER agree to be the project sponsor and project manager at the same time.
  • Abid Mustafa shares his perspective as an IT executive on the best way to utilize an executive as a project sponsor.
  • Lou Adler, recruiter extraordinaire, says there are only four jobs – thinkers, builders, improvers, and producers.
  • Penelope Trunk offers her take on why Jason Collins should be a positive career example for everyone.
  • Will Kelly explains how MS Project 2013 integrates with the SaaS solution called Mavelink to form a comprehensive project team solution.
  • Jerry Manas extracts the key takeaways from the recent “Resource Management and Capacity Planning Benchmark Study.”

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the Week of April 15 –21

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of April 15 – 21.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Vincent McGevna continues his series on project decisions, with an exploration of the pitfalls that arise from our biases.
  • Elizabeth Harrin talks with Dr. Wilhelm Kross about risk communication: how to talk about risk with your stakeholders.
  • The late Steve Jobs gives the best advice on success and failure, ever: “If you’re afraid of failing, you won’t get very far.”
  • Kenneth Darter provides an overview of the work to be done when a project is canceled.
  • Andy Jordan explores the tasks involved in recovering from project failure.
  • Wayne Grant reminds us that the purpose of retrospectives is to identify corrective actions that will allow continuous improvement.
  • Glen Alleman shares a slide deck by John Goodpasture, “A Sailor’s Look at Agile.”  Which is nothing like Jimmy Buffet’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty.”
  • Project Management Podcast 232 addresses how to prepare for and pass our PMI-ACP exam.
  • Shim Marom has some criticisms for the lack of guidance the PMBOK provides on how to actually implement an earned value management system.
  • Bruce Benson bought a “smart” scale for his bathroom that told him he was “nearing overweight.”  So he re-discovered trend analysis.
  • Kevin Korterud thinks we need better stoplights for our status reports, because three colors aren’t enough.
  • Mark Mullaly looks at governance – good governance and bad governance.
  • Mike Donoghue looks at the contributions to success (and failure) that come from advisory or steering committees.
  • Patrick Richard objects to senior managers putting newbie project managers on projects they plainly aren’t ready for.
  • Joel Bancroft-Connors and Hogarth remind us of Stephen Covey’s dictum, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
  • Johanna Rothman recalls a career-limiting conversation with a boss who said he “knew how long it should take” to do a task.
  • Cheri Baker says that you can trust HR – within certain limits.  After all, you may be part of the problem you need their help to solve.
  • Fred Kofman makes the case for requiring your workers to resolve their own differences, using interest-based negotiation and some ground rules.
  • Donna Reed has shared a one hour presentation (one PDU) by Star Dargin on when to be the coach, the leader, or the manager.
  • Chuck Morton notes that we have to be able to execute reliably before we can plan effectively.
  • Vivek Prakash argues that we need to be able to execute our projects and still upgrade our skills.
  • Kerry Wills briefly addresses the art of being succinct.

Enjoy!