Tag Archives: PMO

New PM Articles for the Week of June 17 – 23

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of June 17 – 23. And this week’s video: digital project managers Ben Aston and Kelly Suter discuss the Hertz-Accenture lawsuit. $32USD million for a website design that never went live? That requires a lot of process failures! 7 minutes, safe for work (unless you believe cock-up is a bad word).

This week’s images from our day trip to Death Valley.

Business Acumen and Strategy

  • Karl Henrik Smith analyzes Anthos, Google’s new Kubernetes-based platform designed to manage applications across multiple clouds, such as AWS and Azure. 8 minutes to read.
  • Greg Satell examines how major changes in technology, resource utilization, migration, and demographics drove change in the 20th century and projects what these trends will mean in this century. 6 minutes to read.
  • Eshe Nelson interviews Richard Baldwin, author of The Globotics Upheaval: Globalization, robotics, and the future of work. 8 minutes to read.

Managing Projects

  • Mike Griffiths has been named co-lead for the next update cycle of the PMBOK, to be called the 7th Expect “a radical departure from all previous editions.” Just a minute to read.
  • Glen Alleman defines technical margin and contingency and explains how they are used in systems under development. 2 minutes to read.
  • Dale Howard tells us how to view all predecessors and successors for any task in MS Project. Very useful in highly detailed plans! 3 minutes to read.
  • The nice folks at Clarizen tell about RACI charts—what they are, how they are used, and why we need them. 3 minutes to read.
  • Tom Cagely presents the positive case for a Big Bang implementation of a major change, like moving to a new ERP. 3 minutes to read.
  • Jim Conroy describes five specific actions that the PMO can initiate in order to improve project benefits realization. 4 minutes to read.

Managing Software Development

  • Stefan Wolpers curates his weekly list of Agile content, from decision making in flat organizations to customer centricity to killing any project. 7 outbound links, 3 minutes to read.
  • James Thomas led a 15-minute discussion on the value of testing is … and captured the group learnings in a mind map. 3 minutes to read, including the map.
  • Dave West makes a good case for putting product customer personas on the team wall. 4 minutes to read.
  • Steven Hansen talks us through conducting an estimate for a project with an embedded Linux component. This is illustrative of good practice in technical analysis, from alternatives to risks. 5 minutes to read.
  • Johanna Rothman reminds us to clean our backlogs, create a parking lot, and otherwise reduce our cognitive load. 3 minutes to read.
  • Marija Cvjetkovic shares 15 of her cartoons, mocking “false Scrum implementations.” 3 minutes to read; no estimate for time required to laugh nervously and change the subject.

Applied Leadership

  • Kumar Srikant leads us on a deep examination of professional and business ethics violations and how we choose to cheat. 6 minutes to read.
  • Nick Walker and Bill Yates interview Dr. Ruth Middleton-House on decision-making under threatening conditions. Podcast, 35 minutes, safe for work.
  • Vikash Kumar shares his principles for leading a geographically distributed team. 5 minutes to read.

Research and Insights

  • Andrej Kovačević updates us on Dark Web activities that appear to be trending, with implications for the business world. 4 minutes to read.
  • Edward Hawkins gives us some insight into how internal and external security testing is accomplished. 5 minutes to read.
  • Dan Schawbel reports on research that indicates a generation preference (or aversion) for open offices. Having both kinds of space might provide an edge in the talent war. 3 minutes to read.
  • John Detrixhe reports that new financial technology algorithms discriminate against minorities 40% less often than human lenders. 3 minutes to read.

Working and the Workplace

  • Tim O’Brien reminds us that we should not let our role become our identity, and let professional reverses hurt us on a personal level. 5 minutes to read.
  • John Leo Weber coaches us on office etiquette—the little rules that help us fit into the workplace. Yes, this is even more important for leaders. 6 minutes to read.
  • Dan Matthews suggests simple in loco parentis solutions for three common office conflicts. 2 minutes to read.

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the Week of June 3 – 9

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of June 3 – 9. And this week’s video: Mike Clayton shares six actions and behaviors that will significantly improve your project outcomes. Not just for project management; much of this stuff is valuable for all aspects of your life. Under 4 minutes, safe for work.

Pictures this week from our short camping trip to Pacific City, Oregon.

Business Acumen and Strategy

  • Greg Satell explains the evolution from corporate strategies based on value chains to those based on ecosystems. 5 minutes to read.
  • James Vincent and Chaim Gartenburg report on Amazon’s new Prime Air delivery drone, expected to begin delivering packages “within months.” If you work for a retail or logistics organization, your business model will need an update. 3 minutes to read.
  • John Detrixhe summarizes a draft communique from the G20 finance ministers that will make it harder for global tech firms to avoid corporate income taxes. 2 minutes to read.

Managing Projects

  • Gina Abudi tells us how to pitch our ideas for projects to the executives who “hold the purse.” 2 minutes to read.
  • Kiron Bondale revisits some old proverbs to find wisdom for today. 2 minutes to read.
  • John Goodpasture shares some rules of thumb that can help us estimate (or analyze an estimate) in the absence of statistical data. Just over a minute to read.
  • Francesco Marcatto reminds us that, while no two projects are alike, some roadblocks come up more frequently than others. 5 minutes to read.
  • Laura Barnard introduces her PMO Strategies podcast, from her background to the Project Management Day of Service to what she hopes listeners will take away from future podcasts. 15 minutes, safe for work.
  • Elizabeth Harrin explores the value proposition of a project dashboard when managing several projects at once. 8 minutes to read.

Managing Software Development

  • Stefan Wolpers curates his weekly collection of Agile content, from Amazon Agility to DevOps as a strategic advantage to dates for product road maps. 7 outbound links, 3 minutes to read.
  • Sidharth Malhotra explains the concept of micro-services using a metaphor based on an ice cream shop—call it the Dairy Queen architecture. 7 minutes to read.
  • Henny Portman reviews Jeff Patton’s classic, User Story Mapping. As usual, he summarizes all 18 chapters in two or three sentences, each. 4 minutes to read.
  • Tom Cagely admits that story points aren’t horrible, under certain circumstances, and then goes on to explain when they make sense. Each a little over 2 minutes.
  • Jan Jaap Cannegieter and Han Niessing describe two cases that illustrate the evolution from testing lead to test assurance officer and test coach. 6 minutes to read.
  • Ashley Bey does a deep dive on unit testing the parts of your system that interact with the outside world. Warning: high geek-level content! 9 minutes to read.

Applied Leadership

  • Richard Straub opines on the need for new management approaches and behaviors in an era of ecosystems. 4 minutes to read.
  • Suzanne Lucas explains edge collaboration, an organizational approach for making knowledge sharing across departments more efficient. 3 minutes to read.
  • Alex Circei explains why discipline is so important when leading engineers. Note: discipline is not externally imposed, and it certainly isn’t punishment. 4 minutes to read.

Research and Insights

  • Shelly Fan summarizes new research into brain-machine interface technology, funded by DARPA. You know: the people who funded the invention of the internet. 6 minutes to read.
  • Kayla Matthews reports on five research projects targeting defenses against cyber-attacks. 5 minutes to read.
  • Martin Giles assess the recent incidents of cyber security flaws found in semiconductor chips reported by outside researchers and finds that they take too long to fix them. 5 minutes to read.
  • Akash Deep lists a few steps to take to prevent spear phishing, the most successful technique used by cyber criminals to do their dirty work. 5 minutes to read.

Working and the Workplace

  • Melody Wilding coaches us on how to control our emotions at work (or anyplace else). 3 minutes to read.
  • Leon Straker presents his assessment of different sitting postures for different types of tasks, with the goal of reducing back pain. 4 minutes to read.
  • Alyse Kalish has collected 22 team-building activities that don’t suck. Well, most of them don’t. 11 minutes to read.

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the Week of April 1 – 7

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of April 1 – 7. And this week’s video: Harry Hall is back with an approach for categorizing and analyzing project risks in order to create a project risk profile—an excellent tool for explaining exposure to the project sponsor and other decision makers. Just four and a half minutes, safe for work.

Brexit update: Prime Minister May acknowledged in a video that the alternative to leaving the EU with a deal is not leaving, so compromise will be required. According to S&P Global Ratings, the 2016 Brexit referendum has cost the British economy about 3% of its potential value; currency market conditions seem to be operating under the impression that crashing out of the EU won’t happen; the British pound remains 12% and 11% weaker against the US dollar and the euro, respectively but a hard Brexit will almost certainly result in a sell-off. Manufacturers are stockpiling raw materials at historically unprecedented rates and a survey reveals that Brexit uncertainty is impacting mental health.

Business Acumen and Strategy

  • Martin Reeves, Kevin Whitaker, and Christian Ketels tell us that companies need to prepare for the next economic downturn. There will be both challenges and opportunities! 6 minutes to read.
  • Greg Satell looks at regional advantages. New York City doesn’t really need to offer a sweetheart deal to attract business. 5 minutes to read.
  • Alison DeNisco Rayome reports how China tried and failed to dominate the AI field. 10 minutes to read. Side note: China is leading the world in wind power
  • Ben Brody collates the criticisms of Mark Zuckerberg’s proposed framework for regulating the handling of personal data by corporations. His, for example. 3 minutes to read.

Managing Projects

  • Elizabeth Harrin explains all ten knowledge areas of project management, as described in PMBOK v6, and throws in three videos, a slide deck, and access to her resource library. 9 minutes to read; the videos add another 18 minutes or so.
  • The nice folks at Clarizen tutor us on the statement of work. 3 minutes to read.
  • Glen Alleman shares a link to seven PMO “practical advice guides” prepared by Pat Barker. Bookmark the page, since two more are planned.
  • Erik van Hurck shows us how to customize the ribbon menu on Microsoft Project. 5 minutes to read.
  • Mike Clayton defines risk tolerance, as an input to project approval and risk management. Video, 5 minutes, safe for work.
  • Jennifer Bridges shows how negativity bias impacts the actions we take when managing our projects. 5 minutes to read, plus a 5-minute video, safe for work.

Managing Software Development

  • Stefan Wolpers curates his weekly list of Agile content, from Monte Carlo simulations for Agile estimation to Scrum at Scale to scaling for product people. 7 outbound links, 3 minutes to read.
  • Johanna Rothman begins a new series on product roles with an examination of product managers, product owners, and business analysts. 5 minutes to read.
  • Ron Jeffries opines on YAGNI (you aren’t gonna need it), technical debt, and skimping. 11 minutes to read.
  • Piyush Rahate contemplates the Sprint Goal: not an essential or mandatory Scrum artifact, but nonetheless incredibly useful. 3 minutes to read.
  • Sarah Brockett admits that not all software design work is groundbreaking, visually stunning, or even challenging. But that can be overcome. 3 minutes to read.

Applied Leadership

  • Sharlyn Luby tells us how to get and keep buy-in from senior management. 3 minutes to read.
  • Todd Williams says that “eliminating blame is the first step in being accountable.” We need to leave room for people to make mistakes. 5 minutes to read.
  • Suzanne Lucas alerts us to a pregnancy discrimination case that might one of the best examples of how not to manage that we’ll see this year. 3 minutes to read.
  • Nancy Settle-Murphy gives detailed instructions on transitioning a remote worker to a different remote manager. 7 minutes to read.

Research and Insights

  • Edd Gent gets us up to date on Microsoft’s research and development of a DNA data storage device. Seriously. 4 minutes to read.
  • Gillian Armstrong explores the impact and ethics of conversational artificial intelligence. 13 minutes to read. Don’t anthropomorphize computers—it only encourages them.
  • Kristen Houser reports on the development of “metallic wood”—essentially, nickel with a cellular structure. Producing it at scale might lead to super-light devices, from cell phones to cars. 2 minutes to read.

Working and the Workplace

  • Leigh Espy suggests seven criteria you should use to assess whether your career is meeting your expectations. 5 minutes to read.
  • Claudia Vergueiro Masseio puts Imposter Syndrome, the Glass Ceiling, and the Glass Cliff into the context of her own career. 4 minutes to read.
  • Andrew Arnold lists five essential practices needed to maintain cybersecurity when working remotely. 4 minutes to read.

Enjoy!