Tag Archives: PMO

New PM Articles for the Week of October 8 – 14

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of October 8 – 14. And this week’s video: Celeste Headlee’s TEDx talk on how to have a good conversation, even with people you profoundly disagree with. 12 minutes, safe for work, and a tip of the hat to Alison Mai at Steelray for the link.

Business Acumen and Strategy

  • Vanessa Bates Ramirez reports on a new robot-staffed warehouse in Tel Aviv that fills orders in under 5 minutes and fits in 6,000 square feet of floor space. 2 minutes to read.
  • Rebecca Addison notes the growing use of Cobots—robots design to collaborate on tasks with humans, rather than work independently. Like Amazon’s warehouse robots. 4 minutes to read.
  • Shahab Arif updates us on how automotive manufacturers are speeding up the production line with automation, assisted by humans. 7 minutes to read.

Managing Projects

  • Leigh Espy tutors us on the Critical to Quality tree, a requirements elicitation tool to help you get your customer from general to specific success criteria. 4 minutes to read.
  • Mike Clayton explains the value of a quantitative business case as a decision-making tool. Video, 5 minutes, safe for work.
  • Tony Adams reminds us to keep the stakeholders engaged during a long, long project. 3 minutes to read.
  • Toby Elwin tells us why we shouldn’t let a skeptic drive business change. 3 minutes to read.
  • Michael Wharton shows how to estimate annual budgets for your department projects using Project Online of Project Server. 4 minutes to read.
  • Cornelius Fichtner interviews PMO consultant Hussain Bandukwala on setting up a fully functioning PMO in 100 days. Podcast, 44 minutes, safe for work.

Managing Software Development

  • Stefan Wolpers curates his weekly list of Agile content, from what constitutes a team to coaching to mindsets. 7 outbound links, 3 minutes to read.
  • John Yorke begins sharing his assignment to “create, build, and run a virtual office comprising of cross-functional teams that create software”—sustainably and profitably. 4 minutes to read.
  • Johanna Rothman concludes her series on creating a product-based development organization. Part 5 and 6 are here; each has links to the earlier posts. Total for the series about 25 minutes to read.
  • The Clever PM addresses prioritization of product feature development from three perspectives: value, difficulty, and instinct. 4 minutes to read.
  • Nishi Grover Garg explains how to optimize your hardening sprint to produce the best possible quality before release. 5 minutes to read.
  • Amir Ghahrai insists that the problem with modern QA is the retreat from manually exercising the software. You can’t automate unless you identify the scenarios. 9 minutes to read.

Applied Leadership

  • Grand CanyonAlexander Maasik curates his weekly list of leadership articles, from OKR’s to AQ to making a dent in the universe. 5 outbound links, 3 minutes to read
  • Melissa Boggs reminds us that exhaustion is not a status symbol. Well-managed teams work at a sustainable pace. 3 minutes to read.
  • William Malsam coaches us on delivering constructive criticism—expressing a valid and well-reasoned opinion. 5 minutes to read.
  • Dan Rockwell notes the dangers of being over-helpful—in other words, doing someone’s job for them. 2 minutes to read.

Research and Insights

  • Gabrielle Coppola reports on a new line of R&D for autonomous cars: helping AI predict what human pedestrians are about to do—what human drivers do intuitively. 4 minutes to read.
  • Mary Haskett help us understand face recognition—biometric identification of a live face image, validated against a stored (enrolled) image of that person. 5 minutes to read.
  • Adam Shostack reviews a GAO report on the Equifax breach and shares his own follow-up questions. 2 minutes to read.

Working and the Workplace

  • Heather Landy curated a list of the top ten Quartz at Work stories about life at the office, from awkward eye contact to dorky motivational posters to cushy office perks as a form of oppression. 5 minutes to read.
  • Rebecca Knight explains how to stay focused in a noisy open office, from setting group expectations to noise-canceling headphones. 8 minutes to read.
  • Lisette Sutherland reports on five new tools for remote work and collaboration at a distance. Podcast, 8 minutes, safe for work.

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the Week of October 1 – 7

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of October 1 – 7. And this week’s video: Chris Forsberg makes the business case for a serverless architecture: namely, reducing the need for an Operations staff to nearly zero. 2 minutes, safe for work.

Also: Hussain Bandukwala has organized a PMO Virtual Summit, to be conducted October 16 – 18. The Summit will allow aspiring and first-time PMO leaders to hear from thought leaders like Bill Dow, Laura Barnard, and Andy Jordan. And it’s free—all you have to do is register. There’s also a free eBook with contributions from many of the speakers and Cornelius Fichtner did a quick interview podcast with Hussain. 3 minutes, safe for work.

Business Acumen and Strategy

  • Michelle Gelfand describes the problems arising from a merger of organizations with incompatible cultures. Case in point: Amazon and Whole Foods markets. 5 minutes to read.
  • Mike Murphy reports on the struggles (and closures) of several US-based robotics firms. Competition is building, although the market isn’t expanding very quickly. 2 minutes to read.
  • Uzma Barlaskar tells us how to develop a data-informed culture, rather than falling into a data-driven culture. The difference is more than semantics. 7 minutes to read.

Managing Projects

  • Elizabeth Harrin tutors us on programs (or programmes, in the UK), from the basics through three common types. 5 minutes to read.
  • Glenn Alleman gives us a clear explanation of the cone of uncertainty for projects and shares an extensive reading list. 3 minutes to read.
  • Dmitriy Nizhebetskiy shows us how to apply the Delphi Technique in a real project management example. 4 minutes to read.
  • Harry Hall persuades us to investigate the PMI-RMP risk management professional credential. 2 minutes to read.
  • Elise Stevens interviews Naomi Caietti on her new book, Transform Your Leadership: Getting unstuck and jumpstarting your career. Podcast, 27 minutes, safe for work.
  • Tim Runcie explains master projects in MS Project: what they are and when and how to use them. 6 minutes, safe for work.
  • Kris Hughes has rounded up 25 quotes that illustrate important aspects of project management. And none of those quoted are project managers! 8 minutes to read.

Managing Software Development

  • Stefan Wolpers curates his list of Agile content, from prescriptive practices (bad) to becoming more strategic (good) to why commitment cultures always win. 7 outbound links, 3 minutes to read.
  • Johanna Rothman begins a series on designing a product-oriented organization. Here are parts two, three, with part four coming soon. About 12 minutes to read these three.
  • Roman Pichler tells us how to establish an effective product strategy process, from vision to the product backlog. 5 minutes to read.
  • Erik Dietrich walks us through seven types of testing so we might spot the holes in our testing strategy. 5 minutes to read.
  • Alex Punnen presents a diagram of software quality in the shape of an iceberg because bug testing is only the most visible element. 13 minutes to read.
  • Tim Bunter summarizes three core principles from James Wickett’s webinar on DevSecOps, but a link is included if you want to hear for yourself. 5 minutes to read.

Applied Leadership

  • Alexander Maasik curates his weekly list of leadership articles, from implementing OKR to being too productive to running your business barefoot. 5 outbound links, 3 minutes to read.
  • George Jucan examines the ethical aspects of influencing (as opposed to manipulating) stakeholders. 6 minutes to read.
  • Payson Hall presents five principles for effective mentoring (and coaching). 2 minutes to read.

Research and Insights

  • MIT Technology Review reports on research that has created the first network of brain-to-brain thought exchange. Three people playing Tetris is just the beginning. 4 minutes to read.
  • Brian Krebs alerts us to a new trend in voice phishing: calls that credibly imitate contacts from your financial institution. 10 minutes to read.
  • Alison DeNisco Rayome on CareerBuilder’s new study: the US will add 8 million jobs over the next five years. Software developers and support specialists will be among the fastest-growing categories. 3 minutes to read.

Working and the Workplace

  • Rebecca Knight explains how to cope with second-hand stress. 8 minutes to read.
  • Suzanne Lucas reports on a new law in Massachusetts that mandates employers who require a non-compete agreement to continue to pay you after you leave. 2 minutes to read.
  • Francisco Sáez recaps advice from Chip and Dan Heath on how we can change our own behavior. 3 minutes to read.

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the Week of June 18 – 24

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New project management articles published on the web during the week of June 18 – 24. And this week’s video: über-nerd Adam Savage builds a 1,000 shot NERF-blaster. In one day. And tests it against three dinosaurs. 37 minutes, safe for work. The NERF-blaster … yeah, leave that at home.

Business Acumen and Strategy

  • Andy Heikkila warns that the Atlanta ransomware attack is a harbinger of “Fire Sale” cyber attacks. 5 minutes to read.
  • Steve Denning examines the ten “Agile Axioms” that still make executives nervous. Note that none of the five largest and fastest-growing firms in the world existed prior to 1975 and three were founded less than 25 years ago. 10 minutes to read.
  • Renee Troughton analyzes why scaled Agile approaches keep falling short of executive expectations. 10 minutes to read.

Managing Projects

  • Henny Portman reviews Jack Duggal’s new book, The DNA of Execution Strategy. This looks like a must-read for project portfolio managers. 5 minutes to read.
  • Satya Narayan Dash tutors us on some critical concepts: Critical Path, Criticality Analysis, and Criticality Index. 8 minutes to read.
  • Mike Clayton explains the concept of Critical Chain, as developed by Elihu Goldratt. Video, 7 minutes, safe for work.
  • Kiron Bondale points out the possible pitfalls of posting information radiators, from inaccuracy to a lack of context. 2 minutes to read.
  • Laura Barnard continues her series on the PMO leader mindset with an article on instilling focus. 9 minutes to read.
  • Elizabeth Harrin reports from the PMO Conference 2018 in London. Includes a video, six and a half minutes, safe for work.
  • Kerry Wills asserts the need for projects, project management competencies, and PMO functions in a Scaled Agile environment. 2 minutes to read.
  • Cesar Abeid and Traci Duez interview Rick Morris on the need to develop our influencing skills. Podcast, 46 minutes, safe for work.

Managing Software Development

  • Stefan Wolpers curates his list of Agile content, from business agility to re-thinking the corporate budgeting process to how to say ‘No.’ 7 outbound links, 3 minutes to read.
  • John Ferguson Smart explains Behavior Driven Development, in the context of Agile methods and a DevOps culture. 3 minutes to read.
  • Simon Schrijver debunks the claim that tests are useless if they don’t fail. 2 minutes to read.
  • Matt Heusser tutors us on Cyclomatic Complexity, a tool to identify candidates for refactoring. Useful for project managers with some background in writing code. 3 minutes to read.

Applied Leadership

  • SaladAlexander Maasik curates his weekly list of leadership articles, from start-up company lessons learned to the value-add of an OKR Champion to learning “how to sit quietly in a room alone.” 5 outbound links, 3 minutes to read.
  • Suzanne Lucas interviews Dr. Lori Whatley on what to say (and what not to say) when an employee seems to be depressed. 4 minutes to read.
  • Ben Mackie shares some tips to improve the value you get from 1-on-1 meetings. 4 minutes to read.

Research and Insights

  • John Goodpasture begins a series on Prospect Theory, an approach to decision making under conditions of risk developed by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. 4 minutes to read.
  • Olga Grinina reminds us that training AI from data based on human decisions will incorporate human biases. Perhaps we need to make the machine-generated algorithms more visible. 4 minutes to read.
  • Paul Axtel cites recent research indicating that the most productive meetings have fewer than 8 people. 2 minutes to read.
  • Lila MacLellan reports that a study of hangry, the condition of being hungry, irritable, and angry all at the same time, isn’t just about blood sugar. 4 minutes to read.

Working and the Workplace

  • Poornima Vijayshankar and Holly Cardew return to discuss what a remote team needs to be successful when working on a mission-critical project. 2 minutes to read, plus a 9-minute video, safe for work.
  • Garland Coulson shares an infographic that can help you determine the best way to deal with each task in your inbox. 4 minutes to read.
  • Kayla Matthews lists some of the reasons to have a green office and some of the ways to pursue that sort of sustainability. 3 minutes to read.

Enjoy!