Tag Archives: PMO

New PM Articles for the Week of April 22 –28

Posted on by
Reply

New project management articles published on the web during the week of April 22 – 28.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Tom Hammell applies some of Daniel Kahneman’s work on thinking fast and slow to project management decisions.
  • Elizabeth Harrin concludes her interview with Dr. Wilhelm Kross, on risk communication.
  • Kyle Roozen explains the four-step approach his Scrum team uses to estimate timelines.
  • Donna Reed shares a recording of a presentation by Star Dargin, “Coaching Skills for Project Managers.”
  • Samad Aidane answers a common question, “How do I motivate my team?”  His uncommon answer, “Don’t try.  You don’t need to.”
  • Kailash Awati presents a noir satire of the PMO as the methodology police.
  • Patti Gilchrist takes a look at how the PMO is evolving from process policeman to innovation advocate.
  • Andy Jordan notes that, just as every project needs an issues log, so does every PMO.
  • Bruce Benson figures that a manager who insists on a “personal commitment” to achieve a deadline is probably working with an unrealistic schedule.
  • Brad Egeland suggests that we listen to our team members carefully, rather than uncritically.
  • Margaret Meloni wants you to bring your inner child to work.  Why?  Well, because children ask, “Why?”
  • Cyndee Miller reports from the PMI Global Congress 2013 in Istanbul, where keynote speaker Avinash Chandarana noted, “Culture eats process for lunch.”
  • Robert Bell offers a few more reasons to pull team members from around the globe.
  • Glen Alleman responds to a post on TechWell on Agile and the federal government.
  • Chuck Morton begins a new series on project change management (as opposed to organizational change management, or systems change management).
  • Mike Griffiths has a story of fragmented, part-time teams taking an Agile approach, and succeeding.
  • Soma Bhattacharya has some suggestions about making the transition to Agile methods.
  • Kelsey van Haaster learned a lot about making the transition from non-agile to Agile, by visiting a website devoted to mastering housework.
  • Todd Wilms shares a slide deck with ten leadership lessons he wishes he had learned in his twenties.
  • Patrick Gray looks at the recent controversy (and firings) that grew out of the tweeting of tasteless remarks at a Python developer’s conference.
  • Penelope Trunk has been coaching her husband, the farmer.  Big insight: your approach to dealing with mistakes defines your success.

Enjoy!

New PM Articles for the Week of March 11 –17

Posted on by
Reply

New project management articles published on the web during the week of March 11 – 17.  Dave and Sandra read all of this stuff so you don’t have to!  Recommended:

  • Andy Jordan reminds us that the way we deal with stressful situations is what defines us as leaders.
  • Elizabeth Harrin and Phil Peplow identify six barriers to customer centricity.  Extracted from their book, “Customer-centric Project Management.”
  • Peter Tarhanidis asserts that the customer mindset is always right.
  • Shim Marom presents a decision tree on “Should you attend that meeting?” courtesy of Elizabeth Grace Saunders.
  • Gary Laverty reviews Charles Tryon’s third edition of “Managing Organizational Knowledge.”
  • Frank Saladis has a new book out, “Positive Leadership in Project Management.”
  • Samad Aidane interviews Lina Echeverria, author of “Idea Agent,” 63 minutes.  Also  Geoff Trickey on risk personality types, 45 minutes.  Both safe for work.
  • John Simko shares specific criteria when doing nothing is the appropriate action.
  • Dave Prior continues his interview with Personal Kanban author Jim Prior.  Just 25 minutes, safe for work.
  • LeRoy Ward notes that, if your organization isn’t good at project management, Agile practices will like make a bad situation worse.
  • Ben Ferris shares five tips for making better decisions.
  • Bruce Benson notes that finding the root cause of your current problems is the first step; looking at alternatives comes later.
  • Chuck Morton explains risk buffers, using the example of a daily commute.
  • APQC has released a best-practices study called “Effective Project Management Offices.”
  • Roz Baker lists the bare minimum fields required in a defect log.  Her definition of “PICNIC” is at the bottom, next to the smiley face.
  • Andrew Makar presents a great tutorial on how to create a custom status report within Project 2010.
  • Sue Cochran creates a Project Charter primer by defining the core charter
    requirements.
  • Whitson Gordon sings the praises of Evernote.  (And so do I!)
  • Brett Beaubouef explains the basic equation of requirements management: What + Why = How.
  • Patrick Richard shares insights from a Harvard Business Review blog post, on why employers aren’t filling their open jobs.
  • Toni Bowers has a short list of meaningless phrases you should remove from your resume.  Like “responsible for …”
  • Chip Camden addresses the question of whether age-ism is a factor for us IT consultants.  And then he shaves off his beard!
  • Amanda Augustine has some pointers for IT types who need to perfect their pitch.  Elevator pitch, that is.
  • Srinivasa Rao has been observing the behavior of his Generation Y colleagues, and thinks they will change the way projects are managed.
  • Venkat Rao addresses the biological aspects of curiosity, and ranges from boredom to the destruction of the universe.  Long, but a worthwhile read.

Enjoy!

A Period of Transition

Posted on by
Reply

It’s December 30, according to the widget in the lower right corner of my screen.  Over the last week or so, I’ve seen dozens of lists, retrospectives, reviews of what was accomplished (or not), and more than a few assessments.  I’ve even seen some predictions for 2013 and beyond, in addition to the usual batch of resolutions, dubious (and earnest) plans, and vows to do something different; or at least, do the same things, differently.  But I tend to view this little window of time not as an end or beginning, but as a period of transition.

No matter what deal President Obama and Congress eventually agree to, I think we can safely assume that the special tax treatment for qualified dividends will go away.  Will this reduce the attractiveness of dividends for corporate America, and free up more cash flow for capital investment?  Maybe; but in any case, the last few lean years have seen a lot of deferred maintenance.  A lot companies are looking at the cost of annual support fees, and re-thinking their commitment to premises-based software.  I suspect we’ll see rapid growth in the trend of replacing enterprise applications with Software-as-a-Service.  But I suspect we’ll also see a lot of upgrades to aging ERP applications, too.  IT project managers will have a lot of work to do in these two areas – just a quick look at the postings on Dice will confirm that the scramble for talent has already begun.

On another level, PMI has now started the roll-out of the fifth edition of the PMBOK, as well as the third editions of the Standards for Program Management and Portfolio Management.  A lot of organizations that have embraced these documents as sources for the core of their project management and governance processes have some decisions to make.  What shall we change?  What shall we retain?  How shall we manage the transition?  There will likely be a number of blog posts, articles, white papers, and even books on the subject, and a lot of consultants will find work guiding organizations and their PMO’s through the process.

And let’s not forget the mega-trends: climate change, the growing scarcity of potable water, and food shortages.  If you were disappointed that “instead of a Mars colony, we got Facebook,” take heart.  We’re about to enter a period when much of our most valuable innovation will be driven by human survival.  From wind power to crop management to natural disaster mitigation, the future is going to be built with information.  There will be a lot of opportunities for information technology to contribute, and for IT project managers to make a difference.

Will things be different?  Sure – they always have been.  And as drivers of change, we’ll have a role in the transition.  Maybe even a critical role.  For some of us, a decisive role.  So, if you’re ready to lead the next round of changes, this will be a tremendous opportunity for you.  Because every period of transition needs leaders and managers who can be a calming influence.  And be sure to take good notes, because the projects you’ll lead over the next few quarters will likely be the most compelling part of your next resume.