Tag Archives: project success

Similarities and Differences in Project Management

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Johanna Rothman

I’m in Las Vegas waiting to get on a plan to Los Angeles to go to New Zealand for SDC. I led a workshop yesterday for real estate project managers about how to define success and manage some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in project management | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Do You Care About What “Everyone” Else Does?

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Johanna Rothman

Jurgen asked me to help publicize his survey. Ok, I’ve done it. Now, let me rant about explain why I think surveys like this are not useful, and may be harmful. A survey does not take your context into account. … Continue reading →

Posted in process | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Partial Commitments to Projects Create Unpredictable Projects

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Johanna Rothman

There’s a discussion on a mailing list about a partially committed-to project: there aren’t enough people on the project, the people don’t have the time to do the work because they are interrupted all the time by support of previously … Continue reading →

Posted in portfolio management | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Catching Up is Not Possible

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Johanna Rothman

I’ve been sick for weeks, and am finally coming out of it to be close to healthy. (I was still coughing in the 8-degree Fahrenheit cold leaving the gym. Oh well.) One of the problems is that my work doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in productivity | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Abandoning vs. Killing Projects

Posted on November 4, 2008 by Johanna Rothman

John Cook, wrote a lovely post, Peter Drucker and abandoning projects, explaining how Drucker talks about abandoning projects. (John, thanks, I will definitely be referencing Drucker in the PPM book.) I haven’t been using the word “abandon” when I describe … Continue reading →

Posted in portfolio management | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Whose ROI Is It?

Posted on September 10, 2008 by Johanna Rothman

I was trying to address the issue of ROI (Return on Investment) in the project portfolio book. I don’t buy project ROI. First, the idea of a project for software is an artifical construct–our consumers buy running tested features, that … Continue reading →

Posted in ROI | Tagged , | 4 Comments

An Attempt to Define Value

Posted on August 20, 2008 by Johanna Rothman

Jim, in his comment on Intuition is Not Enough for Knowing About the Project Portfolio, said: I am having trouble with the definition of the word “value” in this context. Do you mean showing progress, as in earned value, or … Continue reading →

Posted in value | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Fund Projects Incrementally

Posted on July 30, 2008 by Johanna Rothman

One of the big problems in organizations (IT or product-shipping) is how to fund projects. I don’t believe in ROI (Return on Investment). I learned how to lie with ROI back in 1988–I can make the numbers be anything you … Continue reading →

Posted in agile | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Waterfall Projects Create Naivete

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Johanna Rothman

I’ve been working with several clients on their transitions to agile–or at least, more agile approaches to their projects. In each case, the managers decided to move towards agile because the technical staff were in their words, “naive” about the … Continue reading →

Posted in lifecycle | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Handoffs Don’t Work

Posted on June 20, 2008 by Johanna Rothman

I recently spoke with a project manager. He was concerned about the product managers handing off the requirements to the development staff. He was right to be concerned. Handoffs don’t work.  The more people think they are done with “their” … Continue reading →

Posted in project management | Tagged , | 13 Comments