Author name: Johanna

I help you identify and solve the problems that prevent you from releasing systems, hiring the right people, deciding which project to work on next. I take a pragmatic approach: what will work best for you, now? Some people call me a focuser. Some call me an accelerator. When I work with people, first we define our goal together. Typically, it's to get a better product out the door faster. I work with my clients to help managers figure out how to do the managing better, and how the technical contributors can contribute better, not to create a by-the-book system. I work with you, your staff, and your current product development practices. Together, we learn what works well for you and what doesn't. I believe in changing only what needs to be changed at the current time, to maximize your success. We work together to develop a blueprint for the future, and to build in capacity to recognize and implement change.

MPD, thinking

What Would You Like in a 3-Hour PM Workshop?

  I’m thrilled to be going back to the Softed folks (in Wellington, Auckland, and Sydney) who are doing a project management conference next March. I’m working out with them what topics I’ll be covering. I have a 3-hour workshop in the afternoon. It’s enough time to cover a couple of topics with interactions and

MPD, writing

More Observations on Writing

Keith Ray, Dale Emery, and I are writing books. Keith and Dale are tracking their writing with spreadsheets. Dale is posting his progress online. You can see his Oct 8 progress.I decided they were on to something, and start tracking my progress in a spreadsheet also. I have about 35,000 words written. I have about

HTP, interview

Are Introverts at a Disadvantage in Interviews?

At the SD conference a few weeks ago, a colleague asked me this question. (I’m using the Myers-Briggs terminology:If you’re wondering, I often describe introverts as people who need to think in order to speak, and extaverts as people who need to speak in order to think.) Well, the answer is Yes and No. If

MPD, requirements

When Requirements Spawn Requirements

A colleague asked me what to do when you’re in an iteration and you realize that the story you’re working on spawns other requirements. I suggested that the person add them to the product backlog (the backlog of everything you want to do for the product) and re-rank the requirements in preparation for the next

MPD, risk

Unanticipated Events Screw Up Schedules

  So after I posted the Probabilistic Scheduling post, I was working merrily away. I had made some small progress on the book, but was still finishing up other things. Finally, Wednesday I had cleared the entire day to work on the book. I was having trouble with one chapter, so I decided to make

HTP, interview

What Would You Like to Know?

Bruce Eckel has a nice post, What Questions Would You Ask?, especially for developers. I really like the question about books :-)Here’s how I would expand on that for project managers and testers: How do we you make project decisions? Can you give me an example? What happens at the end of the project? or

MPD, schedule

Probabilistic Scheduling

I’m writing my project management book. I have no idea how far along I am. (Wait, I promise to explain.) When I write, I have several phases: the exploratory phase, where I write articles, the write-it-down phase, where I write the whole thing down (in chunks, of course), and the editing phase. I’m in the

hiring strategy, HTP

Using Essays Instead of Resumes

Last week at SD, I met up with Brian Robertson of Ternary Software, a small consulting company in the Philadelphia area. They have a different approach for their first contact with a candidate: they ask candidates to fill out essays (scroll down to see the essay questions).These essay questions reflect the culture of the company.

hiring strategy, HTP

Reviewing Resumes for an Agile Team: Summary

I hope that when you read these posts, you came to the same conclusion I did. It’s almost impossible to detect from a resume whether or not a candidate is accustomed to an agile project, or could work on an agile project successfully. Keywords, especially, are useless when it comes to reviewing resumes. So what’s

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