One of the most useful decisions a project manager can make at the beginning of the project is to choose a lifecycle for the project. Here’s the way I think about lifecycles: Not every lifecycle is appropriate for every project. In fact, many lifecycles are inappropriate for many projects. If you can’t determine the requirements […]
Normally I talk about a hiring manager making an offer. My advice to hiring managers is: Determine the candidate’s salary range during the phone screen. That way you know if the candidate is in the ballpark. Before making an offer ask the question, “What would make you say yes to an offer from us?” If
Esther’s here with me this week. We’re revamping our book based on early feedback from our reviewers. We’re focusing on the core skills of managers. Of course, prioritization is in the book. In addition, we’re addressing how to speak the language of the business (to get things done through others), how to give feedback, one-on-ones,
I’m supposed to be on the other coast right now. But since I start from Boston, and this Nor’easter has taken over, I’m going nowhere fast. When I planned the trip and the client work, I’d allowed about a half-day of slack in the travel. That’s normally enough. Not this time 🙂 When you
© 2003 Johanna Rothman. This article was originally published in Crosstalk, Dec 2003. This article is the outgrowth of my original talk/article, Successful Engineering Management: 7 Lessons Learned Successful managers realize that they need to balance the needs of the business, the employees, and the work environment to be effective. In this article, the author
Alan Weiss, of Summit Consulting, is a well-known speaker and consultant. When he talks to speakers (or consultants), he suggests people think about their fundamental value proposition. He says, “Ask yourself how people are better off when you leave?” You don’t have to be a consultant to take advantage of Alan’s tip. When you complete
At a recent presentation, (Managing the Management Balancing Act) I discussed the problems of multi-tasking. I received this feedback: Johanna, I have to say that I think you are off the path in terms of “multiple projects.” 1) Organizations just don’t work this way – it isn’t cost-effective. 2) Today’s emerging workforce (20-30) were
Last week, one of the mailing lists I’m on discussed the glass ceiling. Some participants doubted the glass ceiling exists — that it may be more of a reaction on the part of the person perceiving the glass ceiling. The glass ceiling is real. Sometimes, it’s discrimination against people who aren’t developers (which is
Hal posted his take on creating faster cheaper projects. (See Creating Faster Cheaper Projects.) I see that I did not make my assumptions clear in my original post. Hal had three problems (at least!) with my post: Fewer people increase the length of the project. The longer the project, the more the requirements will change
Performing projects faster and cheaper seems to be the holy grail for most organizations. Here’s the secret: If you really want to perform projects faster and/or cheaper, start them earlier. When you start projects early, you can assign fewer people, so the costs start off lower. When you start the project early, you can