A colleague emailed me a few days ago, and asked “for a code base with a [given size], what can we expect to see for numbers of defects per KLOC (given the actual industry average or given what the industry believes we should expect). We need some way of gauging whether or not our […]
Joel’s discussion of project managers (MS calls them program managers) and developers got me to thinking about the differences between project managers and developers. The difference between project managers and developers is where they deal with complexity and decision-making. PMs deal with complexity and decision-making between people. Developers deal with complexity and decision-making in
I’m editing a chapter in my hiring book, and the original sentence reads: …managers amplify the work of other people … The editors have suggested that amplify is the wrong word, and suggested “facilitate.” I’m still thinking about this. Managers do facilitate the work of other people. They also make their staff more effective.
We were on vacation last week in Breckenridge, CO. I enjoyed it, although it did take me a few days to acclimate to the 9600 feet altitude. Returning on I-70 East, we saw some great road signs: Truckers don’t be fooled – 4 miles steep grade Truckers you are not done yet – 1.
Just in case you hadn’t heard enough from me about inch-pebbles, here’s an article I wrote for Computerworld.com. Bloglet readers, it’s possible I have finally convinced Bloglet there’s nothing wrong with my blog. You’ve missed a couple of weeks worth of postings. Sorry about that.
I’ve been at this now for a year, and here’s my mini-retrospective on my blogging: What did I do well that I don’t want to forget? I learned that even a small entry that helps me to think more is useful. I don’t have to wait until I have completely well-formed thoughts. Pointing you to
I’m on vacation, so I’ll be blogging very little this week. In my last Pragmatic Manager email newsletter, I wrote about killing canceled projects. Here’s the summary: Explain why you’re canceling the project. Give people time to clean up their work before starting on their new work. Cancel all meetings associated with this project.
I spoke at a joint meeting of the RI PMI and ASQ last night. My presentation was “Predicting Project Completion.” I offered a simulation for people to try: predicting the time it would take and then sorting two decks of cards. We learned a lot and had fun. At the end of the meeting, one
At first, when Hal posted State of the Art of Project Management — Underlying Theory is Obsolete I wasn’t sure what he meant by #9: “Project portfolio management is an excuse not to manage each project. Each project team must be set-up for success.” Now in PMO: Obsolete Before It Gets Off the Ground, I
I just read Jim Coplien’s paper about teaching design called “Close the Window and Put it On the Desktop”. He references the “Rule of Least Surprise,” which is to do the “least surprising thing.” In design, it means the user shouldn’t be surprised or confused by what the program does. But what does it