Top Project Management Thinkers
I’m proud and pleased to be on the list of LiquidPlanner’s Top Project Management Thinkers. I’m thrilled, too!
MPD, project management
project management
MPD, project management
Pairing Helps
I’ve been working with Gil Broza on our teleclass series, Prevent Your Agile Titanic, both on marketing it and on its content. And it never fails, we have questions for each other almost every day. Sometimes I’m developing something and it looks “funny.” So I ask for review. Sometimes, as with the content, we discuss
MPD, project management
When Did "fill in the blank" Start?
On mailing lists, when I speak, in email, people ask, “When did ‘some principle, approach, or whatever’ start?” A long time ago. Timeboxes have been around forever. I’m pretty sure that when the Pharoahs told their architects to build a pyramid, they said, “And do it by this-date! Or else!” I know that military projects
MPD, project management
“Ideal” Team Size and Ratios
A client recently asked me how many people should be on his agile team. “I have a two-person project here, and a 23-person project there. Do I want two teams, one of 2 and one of 23? Oh, and how many testers do I really need?” I can believe there’s a small and short project
MPD, project management
Yak Shaving This Week
I’m yak shaving this week. When I returned from the Agile conference, my right ear didn’t clear. It’s all clogged now, and the left one isn’t totally clear either. I have vertigo. I’m moving slowly and look drunk when I walk. In the meantime, I have articles to write, proposals to finish, work to do.
MPD, project management
Graceful Degradation is Not What We Want; Quick Failure is Better
I’m now the proud and happy owner of a new reservoir for our tankless hot water heater. (Tankless is a relative term, when it comes to hot water heaters.) A week ago, the reservoir part of our system finally broke. We had a new reservoir installed on Wednesday, and our lives have changed for the
MPD, project management
Video Posted: Lessons Learned in Project Management
The nice folks at SQE have posted my keynote from the Better Software conference, Lessons Learned in Project Management. Yes, some of the material is from Manage It!: Your Guide to Modern, Pragmatic Project Management. P.S. Thank you for telling me the link was broken originally. It’s now fixed. Sorry about that!
MPD, project management
Breaking Free of Legacy Projects
If you’ve never been a victim of Medieval software project management, wow, I’m impressed. You don’t have to read the rest of this post. But if you’ve ever tried to break free of a legacy product/project, and haven’t been able to, you are not alone. The problem is we can’t create a knowledge management system
MPD, project management
Pragmatic Manager Vol 5 #4 Posted
I write a roughly monthly email newsletter, the Pragmatic Manager. I (finally) posted Refocusing: Emerging from the Split Focus Schedule Game. Yes, I’m working on the July issue now. Enjoy!
MPD, project management
Handoffs Don't Work
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” part, the less likely you are to receive/finish a great product. That’s because no one