Plan a Better Project
Dave Christiansen wrote a lovely article, Plan a Better Project. He mentions Manage It!. Thanks, Dave.
MPD, project management
project management
MPD, project management
How Many Projects Are You Managing?
I gave a talk at a local ICCA chapter last night, and met a project manager who told me he was managing 7 projects. I must have lost my poker face, because he chuckled and said, “Well, you do what you can with that many projects.” You do. And I don’t buy that you’re actually
MPD, project management
Estimation Units Predict Schedule Slippage
I’ve been teaching a project management workshop, and one of the participants said something brilliant: “If you estimate in days, you’ll be off by days. If you estimate in weeks, you’ll be off by weeks.” If you estimate in months, you will be off by months. Here’s why. The more you can break a big
MPD, project management
How to Give the Project Team Just Enough "Pressure"
In For a more productive team, put the pressure on (within reason), Chris Hoover recommends a little pressure to help the procrastinators un-procrastinate, and help people get their work done on time. I only sort-of agree. Everyone has their own amount of pressure, and what’s good for you is not good for me. But working
MPD, project management
Pragmatic Manager Pages Updated
I just finished updating all my email newsletter (Pragmatic Manager) pages. I hadn’t announced my most recent newsletter, Making Waterfall (a Serial Lifecycle) Work For You, Part 1 (Vol 4, #1). I’ve reorganized the pages, so go here to read all the previous articles.
MPD, project management
Cleaning Up the Office, Round 3: A Slightly Agile Approach
I reported on my progress cleaning up my office Cleaning Up the Office, Round 2. I hadn’t let it get that bad since that round of organizing, but I did ask for help from Daughter #2 in May, to buy some bins and drawers to continue my never-ending attempts to stay organized. The past 8
MPD, project management
Project Managers are Not Business Analysts
Kevin says in his comment: Business analysis is how you figure out what done means. Project management is how you figure out how to get to done. I disagree. Business analysis is the elicitation and definition of what everyone else wants to have in the product. Project management is understanding what’s driving the project,
MPD, project management
Too Simple a Definition of a Project
Via Raven’s Think you know what a project is?, there’s a pointer to What is a Project? Think Again!. Garry, the author likes David Allen’s definition of a project: < blockquote>A project is any outcome you
MPD, project management
Gantt Charts and Agile
I don’t have much use for Gantt charts; if you’ve determined the tasks in enough detail and far enough out to really see the critical path, you’ll be wrong in 24-48 hours. If you don’t put in that much detail, it’s a pretty picture, but not enough information to manage the project. (Of course,
MPD, portfolio management, project management
Portfolio Management is Not Project Management
While teaching a management class recently, one participant came up to me at a break, and said, “Why are you teaching us project management with this portfolio stuff? This is supposed to be a management workshop.” Portfolio management, determining which projects to fund and when, is management work. The best managers actively manage the