You’ve probably seen these elsewhere, but since this blog is for me too, I don’t want to forget about them: Why Crunch Mode Doesn’t Work: 6 Lessons. I particularly liked the origins of the 40-hour work week. Conquering the Cubicle Syndrome. I liked the idea of talking to people, building those relationships. Like Esther says […]
Hal asks a fascinating question in Variation is an Enemy Enabler of Project Success: How can we take advantage of serendipity rather than forcing an outcome in our projects? (paraphrased) One technique is to observe and listen to the project. When PMs observe their projects, they look at and listen to: How people work together.
The Pragmatic Manager, Volume 1 #4 Contents: This month’s Feature Article: Use Overtime as a Last Resort Announcements On the Bookshelf Want to hear more from Johanna? Want to read more of Johanna’s writing? =-=-=-=-=- Feature Article: Use Overtime as a Last Resort Overtime is the last degree of flexibility in a project. Unfortunately, too
It’s worth taking a quick listen to Commentary – Overtime’s not good for your health. The folks from University of Arkansas actually have data that says overtime is ok and doesn’t reduce productivity. Hah! I wonder where their data came from. On the other hand, Joe Robinson’s commentary makes perfect sense to me. Here are
Many of the project schedules I review contain milestone completions on Fridays and new task or phase beginnings on Mondays. With a Friday or Monday milestone, what you’re really saying is that people can work overtime all week and all weekend to make the Friday milestone, so they won’t be late for the Monday start.
If this month’s guest column strikes a familiar chord with you, welcome to the club. We have all been there. Caught in the maelstrom of unrealistic requirements and damnable deadlines, we grab for whatever tactic looks like it might keep us afloat. More often than not, we start putting in longer hours and expect everyone