Developing a Not-to-do list
My Stickyminds column, What’s on Your Not-to-do List? is posted. Please do leave comments there (or here if you like). This column is based on one of the ideas in Behind Closed Doors.
MPD, Stickyminds columns
project portfolio management
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Organizing for "Efficiency"
I gave a talk at the local PDMA group called “Setting Expectations Between Engineering and the Three PMs”, attempting to clarify how the roles of product management, program management, and project management are sometimes confused, and to suggest practices that help people unconfuse them. I set up teams of people to create a little
newsletter
Starting Strategic Planning
Contents: This month’s Feature Article: Starting on Strategic Planning Announcements =-=-=-=-= Feature Article: Starting on Strategic Planning Since Esther and I published Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management (see below for the official announcement), I’ve received several emails asking how to do strategic planning for small groups. Here’s an outline of a technique I’ve
Articles
What’s on Your Not-to-do List?
I’ll bet you’re one of those people who have too much to do. (I haven’t met anyone in the past few years who didn’t have too much to do, so it’s not much of a bet.) And, I suspect that you’re so busy with what you’re doing, that you haven’t yet thought of what you
Articles
How Much Work Can You Do? Developing and Managing Your Project Portfolio
I meet many managers in the course of my work, and they all share a common complaint: They have too much work to do. I ask how they know there’s too much work to do, and they look at me as if I’ve sprouted another head or two. “My staff and I are spread too
MPD, portfolio management
Management Insecurity or Product Strategy?
In Greg’s provocative comment, he says, “The idea that contributor initiatives are a drag on an organization speaks more to the insecurity of the management than to its skills.” I’ve been noodling that comment since I received it. I agree with Greg that some managers are insecure enough to insist that they make all
MPD
A Project Story
Read The Graphing Calculator Story. (Thank you to Obie Fernandez for finding this gem. Some ideas that stood out for me: The secret to programming is not intelligence, though of course that helps. It is not hard work or experience, though they help, too. The secret to programming is having smart friends. …he told
MPD, portfolio management
Is this Project Worthwhile?
Not all projects should be done. Some projects don’t even rate discussion. But sometimes it’s a lot harder to tell when a project is worthy and should be considered. Here are some questions I ask when trying to evaluate when a project is worthwhile: What business need does this project fill? (Does the organization
MPD, project management
Product Lifecycle Management and Project Management
Based on yesterday’s comments, it’s past time for me to define what I mean when I talk about product management, product lifecycle management, lifecycle choices, and project management. Here goes: Product management: The activities that plan the product’s evolution from birth to obsolescence. In a product company, product managers perform these roles. In an IT
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Multiprojecting: Progress by Illusion
Your CIO has two projects he wants finished in the next month. “We can share this project manager and that test team on both of these high-priority projects,” he declares confidently. “The projects are small enough that the teams should be able to make progress.” Two weeks later, the CIO realizes neither project is progressing