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Daniel Goleman wrote this week in an HBR article with regards to emotional intelligence: “ …one of the most persistent things I see people get wrong about the concept is that it equates to being “nice.” But it doesn’t, and misunderstanding this can get people into trouble. MORE
After I had reviewed how Monte Carlo simulation could help a team to understand the distribution of potential schedule or cost outcomes for a release or project, one of the learners in the class I was teaching pointed out that while such techniques can be helpful, they are only as good as the inputs provided. MORE
Harvard Business Review published an article by Sabina Nawaz this week on some challenges managers face when they delegate work to their staff. MORE
During the last week PMI announced that, based on the feedback they had received from stakeholders, they would be delaying the significant changes to the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification exam which had originally planned to be launched in mid-December 2019 to July 1, 2020. When I first read this, I felt a burst of vicarious relief for those exam candidates who were likely experiencing a lot of stress with the original date. MORE
I usually advise my students to encourage their team members to not provide padded work estimates, but rather to make schedule contingencies visible and tie these contingencies to milestones rather than to individual activities. MORE
In 2015 I wrote an article intending to debunk some common myths about project management. Like many of you, I spent a reasonable amount of time during my first few years participating in online forums correcting agile misconceptions. Unfortunately, just like lopping heads off the Hydra, every time I’d address one myth, a short time later it would re-emerge. Recognizing the futility of trying to permanently suppress fallacies, I stopped responding to such discussions. MORE
Sabina Nawaz’s article “ In Times of Crisis, a Little Thanks Goes a Long Way “, which was published this week on HBR.org, is a great reminder of the need we all have to be appreciated. In a blog post from a few years back I’d written that team members need to possess sufficient Capacity, Capability and Commitment to contribute towards the success of the team. MORE
A question which I’m asked regularly during my classes is what the best place is to start an agile transformation within a company? MORE
Lean thinking encourages us to focus on maximizing value delivered to stakeholders rather than maximizing the utilization of the people, equipment or material resources contributing to value streams. MORE
If you have ever taken a course in project management, you may have learned the differences between contingency and management reserves. MORE
The January 2020 issue of PM Network provide a case study for one of the 2019 PMI Project of the Year finalists, the Société de transport de Montréal’s (STM) eight-year project to modernize the underground Montréal rail system. I have a soft spot in my heart for this system, having spent most of my formative years in Montréal and having been a frequent user of its services while commuting to university and my first job. MORE
Emphasizing flow through the reduction or elimination of batching of work items is desirable but this is not always efficient or practical. So what are some of the factors which might force us to batch work items? MORE
I’ve delivered a number of presentations this year on the importance of building psychological safety within project teams and the role which project managers play. During these presentations I’m frequently asked the question “ How do I go about creating it? MORE
Scott Adams does a good job above of illustrating one of the many perils of low levels of psychological safety within a team. Dilbert is trying to raise reasonable doubts with his leader, the Pointy-Haired Boss, but his concerns are met with the threat of losing his job. MORE
While speaking on the topic of psychological safety yesterday I was asked whether it is possible to create safety within a team if the prevailing culture of the department or overall organization is toxic. MORE
It is a common challenge for anyone who has managed projects for a meaningful amount of time. One or more of your key stakeholders who are integral to the successful completion of the project appears unwilling to engage as expected. MORE
Inspection and adaptation are two of the pillars of the Scrum framework but all agile methods recognize the wisdom of Deming’s Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. While the Manifesto does not explicitly reference the scientific method, it is implied in the value statement “ Responding to change over following a plan ” and in its final principle “ At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly. MORE
After I had finished presenting on how to build psychologically safe virtual teams at a conference earlier this week, one of the delegates asked me what suggestions I’d have to help her with a team where some of the members refused to turn their cameras on during video meetings. MORE
COVID-19 is like that car accident just up ahead which you know you shouldn’t be focusing on while driving, but which draws the attention of all around it. After doing a number of articles related to the pandemic, I’d planned to write about something completely different, but as my weekly blogging time drew near I realized that there was (at least) one more topic I needed to write about. MORE
Articles have been written about the importance of doing just enough planning to develop confidence in what we are proposing to do as well as the perils of either too much or too little planning. But even a good enough plan can become obsolete at some point and we need the wisdom to know when it is time to jettison it. A common portfolio management anti-pattern is the inability of gatekeepers to terminate low value projects in a timely manner. MORE
I’ve previously written about the importance for an organization’s operational capabilities which support delivery capabilities to evolve when there is a move to increase business agility. MORE
A student in a project management class I taught shared the concern that it was very hard for her to get risk responses implemented. This is a fairly common problem and is likely one of the reasons that the volunteers who updated the PMBOK Guide, Sixth Edition added Implement Risk Responses as a new process within the Project Risk Management knowledge area. MORE
After daily coordination events (a.k.a. Scrums, standups or huddles), velocity might be the most misused tool by teams new to agile and the stakeholders supporting them. MORE
I wrote an article a few months ago about the importance of securing contingency reserves , so I didn’t expect to return to this topic so soon. However, earlier this week a discussion thread on Projectmanagement.com prompted me to write one more. MORE
It would be an understatement to say that project managers have had to deal with a lot of change this year. Projects have had their budgets vastly reduced or been cancelled outright, and remote work has become the norm rather than the exception. MORE
An article published this week on HBR.org indirectly identified another casualty of low psychological safety: future leadership. In the article, the authors highlighted three key reasons why capable people are reluctant to lead. MORE
Many of us would agree that when you are trying to implement a large change, start small. Just as it is easier to swallow a small pill than a huge one, the ability to adopt and sustain change is often simpler when the change involves baby steps. MORE
Old sayings might not be the first thing which comes to mind when considering agility, there are many proverbs which are apropos. Two heads are better than one (or the similar Maasai proverb “One head cannot hold all wisdom.”) ”) : I’ve found this saying to be useful when presenting pair programming. MORE
The final stage in the three-step model for building psychological safety within your team is to champion it. A champion is not afraid of taking on all challengers and you might face plenty of those. You may have some team members who are used to getting their way by ridiculing or bullying others. MORE
The Disciplined Agile (DA) principles were recently refactored and as part of this refactoring, a principle was added: “Organize Around Products/Services” While it is just one of the eight principles, this new one aligns very well with lean thinking. It also addresses many challenges which leadership teams experience with agile transformations. MORE
A few years back, I wrote an article in which I provided some gardening tips to developing good teams. I’m spending more time tending my garden these days so I decided to share a few more lessons for those wishing to cultivate a team building “green thumb” Fertilization should be regular, but situational. MORE
Harvard Business Review published an article this week about how boards can prepare for unexpected calamities such as pandemics, natural disasters or cyber-attacks. MORE
Remote teaming is not a new concept but physical distancing restrictions have forced many project managers who had never previously worked with teams of dispersed team members to quickly adapt. While this transition might create a few hiccups with a well established team it will much more challenging when we are working with teams whose members have never worked together. MORE
I’m always happy to learn something new when it relates to the topics which interest me and even more so when it is something which I should have run across long ago. During an event this week, a participant shared that their secret facilitation power is holding space for the participants. MORE
Kiron Bondale
FEBRUARY 14, 2021
After I had reviewed how Monte Carlo simulation could help a team to understand the distribution of potential schedule or cost outcomes for a release or project, one of the learners in the class I was teaching pointed out that while such techniques can be helpful, they are only as good as the inputs provided.
Kiron Bondale
JANUARY 31, 2021
I’ve previously written about the importance for an organization’s operational capabilities which support delivery capabilities to evolve when there is a move to increase business agility.
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Kiron Bondale
OCTOBER 18, 2020
A question which I’m asked regularly during my classes is what the best place is to start an agile transformation within a company?
Kiron Bondale
FEBRUARY 7, 2021
I wrote an article a few months ago about the importance of securing contingency reserves , so I didn’t expect to return to this topic so soon. However, earlier this week a discussion thread on Projectmanagement.com prompted me to write one more.
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Kiron Bondale
JANUARY 24, 2021
Many of us would agree that when you are trying to implement a large change, start small. Just as it is easier to swallow a small pill than a huge one, the ability to adopt and sustain change is often simpler when the change involves baby steps.
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Kiron Bondale
NOVEMBER 22, 2020
I’ve delivered a number of presentations this year on the importance of building psychological safety within project teams and the role which project managers play. During these presentations I’m frequently asked the question “ How do I go about creating it?
Kiron Bondale
SEPTEMBER 6, 2020
Harvard Business Review published an article this week about how boards can prepare for unexpected calamities such as pandemics, natural disasters or cyber-attacks.
Kiron Bondale
DECEMBER 13, 2020
The final stage in the three-step model for building psychological safety within your team is to champion it. A champion is not afraid of taking on all challengers and you might face plenty of those. You may have some team members who are used to getting their way by ridiculing or bullying others.
Kiron Bondale
NOVEMBER 1, 2020
While speaking on the topic of psychological safety yesterday I was asked whether it is possible to create safety within a team if the prevailing culture of the department or overall organization is toxic.
Speaker: Shannon Lietz, Director of DevSecOps Team, Intuit
The new DevSecOps team is up and running, and you feel ready to take on rising security threats while delivering quality software updates. But that leaves just one question: how do you monitor your new program as effectively and efficiently as possible? Join Shannon Lietz, Director of DevsecOps at Intuit, and award-winning innovator, to learn the answers to these questions so you can lead your DevSecOps team to the top!
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Kiron Bondale
AUGUST 9, 2020
It would be an understatement to say that project managers have had to deal with a lot of change this year. Projects have had their budgets vastly reduced or been cancelled outright, and remote work has become the norm rather than the exception.
Kiron Bondale
DECEMBER 20, 2020
An article published this week on HBR.org indirectly identified another casualty of low psychological safety: future leadership. In the article, the authors highlighted three key reasons why capable people are reluctant to lead.
Kiron Bondale
JUNE 28, 2020
Articles have been written about the importance of doing just enough planning to develop confidence in what we are proposing to do as well as the perils of either too much or too little planning. But even a good enough plan can become obsolete at some point and we need the wisdom to know when it is time to jettison it. A common portfolio management anti-pattern is the inability of gatekeepers to terminate low value projects in a timely manner.
Kiron Bondale
OCTOBER 11, 2020
I usually advise my students to encourage their team members to not provide padded work estimates, but rather to make schedule contingencies visible and tie these contingencies to milestones rather than to individual activities.
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Does your analytics solution work with your current tech stack and DevOps practices? If not, any update to the analytics could increase deployment complexity and become difficult to maintain. Learn the 5 elements of a DevOps-friendly embedded analytics solution.
Kiron Bondale
APRIL 5, 2020
COVID-19 is like that car accident just up ahead which you know you shouldn’t be focusing on while driving, but which draws the attention of all around it. After doing a number of articles related to the pandemic, I’d planned to write about something completely different, but as my weekly blogging time drew near I realized that there was (at least) one more topic I needed to write about.
Kiron Bondale
MARCH 3, 2019
A student in a project management class I taught shared the concern that it was very hard for her to get risk responses implemented. This is a fairly common problem and is likely one of the reasons that the volunteers who updated the PMBOK Guide, Sixth Edition added Implement Risk Responses as a new process within the Project Risk Management knowledge area.
Kiron Bondale
OCTOBER 4, 2020
Lean thinking encourages us to focus on maximizing value delivered to stakeholders rather than maximizing the utilization of the people, equipment or material resources contributing to value streams.
Kiron Bondale
SEPTEMBER 20, 2020
If you have ever taken a course in project management, you may have learned the differences between contingency and management reserves.
Advertisement
This whitepaper discusses how automated business monitoring solutions like Yellowfin Signals revolutionize the way users discover critical and relevant insights from their data.
Kiron Bondale
NOVEMBER 29, 2020
After I had finished presenting on how to build psychologically safe virtual teams at a conference earlier this week, one of the delegates asked me what suggestions I’d have to help her with a team where some of the members refused to turn their cameras on during video meetings.
Kiron Bondale
SEPTEMBER 27, 2020
I’m always happy to learn something new when it relates to the topics which interest me and even more so when it is something which I should have run across long ago. During an event this week, a participant shared that their secret facilitation power is holding space for the participants.
Kiron Bondale
SEPTEMBER 13, 2020
In 2015 I wrote an article intending to debunk some common myths about project management. Like many of you, I spent a reasonable amount of time during my first few years participating in online forums correcting agile misconceptions. Unfortunately, just like lopping heads off the Hydra, every time I’d address one myth, a short time later it would re-emerge. Recognizing the futility of trying to permanently suppress fallacies, I stopped responding to such discussions.
Kiron Bondale
NOVEMBER 15, 2020
Harvard Business Review published an article by Sabina Nawaz this week on some challenges managers face when they delegate work to their staff.
Advertisement
Selecting the right solution for your embedded analytics is crucial to the success of your application. But with so many solutions and vendors, how do you make this critical selection? Learn about the different approaches to analytics and the pros and cons for each.
Kiron Bondale
JULY 26, 2020
Scott Adams does a good job above of illustrating one of the many perils of low levels of psychological safety within a team. Dilbert is trying to raise reasonable doubts with his leader, the Pointy-Haired Boss, but his concerns are met with the threat of losing his job.
Kiron Bondale
AUGUST 16, 2020
After daily coordination events (a.k.a. Scrums, standups or huddles), velocity might be the most misused tool by teams new to agile and the stakeholders supporting them.
Kiron Bondale
MAY 24, 2020
Sabina Nawaz’s article “ In Times of Crisis, a Little Thanks Goes a Long Way “, which was published this week on HBR.org, is a great reminder of the need we all have to be appreciated. In a blog post from a few years back I’d written that team members need to possess sufficient Capacity, Capability and Commitment to contribute towards the success of the team.
Kiron Bondale
OCTOBER 25, 2020
Emphasizing flow through the reduction or elimination of batching of work items is desirable but this is not always efficient or practical. So what are some of the factors which might force us to batch work items?
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This report is designed to help readers select an embedded analytics product. It provides 12 criteria to consider when evaluating embedded capabilities. It also comes with a companion spreadsheet that enables users to score and compare products along these 12 dimensions and others they may add.
Kiron Bondale
DECEMBER 8, 2019
Inspection and adaptation are two of the pillars of the Scrum framework but all agile methods recognize the wisdom of Deming’s Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. While the Manifesto does not explicitly reference the scientific method, it is implied in the value statement “ Responding to change over following a plan ” and in its final principle “ At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.
Kiron Bondale
JANUARY 12, 2020
It is a common challenge for anyone who has managed projects for a meaningful amount of time. One or more of your key stakeholders who are integral to the successful completion of the project appears unwilling to engage as expected.
Kiron Bondale
JUNE 7, 2020
The Disciplined Agile (DA) principles were recently refactored and as part of this refactoring, a principle was added: “Organize Around Products/Services” While it is just one of the eight principles, this new one aligns very well with lean thinking. It also addresses many challenges which leadership teams experience with agile transformations.
Kiron Bondale
MAY 31, 2020
A few years back, I wrote an article in which I provided some gardening tips to developing good teams. I’m spending more time tending my garden these days so I decided to share a few more lessons for those wishing to cultivate a team building “green thumb” Fertilization should be regular, but situational.
Advertisement
If you built your analytics in house, chances are your basic features are no longer enough for your end users. Is it time to move on to a more robust analytics solution with more advanced capabilities? Follow this free guide for tips on making the build to buy transition.
Kiron Bondale
JUNE 9, 2019
Old sayings might not be the first thing which comes to mind when considering agility, there are many proverbs which are apropos. Two heads are better than one (or the similar Maasai proverb “One head cannot hold all wisdom.”) ”) : I’ve found this saying to be useful when presenting pair programming.
Kiron Bondale
SEPTEMBER 1, 2019
During the last week PMI announced that, based on the feedback they had received from stakeholders, they would be delaying the significant changes to the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification exam which had originally planned to be launched in mid-December 2019 to July 1, 2020. When I first read this, I felt a burst of vicarious relief for those exam candidates who were likely experiencing a lot of stress with the original date.
Kiron Bondale
FEBRUARY 16, 2020
The January 2020 issue of PM Network provide a case study for one of the 2019 PMI Project of the Year finalists, the Société de transport de Montréal’s (STM) eight-year project to modernize the underground Montréal rail system. I have a soft spot in my heart for this system, having spent most of my formative years in Montréal and having been a frequent user of its services while commuting to university and my first job.
Kiron Bondale
MAY 3, 2020
Remote teaming is not a new concept but physical distancing restrictions have forced many project managers who had never previously worked with teams of dispersed team members to quickly adapt. While this transition might create a few hiccups with a well established team it will much more challenging when we are working with teams whose members have never worked together.
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How can project planning that stretches over months or years remain relevant and account for new ad-hoc activities that arrive every day?
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