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"It is not given to human beings -- happily for them, for otherwise life would be intolerable -- to foresee or predict to any large extent the unfolding course of events" Winston Churchill Of course, project management can modify such a bit to tolerate some of the intolerable: Simulations can add to the extent of foresight of unfolding events Systems tests can reveal unforeseen hazards in. Risk Management MORE
In the beginning, there was pre-history Agile, almost prehistoric era: Before 2000 and the meeting in Utah that birthed modern Agile Rogue developers trying various "light weight" and "rapid" prototyping and coding practises. MORE
Here's my three point estimate paradox: We all know we must estimate with three points (numbers). so we do it, reluctantly None of us actually want to work with (do arithmetic with) the three points we estimate. In a word, three point estimates suck -- not convenient, thus often put aside even if estimated -- and most of all: who among us can do arithmetic with three point estimates? But Monte Carlo Risk Management Statistics MORE
Can there be scope creep in Agile? Doesn't agile define creep away in a stroke: "Scope is whatever is prioritized in the backlog that fits within the budget (OPM, other people's money) and the time. The backlog changes all the time, but that's not creep, it's just backlog management." MORE
Stage gates and Agile? To some, that might sound horrifying! Not exactly! One of my Agile Project Management students asked me about stage gates and agile. My first response was this: Agile is not a gated methodology, primarily because scope is viewed as emergent, and thus the idea of pre-determined gate criteria is inconsistent with progressive elaboration and emergence. Agile does. agile MORE
Agile Principle 5: Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done. Trust them to get the job done. What job? Is it the job described in the business plan and in subsequent project plans, albeit lean plans consistent with the Agile Manifesto? Is it the job that has been estimated and scheduled? Is it the job. agile MORE
A narrative* Imagine two doors to the same room: One labeled risk manager; the other labeled decision maker. Though the risk manager's door, entry is for the inductive thinker: facts, experience, history looking for a generality or integrating narrative Through the decision maker's door, entry is for the deductive thinker: visionary with a need to articulate specifics for the vision Risk Management MORE
To be open Every text and paper I've read describes risk management like many other project processes: open, transparent, available to any on the project team. Risks are identified, evaluated, ranked, made subject to some form of risk reduction paradigm; and everyone is made aware. Oh, but if it only were! Most of us can handle the text book process. It's more will than capability But, on. Risk Management MORE
Did you see this witicism at herdingcats? A skeptic will question claims, then embrace the evidence. A denier will question claims, then reject the evidence. Neil deGrase Tyson. Think of this whenever there is a conjecture that has no testable evidence of the claim. And think ever more when those making the conjectured claim refuse to provide evidence. When that is the case, it is. estimate Project Management Quotations MORE
Dilbert: We need 3 more programmers. Boss: Use agile programming methods. Dilbert: Agile programming does not mean doing more work with less people. Boss: Find me some words that do mean that and ask again Dilbert is a creation of Scott Adams And so, you might ask: what does agile mean? MORE
A narrative* Imagine two doors to the same room: One labeled risk manager; the other labeled decision maker. Though the risk manager's door, entry is for the inductive thinker: facts looking for a generality or integrating narrative Through the decision maker's door, entry is for the deductive thinker: visionary with a need to connect specifics to the vision And, consider this: Pessimists. Risk Management MORE
I've heard it many times that this little ditty is the essence of why Agile is problematic with its dearth of plans, estimates, etc: "Would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here? That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I I don't much care,' said Alice. Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. 'So So long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice. agile MORE
Yikes! My backlog is blocked! How can this be? We're agile. or maybe we've become de-agiled. Can that happen? Ah yes, we're agile, but perhaps not everything in the portfolio is agile; indeed, perhaps not everything in the project is agile. In the event, coupling the culprit Coupling? Coupling is system engineering speak for transferring one effect onto another, or causing an effect by. agile MORE
There have been a lot of very high profile examples that demonstrate what seems like the evitable progression of the collision of risk and politics. The narrative seems to always fit this frame: Conventional risk management processes identify a risky situation and assess the unfavorable outcomes Mitigations are designed and briefed up the chain Such mitigations are immediately clamped from. Risk Management MORE
You've got a big (big!) project with a lot of moving parts (different contractors doing different stuff). You've been told: Get yourself an SI! The questions at hand: what is a System Integrator (aka SI), and what do they do? MORE
It's been a few years since I wrote the material for the presentation below, but I find it timeless. It's all about an analogy It's all about how a self-directed team working on a mission of top-down importance and specification -- these imperatives coming from executive leaders -- get the job down sufficiently well (in Agile speak: well enough) to succeed. Agile for project managers - agile MORE
Have you thought much about this? Two of the conceptual conundrums of the hybrid methodology project are: How do you verify that which is incomplete and. How do you validate the efficacy of that which is yet to be conceived? Verification and validation (V-and-V) are traditionally held to be very important project practises that are difficult to map directly into the Agile domain. agile MORE
If you are in the project management (read: risk management) business, one of the best books that describes the philosophy and foundation for modern risk management is Bernstein's "Against the Gods: the remarkable story of risk". Between the covers of this "must read" we learn this bit: The essence of risk management lies in maximizing the areas where we have some control over the outcome. Risk Management MORE
Need a quick introduction to risk management? Don't have much time for this? Try this very short course on risk management (no math required!). Risk management short course from John Goodpasture. Buy them at any online book retailer! Risk Management MORE
Many creative people will tell you that new ideas begin -- often spontaneously -- with a mind's sketch that they then render in some kind of media. Fair enough -- no news there. We've talked about storyboards, etc before. But then the heavy lifting begins. How to fill in the details? Where to start? My advice: Draw it first. If you can't draw it, you can't build it! And so the. planning Project Management system engineering MORE
I was recently asked if Agile and 'R/D' go together. The issue at hand: how do you reconcile agile's call for product delivery to users every few weeks with the unknowns and false starts in a real R/D project? Good question! I'm glad you asked. Let's start with OPM. Other people's money. And the first question: What have you committed to do? There are two possible answers: (1). agile MORE
Repetition and review are good--Malcom Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to be expert at anything--so here's a few words that will take a few minutes on three important quantitative concepts every risk manager should know: Concept 1: Centrality Most phenomenon of interest to projects, particularly naturally occurring phenomenon, tend to cluster around a central value, given enough samples. risk Risk Management MORE
Ideas about extreme risk management have been around a long time. No news there, so let's press on. Here's a working definition: Extreme risks are those for which the consequences are nearly irreversible, and the impact is near-catastrophic. MORE
8 Administrative Professional Conferences You Can’t Miss in 2018. Have you ever noticed the amazing ideas and inspiration that come from connecting with other like-minded people who have the same profession as you? We want administrative professionals to feel that invigorating spark again and again! MORE
The Siberian dilemma has been around a long time. The narrative goes like this: It's a seriously sub-zero day on a frozen lake You're walking across the lake and fall through a weak spot in the ice If you stay in the water, you'll die in 5 minutes; If you get out the water, you'll die in 2 minutes. The dilemma: stay in the water and live longer, or get out and die sooner? Damned if you do; Risk Management MORE
I was recently asked if Agile and 'R/D' go together. Good question! I'm glad you asked. The issue at hand: how do you reconcile agile's call for product delivery to users every few weeks with the unknowns and false starts in a real R/D project? Let's start with OPM. Other people's money. And the first question: What have you committed to do with the money? There are two possible. agile MORE
Most of the posts I read are about scaling up to ever larger projects, but what about scaling down? What if you are doing bug fixes and small scale projects with just one or two people? Is a methodology of any help, And if you're working with software, can Agile be helpful scaled down? Methodology To the first point, my answer is: Sure! A methodology -- which is just a repeated way of. Project Management MORE
Are you a procrastinator? Do you procrastinate and still try to manage schedule? Do you think of yourself as a procrastinator who can manage risk? Do you understand that managing schedule risk is tantamount to managing the concept of schedule buffers and the critical chain methodology? Then, you'll understand that handling your tendency to put things off, and thereby forcing upon you. Risk Management MORE
Risk un-management? Perhaps the largest task within risk management, and requiring the greatest judgment, is "risk un-management" On any project there are going to be dozens, perhaps hundreds, of unmanaged risks. These comprise the population to be un-managed. I doubt this is news to anyone, but these are, as a group, more numerous than those selected for the usual risk management paradigm. Risk Management MORE
Can anyone image doing serious risk management without a checklist? The answer, of course, is No. or, it should be!) Actually, any procedural management can benefit from a checklist. There's been whole books written about checklists. In fact, one of the more prominent books -- "The Checklist Manefesto" by Dr. A. Gawande -- entitles Chapter 1: "The Problem of Extreme Complexity", Project Management MORE
Trying to remember how you got here? Perhaps Understanding why you're sticking around is also important So, here's my top ten reasons why agile has worked for me 1. Agile is a "best value" method: it's doctrine is centered on value and accomplishment for the customer and user, not so much adherence to cost and schedule--though the sponsor's investment can not be exceeded, so cost is at. agile MORE
There comes a point where more planning can not remove the remaining uncertainty, instead execution must be used to provide data and remove uncertainty. This quote comes from a nicely argued case -- from the agile blog 'leading answers' -- for mixing agile methods in rather traditional businesses, like the oil and gas exploration/production business If ever there was a business that. agile MORE
If you've ever managed a project with a really large data set, say the payroll for a bunch of 1099 developers, or the sales records that you're trying to translate and import to a spreadsheet, you may need to watch a couple of important cells to let you know what's really going on: Summary totals; error codes; record totals, etc. Excel gives the PMO a convenient tool in the Watch Window Project Management MORE
What's the hybrid thing? It's agile coexisting in the same project with a traditional methodology, presumably for the swim lanes that are not software. Some call hybrid agile as: agile in the waterfall Are hybrids practical? After all, the traditional is top down planned, most requirements up front, much system testing at the end, etc. Agile is the not-traditional. Can you fashion a hybrid. agile MORE
Musings on Project Management
FEBRUARY 10, 2020
Ideas about extreme risk management have been around a long time. No news there, so let's press on. Here's a working definition: Extreme risks are those for which the consequences are nearly irreversible, and the impact is near-catastrophic.
Musings on Project Management
MARCH 25, 2020
Did you see this witicism at herdingcats? A skeptic will question claims, then embrace the evidence. A denier will question claims, then reject the evidence. Neil deGrase Tyson. Think of this whenever there is a conjecture that has no testable evidence of the claim. And think ever more when those making the conjectured claim refuse to provide evidence. When that is the case, it is. estimate Project Management Quotations
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Musings on Project Management
MARCH 7, 2020
There have been a lot of very high profile examples that demonstrate what seems like the evitable progression of the collision of risk and politics. The narrative seems to always fit this frame: Conventional risk management processes identify a risky situation and assess the unfavorable outcomes Mitigations are designed and briefed up the chain Such mitigations are immediately clamped from. Risk Management
Musings on Project Management
MARCH 16, 2020
"It is not given to human beings -- happily for them, for otherwise life would be intolerable -- to foresee or predict to any large extent the unfolding course of events" Winston Churchill Of course, project management can modify such a bit to tolerate some of the intolerable: Simulations can add to the extent of foresight of unfolding events Systems tests can reveal unforeseen hazards in. Risk Management
Speaker: Nick Noreña, Innovation Coach and Advisor, Kromatic
In this webinar, Nick Noreña will walk through an Innovation Ecosystem Model that he and his team at Kromatic have developed to help investors, heads of product, teachers, and executives understand how they can best support innovation in their own ecosystem. He'll also go over metrics we can use to measure the health of our ecosystems as we build more resources for innovators.
Musings on Project Management
OCTOBER 23, 2019
In the beginning, there was pre-history Agile, almost prehistoric era: Before 2000 and the meeting in Utah that birthed modern Agile Rogue developers trying various "light weight" and "rapid" prototyping and coding practises.
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Musings on Project Management
APRIL 14, 2019
Stage gates and Agile? To some, that might sound horrifying! Not exactly! One of my Agile Project Management students asked me about stage gates and agile. My first response was this: Agile is not a gated methodology, primarily because scope is viewed as emergent, and thus the idea of pre-determined gate criteria is inconsistent with progressive elaboration and emergence. Agile does. agile
Musings on Project Management
JUNE 30, 2019
Dilbert: We need 3 more programmers. Boss: Use agile programming methods. Dilbert: Agile programming does not mean doing more work with less people. Boss: Find me some words that do mean that and ask again Dilbert is a creation of Scott Adams And so, you might ask: what does agile mean?
Musings on Project Management
AUGUST 4, 2019
What's the hybrid thing? It's agile coexisting in the same project with a traditional methodology, presumably for the swim lanes that are not software. Some call hybrid agile as: agile in the waterfall Are hybrids practical? After all, the traditional is top down planned, most requirements up front, much system testing at the end, etc. Agile is the not-traditional. Can you fashion a hybrid. agile
Musings on Project Management
NOVEMBER 27, 2019
Agile Principle 5: Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done. Trust them to get the job done. What job? Is it the job described in the business plan and in subsequent project plans, albeit lean plans consistent with the Agile Manifesto? Is it the job that has been estimated and scheduled? Is it the job. agile
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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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Musings on Project Management
JANUARY 9, 2020
You've got a big (big!) project with a lot of moving parts (different contractors doing different stuff). You've been told: Get yourself an SI! The questions at hand: what is a System Integrator (aka SI), and what do they do?
Musings on Project Management
OCTOBER 2, 2019
If you've ever managed a project with a really large data set, say the payroll for a bunch of 1099 developers, or the sales records that you're trying to translate and import to a spreadsheet, you may need to watch a couple of important cells to let you know what's really going on: Summary totals; error codes; record totals, etc. Excel gives the PMO a convenient tool in the Watch Window Project Management
Musings on Project Management
DECEMBER 30, 2019
A narrative* Imagine two doors to the same room: One labeled risk manager; the other labeled decision maker. Though the risk manager's door, entry is for the inductive thinker: facts looking for a generality or integrating narrative Through the decision maker's door, entry is for the deductive thinker: visionary with a need to connect specifics to the vision And, consider this: Pessimists. Risk Management
Musings on Project Management
MARCH 27, 2019
Can anyone image doing serious risk management without a checklist? The answer, of course, is No. or, it should be!) Actually, any procedural management can benefit from a checklist. There's been whole books written about checklists. In fact, one of the more prominent books -- "The Checklist Manefesto" by Dr. A. Gawande -- entitles Chapter 1: "The Problem of Extreme Complexity", Project Management
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This eBook describes the process of managing the project budget and its associated costs.
Musings on Project Management
SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
Can there be scope creep in Agile? Doesn't agile define creep away in a stroke: "Scope is whatever is prioritized in the backlog that fits within the budget (OPM, other people's money) and the time. The backlog changes all the time, but that's not creep, it's just backlog management."
Musings on Project Management
DECEMBER 18, 2019
I was recently asked if Agile and 'R/D' go together. Good question! I'm glad you asked. The issue at hand: how do you reconcile agile's call for product delivery to users every few weeks with the unknowns and false starts in a real R/D project? Let's start with OPM. Other people's money. And the first question: What have you committed to do with the money? There are two possible. agile
Musings on Project Management
APRIL 8, 2019
Risk un-management? Perhaps the largest task within risk management, and requiring the greatest judgment, is "risk un-management" On any project there are going to be dozens, perhaps hundreds, of unmanaged risks. These comprise the population to be un-managed. I doubt this is news to anyone, but these are, as a group, more numerous than those selected for the usual risk management paradigm. Risk Management
Musings on Project Management
DECEMBER 23, 2019
Need a quick introduction to risk management? Don't have much time for this? Try this very short course on risk management (no math required!). Risk management short course from John Goodpasture. Buy them at any online book retailer! Risk Management
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Musings on Project Management
DECEMBER 28, 2017
8 Administrative Professional Conferences You Can’t Miss in 2018. Have you ever noticed the amazing ideas and inspiration that come from connecting with other like-minded people who have the same profession as you? We want administrative professionals to feel that invigorating spark again and again!
Musings on Project Management
NOVEMBER 8, 2019
Yikes! My backlog is blocked! How can this be? We're agile. or maybe we've become de-agiled. Can that happen? Ah yes, we're agile, but perhaps not everything in the portfolio is agile; indeed, perhaps not everything in the project is agile. In the event, coupling the culprit Coupling? Coupling is system engineering speak for transferring one effect onto another, or causing an effect by. agile
Musings on Project Management
FEBRUARY 9, 2019
A narrative* Imagine two doors to the same room: One labeled risk manager; the other labeled decision maker. Though the risk manager's door, entry is for the inductive thinker: facts, experience, history looking for a generality or integrating narrative Through the decision maker's door, entry is for the deductive thinker: visionary with a need to articulate specifics for the vision Risk Management
Musings on Project Management
NOVEMBER 10, 2018
I've heard it many times that this little ditty is the essence of why Agile is problematic with its dearth of plans, estimates, etc: "Would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here? That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I I don't much care,' said Alice. Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. 'So So long as I get SOMEWHERE,' Alice. agile
Speaker: Marina Foglietta-Tereo, Head of UX Research, AXA Insurance
People often think of UX research as a tactical approach to improve the usability or visual appeal of a digital product. While good research will certainly validate an existing design, using it for validation alone would be like using your iPhone solely to tell time! Join Marina Foglietta-Tereo, Head of UX Research at AXA Insurance, as she explores the unrecognized organizational, cultural, and strategic benefits of an in-house, central and mature UXR team.
Musings on Project Management
APRIL 30, 2019
There comes a point where more planning can not remove the remaining uncertainty, instead execution must be used to provide data and remove uncertainty. This quote comes from a nicely argued case -- from the agile blog 'leading answers' -- for mixing agile methods in rather traditional businesses, like the oil and gas exploration/production business If ever there was a business that. agile
Musings on Project Management
MARCH 24, 2019
It's been a few years since I wrote the material for the presentation below, but I find it timeless. It's all about an analogy It's all about how a self-directed team working on a mission of top-down importance and specification -- these imperatives coming from executive leaders -- get the job down sufficiently well (in Agile speak: well enough) to succeed. Agile for project managers - agile
Musings on Project Management
JANUARY 12, 2020
Most of the posts I read are about scaling up to ever larger projects, but what about scaling down? What if you are doing bug fixes and small scale projects with just one or two people? Is a methodology of any help, And if you're working with software, can Agile be helpful scaled down? Methodology To the first point, my answer is: Sure! A methodology -- which is just a repeated way of. Project Management
Musings on Project Management
DECEMBER 24, 2018
Have you thought much about this? Two of the conceptual conundrums of the hybrid methodology project are: How do you verify that which is incomplete and. How do you validate the efficacy of that which is yet to be conceived? Verification and validation (V-and-V) are traditionally held to be very important project practises that are difficult to map directly into the Agile domain. agile
Speaker: Vivek Bedi, Product Expert and Keynote Speaker
Every company is (soon to be) a technology company. Undergoing digital transformation is the key to succeeding in this digital era - but the process isn’t all innovation and shiny new tech. Join Vivek Bedi, a product expert with 18 years of experience across Fortune 100 companies and startups alike, as he shares his expertise on how to strike the right transformation balance and change your product mindset.
Musings on Project Management
JANUARY 15, 2019
Trying to remember how you got here? Perhaps Understanding why you're sticking around is also important So, here's my top ten reasons why agile has worked for me 1. Agile is a "best value" method: it's doctrine is centered on value and accomplishment for the customer and user, not so much adherence to cost and schedule--though the sponsor's investment can not be exceeded, so cost is at. agile
Musings on Project Management
AUGUST 13, 2019
If you are in the project management (read: risk management) business, one of the best books that describes the philosophy and foundation for modern risk management is Bernstein's "Against the Gods: the remarkable story of risk". Between the covers of this "must read" we learn this bit: The essence of risk management lies in maximizing the areas where we have some control over the outcome. Risk Management
Musings on Project Management
JANUARY 15, 2020
Many creative people will tell you that new ideas begin -- often spontaneously -- with a mind's sketch that they then render in some kind of media. Fair enough -- no news there. We've talked about storyboards, etc before. But then the heavy lifting begins. How to fill in the details? Where to start? My advice: Draw it first. If you can't draw it, you can't build it! And so the. planning Project Management system engineering
Musings on Project Management
JANUARY 18, 2019
Repetition and review are good--Malcom Gladwell says it takes 10,000 hours to be expert at anything--so here's a few words that will take a few minutes on three important quantitative concepts every risk manager should know: Concept 1: Centrality Most phenomenon of interest to projects, particularly naturally occurring phenomenon, tend to cluster around a central value, given enough samples. risk Risk Management
Speaker: Peter Taylor, Speaker/Author, The Lazy Project Manager
Businesses everywhere are trying to “get business agile”—but it’s not easy to adapt to becoming this adaptive. How can conventional organizations succeed in this transformation? In this webinar, Peter Taylor will walk through the change process step by step, and look at a tried and tested transformation roadmap: benefits are outlined, solutions to common challenges offered, and tried and tested methods and tools provided. It will be a guide towards a decentralized and management style that offers more successful decision making through collaboration.
Musings on Project Management
JUNE 25, 2019
To be open Every text and paper I've read describes risk management like many other project processes: open, transparent, available to any on the project team. Risks are identified, evaluated, ranked, made subject to some form of risk reduction paradigm; and everyone is made aware. Oh, but if it only were! Most of us can handle the text book process. It's more will than capability But, on. Risk Management
Musings on Project Management
SEPTEMBER 5, 2018
Here's my three point estimate paradox: We all know we must estimate with three points (numbers). so we do it, reluctantly None of us actually want to work with (do arithmetic with) the three points we estimate. In a word, three point estimates suck -- not convenient, thus often put aside even if estimated -- and most of all: who among us can do arithmetic with three point estimates? But Monte Carlo Risk Management Statistics
Musings on Project Management
NOVEMBER 30, 2019
Are you a procrastinator? Do you procrastinate and still try to manage schedule? Do you think of yourself as a procrastinator who can manage risk? Do you understand that managing schedule risk is tantamount to managing the concept of schedule buffers and the critical chain methodology? Then, you'll understand that handling your tendency to put things off, and thereby forcing upon you. Risk Management
Musings on Project Management
FEBRUARY 18, 2019
I was recently asked if Agile and 'R/D' go together. The issue at hand: how do you reconcile agile's call for product delivery to users every few weeks with the unknowns and false starts in a real R/D project? Good question! I'm glad you asked. Let's start with OPM. Other people's money. And the first question: What have you committed to do? There are two possible answers: (1). agile
Speaker: Steven Haines, Founder and CEO, Sequent Learning Networks
Product professionals use phrases like "voice of the customer," and "user experience" so often that it can be easy to lose sight of their actual meanings. How can we, as product professionals, learn to keep customers and users at the heart of our work? Join Steven Haines, globally recognized thought leader and author, as he guides us through a memorable journey demonstrating how you can walk a mile in their customer's shoes. He'll explore how, by developing true empathy for your users, you can ensure you're creating the features and products they actually want.
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