Archive for January 2008

One more complaint from my students (see Monday/Tuesday posts) is: “I’m given other jobs, in addition to my coding, and asked to do them without impacting the main project I’m working on.  Not just occasionally, in a crisis, but all the time.”
Some might say that this trait of trying to squeeze more out of Engineering [...]

My blogging was interrupted Sunday night by a power outage at home.  A neighbor’s huge oak tree had fallen, totally blocking the street and taking out some important power lines (as well as part of a house, slightly injuring the owner, and scaring the bejeezus out of her young daughter who had been sleeping in [...]

A second complaint from my students (see yesterday’s post) is: “Management adds requirements to my project without asking me if I can still make the schedule and without taking anything away.  All the time.”
Of course, what’s “bad” about this behavior is not that requirements change: that’s expected: although there must be a limit.  What’s “bad” [...]

I’m in the middle of teaching my Software Requirements Engineering course at UCSC Extension.  On the first day of class, I always ask my students what problems they’re hoping to solve by coming to this class.  Once again I was struck by the commonality of answers from students in all kinds and sizes of companies [...]

UCSC Extension did an onsite class in Creative Thinking at Cisco last month.  I thought you might resonate with the results.  And yes, I do know that some of them don’t strictly follow haiku rules!
Cisco project team
Talented, Creative people
As always, Snafu
 
Project done, boss says
That is exactly what I asked for
But not what I want
 
Cisco Project yeah!
We work [...]

While I’ve never encountered any significant resistance to the idea that a PM has to do a lot of communication in order to be effective, I’ve been hearing some discussion about the value of face to face communication in our “brave new world” of virtual teams and global projects.
There is, of course, the classic communication [...]

Why would anyone want to be a project manager (PM)?
It’s a lot of work. It’s been said, only partly jokingly, that a PM may spend about 80% of his or her time on communication tasks, and the remaining 80% on the other required tasks.
We get a lot of responsibility and hardly any true control. [...]

An increasing number of organizations are listing project management (PM) skills as a requirement for their managers. It’s no surprise that many people want to acquire/improve their PM skills. I’d like to start a discussion about the value of the various ways one learns.
First, a few disclosures: I consult on PM issues, [...]

I’ve been asked by many beginning project management students about the difference between general and project management. My simple answer has been that the things that make a good general manager (GM) help a project manager (PM), and that the PM does a few additional things specific to projects. That seems to satisfy [...]

Mother Nature can teach us much about managing projects if we apply her fundamental principles to the work. In this installment of The Nature of Project Leadership we will begin with the season of WINTER. This is the season of planning and preparation. There is little hope for a prosperous harvest if [...]

Welcome on a metaphorical exploration of project leadership philosophy and practices. I am fortunate to live on 20 acres in the Santa Cruz mountains rising 3000 feet above the Silicon Valley. Out here Mother Nature’s rules are the law. My background as a transformational engineer and a wilderness guide has enabled me to observe these [...]

ccording to the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, “effect” can be used both as a noun and a verb, meaning “a result” or “bring about a result.” The best way to assess the effect of project management on your organization is by monitoring key performance metrics, especially those influenced by project activities. An EPMO supports their organization’s [...]

The project management profession has experienced dramatic growth over recent years.  Yet, formal recognition and practice of project management in organizations has not reached the same levels.  Based on conversations with business leaders who attended project management industry conferences over the past two years, it seems virtually every organization today conducts some type of project [...]

The simplest way to gain cultural acceptance of project management in any organization is by promoting thorough understanding. Business leaders and staff alike must all understand the value associated with implementing project management practices. More importantly, they must comprehend the relationship of project management activities to realizing business achievement. Creating a leveled understanding across any [...]

Advocate
Advocating project management in any organization requires engagement and commitment from the key stakeholders with the most clout and visibility across the company.  There are three groups of players who must drive the acceptance and practice of project management techniques and convention if you hope to achieve cultural buy-in.  These key players include the Project [...]

The real power of a corporate vision is realized only when everyone in the organization clearly understands the vision and recognizes how everyone contributes to its success.  Easier said than done.  In most organizations, only a handful of people really understand the mission and how it translates to corporate objectives, and how the objectives realize [...]

Fight for the CAUSE!
 
Profitability.  Success.  Customer Loyalty.  These are words often used to describe bottom-line goals for business organizations.  However, when it comes time for organizations to execute on the business plan, too often we hear Delay, Restart, Over-Budget, Under-Resourced and Cancel.
How can an organization bet better at delivering on its goals and objectives?  One [...]

For the last installment in the PM Network extravaganza, there is an article on keeping project teams motivated that caught my attention, written by Simon Kent.
The article reminded me of a previous post I wrote back in February, 2007 titled Motivational Theory in Project Management where I laid out some of my thoughts on the [...]

Project failure is the subject of this article in the August 2007 edition of PM Network. The article presents some good common-sense points about how to deal with project failure and learn from it. The standard wisdom of finding problems early when they are small, and applying lessons learned are put forth. [...]

OK, I admit it. My selection of this particular feature had a little to do with the fact that I’m in it. So sue me.
PM Network does a feature occasionally called “Point, Counter Point” which is essentially a debate between two project managers on a specific topic. They asked me [...]

In the July 2007 edition of PM Network magazine, the cover story is titled “Small Projects, Big Results”. It speaks to the importance of doing sufficient planning even on small projects. I personally use a 4 tier category framework in which I apply various levels of rigor, which I wrote about here.

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