The most startling result coming out of this year’s just-released Study of Product Team Performance came in response to two questions we asked: what methodology does your team use? what method do you associate with increased profits? The cross-correlation of …
No One Believes in Waterfall Read More »
The 2013 Study of Product Team Performance is out! The results are not quite as across-the-board extraordinary as last year’s study – that would have been hard to match – but it offers individual results that are every bit as …
The 2013 Study of Product Team Performance Read More »
The essentials of project management in under 500 words What’s a project? A project is any endeavor that takes time and involves more than one person. Typically, we don’t call it a project unless it involves at least 3 to …
How to manage a project Read More »
So what are the lessons learned that project managers can take for a project like this? When I asked Andy this question, he had a list of lessons right at hand, learned through hard, cold, exhausting experience. I had expected …
Project Management at 30 Below — the AGO project cycle, Part 3 Read More »
Once the planning and preparation are complete, getting to an Automatic Geophysical Observatory (AGO) site can seem like a project in itself. Every year Andy, Bob and the rest of the team are required to pass a complete physical, update …
Project Management at 30 Below — the AGO project cycle, Part 2 Read More »
Early December. Andy woke to bright sunshine and a light snowfall… inside his tent. The sun had been up already for about 1,680 hours (that’s 70 days) and it was so dry and cold out (-30 F) that moisture would …
Project Management at 30 Below — the AGO project cycle, Part 1 Read More »
Steve Wynkoop and I were talking a lot about designing and managing our professional careers on a weekly interview on SSWUG.org. This episode was about what steps to change your position in the your current company.
I received the below great question a few days after my Art of War for Product Managers and High-Performing Professionals. I thought you might be interested in the answer as well. What if two product manager colleagues disagree on something …
What if two product managers disagree on something and can only agree to disagree? Read More »
There are things in our professional careers that naturally scare us, but are required for advancement and continued growth. We are normally afraid of places we haven’t been before, things we haven’t tried before or subject matter that we know nothing about. If fear is a sign that we are pushing our envelop, then conquering that fear is a sign of real personal and professional growth.
So, how do we gather enough courage to take that next step?
This week we will take a short-cut into slapping ourselves back on the path. We won’t spend time investigating why and what took us off our course. Instead, we will jump into action with the idea of “doing one scary thing a day” to help keep up moving forward at a faster pace.
We’re at an inflection point. Agile practices transitioned over the last couple years from “emerging” to “predominant”. Companies are sampling if not wholesale adopting agile, from scrum and extreme programming to lean and kanban. Our study of product team productivity …
Colleges: Teach the “How”! Read More »
I’ve been enamored of remote pair programming since briefly leading development at Socialtext, where no three developers were in the same locale. Socialtext was committed to agile approaches including pair programming (but not including colocation, I might note!). Being distributed, …
Remote Pair Programming Read More »
Managing Projects Overseas – Part III – Simplify the Process We just spoke of global perspective of managing projects overseas, followed with how PMs can minimize culture gaps in these situations. We now conclude with a value-based sequel relating to …
Managing Projects Overseas – Part III – Simplify the Process Read More »
It’s impossible not to judge. Telling someone else “not to judge” — shows you have made the judgment that they are judging. Most opinions, descriptions, decisions, views, rulings, and critiques are judgments.
I know this sounds strange, but I used a diet tip that I read from Micheal Thurmond’s “6 Day Body Makeover” – to accomplish career critical tasks.
I received the below great question a few days after my Art of War for Product Managers and High-Performing Professionals. I thought you might be interested in the answer as well. Q: Many senior employees work under my lead. In …
How to handle jealousy in the office. Read More »
If you know how to drive, you already understand project management. You may still not want to be a project manager, but at least you understand better their function and value. In fact, project management and defensive driving have much in common.
Most everyone is familiar with Pro and Con lists to help make a decision. Often times the Pro and Con List does very little to clarify the decision – because – well – the reason you are creating the Pro/Con list is because it was a ‘close call’ to begin with. We don’t go to the trouble of making a Pro and Con list on ‘no-brainers’. Often times the pro and cons are pretty equal – making the decision still difficult. Our mistake is that we stop at this point. We don’t take the next step to reduce the impact of the “Cons”.
Delivering Your 4th Dimension – Value Based Reporting By Dr. Shree Nanguneri on March 20th, 2013 “Guys, our reports are due this Friday to our client!” This rings a loud bell in our ears as project managers. While you compile …
Delivering Your 4th Dimension – Value Based Reporting Read More »
Delighting Your Customers! By Dr. Shree Nanguneri Ever thought about a time when a salesman, provider or a vendor asked you if you were delighted with their product and/or services? Probably, much less often than you wished. By the same …
Delighting Your Customers – Taking Care Of Our 5 Ds a Day! Read More »
