ProjectConnections Articles

Decide to Decide by Geof Lory

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:53:38 -0800

The ability to make solid decisions, both business and technical, is one of the most important skills teams and organizations can cultivate. On every project, we make countless decisions -- some small, some with far reaching impact. While many different decision making styles and protocols can be used to fit varying situations, high performing agile teams are characterized by a collaborative and speedy decision making process even when dealing with ambiguity.

Too Tired to Care? Regain Your Perspective with 5 Proven Practices by Kimberly Wiefling

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:48:13 -0800

Out of necessity, I've adopted the following five common sense practices. They have helped me regain my perspective, reduce my stress, and optimize the results I get from the time I invest in my work. I hope they'll serve as a handy reminder of what you already know, but may sometimes fail to do.

One Step Beyond Narcissus and Why That Puts Our Projects in Peril, by Carl Pritchard

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:32:15 -0800

Society seems to be developing a collective case of narcissism on a truly epic scale, and this does not bode well for our projects. The scary part is that while we create this culture, we see the potential diminution of other traits we consider to be our most noble -- gratitude and selflessness.

Little ITIL, Big Results, Step 4: Talk About the Score by Alan Koch

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:58:54 -0800

The point of this is to replace emotion with a reasoned basis for a rational conversation so all of you can agree on problems that need to be solved, and how you will know when things get better.

SMART Objectives Aren't Always Project-Specific by Kent McDonald

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:55:30 -0800

Project managers for years have measured project success based on three criteria: was it on time, was it within budget, and did it deliver the agreed upon scope? Unfortunately these criteria are insufficient for measuring project success and can be misleading.

Shopping for Requirements by Geof Lory

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:23:28 -0800

I help a lot of teams adopt best practices in project execution, and by far the most challenging area is the translation of the business needs into sufficient detail that the team (usually developers writing code) can create the expected result, or maybe something even better.

Creativity in Business - It's Going to Get Weird! by Kimberly Wiefling

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 11:02:40 -0800

While I find most business books repetitive, every chapter of this book is full of fascinating stories, examples, useful insights and exercises to help the reader master each important concept. But the reason I'm particularly fascinated by this book is because it makes me feel less weird about the crazy stuff I do in workshops with my clients.

The Second Five Traits of Risk Management Excellence by Carl Pritchard

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:39:31 -0700

Risk management is more than just the fine art of predicting what may happen and coming up with strategies for those eventualities. It is the art of doing all of that and still being able to lead.

Little ITIL, Big Results: Step 3 of 10: Know the Score by by Alan S. Koch, PMP

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 14:39:05 -0700

When there are many problems to address, it's tempting to dispense with the quaint idea of metrics and jump right into the important work of changing things. This impulse is foolhardy. Without baseline metrics, you lack an objective basis that will allow you to do four very important things.

Be Careful What You Measure, You Just Might Get It by Kent McDonald

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:21:29 -0700

"You can't manage what you don't measure." "You get what you measure." Several organizations pay a lot more attention to the first piece of advice without heeding the warnings that come along with the second, especially in the realm of leading project practitioners.