Sometimes things like this happen. I had planned to spend some time writing a post that has been simmering in the back of my mind for a while now. But wouldn’t you just know it, an unexpected meeting has come up, and suddenly I’m only got 15 minutes. But I need to get a blog … Read more
We’ve already talked about the idea of risk management as part of the project. Obviously the first requirement for the rest of the risk management process is actually to have identified the risks! Identifying risks can be a tricky business. But there are a few things you can do to make it more successful. The … Read more
I’ve been giving some thought recently as to what lies behind the work we do as project managers. Too often we get caught up in the tools and techniques, the how of what we do, without looking at the concepts and ideas behind it, the why of what we do. Today I am going to … Read more
Jurgen Appelo wrote a post a couple of days ago, Your Software Project Has No Goal. His argument was summed up in the first sentence: Human beings, organizations and software projects share one important thing: they have no intrinsic goals. Um… no. That’s wrong. And the reason why it’s wrong is in the very next … Read more
So, I’ve already talked a little about how to ensure quality in what you are producing. But let’s take a look at it in a little more detail, to get a better understanding. As we know, we need to make sure we have criteria that describe what the quality of the final output should be. … Read more
Recently, I’ve been tweeting about trying to put together a ‘crash course’ on project management. I’m seeing and hearing about a lot of people who are being asked to take over project management tasks and roles to try and cut costs. Not surprisingly, I think this is a false economy by any business (I would … Read more
Recently I’ve been looking through a few TED talks, thanks to the iPhone TED app. I came across this great talk by Barry Schwartz, and wanted to share it with you. What I think is very interesting for us as project managers is the recognition that sometimes rules don’t work, and incentives can skew behaviour … Read more
One of the favourite sayings of my father is “Wisdom is not in not making mistakes, but in not making the same mistake twice”. This is an important lesson for all of us as project managers. Learning from our mistakes helps us to become better project managers – experience is always a good teacher. But … Read more
I had a very strange conversation with a friend the other day. It started off simply enough: he has recently started working in a project management role in a public body, and was wondering what the preferred format for risk logs was. He knew I have worked in that area before, so asked me what … Read more
All of your certainties are under attack. You thought you were on safe ground, a stable platform to start from. But now that ground is moving beneath you, an earthquake shaking everything you have built, threatening to bring it all down. The landscape is changing, and you’re the one who has to try and survive. … Read more
