How do you lead and develop resources across the miles? Having a strengthened project team can be hard enough if everyone is located in the same location, but how do you ensure success when the project is global in scope? In this article, we explore different aspects of team and individual development and leadership--and some of the specific challenges that are introduced in a global project.
Why do organizations pursuing Agile transformation need a coach and how do they make it stick after the coach leaves? In this new series, we explore these and other questions, starting with Certified Scrum Coach and Trainer Xavier Quesada Allue.
This template has been designed to assist the project manager to prepare for the coaching process of one or more individuals.
Much of the ScrumMaster's role has been focused on the individual effort of leading a single team through the successful completion of a Scrum project. At some point, a person who has successfully established themselves in an organization will be looked on to take on more responsibilities. What would these responsibilities be? What kind of career roadmap would be best suited for a person who is an established ScrumMaster?
As a manger or coach, if you don’t change a pacesetter’s behavior you run a high risk of being held hostage by one person’s abilities--and pay a cost in team productivity. This article is about a pacesetter as a team member on an agile software development team. In this installment, we discuss useful approaches to dealing with these sometimes problematic people.
Do you ever find yourself resolving interpersonal conflicts and issues on your project team? Supporting team members and others with less experience? Helping your sponsor become more effective? These are all examples of where you might play the role of a coach. There are a host of situations where you have an opportunity to helps others to challenges themselves, achieve results and succeed. Project management is much more than simply bringing in the project in on time, on budget and on scope. Project management involves people and whenever you add people to a project, interesting things begin to happen. This month's Project HEADWAY webinar will examine the role that you play or can play as a coach on your projects and within your organization. We will introduce a coaching process for project managers, examine at some of the actions to take and the pitfalls to avoid. Join us! This just might just be the tool that wins you the project game.
Learn by doing, but be sure you have a winning coach. Mentoring is key to a successful project implementation. Use this guide to get the best out of a methodology guru to mentor your project team in action.
Use this agenda and the included tips to make your training meeting and presentation go off without a hitch.
Before you go into a coaching meeting with a worker, make sure you are prepared for an uneventful discussion--or a lively one.
How do we get team members to a state of wanting to proactively pull work from a backlog of features at a high pace? If they are not there already (and many might be closer than you think), then it will likely require some coaching and a little team motivation.
As a manger or coach, if you don’t change a pacesetter’s behavior you run a high risk of being held hostage by one person’s abilities--and pay a cost in team productivity. This article is about a pacesetter as a team member on an agile software development team. We will explain what a pacesetter is, why it’s a problem and the effect that a pacesetter has on agile software development.
The Agile2011 Conference drew more than 1,600 attendees to Salt Lake City, where dozens of companies showcased new technology solutions and training offerings. Here is a recap from the busy exhibition floor.
How did project feedback mechanisms and performance goal-setting impact your project? This questionnaire will allow you to analyze these processes, develop conclusions and make recommendations.
Time and task management problems are common with workers, and are debilitating to workforce performance. This guide will help you coach workers with weak skills during the project.
Does your PMO Produce Multiple Obstacles for your project or Promote Many Opportunities for success? PMOs often get a bad reputation on agile teams, but it need not be that way--they can also add tremendous support and be a great help.
From Gartner PPM Summit
Gartner Research Director Matt Light discusses 10 case studies of enterprises with established PMOs of three types--Lite, Coach and Strong Manager--and describes the distinct functions of each as well as what they have in common.
To be effective, coaching must blend a working knowledge of the mechanics of a skill set with experience of exercising that skill set in real-life situations. And sometimes, the better coach will always know when it is time to take out a player.
Organizations and teams must come to understand why they need agile before choosing a methodology or tool to implement it. A mandate alone will not work. It is the overarching goals, values and principles of Agile that must ultimately guide teams in the adoption and adaptation of its practices.
Every job hunter fumbles parts of the tedious job-landing process, but one expert notes that four mistakes can add months to an already frustrating pursuit.
There is a huge difference between using Agile practices and being Agile. Here, a chief engineer discusses his organization’s strides in creating an Agile mindset and a customized approach to producing high-quality work in short time frames. The journey offers practical advice and techniques to those getting started or struggling with Agile transformation.
Recent reports prove that there are significant changes in demographics and the marketplace for workers. Plan now to make these new constraints your project’s competitive advantage.
The head of the PMO has a significant responsibility to the project managers to act as career coaches and mentors. Are you taking that role seriously?
New board members will join nine returning members to help guide the organization’s growth in the coming year.
The use of sports terminology and analogies is often overdone in the workplace, but applied in the right context they can inspire and illustrate how to get things done as a team. Here are eight areas where linking the worlds of sports and project management might help your next project.
This form is designed to assist the project manager with managing workforce performance beyond the traditional training plan, as substandard performance can be caused by many factors other than inadequate training.
It’s time to make the changes that will make you a better performer.
Sometimes the true spirit of Agile gets lost in burndown charts, daily standups and endless debates of what it is and isn't. That the Agile Manifesto is uncomplicated and open to interpretation presents both challenges and opportunities. So do what makes sense and continually re-evaluate what that means.
Stop the insanity! These three tactics are designed to help you solve today’s leadership problems and distinguish yourself as an effective leader--just when your workforce needs as many as it can get.
Many project leaders spend enormous energy addressing the areas of weakness on their teams. Instead, they should focus on emphasizing and strengthening the strengths of team members.
Training budgets are being cut, but your workforce is expected to excel anyway. A new set of tactics is needed for you to adapt workforce learning to this economic contraction.
Ignoring resistance is futile. Use these tactics to be prepared for inevitable resistance to alternate project management techniques. Otherwise, be prepared for a whole lot of frustration.
Are you ready for EVM? Our writer conducted a study on earned value management readiness based on 40 critical factors found in successful EVM implementations, and here we present the Top 10.
When agile teams misunderstand or abuse the concept of Velocity, tell-tale symptoms arise, from burnout to artificial productivity. Likewise, there are clear signs when teams are properly applying velocity as a measure of delivering business value. Ultimately, it's about working smarter, not harder.
When making the jump from project manager to ScrumMaster, behaviors and techniques that worked well before may work against you in the new paradigm. Here, two experienced project managers and Scrum trainers share their experiences and insights on navigating this challenging transition.
With the recent economic challenges, project pressures have grown even more--there’s less money available, and that means fewer resources and a need to get money-making (and money-saving) work completed more swiftly than ever. Can project teams be the secret to better project management in the future?
Whatever the issue--workload, projects that require specific technical or domain skills--involve the team in the hiring process. You’ll increase the chance of a good fit and gain commitment to help the new hire succeed. Plus, sharing power with the team helps create partnership.
Planning with dispersed teams can be tricky, but it can be done effectively by leveraging technology and adapting techniques to fit the situation.
Groups who do not follow a governance process have many reasons for not doing it. But only the accurate determination of the rationale will result in the correct intervention. Here are six common reasons and effective responses.
The “definition of done” is a widely debated and often emotional topic in Scrum circles. Part of the challenge is establishing proper context. Here is an adaptable approach for coming to consensus on what “done” means at the User Story level for your projects and products.
How do these two roles stack up against one another? Can a project manager adapt to being a ScrumMaster? Given the opportunity and environment, people can be successful in a number of different roles--provided that there is some degree of connection.
Too many organizations confuse doing agile with being agile. They force adoption through command-and-control thinking combined with predictive planning. That won’t work. In this series of excerpts from their new book, Craig Larman and Bas Vodde share best practices for adopting and scaling lean and agile development.
You won’t find Motivation 101 in most business schools, yet the ability to motivate your team is one of the most important skills a project leader must possess. Here are six strategies —no speeches required — to unite and engage your team.
When time is crucial--like in the last seconds of the championship game--good coaching can determine who wins and who loses. Time is always critical on your project. How does your coaching staff look?
Use this spreadsheet in conjunction with the The Stakeholder Tool story to help pinpoint the key relationships between project stakeholders--and the ones that need the most work.
How can project managers get a lesson in dealing with uncertainty? Here are seven valuable project management lessons from the world of sports coaches.
To meet growing demand for application of Agile practices, Project Management Institute will introduce a pilot Agile certification for project management practitioners, with exams starting later this year.
Three-way partnership with American University, Management Concepts and MCR provides training program for federal agencies and government contractors.
A well-functioning Scrum project requires three distinct roles, separate but equal: the Product Owner oversees what is being delivered on behalf of the customer; the Scrum team controls how they work; and the Scrum Master facilitates and acts as keeper of the process on behalf of the organization.
What are hyper-productive teams doing differently to achieve such extraordinary results? This article introduces you to the key practices used by Scrum teams around the world to achieve hyper-productive results--practices your team can apply right now.
At the heart of agile methods is the key tenet that teams and teamwork are better than individual contributions and effort. Here we explore the key factors and attributes of teams and teamwork for agile project management.
