If Kanban works well on specific software projects, can it be scaled to facilitate Lean throughout an organization? This article will look at how Kanban can be thought of as a general purpose change management approach for your organization.
Are you wondering if your project plan has everything in it that it needs to have? Apply this checklist to it and see.
If we want better projects, we need to be better at our project management. The question that remains, however, is this: Is consistency and formality the path to get there? Is promoting and demanding adherence to a common process what is required to get to “better”? Here, the evidence is mixed.
Simply put, scope is the size of the project. But there’s more to it than that!
If the schedule only exists to track what happened, it is a fairly useless tool. It will be glad to talk to you about the project and tell you how horrible things are, but that is not what project managers need. Here are some ideas for using the schedule to help the project instead of just using it to document failure.
Before you submit your project plan for final approval, you'd better check it over. Learn the steps for cross-checking a project plan.
Nothing comes free, but do you understand the true cost? When we look for ways to improve business efficiency, we consider two primary factors. But sometimes organizations push so hard for efficiency that they ignore the potential impact--and that’s when the problems start.
Whatever the approach, mandate or processes adopted by each organization, you as the PM should be aware of the following best practices and ensure that they are adopted in one way or the other to guarantee your project’s financial transparency.
PMs don’t always have the right view of what makes a project successful. Our discipline has evolved and now requires us to have a much more complete view of how our projects impact organizations. Just how do you define "failure"?
In software development, testing is one of the most important functions. But too often, there is a fundamental problem: We aren’t always testing the right things. Where’s the quality? Testing is a relative exercise, not an absolute one.
There is no exact science for people. Just as our project processes should be context-specific, so too should our team processes. Depending on whether your team is brand new, establishing itself or stable, the way we interact as managers and leaders should be tailored to fit the circumstances. Here are some pointers.
On an agile project, we often must accomplish the extraordinary. Yet how can we do so when we must work with such…ahem…ordinary people? Here are some suggestions for helping your group of ordinary individuals to accomplish the extraordinary on your agile project.
What is your PMO’s reputation among the PMs it serves? There could be a lot of distrust. Through experience, one manager discovered some potential problem areas that you may want to look at in your own organization.
While many projects may not have to adopt the elements of the Federal Incident Command System, some are set up to resolve a certain time-bound resolution of organizational priorities and can reap the benefits.
With the ever increasing use of technology, how are processes impacted? Our writer feels that technology should be an overlay to the process work--we should start with a solid process and then look for ways that technology could make life easier in the execution of the process. But a colleague doesn't agree...
Unrehearsed players executing spontaneous postmortems will not reap the full benefits, but cultivated regimens can enable even casual players to consistently succeed and draw expected results in ad hoc postmortems. If you're in a PANIC, maybe it's time to get PACIFIC...
Build versus buy decisions are crucial for success, but they aren’t simple. Some elements will be developed in house and some will be outsourced. But with such a wide ranging impact, how do you decide on the best approach?
Transitions can be difficult when management and stakeholders change--something that happens on a regular basis in the government. Some basic guidelines can keep the project on track.
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"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." - Rudyard Kipling |
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