Creating a work breakdown structure for the project and refining it until it can be used as the pattern for the project plan may seem like overkill for some projects, but the WBS can help create a schedule that fully supports the work of the project.
Are work breakdown structures and product backlogs really so different? They both help with forming agreement on scope. Yet, due to how they are often used, they are viewed as quite different by many people…a viewpoint this expert would like to change.
The work breakdown structure is fundamental to project execution. When we expend insufficient time and develop inadequate detail on the WBS, the project will yield poor results and we can expect to see last-minute identification of critical elements. Here we look in greater detail at this essential tool.
Scope creep can plague projects where timelines are established at the start, or budgets and resources are fixed. However, it should not be a problem for projects operating with agile principles. Rather than resisting change, an agile team welcomes it, and figures out how to adapt to it. Here's how.
In executing a project, it is up to the project manager and the stakeholders to make sure there is a solid foundation under the project team so that they can be successful.
What does “cloud" actually mean? In this article, the author takes a bottom-up approach and explores various options of service delivery to help us get a grip of the cloud concept.
As much as anything, the agile project is all about the management of ambiguity. In other words, the agile project is about the effective management of questions. For a project to succeed well, we need to see our questions according to three categories.
Custom software development is notoriously difficult to estimate. We start with vague ideas of what we want, expecting to fill in the details later. We’re usually doing something a little different than what we’ve done before, or completely different. How can we act more productively?
There are situations where the constraints of a project are unrealistic—where the required work just can’t be done in the allotted time with the team that you have been given. What do you do in that situation? Sponsors sometimes have unrealistic expectations. Deal with them.
What is a PM to do when confronted with an organizational culture that places little emphasis on structured project management principles? In Part 2 of this series, we’ll examine a simpler approach for introducing structured PM techniques into an organization with one-page project plans.
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I saw someone on the street eating M&M's with a spoon. - Jerry Seinfeld |
