CMMI provides several models that organizations can use to identify best practices and organizational improvements. Studying the maturity models and researching earned value management readiness reveals a series of baby steps for organizations to adopt EVM.
How do we differentiate between effort and duration? What estimating techniques can we use to determine how long work will take to complete? As we continue to build a foundation of project management knowledge, we explore this crucial aspect of project plans.
What do painting rooms, installing flooring and spreading top soil have to do with project management? The steps can help teach us important lessons about the basic relationship between sequential work packages—along with the use of lags and leads.
You've heard the concepts bantered around in the same breath, but what the heck do they mean? Through a solid understanding of baselines, metrics and measures, you'll be able to make value-added improvements in your projects, processes, policies and procedures. In parts one and two, the terms, "baseline," "metrics" and "measures" were explored in context to process improvement. In this installment, these concepts will be applied to project management.
Endgames help to clear a path for specific outcomes—learning the micro to understand the macro. Projects are all about the finished product or service. How you get there starts with your determination of the endgame.
Without some amount of estimation, creating an agile plan becomes incredibly difficult. And yet, estimates have a reputation of being inaccurate, immediately outdated, or possibly a complete waste of time. While these two seem to be in conflict, in reality, agile handles it rather well.
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"Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs."