Update on Blogs as PM Tools – Tales from the Front Lines

We seem to be going through a second wave of focus (hype?) in the popular technology press, on the idea of using blogs as an important project management tool. The topic made the cover of CIO Magazine this week - Lynch made a number of interesting observations - interesting because I don't necessarily see the same things in practice: The Reputation Hurdle: While I agree that blogs aren't fully understood by everyone, the folks that need to use them pick…

Five Simple Rules for Project Names, plus Four Sample Lists

8 January, 2008
Project Management, PMO
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A recent post by Jeff Atwood about project names brought back memories of a previous employer, and the project naming convention we set up in our PMO. At this company, the IT group spawned maybe 30 to 50 chunks of work we would call "projects" - at least two calendar weeks in duration (anything smaller than that was just a programming request, and given a control number). Like any good PMO, we generated charters, mission statements, requirements, process maps, status…

Tactics for Controlling Project Scope

5 January, 2008
Project Management
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I wrote about ways to "cheat" at project prioritization [aka trying to figure out what to work on next, when there is more demand (projects) than supply (people to work on them)]. One significant tool you have at your disposal is controlling scope - can you do 20% of the work to get 80% of the benefits? Easier said than done, sometimes you need tactics, that help identify an opportune place to stop, a run-on project, or a design that…

PMO Prioritization – Project Descriptions should be Effective, Relevant … and Short!

9 December, 2007
Project Management, PMO
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Next year, our PMO will be taking a run at improving "transparency" for project prioritization - a clearer process for getting projects approved and scheduled. Here's a key building block - what is the most effective way to describe a project? There is a certain amount of art and style in getting this right; most PMOs feature some sort of central database listing candidate projects; typically, the various screens, views, reports, etc. are designed for "short and sweet" descriptions. Note…

PM Anti-Patterns That Increase IT Project Cycle Time

Lots of conversation at work these days about PMO, resource prioritization, and reducing cycle time for IT projects. I feel a series of posts coming on ... IAPL, we launched a project to bring test discipline to our technology efforts. The team was writing standards and guidelines for test scripts, implementing integrated testing tools supplied by the ERP vendor, and adding steps to our project methodology requiring test scripts for all system changes. As the project dragged into a fourth…

Defining the Business Value of a Project

25 October, 2007
Project Management, Business Value of IT
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I'm following a project management meme lately; while freely admitting that I'm oversimplifying some complex topics, I will forge ahead with ... project "value". At work, we've been talking about the classic challenge of putting a business value on a project. I call it a "classic" challenge because it's a basic requirement for every prioritization exercise that I've been exposed to. You know the drill - we have 10 projects, but only time and resources to do 5. How does…

The Five Fundamental Rules of Project Management

15 October, 2007
Project Management
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Okay, the title is a bit of a false advertising. I'm not revealing the top five rules - I'm actually looking for help in defining rules #3-5. Any input is appreciated - care to weigh in with an opinion? I've had a number of discussions, with some of the best project managers I know, as we discuss ways to simplify methodologies and streamline our delivery process. Many organizations are trying to train their next generation of project managers, and all…

Five Key Skills for Successful Project Managers

Just a quick post this evening, capturing some thoughts that have been forming over the past week or so. When evaluating people for a role as project lead or project manager (PM), what exactly does one look for? I suppose many will point to PMI certifications, adherence to principles in the PMBOK, "excellent communication skills", and multiple, complex, high-profile, high-quality projects under their belt. But what about the intangibles - the stuff you can't really learn from a book? I…

Driving to a Decision on your Projects

I've written about the basic project proposal (for consulting groups) or charter (for internal IT) in the past. The point of any project summary document is to tee up the what and the why, using an outline like this: Description: What are we trying to accomplish here? What is our ultimate goal? Objectives: These are project objectives, not business objectives. How will we know we are done? Benefits: Why should we consider doing this? What are we getting? Alternatives: Are…

The Iron Triangle – Quality is a Feature that We Choose to Omit from Projects

Project managers must communicate the trade-off between additional functionality and the time required to fully test the work. Don't assume testing will be completed - it's something that takes time!