“In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” – Warren Buffett If a captain is supposed to go down with his ship, does a project manager have to sink with his failing project? The expression that a captain is supposed to go down with […]
What is the most important body of knowledge? That is a question someone could ask you on a job interview. I know because I have asked the question when I have interviewed candidates and I have been on the receiving end of the question as a job candidate. It may seem like a trick question […]
We all know that gathering lessons learned is a best practice and part of our professional responsibility. But that doesn’t mean that we all do it. If the reason you do not is because you don’t know exactly HOW to conduct a lessons learned session or you think conducting a lessons learned session is too […]
Do you struggle with this too? It can take different forms: ‘Doing it yourself’ when it would be better to let someone else handle it. Gold plating, which is adding more features because you think they are ‘cool’. Putting extra effort towards something other than your product without any potential value to the customer. And […]
Guest post by?Dr. Ian Clarkson Why do projects fail? Problems can manifest from anywhere on a project but there are several elements of a project that if managed poorly could mean that the project may fail to deliver: Poor sponsorship If the people at the top are not supportive this will severely hamper or even […]
I have learned sooooo much over the past decade that I’ve been managing projects. So when Terrell asked for sharing lessons learned, I was all over it. My blog and project management training pretty much are my lessons learned from over the years. ?The great thing about having written this blog for 5 years now […]
It happens to all of us. You’re a developer or a project manager and here comes the customer or stakeholders asking about how to cut a few corners. Your spider-sense should be tingling, because usually this will cause you more pain than it’s worth. Get the Full Perspective In order to make a decision like […]
Project management is one of those things that seems very complex when you’re starting out. But after you been doing it for a while, it really turns out to be a good dose of common sense with some science and discipline added in. I think many project managers tend to focus on tools and techniques […]
Serendipity happens. I responded to a student Inside pmStudent e-Learning with what turned out to essentially be an article about criteria for project success and failure. A few days later, Shim wrote “Projects failure rate ? the conventional wisdom is wrong!” on his fantastic blog.? I started leaving a comment, and it became one of […]
OMG. I LOVE Thanksgiving. When else can you eat 4000 calories without feeling guilty and put yourself into a tryptophan-induced coma? Family, food, and last but not least… Giving Thanks Really though, the best thing about this holiday for me is that is forces me to stop complaining and start noticing all of the amazing […]
Don't keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again. It takes practice to capture lessons learned and to make use of those lessons as we move forward. What could you do better?