Estimating
February 22, 2010
The estimating process for project cost and schedule is usually one of the poorest skills for the project. Not because it is difficult or even because it is not well understood. But because there is a myth that estimating is not really possible. Estimating... Read more...
Project Management Principles Need To Have Units of Measure
February 19, 2010
PM Hut has a list of Project Management Principles. Good stuff, but no units of measure. How would we know we're being successful with these principles? No units of measure means the principles are hollow. OK, maybe number 2 has evidence that it is being... Read more...
Is This Really How PM 1.0 Works?
February 18, 2010
Once again Andrew Filev - through Elizabeth Harrin - has a description of PM 1.0 straight out of the 1980's. This little story of how projects are chartered and then managed is reminisent of how projects were chartered and managed before personal computing.It... Read more...
Couples Story
February 17, 2010
A needed diversion for a cute story †...When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the truck, the car, playing golf. Always something... Read more...
Who’s doing what on this project?
February 16, 2010
On an agile forum there is a discussion about roles, Business Analyst, and other type roles and what these people do on software development projects. This of course is backwards, like many discussions that fail to return to "first principles."... Read more...
The F.I.S.T. Principles
February 12, 2010
Dan Ward is one of my new favorite Blogs. Dan is a frequent author in the Defense Journal AT&L. His F.I.S.T. is Fast, Inexpensive, Simple, and Tiny. I've restated them here for effect: A project leader’s influence is inversely proportional... Read more...
What is a Project Plan?
February 11, 2010
I'm working two programs in parallel - a really bad idea by the way. One is a DOE R&D project. The other is a DoD integrated battle management system.Working in these domains produces a bias towards what is means when someone says "project management."... Read more...
PM 2.0 Communications Channel Bandwidth Requirements
February 10, 2010
What happened to the agile manifesto's first statement? We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value: 1. Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. Are... Read more...
The WBS and Estimating
February 9, 2010
Craig Brown and Mike Clayton have a related posts on the Work Breakdown Structure and estimating. Building a credible cost or schedule estimate is a "process" focused effort. Let's start with the guidance documents we use: The GAO Cost Estimating... Read more...
Credible Estimates
February 7, 2010
John Goodpasture has a post on estimates from Fred Brooks. Fred's quote, which I'll repeat for effect, from John's site is It is very difficult to make a vigorous, plausible, and job-risking defense of an estimate that is derived by no quantitative method,... Read more...