Today is Christmas Eve. Gifts are bought and wrapped under trees all around the world. Everywhere kids of all ages wait with great anticipation when they can finally tear into those gifts and see what they received. And then, in some cases, there’s the letdown. The color isn’t right. Or I already have one of … Read More
Project managers pay a LOT of attention to the triple constraint. Costs, schedule, and scope are watched like a hawk. When one starts to slip, project managers are quick to say “pick any two.” Their interrelationship is such that you cannot affect one without affecting at least one other. The graphic to the right depicts … Read More
I spent some time recently responding to the comments that come through to this blog. It’s amazing how much of it is spam – junk messages that have nothing to do with the site. While it’s necessary to weed out the spam from time to time, I began to think about how others receive our … Read More
To prevent a project from getting overwhelming, project managers break down their tasks into specified intervals called “sprints”. (Alistair Cockburn recommends one month, others will say these sprints can be as short as two weeks). You reach these “mini-goals” one at a time, and ultimately you reach the final destination.(Read more about the definition of … Read More
When you are a leader, you have to be in control. Remember that control does not mean micro-management, but it also does not mean sit back and let it handle itself. Your team needs to have the parameters defined for them as to where they can work, how they can work, what resources are available, … Read More
When Alistair Cockburn decided to get his CST license, he did so with a broader goal in mind. With his involvement in Agile he was watching Scrum develop along side a great deal of confusion about just what Srum was, how to use it, and when. It seemed like a shame for such a promising … Read More
Have you ever seen an old war film where POWs are trapped inside a concentration camp and one lone leader emerges to usher everyone in the hut onto a team and ultimately to escape? After the obligatory battles and moments of tension, of course. Why is it that the POWs are not loyal to the … Read More
