Herding Cats

Quote of the Day

There is one other thing we should discuss, and that is the difference between management and leadership. Management is figuring out how to get the job done. Leadership is deciding what needs to be done and inspiring the team to... Read more →

Quote of the Day

There's nothing more dangerous than an idea if its the only one you have. -Mark Twain Read more →

Quote of the Day

And so these men of Indostan Disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion Exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong! MORAL. So oft in theologic wars, The disputants,... Read more →

Quote of the Day

It is more helpful to think like a farmer, than an engineer or an architect in designing [complex systems]... Engineers and architects need to design every detail of the system. This approach is possible because the responses of the componens... Read more →

Quote of the Day

He suffers from the distinct condition of being wrong British attorney general when speaking about a fellow member of parliament. Applicable to many conversations in our project management domain Read more →

Quote of the Day

If the facts (evidence) are against you, argue the law (principle). If the law (principle) is against you, argue the facts (evidence). If the law (principle) and the facts (evidence) are against you, pound the table and yell like hell... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Only the generalist survive An immutable principle of evolutionary biology. Read more →

Quote of the Day

A story, probably apocryphal but I love it, was when Napoleon was told about a man who had a severe social impediment, which was that whenever there was any ambiguity, this man would take the wrong interpretation. It would intensely... Read more →

Five Immutable Principles of Project Success (A 5 Part Series)

This series of articles provides answers to the questions asked by the five (5) immutable principles of any successful project. Answering these questions is the role of the project management team. What Does DONE Look Like? How Do We Get... Read more →

Quote of the Day

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success." - Pablo Picasso Read more →

Quote of the Day

To argue to the person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead - Thomas Payne Read more →

Quote of the Day

A Dull Knife is Far More Dangerous Than a Sharp One Read more →

Quote of the Day

Our knowledge consequently reflects the world. It does this ore or less, but it reflects the world we inhabit. This communication between ourselves and the world is not what distinguishes us from the rest of nature. All things are continually... Read more →

A CIO Contribution to Project Failure

The failure starts with demanding the project to maintain its budget and delivery times in the absence of a “Plan” to go along with the “schedule” of the work. Failure starts with the lack of an adequate description of what... Read more →

Capabilities Based Planning

Over the years, the success rate of traditional project management methods applied to software development projects has been underwhelming. These traditional methods are based on a retrospective approach that measures variance against plan rather than providing a performance–forecast that can... Read more →

Rechtin's Paradigm and Project Management

The Agile Project Management discussion is built around a supposed paradigm shift from the past to the future. Although not as strongly worded recently, the notation that the processes of the past have failed us and we need to move... Read more →

What Do We Mean by Risk and Uncertainty?

Risk and Uncertainty are an integral part of all decision-making processes for non-trivial work. The decision-making process involves a set of actions and outcomes, each of which associated with them a probability or a statistical process. All risk comes from... Read more →

The Conscious Competence Learning Model

The Conscious Competence Learning Model has four stages. Each learner must pass through each stage to progress from incompetence to competence. This model is useful in understanding the Dunning-Kruger Effect. The four stages of competence are: [1] Unconscious incompetence. The... Read more →

Quote of the Day

The most unsuccessful three years in the education of cost estimators appears to be fifth-grade arithmetic - Norman R. Augustine, Law VIII Read more →

Book of the Month

The Death of Expertise: The Campaign against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters, Tom Nichols. From the dust jacket - Thanks to technological advances and increasing levels of education we have access to more information than ever before. Yet rather... Read more →