Herding Cats

Quote of the Day

The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function - Albert A. Bartlett, The Essential Exponential! For the Future of Our Planet, University of Colorado, Boulder, Center for Science, Mathematics & Computer Education Read more →

Retrospective Coherence - What Does That Mean?

Why is the past easier to predict than the future? Retrospective Coherence is looking back in time and creating a coherent narrative around what happened. The accuracy of this narrative is suspect because the narrative can only be based on... Read more →

Quote of the Day

There is only one time that is important – Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. - Leo Tolstoy, What Men Live By and Other Tales Read more →

Quote of the Day

The zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points…have in turn divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to cooperate for... Read more →

Quote of the Day

One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time — Andre Gide Read more →

Book of the Month

This is a book that changed my life. It was given to me in the late 1970's by a mentor. I'd lost the book, or given it away, got it back a few weeks ago. From the back cover... Some... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Fear is an Incomplete Teacher - John Luke Picard Read more →

Quote of the Day

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the... Read more →

Quote of the Day

An individual who is observed to be inconstant to his plans, or perhaps to carry on his affairs without any plan at all, is marked at once. By all prudent people, as a speedy victim to his own unsteadiness and... Read more →

Capabilities-Based Planning

Over the years, the success rate of traditional project management methods applied to software development projects has been underwhelming. Capabilities–Based planning provides a defined outcome that is not a conclusion but lays the groundwork for the continued delivery of value.... Read more →

Thought of the Day

Science is in the process and tools Art is in the people and their relationships Management Systems without tools provide partial solutions. Success means delivering what those paying for the project set out to accomplish. In the presence of uncertainty,... Read more →

Book of the Month

From the dust jacket. Uncertainty is a given in project management - and it can make the project manager's job pretty complicated. Anything can change at any time - even the ultimate objective. That's why master project managers are turning... Read more →

The Problem of Management Education

The book The Heretic's Guide to Best Practices: The Reality of Managing Complex Problems in Organizations, has been sitting on my bookshelf for sometime. In our work from home condition I decided to read it. I randomly turned to Page... Read more →

Quote of the Day

At what level of risk are you willing to NOT know the probability of completing on or before a date, at or below a cost, with the needed capabilities? Without estimates, in the presence of uncertainty, there can be no... Read more →

Quote of the Day

There are no solutions, there are only trade-offs - Thomas Sowell And also remember, any solution needs to start with the problem. For the solution to have any chance of success, the root causes of the problem need to be... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Understanding first principles is the basis of all understanding - Dr. Kaye Remington, PGCS, Canberra, Australia, August 14, 2018 Kaye goes on to say - The problem comes first, then information and knowledge is developed to reveal the attributes of... Read more →

Quote of the Day

This writing seemeth to me … not much better than the noise or sound which musicians make while they are tuning their instruments - Francis Bacon The Advancement of Learning When you hear or read some advice, a theory, a... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Here's some quotes from Damon Hancock, Samsung Australia, speaking about the challenge of big infrastructure at PGCS 2018 Pick your partner well. Bad partners bring bad fortune. Some uncomfortable conversations today will save much pain later. Context drives behaviour. Inadequate... Read more →

Thought of the Day

The notion that Agile Development can be successful without Project Planning and Controls is only true when the project is de minimis. A de minimis project, means any variance in the cost, schedule, and technical performance of the deliverables has... Read more →

Thought for the Day - Estimates Are Mandatory in Presence of Uncertainty

No Estimates advocates claim you can manage a software development effort without estimating the cost, schedule or technical performance needed to show up with the needed capabilities, for the needed cost at the needed time to deliver the needed value... Read more →