Herding Cats

Quote of the Day - Execution Culture

"You cannot have an execution culture without robust dialogue – one that brings reality to the surface through openness, candor, and informality. This is called “truth over harmony.” - in Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy and... Read more →

What Does an IMP IMS Look Like?

The term Integrated Master Plan / Integrated Master Schedule is used a lot here at Herding Cats. It's the paradigm used to mange programs in the space and defense. But there is always a question - what does one look... Read more →

Managing Software Projects

There are nearly unlimited sources of information about managing software projects. Some good, some poor, some absolute crap, some exceptional. If you want to start with the exceptional, start with The Data & Analysis Center for Software. Here's why: The... Read more →

Probability versus Certainty

Craig Brown (a must read Blog) posted a quote The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. — Bertrand Russell. This is a powerful concept. In our commercial practice, there... Read more →

Performance Measurement?

I'm finishing off the "Beyond Bullets Points" content for an upcoming College of Performance Management class on Technical Performance Measures. There is a single picture that "connects the dots" between Cost, Schedule, and Technical Performance. While checking around for some... Read more →

Quote of the Day

"An important source of bad decisions is illusions of certainty" - Kenneth Boulding, The Value of Uncertainty Technical Risk Sources† Requirement Definition and Dissemination Design Maturity, Complexity, and Technology Readiness Verification and Validation Complexity Implementation and Application Compatibility Use of... Read more →

Project Disentanglement

There was a recent Blog speaking to the processes of project recovery. The ideas were sometimes good, sometimes way to soft. I use a book for all our recovery projects. Catastrophe Disentanglement, E. M. Bennatan, Addison Wesley. Here are the... Read more →

Quote of the Day

All instruction is but a finger pointing to the moon; and those whose gaze is fixed upon the pointer will never see beyond. Even let him catch sight of the moon, and still he cannot see its beauty. When we... Read more →