Herding Cats

What is a Work Package

Edward Carroll's Blog On Projects, has a post about Work Packages in Prince2. This is the first I've heard of Work Packages outside out Earned Value Management System description. The EVMS System Description of the guide describing how programs are... Read more →

Quote of the Day

"What did we get for the money we spent?" A question, along with some others like, "when will we be done?" "What will this cost when we're done?" that need to be constantly answered if you're to be considered a... Read more →

The Notion of a "Master"

Many of the places we work have "Master Schedulers." They have "Chief Systems Engineers." They have "Lead Cost Analyst," and "Program Architects" (my role). These people and the roles they play are critical to the success of the program for... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Ten Rules of Common Sense Program Management

I came across these ten rules for program management. They are not only common sense, they are fundamental to the success of a program. Ten rules for common sense program management View more presentations from Glen Alleman. Read more →

"Heavy Use of Math Puts People Off"

I was poking around while on a conference call, looking quickly on Google for the current DoD guidance for Earned Value. I should know the answer cold, but it was a long night and I needed an "official" reference. There... Read more →

Earned Value Confusion

John Goodpastuer has a nice post on the logic of Schedule Variance. Anyone using Earned Value should download the DAU Gold Card, fold it and keep it in your pocket. This can be found by Google'ing "Defense Acquisition University Gold... Read more →

Quote of the Day

The first edition of “Organizing for Work” by Henry Laurence Gantt (1861-1919) was published in 1919 and summaries the life experience of one of the founders of Improvement Science. Henry Gantt was a mechanical engineer from John Hopkins University and... Read more →

Why Product Development is not the Same As Project Management

The notion that product development (engineering a product) is the same a Managing the efforts of the project that produces that product is a popular myth in the agile community. This notion was being taught to graduate students at one... Read more →

What Problems Need to Be Addressed?

Many of the conversation I have with others around agile, start (and sometimes end) with why agile methods are the first choice for what ever problem is at hand, be it software development, project management or general problem solving. I... Read more →

Words on Herding Cats

From www.wordle.net Read more →

Risk Handling

Brad Egeland has a nice post Cover Your Risk From All Angles. Brad lists Risk Avoidance and Risk Mitigation as two (2) approaches to Risk Handling. While these are legitimate approaches, there is a critical flaw in all these approaches.... Read more →

Concept of Operations (ConOps)

In our aerospace and defense domain, a Concept of Operations is a common, and sometimes mandated, document. We rarely see these documents in the commercial domain. But in the commercial world, a ConOps would be a critically important piece of... Read more →

Classic Nonsense

This is why we need a formal Earned Value Management certification process. I don't know how many unsuspecting "Bright Minds" read this, but it is pure nonsense. How Earned Value is Limited and the Is Your Plan Correct? at Bright... Read more →

Quote of the Day

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Louis Pasteur, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein." Borrowed directly from Moj Zarei-Kesheh's face... Read more →

Project Failure Modes

From a recent NDIA (National Defense Industry Association) PMSC (Program Management Systems Committee) meeting - the root causes of project failure Poor Planning is the Number One Cause of Project Failure Planning is the filter between the complex, dynamic, and... Read more →

PMBOK, Agile, and Some Tips

Mike Griffith's has got me thinking about PMBOK®, the Agile software development processes and a general notion of "what to do." Alec Satin has a nice "electronic book" of 72 tips for project managers. Please subscribe for some useful information.... Read more →

Connecting the Dots to PMBOK

Rarely, if ever, is the conversation around agile and its relation with project management processes set in a domain and a context in that domain. It's time to reset the conversation with the just those items. To establish the "rules... Read more →

When We Say "Project Management" What Do We Mean?

The discussion around agile software development methods being considered Project Management processes brings up a core issue that has been around for a long time. What do we mean when we say Project Management, when we say Project? Here's one... Read more →

Falsifiable Theories Must Make Predictions

Just a note when you hear any suggestion that new ideas can solve old problems. In the business and practice of science - I come from the particle physics world - any new theory, suggestion of a change in principles,... Read more →