Herding Cats

Quote of the Day

“Everything has been said before, but since nobody listens we have to keep going back and beginning all over again.” — Andre Gide 1869–1951 It worth repeating, Rudyard Kipling’s Six Trusted Friends What – to do? When – to do... Read more →

Fit for Purpose, Fit for Use

The notion of Fit for Use and Fit for Purpose can be applied in many ways, much in the same way as Measures of Effectiveness and Measures of Performance and Verification and Validation. Fit to purpose - describes a Process,... Read more →

Quote of the Day

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." - Eleanor Roosevelt Read more →

How To Make Decisions

Decisions are about making Trade Offs for the project. These decisions are about: Evaluating alternatives. Integrating and balancing all the considerations (cost, performance, Producibility, testability, supportability, etc.). Developing and refining the requirements, concepts, capabilities of the product or services produced... Read more →

Quote of Day

"in order to reason well ... it is absolutely necessary to possess ... such virtues as intellectual honesty and sincerity and a real love of the truth." — C. S. Pierce Read more →

Why Project Management is a Control System

When it is mentioned project management is a control system many in the agile world whince. But in fact project is a control system, a closed loop control system. Here's how it works. We have a goal, a target, some... Read more →

All Decisions Are Based On Mathematics

Obvious not every decision we make is based on mathematics, but when we're spending money, especially other people's money, we'd better have so good reason to do so. Some reason other than gut feel for any sigifican value at risk.... Read more →

How Not To Make Decisions Using Bad Estimates

The presentation Dealing with Estimation, Uncertainty, Risk, and Commitment: An Outside-In Look at Agility and Risk Management has become a popular message for those suggesting we can make decisions about software development in the absence of estimates. The core issue... Read more →

Can There Be Actionable Suggestions Without Evidence of Them Working?

Visiting the Montana State Museum of the Rockies this weekend and came across this sign in an exhibit. Now writing software for money is not this kind of science, but it is closely related to engineering and the enablement of... Read more →

The Myth of Incremental Development

In the agile world there is a common notion that incremental delivery is a desired approach. Many toute rapid release, even multiple releases a day. The question is two fold. Can the customer accept the release into use and the... Read more →

The Power of Misattributed and Misquoted Quotes

Warning this is an Opinion Piece. In a conversation this week the quote Insanity is doing everything the same way and expecting a different outcome. Or some variant of that. Attributed to Einstein. As if attributing it to Einstein makes... Read more →

The Failure of Open Loop Thinking

When there are charts showing an Ideal line or a chart of samples of past performance - say software delivered - in the absence of a baseline for what the performance of the work effort or duration should have been,... Read more →

Software Development is Like Play Writing

I stole this idea of this blog from Stephen Wilson's post of a similar name. And like all good borrows I've added, subtracted, and made some changes, because everything is a remix. I don't know Stephen, but his post is... Read more →

Control Systems - Their Misuse and Abuse

Project Management is a control system, subject to the theory and practice of control systems. The Project Management Control System provides for the management of systems and processes - cost estimating, work scope structuring and authorization, scheduling, performance measurement, reporting,... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Gentlemen, we have run out of money; now we have to think - Winston Churchill The role of estimating in project and product development is many fold... For product, the cost of development must recouped over the life cycle of... Read more →

It's Not Bottoms Up or Top Down, It's Capabilities Based Delivery

There is a popular notion that agile is bottoms up and tradititional is top down. Neither is actually effective in deliverying value to the customer based on the needd capabilties, time phased to match the business or mission need. The... Read more →

Critical Thinking Skills Needed for Any Change To Be Effective

Why is it hard to think beyond our short term vision? Rapid delivery of incremental value is common sense, no one would object to that - within the ability of the business to absorb this value of course. This is... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Movement without direction will create a hole in the ground — Sophia Bedford-Pierce Read more →

Quote of the Day

It is the mark of an educated mind to rest satisfied with the degree of precision which the nature of the subject admits and not to seek exactness where only an approximation is possible —Aristotle (384 B.C - 322 B.C.)... Read more →

The Value of Information †

Since all variables on all projects are random - cost, schedule, and delivered capabilities, in the economics of projects, the chance of being wrong and the Cost of being wrong is the expected opportunity cost. When we write software for... Read more →