Herding Cats

Quote of the Day

The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. Phil Jackson Former NBA Head Coach Read more →

Concept of Operations

In the agile community, there is always some comment or opinion about how hard it is to define what the requirements are. How we can't possibly estimate the work since all the work is emergent. If this were the case... Read more →

Quote of the Day

In physical science, the first essential step in the direction of learning any subject is to find principles of numerical reckoning and practicable methods for measuring some quality connected with it. I often say that when you can measure what... Read more →

4 Fallacious Reasons Why We Estimate and Why Those Are Fallacious

There's a recent post titled Four Fallacious Reasons Why We Estimate. It lists the usual suspects for why those spending the money think they don't have to estimate how much they plan to spend when they'll be done producing the... Read more →

Concept of Operations

One of the root causes of project failure is the failure to apply the first principle of the five principles of project success What does done look like in units of measure meaningful to the decision maker? Those units must... Read more →

Quote of the Day

The human understanding is no dry light, but receives an infusion from the will and affections; whence proceed sciences which may be called “sciences as one would.” For what a man had rather were true he more readily believes. Therefore... Read more →

Quote of the Day

The first responsibility of the key leaders in the acquisition workforce is to think. —Frank Kendall Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Read more →

Quote of the Day

We have this terrible struggle to try to explain things to people who have no reason to want to know - Richard Feynman Feynman spoke at our Student Physics Society, UC Irvine, on Quantum Chromo Dynamics (QCD), when that theory... Read more →

Quote of the Day

The beneficial result that I can hope for as a consequence of this work is that more attention will be paid to the precise statement of the alternatives involved in the questions being asked. – Theory of Probability, H. Jeffery,... Read more →

Five Immutable Principles of Project Success - A Compendium

There was a twitter thread today where I suggested for any project in any domain, using any product development method is subject to the Five Immutable Principles of Project Success. When the dust settled, I had posted links to all... Read more →

From Mission Capabilities to Done

No matter the project domain or the technical development method, project success is dependent on knowing what Done looks like in units of measure meaningful to the decision maker. These measures are: Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) – are the operational... Read more →

Quote of the Day

“Things are seldom what they seem, skim milk masquerades as cream.” —W. S. Gilbert, in "HMS Pinafore" This little phrase from Pinafore, from Little Buttercup, who is just a bumboat woman, is telling in our world of toss off agile... Read more →

Quote of the Day

We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new... Read more →

Quote of the Day

In life our first job is this, to divide and distinguish things into two categories: externals I cannot control, but the choices I make with regard to them I do control. Where will I find good and bad? In me,... Read more →

Quote of the Day

If God had made the world for humans we would have alcohol that made the head cleared instead of drowsy and the tongues of men more articulate instead of slurred. For it is when a man has consumed alcohol that... Read more →

Risk Management in Five Easy Pieces, with Apologies to Jack

Managing Cost, Schedule, & Technical Performance Risk Is The Basis Of Good Project Management. Risk management is essential to the success of any significant project. Certain information about key project cost, performance, and schedule attributes are often unknown until the... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Inexperience is a dreadful thing — comment by a women in Aristophanes (Ἀριστοφάνης) Ecclesazusae 115 When you hear a conjecture about some topic, stop and ask, does this person have any experience in this topic, any foundational understanding of the... Read more →

Quote of the Day

I am going to tell you something that you will never forget. And then he said, To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell. - Richard Feynman in... Read more →

Fundamentals of Scientific Management

It's popular in the agile community and especially in the #Noestimates community to denigrate Taylor for his Scientific Principles of Management. I first wonder of those making claims like... Taylor would turn in his grave if he saw how little... Read more →