Herding Cats

Quote of the Day

The last 10 percent of the technical performance development generates one-third of the cost and two-thirds of the of problems - Norm Augistines 15th Law Using the NASA definition, Margin is the difference between the maximum possible value and the... Read more →

Quote of the Day

If it can't be expressed in figures, it is not science; it is opinion - Robert Heinlein Any conjecture, that any fix, for some claimed problem or dysfunction, without numbers to support the claim a fix for the dysfunction will... Read more →

Value Theory for Projects and Estimating

No Value can be determined without knowing something about the cost to produce that Value and the Time that Value will be arriving. † In the presence of uncertainty, this knowing must be estimated to some acceptable level of confidence.... Read more →

Quote of the Day

If speculative ideas cannot be tested against established principles to assess their validity, they are not credible. They don't even rise to the level of being wrong - Wolfgang Pauli Read more →

Quote of the Day

Just exactly what is it we manage on projects if not risks? Project management IS risk management. The risk-aware manager can show you a substantial list of causal risks. He/she can tell you the likely cost in time or money... Read more →

Predicting the Unpredictable (A Book Review)

I came to this book with an anticipation of a coherent discussion of estimating on modern software development projects. The subtitle is Pragmatic Approached to Estimating Project Schedule and Cost, says I'd find practical advice on how to estimate software... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Risk is the Effect of Uncertainty on Objectives These uncertainties come in two forms: Reducible (Epistemic) and Irreducible (Aleatory). Managing in the presence requires making estimates of the magnitude and impact of these uncertainties. To conjecture that decisions can be... Read more →

When a Wise Man Points at the Moon, The Fool Looks at the Finger

When we hear any conjecture that a tool or a process, or NOT doing something will fix a recognized problem, I'm reminded of the Chinese phrase to the left, recorded in Chan Buddhist scripture When a Wise Man Points to... Read more →

What Are Story Points and How Can They Be Used on Agile Projects?

The development of software, using other peoples money (OPM) means - or should mean - that those providing the money have an expectation to know How Much Money, along with When well you be done spending that money and provide... Read more →

The Aha! of the Day

I was watching a YouTube on Why Scaling Agile Doesn't Work and How to Fix It when I had my Aha! moment about some in the Agile community that makes statements that don't make sense in my domain. I work... Read more →

Quote of the Day - Business Runs on Estimated Values

You can't run a credible business or even your own household without knowing your cost basis for the operations for the demand for future expenditures. In the presence of uncertainties in the business and at your house for that cost... Read more →

Quote of the Day

The man who grasps principles can successfully handle his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles is sure to have trouble — Ralph Waldo Emerson So Just Remember ... There is no principle by which you can make... Read more →

Quote of the Day

There is no whole system within interconnection of its parts and there is no whole system without its environment — Francisco Varla Without knowing something about the Capabilities are needed by the customers to fulfill their business needs, a credible... Read more →

Quote of the Day

“As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.” — Harrington... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Understanding First Principles is the basis of all understanding - Dr. Kaye Remington, PGCS, Canberra Australia, 14 August 2018 Without first principles, immutable first principles actually, any suggested improvement of anything is just wishful thinking uninformed by any governance, boundary... Read more →

System of Systems and Capability Based Planning

A critical missing component of software development, especially agile software development, and even more especially agile software development is the notion of a System and a System of Systems. The majority of the literature based on traditional and agile development... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Wrong does not cease to be wrong just because the majority share it - Leo Tolstoy When we hear cockamamie ideas being tossed around and lots of supporters of those ideas, and those ideas are clear violations of established principles... Read more →

Risk Management is How Adults Manage Projects

In a recent exchange in social media, it was clear the notion of risk and the sources of risk, the consequences or risks and managing in the presence of risk was in very unclear, when it was conjectured, we can... Read more →

Agile for Project Managers

I rarely republish other blogs or presentations. But this one is timeless and needs to be restated at every opportunity. I've corresponded with John over the years. Here's the presentation. As well but John's books. Here's the one we use... Read more →

Quote of the Day

Expert judgment is typically the crux of cost and schedule estimates but in the spectrum of the risk management process, quantification of expert judgment is the weakest area - Fred Raymond, Acquistion Review Quarterly - Spring 199., pp. 147-154 Making... Read more →